Nov. 14 trial date set in Pirko bribery case

WARREN -- A North Jackson heating and air-conditioning contractor facing felony theft and bribery charges linked to the county purchasing scandal is scheduled for a Nov. 14 trial date.
Dennis L. Pirko, who made hundreds of thousands of dollars from doing heating and air-conditioning work for Trumbull County government, is accused of paying bribes to former maintenance department director Tony Delmont, including $3,500 Delmont used to buy credit in the Ohio Public Employee Retirement System, prosecutors say.
Pirko and his attorney, Don L. Hanni, appeared Thursday before Trumbull County Common Pleas Court Judge John Stuard to set the trial date, at a time after results of a polygraph test can be obtained.
Hanni said Pirko took a stipulated polygraph test, which means the results can be entered into evidence at trial.
Pirko's one-man company, Northern Engineering, billed Trumbull County $327,000 for parts and labor since 1997. Pirko is free after posting $50,000 bond.