DISTRICT COURT Saadey resentencing is delayed

The prisoner could elect to stay in Florida and be resentenced by phone.
CLEVELAND -- Because of a mix-up, Russell J. Saadey Jr. of Austintown did not travel here from a Florida prison to be resentenced in U.S. District Court and now must wait until April 5.
On Jan. 5, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati reversed one count in Saadey's multicount conviction that included racketeering. A three-judge panel concluded the government offered no evidence that Saadey, also known as Champ, aided and abetted a public official in extorting money from a man to reduce criminal charges.
The appellate judges upheld the remaining convictions and remanded the case to U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. O'Malley for resentencing. The judge scheduled the hearing for Friday afternoon.
Moved to Florida
Saadey's Canfield attorney, Brian P. Kopp, who argued the case on appeal, said he learned from Judge O'Malley's court that the U.S. Marshals Service thought Saadey had to be moved to Cleveland from West Virginia. In January, Saadey, 50, was moved from the Federal Correctional Institution in Morgantown, W.Va., to the Federal Prison Camp in Pensacola, Fla.
Since the trip from Florida would have been by air, there wasn't enough time once the mix-up was discovered, Kopp said. The marshals' airline has reduced its flights to monthly from biweekly, he said.
Thomas J. Gruscinski, an assistant U.S. attorney, said his office made the request to move Saadey but because of an "administrative mix-up" it didn't happen.
Judge O'Malley, after conferring with the lawyers involved, scheduled the resentencing for April 5.
Kopp said Saadey has a right to attend the hearing by phone from prison in Florida. The attorney said he will contact his client to see what he wants to do.
Kopp and Saadey's trial attorney, David J. Betras, were in Cleveland on Friday for a status conference with Judge O'Malley. The attorneys are optimistic that time will be knocked off Saadey's sentence. As it stands, his release date is May 21, 2007.
Philomena case
Saadey once served as an investigator for James A. Philomena, who was Mahoning County prosecutor until the end of 1996. Philomena received federal and state prison sentences for case fixing and remains locked up.
Kopp, on appeal, had argued that Saadey, as a private individual, could not be prosecuted under the public officials' "color of official right" contained in the Hobbs Act, which concerns extortion.
The appellate judges said the government acknowledged that Saadey was not a public official at the time of the alleged attempted extortion, because he had left the prosecutor's office. Judge O'Malley had earlier denied a motion to dismiss the count, saying Saadey masqueraded as a public official.
In October 2001, a jury found Saadey guilty of conspiracy to violate the Racketeering and Corrupt Organizations statute, one count each of extortion and conspiracy to commit extortion, three of tax evasion and five of false statements on credit applications.
In April 2002, Judge O'Malley sentenced Saadey to 55 months in prison.
Gruscinski had asked that Judge O'Malley increase the standard sentence of 41 to 51 months to 46 to 57 months. Gruscinski said Saadey was one of the few involved in Mahoning County corruption cases who failed to accept responsibility.
The prosecutor said Saadey took an active role in case-fixing negotiations. What Saadey did, the prosecutor said, undermined public confidence in the judicial system.
Saadey's case was built primarily on the testimony of businessmen who testified that he took part in extortion schemes.
Community service
Once released, Saadey must do 150 hours community service and attend an outpatient program for alcohol abuse.
In October 2002, Saadey, who was already in prison, had 18 months added to his 55-month sentence by U.S. District Judge Peter C. Economus in Youngstown federal court.
Saadey pleaded guilty a month earlier to being a felon in possession of a firearm. The gun charge followed a fight between Saadey and his wife at their Austintown home two days after he received his 55-month sentence.
Kopp said Friday he's hoping that when Judge O'Malley resentences Saadey she runs the sentence concurrent with the time imposed by Judge Economus.
Gruscinski, when asked if he would oppose a reduction in Saadey's sentence, said he'll wait to see what findings Judge O'Malley comes up with next month.