Man gets probation, $5K fine in theft case

YOUNGSTOWN -- Judge Maureen A. Cronin of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court sentenced Robert Carcelli to one year's probation and ordered him to pay $5,000 to the city of Struthers.
The sentence also included six months in jail, suspended; and a $1,000 fine.
Carcelli, 52, a former Struthers street department foreman, was charged with theft in office in 2002, related to a paving contract with the city in 1996. He retired from the street department in January 2002 after 29 years with the city.
He pleaded guilty Thursday to the lesser charge of one count of unlawful interest in a public contract, a first-degree misdemeanor. His lawyer, J. Gerald Ingram, requested immediate sentencing.
Timothy Franken, chief assistant prosecutor, said Carcelli was suspected of accepting bribes from a paving contractor.
In exchange for bribes, Carcelli doctored weight slips when the contractor's company delivered asphalt to the city for paving work, Franken said. He said the company submitted fraudulent invoices for asphalt that was not used.
Carcelli was paid $5,000 in bribes, and the city was billed more than $8,000 for asphalt that was not used, Franken said.