Woman arrested on charges of grand theft

AUSTINTOWN -- A woman wanted in connection with a scam that bilked a 90-year-old woman out of almost $2,000 was arrested this week in Girard, said Austintown Detective Sgt. Frank Tomasino.
Michele Sabella, who lives in Girard, was arrested Wednesday at 2:20 p.m. on Ward Avenue, where she was picking up her boyfriend's son at Girard High School, Tomasino said.
Tomasino said he accompanied Girard police while they made the arrest on the warrant from Austintown.
Sabella is charged with grand theft, a felony. She is one of two people accused of posing as Ohio Edison workers Aug. 11 and telling a Frederick Street woman that she needed a new meter, a new breaker box and new electrical outlets at her home. The woman wrote a check for $1,840.
Also charged in the scam is Natale Rucci of Girard.
Sabella was arraigned Thursday in Mahoning County Court, Austintown. She did not enter a plea at the arraignment because the charge is a felony. Her pretrial is set for Oct. 3 at 2:30 p.m.
Rucci was arraigned Aug. 23 in the county court on a felony charge of complicity to theft. His pretrial is set for Sept. 12.