Litter case gets a Sept. 21 court date

Friday, August 25, 2006 The city's litter control coordinator returns to court next month. By DAVID SKOLNICK CITY HALL REPORTER YOUNGSTOWN — The city's litter control coordinator facing a charge of litter on his property could have settled the matter if he'd cleaned up the mess, says a deputy city law director who handles housing court issues. George A. Finnerty III, the city's litter control coordinator since 1985, was supposed to go on trial Thursday in front of Judge Robert Milich of Youngstown Municipal Court. Finnerty first appeared July 13 in court on the charge. At the time, Finnerty and Anthony Farris, the deputy city law director who handles housing court issues, said they had an understanding that the cleanup would be finished by his second court appearance Thursday. If a person facing a misdemeanor count of litter in housing court cleans up his property, the case is typically dismissed as long as the person acknowledges that there was probable cause for the charge, Farris said. If a person is working toward cleaning up the property and it isn't done by the second court date, he is typically found guilty of the charge, but it is later dismissed after the cleanup is finished, Farris added. Instead, Finnerty asked for his case to be continued so his brother, Greg, an attorney in Columbus, could represent him in court. Judge Milich agreed to reset the case for Sept. 21. But the judge assigned John Laczko to serve as Finnerty's attorney if the litter control coordinator's brother doesn't show up for the trial. What's in dispute Farris said there is a dispute regarding the amount of cleanup Finnerty has done to his Howard Street home on the city's South Side. After the court appearance, Finnerty said, "I think I've done about 90 percent" of the cleanup, but the Mahoning County Sheriff Department's litter control enforcement division puts that figure at 50 percent. Laczko insisted Finnerty stop talking to reporters about the case after his initial statement. Pictures taken by the sheriff's department last month show cardboard boxes, bricks, broken furniture, tires and trash on the porch and in the driveway of Finnerty's home. Finnerty said last month that he had some violations on his property, but he was addressing them. Deputy William Walker of the sheriff's department said Finnerty's house still needs to be cleaned up. Walker said Finnerty has garbage, junk and debris on his front porch and in a back shed as well as weeds around his house. Also, Finnerty needs to mow his lawn, Walker said. "He painted the house and is under the impression that was the problem," Walker said. "Our issue is the junk." Mayor Jay Williams recently gave Finnerty a verbal reprimand for getting charged with litter on his property, saying he wasn't setting a good example. The sheriff's department went to Finnerty's house after receiving a complaint from a neighbor, Walker said.