Litter chief ticketed for litter offense

The city official admits his property needs to be cleaned.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The city's coordinator of litter control was hauled into court to answer a charge of litter on his property.
The Mahoning County Sheriff's Department filed the minor misdemeanor charge against George A. Finnerty III, 58, the litter control coordinator since 1985.
Pictures taken by the department show cardboard boxes, bricks, broken furniture, tires and trash on the porch and in the driveway of Finnerty's Howard Street house on the city's South Side.
In front of city Municipal Judge Robert Milich, who handles housing court issues, Anthony Farris, deputy city law director, said he is not looking to punish Finnerty.
The idea of housing court, Farris said, is to clean up properties.
"We have a clear understanding as to what needs to be done," Farris said.
The judge ordered Finnerty to return to his court at 1:30 p.m. Aug. 21 to make sure the garbage and other items are no longer on the litter control coordinator's property.
The department went to Finnerty's house after receiving a complaint from a neighbor, according to court documents.
Finnerty admits he "had some violations on my property," but found it unusual that the sheriff's department would issue him a ticket before giving him a warning.
Unspecified conflict
Finnerty said the ticket is part of a long-standing beef against him. He would not say what the problem is.
"It's a long story, and I can't talk about because it goes very deep," he said after his court appearance. "This is a way to get to me."
Finnerty, who earns $39,125 annually in his city job, said many of the problems in the sheriff's department citation are corrected. If it wasn't for the rain, all of the problems would be resolved now, he said.
When asked if he saw any irony in the litter control coordinator getting cited on a litter complaint, Finnerty said, "I'm not above the law, but a competent person would tell me about the problems first."
As the city's health department administrator, Judge Milich hired Finnerty in November 1975 as a public health inspector.