Cases unresolved in vendor probe

A janitorial supply company sued for payment on supplies provided in 2002.
By ED RUNYAN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A variety of cases in the Trumbull County purchasing probe were set for resolution this week and earlier -- but nothing was resolved.
Tuesday, former county vendor Barry Bonchek appeared for his sentencing hearing before Judge Andrew Logan of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court. The hearing was reset for 8:30 a.m. June 20.
Judge Logan said the reason for the new date is that the attorneys were not "on the same page" regarding what the plea agreement will say about Bonchek's sentence, and it appeared that the parties needed more time to resolve the issue.
That conclusion was reached Tuesday morning in the judge's chambers before court proceedings began for the day.
Bonchek, 63, of Aurora, a salesman for a chemical and maintenance product company in Cleveland, pleaded guilty in August 2004 to two misdemeanor counts of bribery and one of theft and agreed to pay $27,000 in restitution. Bonchek said in an affidavit that he paid thousands of dollars to be able to do business with Trumbull County.
Bonchek was one of several vendors charged when prosecutors discovered that former county maintenance director Tony Delmont was taking bribes in exchange for paying exorbitant prices for cleaning supplies and services. Delmont was sentenced to three years in prison but was deemed too ill to report.
Other cases
Another vendor's sentencing was delayed Monday. Daniel A. Donofrio III, 41, of Brookfield, is now set for sentencing at 8:30 a.m. Monday. Donofrio pleaded guilty to stealing about $12,000 from the county through the sale of two floor scrubbers to the county that were never located.
Chris Becker, an assistant county prosecutor, had also said in May that charges would be dropped against Linda Maiorana, former president of Lid Chem, in the coming weeks, after the conviction of her husband, Terry, on two misdemeanor theft charges May 15.
Becker said charges would be dropped because her role in the scandal was minimal -- that her husband was the primary perpetrator. She was due for a trial on her charges Monday. However, as of Tuesday, the charges had not been dropped and the case did not go forward.
The Maioranas, formerly of Canfield, were partners in Lid Chem and were convicted May 15 on felony charges relating to their company. No jail time was connected with those convictions, but there is a $10,000 fine.
Meanwhile, State Industrial Products Corp. of Cleveland filed suit recently in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court against the county. State Industrial seeks to be paid $2,133 it says it is owed for janitorial supplies delivered to the county in 2002.
Becker said the company was never paid for the supplies because the company had not cooperated with investigators during the purchasing probe. The company had been asked to provide data to show the fair market prices for the products, he said.
"As far as we're concerned, they didn't cooperate," Becker said.
Among the products delivered were Grease-B-Gone, citrus disinfectant aerosol, air fresheners for a restroom air freshener machine, and insect repellent. This case is assigned to Judge Peter Kontos.
runyan@vindy.com