Judge finds man guilty of cutting city trees

The Youngstown man faces up to six months in jail and a 1,000 fine.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A municipal court judge found a city man guilty of a first-degree misdemeanor for cutting down trees on an East Side property without the city's permission.
Ron Eiselstein, 46, of Fifth Avenue pleaded no contest to harvesting timber without a permit at his Monday arraignment on the charge. Judge Robert A. Douglas Jr. found Eiselstein guilty and set his sentencing date for Jan. 3.
A first-degree misdemeanor conviction carries a maximum sentence of six months in jail and a 1,000 fine.
City officials say during the first week of October, Eiselstein cut down 30 cherry and oak trees worth at least 1,800 on city-owned property on the lower South Side without permission. The city allowed Eiselstein to keep the trees.
A short time later, Eiselstein cut trees on an East Side property with the owner's permission, but without a city permit to harvest timber.
As part of a plea agreement with the city, Eiselstein pleaded no contest Monday to the charge related to the East Side tree harvest.
The city has the option to seek payment for the 30 city-owned trees through a civil suit. As of Monday, the city hadn't filed a civil suit.
After the court appearance, Eiselstein declined to comment except to say he believed this was the end of the harvesting issue with the city. He referred further comment to his attorney, Alden Chevlen, who couldn't be reached Monday.
Hearing in Boardman
Eiselstein has a pretrial hearing today in Mahoning County Court in Boardman. He is charged in Boardman with cutting down trees and taking the wood from a property on Beech Avenue without the owner's permission.
Last month, a misdemeanor theft charge filed by Boardman police against Eiselstein was dismissed. He was accused of cutting down three township-owned trees.
skolnick@vindy.com