Probate judge applicants will undergo interviews

One of the applicants is a
former Youngstown police chief and law director.

SPECIAL TO THE VINDICATOR

COLUMBUS — All six applicants seeking to replace Mahoning County Probate Judge Timothy P. Maloney will be interviewed in person next week in Columbus.

Gov. Ted Strickland will make the decision.

Keith Dailey, spokesman for the governor, said Robert Edward Bush Jr., Andrew G. Bresko, James Lanzo, Richard William Machuga, Gary J. Philibin and Mark Allen Belinky will be interviewed Wednesday.

Bresko, 58, of Lake Milton, served as assistant city prosecutor in Youngstown from 1976-78 and municipal court referee/magistrate in Youngstown Municipal Court from 1981-2000, according to application documents.

Bush, 60, of Youngstown, is chief of the criminal section in the Mahoning County prosecutor’s office. From 2002-06, he was the city’s police chief, and from 1998-2002, he was the city law director.

Lanzo, 62, of Struthers, has served as a judge in Struthers Municipal Court since 1994 and maintained a private practice since 1972.

Machuga, 46, of Youngstown, has maintained a private law practice since 1987 and has been a magistrate in Mahoning County Probate Court since 1997, according to documents.

Philibin, 57, of Youngstown, has served as a magistrate in Mahoning County Probate Court since 1993 and maintained a private law practice since 1987, according to documents.

Belinky, 55, of Youngstown, has served as a law clerk for the city of Youngstown and the state’s 7th District Court of Appeals, according to documents.

Judge Maloney is retiring, effective Nov. 30. After the in-person interviews, a panel will recommend finalists to the governor. Strickland is expected to name a replacement shortly thereafter.