Ex-prosecutor was good man who gave in to greed

BERTRAM DE SOUZA

While James A. Philomena’s memorial will reflect the loving husband and father that he was, the words that will forever be etched in the psyche of Mahoning County are these: “Justice For Sale.”

For that is the political legacy of a man who had everything going for him as a top criminal lawyer and a county prosecutor, but sold it all for so many pieces of gold.

It has been said that we shouldn’t speak ill of the dead, but Philomena, who died over the weekend, has left us with no choice. He, along with several judges and a sheriff, turned the criminal justice system in Mahoning County into a Third World bazaar, where there was a price list for selling justice. Want a third DUI charge to become a first-offense reckless operation? $10,000.

Lest anyone think this is an exaggeration, consider the former prosecutor’s own words when he was sentenced on state bribery and perjury charges:

“I’ve helped pollute the Mahoning Valley, and I feel I must cleanse it. I’ve embarrassed my friends and family and the voters who voted for me. I betrayed justice.”

Federal sentence

The sentencing occurred while Philomena was serving a four-year sentence in the federal penitentiary for his guilty plea to bribery charges stemming from his role in a case-fixing scheme that involved an assistant county prosecutor, defense lawyers and a county court judge. He was subsequently indicted on 15 state charges relating to case-fixing and agreed to plead guilty to three counts of bribery and one count of perjury. Prosecutors agreed to drop 11 charges.

In 2003, Philomena filed a motion to be spared a two-year stay in state prison, but Visiting Judge Richard Markus refused, saying, “ ... his office discredited the criminal justice system.”

Markus added this significant observation: “Nowhere in his [Philomena’s] motion does he explain how he has attempted to rectify or how he intends to rectify any part of that damage.”

The shame of it all is that when Philomena was elected Mahoning County prosecutor, he was viewed by many, including this writer, as a much-needed break from this region’s political past. He was intelligent, skilled as a lawyer, personable and was, by any measure, one of the best-dressed officeholders in the region.

And he was a devoted Elvis Presley fan, to boot.

Indeed, he named his daughter Presley, and his office in the Mahoning County Courthouse was a shrine to The King.

But, for whatever reason, he could not stay on the straight and narrow.

Explanation fell short

In March 2006, after he was released from state prison, he appeared on “The Louie Free Show” on WASN Radio and attempted to explain his fall from grace.

His defense of his actions could be summed up thus: I was a good, dedicated prosecutor who genuinely believed in public service, but then this other character emerged who was bored with his career, and so a crooked officeholder was born.

His selling of justice just sort of happened, not once, not twice, but many times.

Philomena insisted that there is good man underneath the public persona of a criminal.

No, there was a good man — many years ago — who sat with this writer in the early days of his career as a politician, talking about wanting to do good for the people of Mahoning County, of demonstrating that justice can and should be blind, and of perhaps being rewarded one day with the public’s support for higher office.

But power can be corrupting — especially when there are individuals around you who stroke your ego and feed your greed.

In the end, James A. Philomena was no better than the common criminals he boasted about sending to prison. Indeed, he was worse, because he knew better.

Yes, we can mourn Philomena’s death, but let us not praise him.