Judge OKs funds for family of arson victims

By Ed Runyan

It would be ‘fraudulent’ to give the money to just two of the four Crawford children, the judge said.

YOUNGSTOWN — Judge Mark A. Belinky of Mahoning County Probate Court has ruled that the four surviving children of fire victim Carol Crawford be awarded 15 to 35 percent of the $18,000 formerly under the control of a Youngstown nonprofit foundation and future distributions.

Judge Belinky, in a ruling released Monday, said Julius Crawford, 17, who escaped from the Jan. 23 fire at 1645 Stewart Ave. that killed six of his relatives, should receive 35 percent, as should his sister, Retia Crawford, 19.

Carol Crawford’s other children, Conovis Crawford, who is an inmate in Belmont Correctional Institute, and Shannon Crawford, who lives in a group home and suffers from spinal bifida, will each get 15 percent.

Judge Belinky said donation requests made to the public after the fire were for the Crawford family, so it would be wrong to exclude Conovis and Shannon.

He said giving the donations to just Retia and Julius “would be fraudulent and not in keeping with the intent of the many donors who contributed the money.”

The fire killed six members of the Crawford family: Carole, her daughter, Jennifer R. Crawford, 23, and Jennifer’s four children, Ranaisha, 8, Jeannine, 5, Aleisha, 3, and Brandon, 2.

In a March 28 hearing before Judge Belinky, Tabitha Hunter of McGuffey Road, president of the Progressing Foundation, said she sought donations for Retia and Julius Crawford and didn’t know there were two others siblings.

Judge Belinky said Conovis Crawford and Shannon Crawford have lower daily living expenses than Retia and Julius, so they should get less than the other two.

The judge froze all the Crawford accounts in National City Bank and Chase Bank in early February and scheduled a hearing because of questions about the Progressing Foundation’s activities.

The foundation raised about $28,525 for the family as of late March and distributed about $10,000 of it for a car, funeral expenses and living and relocation expenses for Retia and Julius.

There was another $63,000 in a guardianship account in NCB as of late March, which also will be subject to the 35 and 15 percent distributions, Judge Belinky said.

In total, around $120,000 has been donated for the family so far, Judge Belinky said. About $20,000 was spent on funeral expenses, and additional amounts were distributed to Retia and Crawford.

Of the money still with the Progressing Foundation in late March — about $18,000 — Retia will get $6,200, Julius will get $6,200, Conovis will get $2,600 and Shannon will get $2,600.

Of the total amount collected by the Progressing Foundation — around $28,500 — Retia previously received $12,405, and Julius received $7,531. That amount will be counted toward distributions made later, Judge Belinky said.

In his judgment entry, Judge Belinky said the Progressing Foundation was not following all federal and state laws. For instance, the foundation never registered with the Ohio Attorney General’s office as a charitable trust, he said.

The trust also operated in a “very loose and informal manner” with regard to the money it distributed to Retia and Julius before the freeze on the bank funds, Judge Belinky said. With no board of trustees, treasurer or secretary, the group lacks oversight, the judge added.

Federal laws require the trust to operate exclusively for charitable purposes, yet it bought a vehicle for nearly $4,874 and placed it in the name of Gwendolyn McCall, grandmother of Retia’s fiance.

Retia and Julius are living with Retia’s fianc , Jerome Turner, in an apartment on Dupont Street in Youngstown, the judge’s ruling said. Retia testified at the March 28 hearing the car was titled to McCall because Retia doesn’t have a driver’s license, but she was confident McCall would transfer the title to her later.

Michael A. Davis, 18, of Bennington Avenue, is charged with setting the fire that killed the six Crawford family members under a 29-count aggravated murder and aggravated arson indictment with death-penalty specifications. His trial is set for Oct. 6.