Former Columbiana cop sentenced for theft

STAFF/WIRE REPORT

YOUNGSTOWN — An “ambivalent” witness and a general lack of cooperation has stalled the investigation into an alleged threat against Kelly Pavlik, Boardman police said.

Police have ended the investigation without making an arrest after middleweight boxing champion Pavlik’s complaint that a former sponsor threatened to shoot his hands so that he could not fight again.

Pavlik filed a police report June 30 with Boardman police. The boxer told police some associates warned him about the threat allegedly made by a former associate.

Capt. Jack Nichols said the investigation has been placed on hold until investigators receive new leads or more information.

“Our job is to establish probable cause and then arrest criminals, and there just doesn’t seem like there is a lot of information available in this situation,” Nichols said. “I would not say the case is closed, but it is definitely inactive at this point.”

Nichols said a third party told Pavlik that he has access to a voicemail in which the former associate made the threats against the boxer. That voicemail was never produced, so officers don’t know if it actually exists.

“If it exists or not, who really knows?” he said. “If the threat does exist, it amounts to a misdemeanor menacing.”

Officers did all they could do in the way of investigating the allegation, but the needed cooperation was not there, Nichols said.

“[Boardman detective] Steve Riwniak chased this down for two weeks. The witnesses would not call him back, and Kelly Pavlik did not call him back. [Riwniak] finally got a hold of the person who witnessed the alleged threat and that person was somewhat ambivalent about it and could not produce a source for the threat,” he said.

The police report indicated the man Pavlik accused of making the threat was Anthony Scandy, 38, of Calla Road, Poland. Neither Scandy nor his lawyer, Scott Cochran, could be reached for comment.

Pavlik, contacted at home Wednesday, said he had not heard about the case being deemed inactive. The boxing champion refused to make any additional comments on the matter until meeting with his attorney.

Pavlik previously has said he filed the report so that people would be aware of the threats. He had not heard any of the threats personally.

Last year, Pavlik filed a lawsuit in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court against Scandy. The suit is still pending with a trial date set for January.

In the 2007 civil suit, Pavlik asked the court to uphold the three-year contract among him, Scandy and another manager that expired May 12, 2007, and to prevent Scandy “from bringing any action against Pavlik for any claimed obligations” beyond that date.