Probe of disposal of property in Mahoning County lacking

“Who was minding the store?” We direct the question at Mahoning County government officials in the hope that someone will have the decency to step forward and answer, “No one” — with regard to the controversial disposal of county property from Oakhill Renaissance Place, the former Southside Medical Center complex.

And when that person makes such an admission, we trust he or she will then concede that the investigation into the removal of metal furnishings from Oakhill was sloppy, at best, and that the probe must continue.

Granted, it won’t be easy getting to the bottom of this case, seeing as how the central character is dead and two officials from the county involved in the disposal of the furnishings are no longer on the public payroll.

Nonetheless, questions that have arisen since the results of the initial investigation were detailed in a front page story in The Vindicator on April 19 must be answered — so taxpayers can rest assured that no county government officials benefitted.

Our dissatisfaction with the probe’s outcome stems from the fact that 3,980 pounds of stainless steel was sold for $2,606 — at a time when stainless steel scrap metal prices were near their peak. The money was paid to the late Joseph T. Yaksich of Lowellville, an inmate of the county jail assigned to a work detail, by U.S. Trading Inc. Yaksich was assigned to assist in the removal of the items from the former Forum Health Southside Hospital. He also sold items to Diver-Steel City Auto Crusher Inc., but the investigation did not reveal how much money was paid to him there.

Yaksich said he moved the stainless steel items in a friend’s pickup truck, and had authorization from then Deputy John DeMart, who supervised the work detail, and Kurt Bucheit, the county’s project manager at the time.

DeMart retired on disability in 2007 — the disposal occurred between April 3 and 10 of that year — and Bucheit resigned last month.

County Prosecutor Paul Gains insists the items sold by the inmate were scrap and weren’t worth much, which is why a public auction would not have been practical.

Public auction

The idea that Yaksich did county government a favor is laughable. Does anyone believe that an auction of at least two tons of metal furnishings would not have attracted bidders?

Thus the question: Did Bucheit take it upon himself to authorize the removal of the property, or was he instructed to do so by someone in the county administration building?

Gains also says there was no bribery of county officials, but the results of the investigation are inconclusive on the question of whether any county officials personally benefitted from the disposal of the property.

Yaksich said he shared the proceeds from the sale with another inmate, but that no county official received any of the money.

But what happened to stainless steel counter tops and steel cabinets that were in the buildings when county government took possession of the complex?

The investigation also did not address the issue of Forum Health, the original owner of Southside Hospital, which retained ownership of equipment and other property it deemed valuable.

There have been persistent reports that 300 hospital beds were left behind. What happened to them?

The reason we ask is that the Rev. Terrence Hazel, pastor of St. Michael Church in Canfield, had been offered the beds for use in an orphanage in Haiti that the church sponsors through the Food For The Poor organization.

Food For The Poor had agreed to send a truck to Youngstown to pick up the beds and would have paid to ship them to Haiti.

Father Hazel said last week the deal never materialized.

As for state laws pertaining to the disposal of government-owned property, did no one in the county recall that a former facilities director got into trouble for taking away unused window air conditioners?