Trumbull assistant prosecutor retires

By Ed Runyan

He prosecuted two killers who were later executed for their crimes.

WARREN — Ken Bailey, who prosecuted hundreds of murder cases while working at the Mahoning County Prosecutor’s office, has retired after 12 years as an assistant prosecutor in Trumbull County.

Perhaps one of the most memorable cases he worked on as prosecutor was the conviction of Willie “Flip” Williams, who executed four men in Youngstown in 1991. Williams was later executed for his crimes.

Knowing that your work led to someone receiving a death sentence might be hard for some people, but Bailey said the cases he’s prosecuted have never made him question himself.

“Death-penalty cases pretty much jump out at you,” Bailey said. Williams was one of those people. “He killed 14 people we know of,” he said, including the four he was convicted of killing. One of the four was completely innocent.

“He was killed for no reason, except maybe that he could identify him,” Bailey said.

“You have people who are really bad people who do really bad things,” Bailey said. “Society has a right to be protected from predators.”

Bailey said he has always had a high standard for having evidence of guilt.

“One thing I don’t ever want to do is prosecute an innocent person,” he said.

Over the years, people have threatened to harm him for his work as a prosecutor. He doesn’t dwell on the threat, but he does have a concealed-carry permit to possess a gun and practices martial arts. He is working toward a brown belt in karate, which is one step below black belt, the highest level. Aerobic kickboxing also keeps him healthy, he noted.

“I figure with the weapons and karate, I would be OK,” he said.

Bailey, 64, a Cleveland-area native, who retired Dec. 31, said he’s taking a couple of months off in 2009 but doesn’t plan to become idle.

He is considering several options, including part-time legal work or something that would allow him to focus on his love of books.

Bailey began his legal career in 1967 as a legal-aid attorney and then served as a defense attorney from 1969-71.

After a break, he worked for the Portage County Prosecutor’s office from 1973-88, then migrated to Mahoning County from 1989-96.

He went to work for Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins in 1997. In all, his career as an assistant prosecuting attorney spanned 35 years.

Murder cases are among the highlights of his career, Bailey said.

Gangs infiltrated Youngstown starting around 1991, causing a dramatic spike in homicides. Bailey said there were so many homicide cases to try, he would be in trial for one murder while preparing for three more.

Judge R. Scott Krichbaum of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, who served as a defense attorney in murder cases Bailey prosecuted, said Bailey was a rarity in having served so many years as a prosecuting attorney.

“He has prosecutor’s blood running through his veins,” Krichbaum said, calling him a “prosecutor’s prosecutor.” Judge Krichbaum said Bailey was dedicated to his work, competent, fair and honest.

“I enjoyed him. I think he was what you want a prosecutor to be,” Judge Krichbaum said.

Bailey and fellow assistant prosecutor Brad Gessner handled murder cases for the Mahoning County Prosecutor’s office while Bailey worked there, but Bailey was known as the “murder prosecutor,” Judge Krichbaum said.

Among the other murderers Bailey prosecuted was Stephen Vrabel, who was convicted of killing his common-law wife and their 3-year-old daughter in their Struthers apartment in 1989. Vrabel was executed in 2004 for the crimes.

While working in Trumbull County, Bailey prosecuted killers such as Donna Roberts of Howland, who was convicted of conspiring with Nate Jackson in the killing of her ex-husband, Robert S. Fingerhut, in December 2001.

More recently, Bailey helped prosecute Irving Russ for leaving the scene of an accident in Niles in 2004 that caused the paralysis of 10-year-old Annie Lee of Howland, who died at age 13 of a brain infection.

“Ken has an exemplary record of dedication to the profession,” Watkins said. “He has been a good soldier and has worked all kinds of cases, and he always comes to court prepared,” Watkins said.

runyan@vindy.com