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Only 1 of 3 U.S. judge finalists hails from Mahoning Valley
YOUNGSTOWN — A judicial advisory committee has recommended three finalists to replace U.S. District Court Judge Peter C. Economus, but only one is from the Mahoning Valley.
That one is Judge Gene Donofrio of the Youngstown-based Ohio 7th District Court of Appeals, which serves eight counties including Mahoning and Columbiana. Judge Donofrio of Canfield, a member of the court since February 1993, couldn’t be reached late Wednesday by The Vindicator for comment.
The judge also had a private law practice for 14 years and served as an assistant prosecutor for Youngstown and Mahoning County.
Mahoning County Democratic Party Chairman David Betras, an attorney, said he’s concerned that only one of the three finalists is from the Valley.
“We hope and pray [U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown] picks Gene Donofrio because he’s got strong ties to the Valley,” said Betras, who emphasizes he has a great deal of respect for the senator. “I’d feel a whole lot better if all three were from the Valley. I’m shocked that only one local made the cut. They were all great choices.”
Brown, a Democrat from Avon, will interview the three finalists in the coming weeks and recommend one to President Barack Obama, said Meghan Dubyak, a spokesman for the senator. Brown will consult with U.S. Sen. George V. Voinovich, a Republican from Cleveland, before making a final decision, Dubyak said.
The nominee must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Brown has a much stronger voice in the selection process than Voinovich because both he and Obama are Democrats.
There were 21 applicants for the job that pays $174,000 annually. Brown’s office has declined to name the other applicants besides the three finalists.
But The Vindicator learned the names of a number of the candidates. All but one are Democrats.
Among the local applicants were: Judge R. Scott Krichbaum of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, a Republican; Judge Cynthia Rice of the Warren-based 11th District Court of Appeals; Robert Shaker, who has a private practice in Niles and for the past 15 years has served as an acting judge; and Martin Hume, an assistant Mahoning County prosecutor.
“I’m most surprised that Judge Krichbaum and Shaker didn’t make the cut,” Betras said.
Attempts late Wednesday by the newspaper to contact Judge Rice, Judge Krichbaum and Shaker were unsuccessful.
Hume said he was disappointed to not be among the finalists. He was interviewed Monday by the 17-member judicial advisory committee selected by Brown and Voinovich.
“I still feel in my heart that I’m the best candidate, but I respect the process,” he said. “Judge Donofrio is very qualified for the job. I’d like to see someone from the Mahoning Valley get the position.”
Hume doesn’t know the two other finalists.
Judge Economus goes to senior status Friday. That means he’ll remain a federal judge, but work significantly fewer hours for his $174,000 annual salary.
The concern of Betras, Hume and others in the Valley is that Judge Economus’ replacement could practice out of other courthouses in the Northern District of Ohio — Cleveland, Akron or Toledo — leaving the Thomas D. Lambros Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in downtown Youngstown without a full-time judge.
“By picking a Valley resident, that will help keep the judge and the court in Youngstown,” Betras said.
The two other finalists are:
• Geoffrey Mearns of Shaker Heights, dean of Cleveland-Marshall College of Law since July 2005. Before that he spent seven years in private practice, and nine years as a prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice. In the latter position, Mearns helped convict Terry Nichols, one of the two men convicted for bombing a federal building in Oklahoma City.
He represented J.J. Cafaro, executive vice president of the Cafaro Co., a family-run real estate development company, and Cafaro’s daughter, Capri, now the Senate minority leader, during the 2002 federal corruption probe of then-U.S. Rep. James A. Traficant Jr. J.J. Cafaro pleaded guilty to conspiracy to provide an unlawful gratuity to Traficant and served no prison time in exchange for cooperating with federal prosecutors. Traficant was found guilty of 10 felony counts and is to be released from federal prison in September after serving seven years.
Capri Cafaro wasn’t called as a witness during Traficant’s trial. But she did testify on behalf of the government in the trial of Richard Detore, Traficant’s co-defendant, who was found not guilty of conspiring with the former congressman.
• U.S. Magistrate Benita Pearson of Solon. She was appointed as a magistrate, based in Akron, in August 2008.
Before that, she was an assistant U.S. attorney, specializing in investigating and prosecuting white-collar corruption cases involving public officials.
Her most notable case was against investment manager Mark D. Lay, sentenced in July 2008 to 12 years in federal prison for his role in a $213 million investment fraud at the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation.
skolnick@vindy.com