Judge withdraws from case

Staff report

Youngstown

Judge R. Scott Krichbaum of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court has stepped down from hearing the embezzlement case against Scott and Linda Adair.

Adair, 50, and his wife, 52, are accused of embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from former employer Southwind Trucking Inc. of Austintown between March 1, 2004, and Oct. 31, 2007.

The couple objected to Judge Krichbaum’s presiding over the case after he disclosed during an April 1 pretrial hearing that he is acquainted with the alleged victim, Ric Barringer, Scott Adair’s business partner at the company.

On April 5, the Adairs’ attorney Damian Billak asked Judge Krichbaum to step down.

Billak and Prosecutor Ken Cardinal weren’t available to comment Tuesday.

The case was reassigned by Administrative Judge Maureen A. Sweeney to Judge Lou A. D’Apolito’s court.

They are scheduled for a pretrial hearing at 2 p.m. May 12.