Adairs retain separate attorneys in employer-embezzlement case

Photo

Scott Adair

Photo

Linda Adair

Staff report

Youngstown

Scott and Linda Adair, accused of embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars, have retained new counsel to represent them at trial.

The Canfield couple appeared Thursday for a pre-trial hearing in front of Judge Lou A. D’Apolito, of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.

They are accused of embezzling from former employer South-wind Truck-ing Inc. of Austintown between March 1, 2004, and Oct. 31, 2007.

Judge D’Apolito said Scott Adair, 50, and his wife, Linda, 52, asked Damian Billak to step down as their joint attorney. Judge D’Apolito said at a pretrial in May that one lawyer representing two clients in the same case could cause conflict of interest.

“Each client has since retained private counsel,” D’Apolito said.

As a result, another pre-trial hearing was scheduled for Aug. 18 to give the new attorneys time to review close to 11,000 pages of documented evidence and authenticate as much as possible.

Prosecutor Kenneth Cardinal said having those records authenticated will save about two weeks’ worth of testimony during the trial.