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Austintown man indicted in heroin-overdose death
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
YOUNGSTOWN
An Austintown man has been indicted on an involuntary-manslaughter charge after a college senior to whom he reportedly sold heroin died of an overdose of that drug.
A Mahoning County grand jury indicted James M. Fortunato Jr., 23, of Nottingham Avenue, on the manslaughter charge in the Nov. 27 death of Gino S. Mancuso, 21, who was a senior at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.
Fortunato also is charged with trafficking in heroin and complicity to possession of heroin, with those offenses reportedly having occurred Nov. 25. If convicted of all charges, he faces three to 13 years in prison.
Mancuso, whose obituary said he would have received his bachelor’s degree in computer-information systems this year, was found dead by his parents in their Austintown residence the morning after Thanksgiving.
He had graduated first in his class at Austintown Fitch High School in 2006 with a 4.0 grade-point average. A two-year letterman in cross country, he also was named to the Federal League All Scholar Team in 2006.
Mancuso injected himself with a lethal overdose of the heroin he had bought from Fortunato, said Martin P. Desmond, an assistant county prosecutor assigned to the county drug task force.
The case sends a stern warning to anyone engaged in illegal drug activity, Desmond said. “If you participate in illegal activity, and that causes or results in someone else’s death, you’re going to be held liable,” Desmond said.
Also indicted Thursday by the grand jury in a different case was Carol C. Spano, 49, of Pinecrest Road, Girard, who is charged with aggravated theft.
Police said Spano took more than $100,000 from an elderly Mahoning County man between Aug. 1, 2005, and May 5, 2009. If convicted, she faces three to 10 years in prison.
Others indicted were:
Joseph J. Milliron, 45, of Maplewood Avenue, Struthers, cocaine possession.
Dayne F. Rambo, 46, of East Judson Avenue, three counts of theft.
John Habib, 45, of North Main Street, receiving stolen property and forgery.
Stanley Williams, 55, of East Judson Avenue, receiving stolen property and forgery.
George Wilkins III, 36, of McClure Street, Struthers, criminal simulation.
Jason R. Burns, 29, of Angiline Drive, Boardman, heroin possession, misuse of a credit card and three counts of drug possession.
Juan M. Phillips, 26, of Thornton Avenue, carrying concealed weapons.
Dennis Wilson, 25, of Brooklyn Avenue, receiving stolen property.
Antoinette Anderson, 44, of Miami Avenue, misdemeanor falsification.
Sereice Harris, 27, of Mahoning Avenue, failure to stop after an accident.
Eric S. Crislip, 22, of Kenyon Drive, Southeast, Warren, heroin possession.
Luz E. Fragosa-Franklin, 38, of Fruit Street, cocaine and heroin possession with forfeiture specifications.
Daniel P. McCarthy, 40, of Woodgate Street, drug possession and failure to comply with a police order.
Richard M. Cummings, 24, of Volney Road, two counts of felonious assault.
Marianna R. Bujdoso, 38, of Deer Spring Run, Canfield, burglary.
Justine K. Hennon, 41, of Fifth Street, Struthers, theft.
Richard S. Cummings, 37, of Old Shay Lane, Boardman, domestic violence.
Aundre Scrutchen, 20, of Shields Road, Boardman, robbery and aggravated robbery with firearm specifications.
Kevon Williams, 19, of Ohio Avenue, cocaine and heroin possession with forfeiture specifications.
Gregory Curry, 45, of the Ohio State Penitentiary, felonious assault on three corrections officers.
William L. DeCola, 25, of Mahoning County jail, assault on a deputy sheriff.