Judge finds former YSU union official not guilty of menacing charge

YOUNGSTOWN — A judge has found Ivan Maldonado, a former Youngstown State University union official, not guilty of a misdemeanor charge of menacing.

Maldonado, 41, of Boardman, had his trial today, and Judge Robert Douglas of Youngstown Municipal Court, issued his ruling near 2 p.m.

Maldonado, former president of YSU’s Association of Classified Employees union, is accused of making a threatening telephone call to another YSU employee in March 2009.

But the judge said before making his ruling, “Even the victim testified that there was no direct personal threat.”

A menacing charge states that the defendant knowingly caused the victim to believe the defendant would cause physical harm to the victim or the victim’s property.

“The threat was not physical harm,” the judge said.

Atty. J. Gerald Ingram, representing Maldonado, commended the judge for “the thoughtful ferreting out of the facts of this case.”

For the complete story, see Tuesday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com