Former motel owner gets two years of probation

The former owner of two Canfield motels is sentenced to two years of probation after pleading guilty to a charge of promoting prostitution.

Arthur Klein, 68, was sentenced Thursday before Judge Lou A. D’Apolito in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.

Sentencing came two months after Klein pleaded guilty to the felony charge that stemmed from an investigation led by the Canfield Police Department in 2009. Police checked into allegations of crimes related to prostitution at Klein’s former properties, the El Patio Motel, 485 W. Main St.; and the Canfield Colonial Motel, 7815 Akron-Canfield Road.

Five former employees from the motels also pleaded guilty to related crimes in 2009.

“When you own a property all the things that flow from that become the ownership of that person,” Judge D’Apolito said. “I believe you’ve suffered economically as well as in your reputation to the community, and the embarrassment is punishment in itself.”

Read more in Friday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com