Judge denies ex-defendants’ request to seal court records in Oakhill case
YOUNGSTOWN
A visiting judge has overruled a request by several former defendants to seal court records in the now-dismissed Oakhill Renaissance Place criminal conspiracy case.
The sealing would have kept the records from public view.
“Given that there is an ongoing investigation, it is important that it not be impeded by restrictions imposed by a sealing order,” wrote Judge William H. Wolff Jr. of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court in his Monday ruling. “An unfettered investigation is in the public interest,” he added.
Without presenting any of his own witnesses or being specific, David Muhek, an assistant Lorain County prosecutor and a special prosecutor in the Oakhill case, said in a hearing earlier this month that sealing the case could hinder “an ongoing investigation” because it is a fourth-degree misdemeanor to disclose information from a sealed official record.
“There is no accusation before the court, and there should be no accusation before the public,” countered Martin Weinberg, lawyer for Anthony M. Cafaro Sr., former president of the Cafaro Co. Anthony Cafaro and the company bearing his name are former defendants.
The Cafaro defendants and John Zachariah, former Mahoning County Job and Family Services director, sought the sealing to protect what they said were their privacy interests.
“The privacy interests of the defendants are outweighed by a legitimate governmental need to keep the records unsealed,” Judge Wolff wrote.
Judge Wolff had dismissed the case July 11 without prejudice, meaning the charges could be refiled.
The judge dismissed it at the request of the special prosecutors, who said they couldn’t proceed because the FBI refused to provide tape recordings necessary for pretrial evidence sharing with the defense.
“Accordingly, the court is satisfied that there is an ongoing investigation involving some, if not all, of the defendants seeking sealing of the records,” the judge wrote.
The judge found, however, that “no criminal proceedings are pending against these defendants.”
In the dismissed Oakhill case, five people and three companies were charged with conspiring to impede JFS’ move from Cafaro Co.-owned rented quarters to the county-owned Oakhill.
The county bought Oakhill in 2006 and moved JFS there the following year. Oakhill is the former Forum Health Southside Medical Center.
“We’re disappointed, but John has moved on, and this is a footnote in his otherwise exemplary life of public service,” said Zachariah’s lawyer, Roger Synenberg.
“Since 99 percent of the case file has previously been released to the public, this ruling by the court has very little practical effect,” said Joe Bell, director of corporate communications for the Cafaro Co.
“We appreciate the court’s ruling. It noted the futility of the defendants’ motion, given that all of the information was already part of the public record,” said Marion H. Little Jr., lawyer for The Vindicator and 21 WFMJ-TV, which opposed sealing the case records.
The only documents that will remain sealed will be the bills of particulars detailing the charges against those that were accused of conspiracy and a small section of a prosecutors’ memorandum, which the judge said might bias potential trial jurors.
However, if the Ohio Supreme Court grants the newspaper and TV station’s request that those documents also be made public, Judge Wolff said he’ll obey the state’s top court.
“As a practical matter, the defendants would gain little, if anything, from a sealing order. Except for the documents the court has kept under seal, the entire court record in this case is in the public domain,” Judge Wolff observed.