Friday, July 20, 2012
Staff report
Youngstown
The Canfield man convicted of embezzling $1.3 million from Southwind Trucking Inc. wants out of prison early.
Atty. James Burdon of Akron filed a motion for judicial release Wednesday on behalf of his client Scott Adair.
Adair, 52, is serving four years in prison for convictions of aggravated grand theft, tampering with records, two counts of money laundering, complicity to theft and telecommunications fraud. He and his wife, Linda, 55, were convicted in June 2011 and sentenced in August for stealing more than $1 million from Southwind in Austintown. Adair was the business’s co-founder, and his wife worked for the company.
She was sentenced to four years’ probation and 200 hours of community service at a local rescue mission.
Kathy Caldwell, a Southwind employee, told The Vindicator on behalf of the company’s owner, Ric Barringer, that they found out about the filing Thursday morning.
Caldwell said several character statements on Adair’s behalf were included in the filing. She said Southwind management will turn in letters today opposing early release for Adair.
“Mr. Barringer continues to bear 100 percent of the repayment debt load created by [Scott] Adair’s heinous crime,” she said. “Judge D’Apolito gave him a four-year stated term, and we wish for him to serve it all.”
The motion requests a hearing before Mahoning County Common Pleas Court Judge Lou A. D’Apolito to determine whether Adair should be granted an early release. He’s served about a year of his sentence.
Judge D’Apolito hasn’t yet made a ruling on the request, and a hearing date is pending.