YSU payroll scandal trial begins

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Maldonado

YSU payroll scandal trial begins

YOUNGSTOWN

Ivan Maldonado did not benefit financially from the crimes he committed while he worked at Youngstown State University, but his offenses were “hate crimes” against his employer, a prosecutor said.

“He just hated his employer and would do all he could to make its life miserable,” said Robert E. Bush Jr., during his opening statement on Monday in Maldonado’s criminal bench trial in the YSU payroll scandal.

Maldonado’s lawyer, J. Gerald Ingram, said his client is innocent, however.

“The testimony and evidence will establish that there’s nothing improper or criminal,” Ingram said. “The evidence will require verdicts of not guilty on all counts.”

A Mahoning County grand jury indicted Maldonado, 44, of Euclid Boulevard, a former university payroll assistant and former president of the Association of Classified Employees union at YSU, on 10 counts of theft, two counts each of falsification and theft in office and one count each of tampering with records and grand theft.

The charges, which cover the period from 1998 to 2009, pertain to alleged illegal manipulation of tuition remission, a wage garnishment, and Ohio Public Employees Retirement System credit.