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Federal conspiracy case plea change set
YOUNGSTOWN
A convenience-store owner is scheduled for a change of plea next month in a federal criminal-conspiracy case in which he was indicted along with two local lawyers.
Mohd Rawhneh, 54, of Boardman is scheduled for the change-of-plea hearing at 10 a.m. May 16 before chief U.S. District Court Judge Solomon Oliver Jr. in Cleveland.
The court docket does not say whether Rawhneh will plead guilty or no contest, which charge or charges he’ll plead to, or whether he has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors against his co-defendants in exchange for a prosecution recommendation of leniency in sentencing.
Mike Tobin, public-information officer for the U.S. attorney’s office, and Mark S. Bennett, an assistant U.S. attorney prosecuting the case, declined to comment on the matter Wednesday.
Rawhneh is charged with two counts of violating the Hobbs Act and one count of conspiracy to tamper with a witness, victim or informant.
The Hobbs Act count alleges extortion by the wrongful use of actual or threatened force, violence or fear.
The maximum penalty is 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000
Rawhneh and Atty. Scott Cochran , 43, of Austintown, and Atty. Neal Atway, 47, of Youngstown, previously had pleaded not guilty to the charges. Atway and Cochran are scheduled for a jury trial beginning Nov. 5.
Cochran’s lawyer, Lynn A. Maro, who said she first heard of Rawhneh’s planned plea change from a reporter, said she couldn’t comment on its significance for her client.
Maro also said she is still receiving evidence from the prosecution and that her client won’t be able to decide whether he wants to go to trial until the defense reviews the evidence.
Atway and Cochran, who are partners in the downtown Youngstown law firm bearing their names, are charged with two counts each of violating the Hobbs Act; two counts each of conspiracy to tamper with a witness, victim or informant; and one count each of making false statements to law enforcement.
Conspiracy to tamper with a witness, victim or informant also carries a potential 20-year prison term.
Making false statements to law enforcement carries five to eight years in prison upon conviction.
Cochran is a former president of the Mahoning County Bar Association.
The lawyers are charged with trying to extort money for Rawhneh from another convenience-store owner, Charles B. Muth, 42, of Canfield, a defendant in criminal cases, who was being represented by Atway and Cochran.
In a federal case, Muth got five months in prison for growing 100 marijuana plants in his home.
In a state case, Muth was sentenced to 18 months in prison in a Dec. 28, 2011, shooting at the Boardman home of Rawhneh’s ex-wife, in which nobody was injured. At that time, Muth was having a business dispute with Rawhneh.
The federal indictment says Rawhneh and Atway led Muth to believe that unless Rawhneh received money and property from Muth and Muth’s stores, Rawhneh would appear at Muth’s sentencings and communicate facts to the courts that could result in Muth’s receiving harsher sentences.
Atway and Cochran are charged with lying to FBI agents investigating the case.