Oakhill pretrial hearing uneventful

CLEVELAND — The first pretrial for Youngstown Mayor John A. McNally, Mahoning County Auditor Michael Sciortino and attorney Martin Yavorcik — facing 83 political corruption charges — was quick and uneventful.

Attorneys for McNally and Sciortino participated in the hearing today by phone while Yavorcik’s attorneys, Jennifer Scott and William Summers, were in chambers along with lawyers from the Ohio Attorney General and Cuyahoga County Prosecutor offices.

Judge Janet R. Burnside of Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, who is overseeing the cases, set the next pretrial date for 9 a.m. June 20, said Sandra Kormos, her bailiff.

Today’s hearing lasted about 20 to 30 minutes, and the main topic was getting discovery evidence to the defendants’ attorneys, Kormos said.

“The next hearing will be to determine if everyone is receiving discovery,” she said.

No trial date has been set yet.

The three are charged with engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, conspiracy, bribery, money laundering and tampering with records.

The indictment accuses McNally, during his time as a Mahoning County commissioner, Sciortino and Yavorcik of being in a criminal enterprise that traded money and other financial benefits for political favors, lied under oath to protect business interests, and agreed to fix legal cases. The three say they’re innocent of the charges.

For the complete story, read Friday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com