Kasich appoints Rusu to Probate Court bench

COLUMBUS — Gov. John Kasich has appointed Robert Rusu of Canfield to the vacant Mahoning County Probate Court judicial seat today.

That was confirmed by county Republican Party Chairman Mark Munroe.

Rusu is also running for the seat as an independent on the November general election ballot. This is his first time running for elected office.

The county Republican Party recommended three finalists to Kasich, a Republican, on April 15.

The two others were Mary Ann Fabrizi of Berlin Center, who’s also running as an independent candidate for probate judge, and Christopher Sammarone of Canfield.

Sammarone lost the Democratic primary last month by 200 votes to Susan Maruca of Poland. Maruca had sought the appointment, but the county GOP chose not to recommend her.

Rusu will serve the unexpired term of Mark Belinky, a Democrat, who resigned March 14 while under criminal investigation. He was found guilty on May 8 of a felony count of tampering with records. Belinky’s term expires in February 2015.

Also, with the pending retirement of Judge James C. Evans of county common pleas court on Sept. 1, Mahoning Republicans are asking those interested in succeeding him to contact them for a copy of an application packet at mahoning.co.gop@gmail.com. The deadline to submit an application to replace the judge is June 30.

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