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Oakhill prosecutors may use 700 hours of secretly recorded conversations
Oakhill - Notice of Intention for Recordings
Document
State's Notice of Intention to use evidence in the form of recordings in case no. CR-585428 State of Ohio vs. John McNally.
CLEVELAND — Prosecutors in the Oakhill Renaissance Place criminal conspiracy case say they may use about 700 hours of secretly-recorded conversations — both telephone calls and in-person — made by at least three confidential sources between Oct. 18, 2005, and Aug. 6, 2010, according to a court filing.
The state had already provided attorneys for the defense — Youngstown Mayor John A. McNally, Mahoning County Auditor Michael V. Sciortino and Atty. Martin Yavorcik — with 576 hours of tapes in August.
In the latest filing, the state wrote: “It is important to note that these are not all of the recordings that the state has provided to the defense in discovery.”
The filing, submitted by Daniel Kasaris, a senior assistant Ohio attorney general and special assistant prosecutor on this case, lists dates and locations of dozens of recordings from Oct. 18, 2005, to Aug. 6, 2010.
The locations of the recordings include a number of restaurant still in business — Royal Oaks Bar & Grill, Davidson’s Restaurant, and Charlie Staples Bar-B-Q in Youngstown, O’Charley’s in Niles; Panera Bread in Austintown, Kravitz Deli in Liberty as well as fast-food restaurants — and those out of business — Anthony’s on the River, Cafe Cimmento, Coconut Grove, Cedar Lounge & Restaurant, Rosetta Stone, and the Bean Counter in Youngstown.
The other locations include the Mahoning County Courthouse, the county board of elections, various polling places in Youngstown, inside cars, Yavorcik’s law office, and various other offices not specified.
The filing states “Confidential Human Source 3” recorded telephone calls with Richard Goldberg between March 22, 2007, and Dec. 16, 2008.
Prosecutors have previously said Goldberg, a felony and former lawyer, worked on Yavorcik’s failed 2008 independent campaign for county prosecutor.
Also, “Confidential Human Source 1” made “a number of recordings in-person,” according to the filing.
The filing listed that source talking to Yavorcik “and others” on July 7, 2007, at Anthony’s; Aug. 4, 2007, at Anthony’s with Goldberg, “Businessman 2 and others;” Don L. Hanni Jr.’s law office with Goldberg and Yavorcik; and Dec. 17, 2008, at Cafe 422 in Warren with James Tsagaris, a former Trumbull County commissioner convicted in 2009 for honest services mail-fraud for taking $36,551 from an area businessman while he was in office and not reporting it on state financial disclosure statements. Tsagaris, a Democrat, has been mentioned in previous documents related to the Oakhill indictments.
Yavorcik, McNally and Sciortino — the latter two are Democrats — are facing 83 total charges including engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, conspiracy, bribery, perjury, money laundering and tampering with records.
The three have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The indictment contends McNally, Sciortino and Yavorcik, along with others, were part of a criminal enterprise that conspired to keep the Mahoning County Job and Family Services department at Cafaro’s Garland Plaza on Youngstown’s East Side.