Sunday, October 26, 2014
There’s no moral equivalency between the actions of Mahoning County Auditor Michael V. Sciortino that have resulted in state criminal charges being filed against him and the inadvertent email blast to county employees by the campaign of Republican Ralph T. Meacham, who is challenging Democrat Sciortino in the Nov. 4 general election.
And yet, county Democratic Party Chairman David Betras and others of his political ilk tried last week to persuade the press and, by extension, the voters, that Meacham is guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors.
No, the political novice isn’t guilty of any criminal acts. By contrast, Sciortino, who is seeking a third four-year term, will certainly be in the dock in the not too distant future, defending himself against 16 felony counts and six misdemeanor counts for what Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty say was his participation in a criminal conspiracy to undermine county government’s purchase of Oakhill Renaissance Place, the former Southside Medical Center.
Puppet master
Sciortino, along with Mayor John A. McNally (relating to his tenure as a county commissioner), Youngstown Atty. Martin Yavorcik and others were supposedly the puppets in puppet master Anthony M. Cafaro Sr.’s grand scheme to block the Oakhill Renaissance purchase so the Cafaro Co.’s Garland Plaza on Youngstown’s East Side would remain the home of the county Job and Family Services agency.
The JFS had occupied space in Garland for more than 20 years and before the agency was relocated to Oakhill Renaissance the county had been shelling out more than $1 million a year.
Thus, when party Chairman Betras and others try to equate the criminal charges against Sciortino with the email blast from the Meacham campaign, there’s only one conclusion that can be drawn: Democrats are desperate because they can feel the political momentum shifting away from their candidate.
Meacham’s credentials — he is a certified public accountant and has a master’s degree in business administration, banking and finance — are tailor-made for the auditor’s position. Indeed, the auditor is the county’s chief financial officer, and Meacham has served as the chief operating officer of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
But it’s more than just credentials that should prompt voters in the predominantly Democratic Mahoning County to support the Republican challenger. Meacham offers the one thing that Sciortino can’t even begin to talk about: integrity.
The felony charges against Sciortino are one count each of money laundering and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, two counts each of conspiracy and bribery, four counts of tampering with records and six counts of perjury.
But there’s more that speaks to his character.
Last year, he spit the hook on a drunken-driving charge when a high-ranking member of the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Department stopped the arrest, which came after Sciortino failed a field sobriety test.
Commander Thomas Assion arrived on the scene, spoke to the officers and drove Sciortino home.
After details of the Good Samaritan act became public, Sheriff Jerry Greene sought an independent investigation, which concluded that Sciortino was impaired and that Assion had acted inappropriately. Assion was demoted to his previous rank of sergeant.
Incredulous chairman
Sciortino denied that he had sought any special treatment and when it was suggested by this writer and others that as a lawyer he had a responsibility to go strictly by the book, Betras, also a lawyer, reacted with incredulity.
Now, however, Sciortino has adopted the “I have sinned” ploy made famous by TV evangelist Jimmy Swaggart, who tearfully confessed to being with hookers.
Sciortino’s tearful admission to The Vindicator’s Editorial Board that he has a drinking problem stands in sharp contrast to his previous comments about being on medication the night of his arrest/no-arrest.
But his attempt to garner the sympathy vote won’t work. And neither will Betras’ attempt at moral equivalency with regard to Meacham’s campaign operatives sending emails to county employees soliciting contributions while they were at work.