Threatened at mall, warning at front door, Oakhill witness tells FBI

CLEVELAND

Prosecutors in the Oakhill Renaissance Place criminal corruption case provided details about threats made against a confidential witness — including finding a plastic rat at his home.

The prosecutors also objected to defendants’ attorneys wanting to share confidential information without disclosing who would see it.

In a 15-page filing Tuesday, Christopher Schroeder, an assistant Cuyahoga County prosecutor, wrote that a witness was verbally threatened while walking at Southern Park Mall in Boardman early on May 7, 2014. That’s exactly a week before prosecutors indicted Youngstown Mayor John A. McNally in his capacity as a former Mahoning County commissioner, county Auditor Michael V. Sciortino and attorney Martin Yavorcik.

The three face a combined 83 counts including engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, conspiracy, bribery, perjury, money laundering and tampering with evidence. They’ve pleaded innocent.

McNally, Sciortino and Yavorcik are accused of being part of a group that conspired illegally to impede or stop the move of the Mahoning County Department of Job and Family Services from the Cafaro Co.-owned Garland Plaza to Oakhill Renaissance Place, the former Forum Health South Side Center.

The witness, whose identity isn’t revealed, told an Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation special agent that a man, who he doesn’t know, approached him and initiated a conversation. The man talked about Anthony Cafaro Sr., the unindicted Businessman 1 in court documents, calling him “a good family man” and saying his family “does a lot of good things for the community.” He also mentioned that the first Oakhill case, dismissed in July 2011, “didn’t work out for some people.”

The man, dressed in business attire, also talked about “informants,” and said, “The worst thing in the world is a snitch. I can stand almost anything in this world but a snitch,” according to the court filing.

The witness was relocated from the Youngstown area for several days, the filing states. Upon returning home after the indictment, the witness reported the discovery of a large plastic novelty rat between the storm and front doors of his residence.

Read more about the intimidation claims in Wednesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.