Will judges toss Sciortino?
On the side
Lincoln Day Dinner: U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, who is seeking re-election to a second six-year term in 2016, is the keynote speaker for Columbiana County Republican Party’s annual Lincoln Day Dinner Wednesday at the Salem Golf Club, 1967 S. Lincoln Ave.
The bar opens at 6:30 p.m. with dinner served at 7 p.m. Tickets are $35 each. Contact Tara Canestraro on weekdays only to reserve tickets at 330-233-1511.
Endorsements: The Mahoning Valley Stonewall Democrats — which represents the interests of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders — endorsed Dario Hunter, a former lawyer in Canada and Israel who moved to Youngstown a little over a year ago, in the Democratic primary race for Youngstown’s 6th Ward council over Anita Davis, president of Pride Youngstown, a local LGBT organization, and a retired Youngstown police officer.
The group also endorsed John Vivo — like Hunter and Davis, he’s openly gay — in the 7th Ward council primary.
More than three months after the Ohio Supreme Court told three retired judges considering the suspension with pay of Mahoning County Auditor Michael V. Sciortino to resolve the matter, they are going to have a hearing Tuesday.
“We’ll act promptly after that to make a decision,” said Thomas J. Grady, a retired 2nd District Court of Appeals judge who sits on the three-member panel.
What took so long?
“We have three special commission members with other assignments, and the attorney for Mr. Sciortino is busy with trials; it takes a while to get a hearing scheduled,” Grady said.
Court proceedings usually take months, he said. Grady added that the commission is following the timeline in the state statute on considering the suspension of public officials charged with felonies directly related to their positions.
Maybe I’m using a different calendar than the panel’s members, but based on the statute, the resolution of this is long overdue. Not much additional effort by the commission is needed to resolve this issue, but its members don’t appear as though they care to put in more work on this case.
The retired judges — appointed June 13, 2014, by Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor in compliance with the state statute — didn’t agree with the law.
The three contend the statute is a denial of due process as it doesn’t permit public officials in these cases to have an attorney advocate for them, present evidence or examine or cross-examine witnesses.
It’s a valid point, but the Ohio Supreme Court told the commission Nov. 10 to follow the hearing procedure.
The panel made a preliminary ruling in early July 2014 to suspend Sciortino with pay. The commission then met July 18 to consider Sciortino’s appeal. Instead, they offered prosecutors the opportunity to file a complaint with the Supreme Court over the hearing procedure, according to an affidavit from prosecutors sent to the state’s highest court.
The state statute requires the panel to give Sciortino 14 days after its preliminary decision to contest the findings. After that meeting, the commission is to issue its final determination and a written report. Giving the commission the benefit of the doubt on timing after the court’s Nov. 10 decision, this should have been resolved between mid-December and mid-January.
It’s certainly possible that the judges didn’t like the Supreme Court’s decision and opted to take their time with this.
When asked to comment on the Supreme Court’s decision, Grady declined.
The two other retired judges on the commission — David C. Faulkner of Hardin County Common Pleas Court and Timothy S. Hogan of Hamilton County Common Pleas Court — couldn’t be reached to comment on the Sciortino hearing.
Sciortino, a Democrat, lost the Nov. 4 election to Republican Ralph Meacham, and all this panel could do is suspend him with pay. Sciortino gets $89,109 in annual salary.
However, Sciortino’s term doesn’t end until March 8, more than four months after he lost his re-election bid. The law is the law, and this commission’s members don’t seem terribly concerned about it.
Sciortino faces 16 felony counts including engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, conspiracy, bribery, tampering with records, perjury and money laundering.
He and others are accused in a May 14, 2014, indictment of being part of a criminal conspiracy to impede and stop the move of the county’s Department of Job and Family Services from the Cafaro-Co.-owned Garland Plaza to Oakhill Renaissance Place, the former Forum Health Southside Medical Center.