Wednesday, February 18, 2015
CLEVELAND
The attorney for Martin Yavorcik, one of the defendants in the Oakhill Renaissance Place criminal-corruption case, cast some doubt that a confidential informant was threatened and wants prosecutors to reveal the person’s identity.
The four-page legal brief from Mark Lavelle, Yavorcik’s attorney, is the latest court filing between this case’s defendants and prosecutors over who can see the evidence.
Prosecutors say a confidential witness was threatened May 7, 2014, seven days before Yavorcik and his two co-defendants — Youngstown Mayor John A. McNally and Mahoning County Auditor Michael V. Sciortino — were indicted on 83 criminal counts.
The witness told an Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation special agent that a man he doesn’t know approached him while walking at Southern Park Mall in Boardman and initiated a conversation about Anthony Cafaro Sr., the unindicted Businessman 1 in court documents.
The man talked about “informants,” and said, “The worst thing in the world is a snitch,” according to a court filing by prosecutors. The witness also found a large plastic novelty rat between the storm and front doors of his residence, according to the court document.
“By the government’s own admission, [Yavorcik] had nothing to do with this attempt at witness intimidation, if it in fact occurred,” Lavelle wrote. “Therefore, it is logical to conclude that the informant’s identity could only have been revealed and/or compromised by the FBI and BCI agents themselves, or the informant concocted this story.”
Lavelle wants the confidential informant’s name as well as the list of other witnesses and their complete statements. Prosecutors say the witness list is forthcoming.
Prosecutors have labeled some evidence as “counsel only,” which means they can’t be shared with anyone because of the safety of informants and “the recordings provided in discovery contained unfounded allegations regarding several public officials in Mahoning County.”
Lavelle wrote his client was being “penalized in the preparation of his defense” by prosecutors.
“These items were already disclosed, and they want to have it disclosed to everyone,” said Dan Tierney, spokesman for the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, which is prosecuting the case with the Cuyhaoga County Prosecutor’s Office. “The [‘counsel only’] designation is made to protect multiple witnesses. We’re seeking to follow the rules, and they’re seeking to deviate from the rules.”
The defendants’ attorneys want a hearing on the issue in front of Judge Janet R. Burnside of Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, who’s overseeing this case.
Prosecutors point out, however, that state criminal court rules state such a hearing can only be conducted seven days before a trial.
In his filing, Lavelle wrote that to “expect the defense to be ready in seven days after providing critical information is unrealistic.”
Yavorcik, a failed independent 2008 Mahoning County prosecutor candidate; McNally, a Democrat, in his previous capacity as a county commissioner; and Sciortino, also a Democrat, 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.
Meanwhile, a panel of three retired judges met Tuesday to determine if Sciortino should be suspended with pay. Thomas J. Grady, a retired 2nd District Court of Appeals judge who sits on the panel, told The Vindicator on Thursday that the three would meet Tuesday and “act promptly after that to make a decision.”
Under state law, public officials accused of committing felonies directly related to their positions are required to have a hearing with retired judges, appointed by Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor of the Ohio Supreme Court, to determine if they should be suspended with pay.
Sciortino, who lost his re-election bid in Nov. 4, 2014, gets $89,109 in annual salary. His term expires March 8.