‘Oakhill’ case gets intriguing

What do John A. McNally, Michael V. Sciortino and Martin Yavorcik have in common besides being “Renaissance” men? They’re lawyers who could well lose their license to practice law — and thus their livelihoods — if they’re convicted of the state criminal charges filed against them stemming from the Oakhill Renaissance Place scandal. (And you thought the Renaissance men reference was a compliment).

McNally, the mayor of Youngstown and former Mahoning County commissioner; Sciortino, former county auditor; and Yavorcik, who embarked on a fool’s errand when he challenged county Prosecutor Paul Gains, will soon have a date with destiny in the courtroom unless they are able to make a deal with state prosecutors, who undoubtedly are gunning for Big Tony (or as Mark Sweetwood, The Vindicator’s managing editor calls him, Big Tuna.) He is, of course, Anthony M. Cafaro Sr., the retired president of the Cafaro Co., one of the leading shopping center developers in the country.

Cafaro has been described in this space previously as the Puppet Master — and McNally, Sciortino, Yavorcik and other former county government officials as the puppets in the Oakhill Renaissance Place controversy.

Release of documents

If there was any doubt about the role the prominent businessman played in attempting to undermine Mahoning County’s purchase of the former Southside Medical Center, Thursday’s major document dump (yes, it’s called that) by state prosecutors lays bare the stench of corruption emanating from Big Tony.

As you wade through the documents, you understand what Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty, who is overseeing the prosecution team, mean when they talk about a criminal enterprise, conspiracy, racketeering and bribery — for starters.

Cafaro, who has not been charged, comes across as the mastermind of the effort to block Commissioners Anthony Traficanti and David Ludt (no longer in office today) from buying the former Southside Medical Center so the county’s Job and Family Services agency could have a new home.

For about two decades, JFS was located in the Garland Plaza (McGuffey Mall) on Youngstown’s East Side. It was owned by the Cafaro Co., which earned millions of dollars as the county’s landlord.

Cafaro Sr., who was president of the company at the time, launched an all-out campaign to block Traficanti and Ludt from proceeding with the purchase and the JFS relocation. To do his dirty work, he recruited a bunch of sycophants posing as public officials, including McNally, who was a county commissioner at the time.

But despite all the money Cafaro spent trying to block the deal — the documents filed by the prosecutors show that it was an expensive proposition — the two commissioners ignored their colleague McNally’s opposition and approved the purchase.

And for good measure, they moved the JFS out of the Garland Plaza and into the Oakhill Renaissance Place complex.

The charges against McNally, Sciortino and Yavorcik are serious, but the trio is just the opening gambit. There should be no doubt about where the case is headed.

Thus the question: Will Prosecutor McGinty and his colleagues be amenable to making a deal with the defendants? Of course they would — but the price of poker just went way up as a result of their turning over a couple of their cards.

But why would McNally, Sciortino and Yavorcik, who have consistently proclaimed their innocence and have accused the state of trying to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear, want to make a deal?

High stakes

Because the stakes for them are high, indeed. If they are convicted, they will lose their law licenses. The Mahoning Valley’s political landscape is littered with former lawyers who in their heydays played fast and loose with the law.

The most recent example: Disgraced former Mahoning County Probate Judge Mark Belinky. He resigned in the midst of an investigation into his campaign activities. He was convicted after pleading guilty, was given probation and has become a major informant about government corruption in the Mahoning Valley.

Belinky also surrendered his law license.

McNally, Sciortino and Yavorcik will get a deal only if they can deliver the “Big” one — Tony (or Tuna, if you will).