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Meet John Doe 1, 2, 3, 4 in the ‘Oakhill’ case
On the side
McKinley Club’s 100th: With the Mahoning Valley McKinley Club celebrating its 100th annual banquet Thursday, two traditions are returning.
First, the event will be on Jan. 29, President William McKinley’s birth date. In years past, the dinner was in February and last year it was in March.
The second tradition to return is the food. McKinley’s favorite meal — Salisbury steak with some sort of orange-colored gravy and mash potatoes — is coming back after chicken was served last year.
The keynote speaker is U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson of Marietta, R-6th, a three-term congressman who’s never delivered a speech at this event, which consists of Republicans from Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties.
The event starts at 6:30 p.m. at the McKinley Memorial Auditorium in Niles. Tickets are $30 and can be obtained by calling 330-629-7006.
The dinner honors President McKinley, born in Niles.
The indictment that details charges of widespread political corruption in Mahoning County featured some mysteries.
Many of the alleged co-conspirators in the Oakhill Renaissance Place criminal corruption case weren’t named in that May 15, 2014, indictment.
Some were easy to figure out. Businessman 1 is obviously Anthony Cafaro Sr., former president of the Cafaro Co.
Some were challenging. But with the Jan. 8 notice of intent to use evidence, we can safely name the four unidentified John Does in the indictment.
The four are listed in the indictment as being part of an “illicit enterprise” that “performed illegal acts as part and in furtherance of their association with this enterprise.” Well, not exactly.
For example, John Doe 1 is David Aey, who not only didn’t do anything illegal, but rebuffed two efforts to offer him an improper amount of cash for his campaign, according to the indictment and follow-up filings by prosecutors.
Aey was a Mahoning County sheriff candidate — though he was thrown off the ballot when the Ohio Supreme Court ruled he didn’t have the qualifications to seek the office — in 2008. Prosecutors said Cafaro offered to give at least $2,000 in cash to Aey, and he refused. Cafaro then offered additional cash — with Flora Cafaro, Anthony’s sister and a company executive, present — to Aey and again he refused it.
I presume he’ll be called to testify about the alleged incident though I don’t know if it will be in the current case. The existing case indicts Youngstown Mayor John A. McNally, county Auditor Michael V. Sciortino, and failed 2008 county prosecutor candidate Martin Yavorcik on 83 counts including engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, conspiracy, bribery, perjury, money laundering and tampering with records. McNally and Sciortino are Democrats and Yavorcik is an independent.
John Doe 2 hasn’t been difficult to figure out. We’ve written a number of times that it’s former county Treasurer John Reardon, who prosecutors accuse of giving an improper campaign contribution to Yavorcik and having the Cafaro Co. improperly pay his legal fees in the Oakhill taxpayer lawsuit. He is believed to be cooperating with prosecutors.
John Doe 3 is former Youngstown Mayor George M. McKelvey, who unsuccessfully ran for county commissioner in the 2006 Democratic primary.
Documents allege Cafaro reimbursed at least one person who contributed money to McKelvey’s commissioner campaign account. However, there is no evidence that McKelvey knew that and thus won’t be prosecuted. [In an article two weeks ago I called McKelvey John Doe 4 because of a typo in the indictment.]
Aey, Reardon and Mc-Kelvey either couldn’t be reached to comment or declined to comment.
But I did correspond through email recently with John Doe 4, who is Michael Morley, a former county Democratic Party chairman and board of elections member.
The indictment alleges Morley provided assistance to Lisa Antonini, a former county Democratic chairwoman and county treasurer, when she concealed a $3,000 cash payment from Cafaro in March 2008 and didn’t report it on a campaign finance report.
Morley’s bank records are part of the evidence that may be used in this case. “My bank records are an open book,” he said.
When asked about being John Doe 4, Morley wrote: “I can’t say that I am not John Doe 4. I don’t know that. But I am confident that I will not be charged with any wrongdoing, remain supportive of the attorney general [the lead prosecutor in this case] and am willing to provide any assistance in his team’s ongoing investigation.”
When I asked why his law office was listed as a location where the “criminal enterprise functioned,” Morley responded, “I am an attorney. I routinely am made aware of other’s inappropriate actions. I am often disappointed when I learn of such conduct.”