Charles Reighard gets 46-month prison term for extortion

YOUNGSTOWN — A man who admitted mailing extortion letters demanding up to $4 million to Atty. David Betras and threatening to damage or destroy his law office with an explosive has been sentenced to 46 months in prison with mental-health counseling.

Betras’ former law client, Charles J. Reighard, 68, of Burghill, who pleaded guilty as charged, drew the sentence today from U.S. District Court Judge Sara Lioi in Akron.

After prison, Reighard will be on supervised release for three years, including six months of electronically monitored house arrest.

Betras, who called for a prison term for Reighard, is also Mahoning County Democratic Party chairman.

“Even though he is in custody and is, therefore, unable to carry out the serious threats he made against us, I will never forget the way I felt when I was forced to tell my wife, Pamela, and my three children that police officers were standing guard outside their home because someone had made a credible threat to kill us all by blowing us up,” Betras wrote in a victim impact statement.

For the complete story, read Thursday's Vindicator and Vindy.com