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Man gets 23 years for string of robberies
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
Joseph Mascarella did not have much to say as he was sentenced to 23 years in prison for a string of armed robberies a jury convicted him of in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
Jurors found Mascarella, 20, guilty of nine counts of aggravated robbery before Judge Lou D’Apolito with firearm specifications, and he could have received a possible sentence of 99 years. Prosecutors asked for a 55-year prison term.
Mascarella’s attorney, Jeffrey Limbian, said Friday his client maintains his innocence and will appeal the convictions. Because of the appeal, he advised Mascarella to not speak at sentencing, and Mascarella had nothing to say.
Jurors also found Mascarella not guilty of six additional counts of aggravated robbery.
Police said Mascarella was one of three people who took part in a string of robberies in fall 2013 at several stores or restaurants, mostly on the South Side but one on the West Side.
Police said they found the car they believed was used in five of the robberies at a West Midlothian Boulevard home where Mascarella was staying and hiding in the basement from police when he was found.
Investigators said what they found at the home were registers, gift cards and wallets from victims and the places that were robbed.
Limbian said during the trial police collected no DNA or fingerprints from the evidence seized at the home. The two accomplices testified Mascarella did not take part in the robberies.
When Assistant Prosecutor Dawn Cantalamessa told the judge she was recommending 55 years, a woman in the courtroom gasped. After court, that woman told prosecutors, “I don’t know how you can live with yourselves.”
Judge D’Apolito said he was guided by his decision for the sentence because a co-defendant, Manny Zarlengo, 20, pleaded guilty to all the robberies and firearm specifications and was given a sentence of 18 years.
The third suspect is a juvenile, and his case was handled in juvenile court.