Burghill man pleads guilty to attempted extortion, threats against Betras

Staff report

AKRON

Charles J. Reighard has pleaded guilty to mailing extortion letters to attorney David Betras and threatening to damage or destroy Betras’ Canfield law office with an explosive.

Reighard, 67, of state Route 7, Burghill, entered his plea Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Sara Lioi, who will sentence him at 11 a.m. June 10. He could get up to 25 years in prison.

The first count of the indictment alleges Reighard, a former Betras client, sent letters to Betras between Sept. 4 and Oct. 17, 2014, with intent to extort money from him and threatening to injure Betras and his family. One of the letters demanded $4 million, the FBI said.

The second count of the indictment says that on Oct. 16, Reighard falsely implied an explosive would damage or destroy Betras’ office.

On that day, an employee of Betras, Kopp & Harshman LLC, 6630 Seville Drive, arrived to find a second-floor window of the law office broken and a device beneath it, which bomb-squad technicians determined was a complete pipe bomb, except for the explosive powder.

In addition to being a lawyer, Betras also is Mahoning County Democratic Party chairman.

On Nov. 3, U.S. Magistrate George J. Limbert in Youngstown ordered that Reighard remain locked up without bond while the case is pending, saying he feared Reighard might eventually produce a functioning pipe bomb.

Read more about the case in Wednesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.