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Former Niles church employee pleads guilty to theft of $97,000
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
The former maintenance supervisor at Mount Carmel Catholic Church in Niles pleaded guilty Wednesday to grand theft for stealing $97,000 from the church between 2007 and 2014.
Michael Marrara, 59, of Sayers Avenue in Niles, is also likely to lose his job as a sewer-maintenance employee for the city of Niles.
Marrara entered his plea in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court before Judge W. Wyatt McKay. He will be sentenced in about five weeks, after the county’s Adult Probation Department conducts a presentence investigation.
Marrara could get up to 18 months in prison, and Chris Becker, assistant county prosecutor, said he will ask Judge McKay to impose prison time. Becker said he will also ask Judge McKay to order Marrara pay back the stolen money.
Father John-Michael Lavelle said in early 2014 that he discovered within the first two weeks of his arrival at the parish in June 2012 that Marrara purchased about $22 worth of pool chemicals on the church credit card even though the church doesn’t have a pool.
When the pastor asked him about it, Marrara said he had meant to pay back the church for the chemicals but forgot.
But the pastor learned from the previous pastor that Marrara had admitted taking $9,300 from the church earlier and had promised to pay it back. But Marrara had made only two $300 payments, then stopped paying in 2011.
Pastor Lavelle called Niles police immediately after learning about the pool chemicals but waited to terminate Marrara from his job until a couple of weeks later, July 23, 2012. He was advised to wait until the annual Mount Carmel Festival was over since Marrara also was the festival chairman, the pastor said.
Father Lavelle and a committee of the parish reviewed bills dating back to 2007 arising from Marrara’s use of the parish’s credit card and uncovered numerous fraudulent charges, Father Lavelle said.
Among them were $2,838 for campground sites in Portage County; $9,974 for tuition at Hocking College in Nelsonville, Ohio, for relatives of Marrara’s; $9,783 at Sears; $10,702 at a gas station; $15,103 in charges to the telephone company Sprint; and $7,541 for Time Warner cable services; according to Marrara’s indictment.
Becker said Marrara also used the card for repairs to his personal vehicle and vacations, and he believes the payments to Hocking College were for his daughter’s tuition.
Niles Mayor Ralph Infante said he negotiated new language in the contract for city workers in October 2014 that would make it easier to fire any city employee convicted of a felony.
Infante could not be reached Wednesday for comment on Marrara’s job status. Andy Catanzarite, wastewater superintendent, said he had no comment on whether Marrara would lose his job, referring questions to Infante.
Niles City Council also passed an ordinance in December 2014 allowing the city to suspend any employee without pay who is either indicted or charged with a felony. Infante asked for the ordinance specifically to deal with situations in the future such as the one involving Marrara, the mayor said.
Infante, who lost his re-election bid in the 2015 primary, said his only options at the time Marrara was charged were to place him on paid leave or let him keep working.
He kept him working because he doesn’t believe in paying someone to sit at home, Infante said. While on the job, Marrara was to have no access to city funds, Infante said.