2 Youngstown lawyers have plea hearing next week

YOUNGSTOWN — Two downtown Youngstown lawyers, whose month-long trial on extortion and obstruction of justice charges ended in a mistrial earlier this year, are scheduled for a plea hearing next week.

The plea hearing for Attys. Neal Atway and Scott Cochran is scheduled for 2 p.m. Oct. 15 before Chief U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver Jr. in Cleveland.

The plea hearing was announced Wednesday, the day after the U.S. Attorney filed a supplemental information.

In that information, Atway is charged with conspiracy against rights and Cochran is charged with misbehavior in the presence of the court.

Atway and Cochran have signed waivers of indictment and agreed to be prosecuted by information, with the understanding that the charges they face could put them in prison for more than a year.

In the information, Atway is charged with abusing his power, authority and influence as the criminal defense lawyer for Charles Muth, a convenience store owner, to deprive Muth of money or property for the benefit of someone else.

Cochran allegedly failed to provide completely truthful testimony during this year’s trial of Atway and Cochran concerning conversations between Atway, Muth and Cochran.

Muth was having a business dispute with another convenience store owner, Mohd Rawhneh.

The U.S. Attorney alleges that Atway led Muth to believe that, unless Rawhneh got money and property from Muth and Muth’s stores, Rawhneh would appear at Muth’s sentencings and tell the judges facts that could result in harsher punishment for Muth.

In a federal case, Muth got five months in prison for growing marijuana in his home.

In a state case, Muth got 18 months in prison on charges of ethnic intimidation and aggravated assault for his role in a Dec. 28, 2011, shooting at the Boardman home of Rawhneh’s ex-wife, in which nobody was hurt.

In the current federal case, Rawhneh pleaded guilty in May 2014 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and awaits sentencing.

The U.S. Attorney’s office filed the supplemental information against Atway and Cochran after saying it intended to re-try them.

Cochran is a former Mahoning County Bar Association president.