McNally lied; no big deal

The criminally tainted mayor of Youngstown, John A. McNally, is a bald-faced liar. And the fact that he’s a lawyer makes his failure to tell the truth during a sworn deposition all the more egregious.

Yet, McNally enjoys strong support from a surprisingly large number of Mahoning Valley residents, including a parish priest, the head of the leading business organization in the region, a law director and family members.

Why surprisingly? Simply because after all the publicity surrounding the former Mahoning County commissioner’s participation in a criminal enterprise led by a powerful and rich businessman, you would have thought that no self-respecting person would go anywhere near McNally.

However, letters to the judge who presided over his trial in the Oakhill Renaissance Place criminal conspiracy case illustrate just how inured the Valley has become to public corruption and the illegal activities of elected officials.

Letters of support for a defendant facing judicial sentencing are not unusual. Indeed, family members are expected to sing the praises of a wonderful husband, a loving father and one of God’s better angels.

But it’s inexcusable for the president and chief executive officer of the Youngstown-Warren Regional Chamber to risk the reputation of the business community by embracing an officeholder with a criminal record.

HIS PITCH

Here’s what Thomas Humphries said, in part, in his letter to Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Janet Burnside:

“I can attest to the fact that John is an honorable man, public leader, father and husband. His efforts have always been for the right reasons, to serve his family and the community.”

Would an honorable man have used his public position as a Mahoning County commissioner to do the bidding of Anthony M. Cafaro Sr., the retired president of the Cafaro Co.?

Would an honorable man who took an oath as a lawyer, an oath as an elected official and an oath to tell the truth in a deposition blatantly lie?

Would an honorable man show no remorse for violating the public’s trust and tell Judge Burnside that he lied because he was “cavalier and arrogant”?

Would an honorable man have conspired with other county officials and Cafaro to undermine the actions of the majority of the board of commissioners? McNally’s two colleagues, Commissioners Anthony Traficanti and David Ludt, had voted to purchase the Oakhill Renaissance Place complex – the former Southside Medical Center – and to relocate the county’s Job and Family Services agency from the Cafaro Co.-owned Garland Plaza.

Cafaro Sr. did not want the deal to go through and had McNally sharing confidential information about the transaction with him.

Perhaps Chamber CEO Humphries, who has long pontificated about government corruption in the Valley undermining the chamber’s job-creation efforts, has a unique understanding of honor than the one embraced by most people.

But if Humphries’ letter to Judge Burnside is inexcusable, the one from the Rev. Richard Murphy, president of Ursuline High School and pastor of St. Mary Church in Mineral Ridge, is mystifying.

“ … I believe with all my heart in his character and in his capacity as a thoughtful person to overcome this episode in his otherwise stellar public career,” Father Murphy wrote to Judge Burnside.

His use of the word “episode” to describe McNally’s involvement in a criminal enterprise is indicative of the opinion that the Oakhill Renaissance Place criminal conspiracy involving Cafaro Sr. and a slew of county government officials was no big deal.

The fact that the priest is president of a Catholic high school prompts this question: How can he credibly talk about the sinful nature of lying when he supports the mayor who has admitted to being a liar?

Catholics believe there are two kinds of sins: mortal and venial. Perhaps the good padre considers what McNally did to be forgivable in the eyes of God. He should know. But in the eyes of man, the mayor is guilty of a grievous political sin and is deserving of much greater punishment than a year’s probation and a $3,500 fine.

His refusal to resign as mayor and his insistence that he will seek another term next year speaks to his lack of moral standards.

Indeed, the city of Youngstown’s law director, Martin Hume, also seems to lack moral clarity when it comes to his boss. Here’s what he wrote, in part, to Judge Burnside:

“I have had the honor and pleasure of working with the Mayor for the past two years as the City of Youngstown’s Law Director. During this time, Mayor McNally has demonstrated competence, integrity, professionalism, honesty and vigilance in promoting the best interests of the City.”

There’s that word again – “honesty” – to describe McNally.

Here are some synonyms for honesty: integrity; uprightness; honorableness; morality; ethics; righteousness.

And lest any readers think that this writer is being overly preachy about the mayor’s criminal record, consider what Judge Burnside told Michael Sciortino, former county auditor who also pleaded guilty for his involvement in the Oakhill Renaissance criminal enterprise:

“ … a lawyer who would go into a deposition and make a bald-face lie” is “troubling.”