Oakhill attorneys claim prosecutors making false statements to press

YOUNGSTOWN

The attorneys for Youngstown Mayor John A. McNally and ex-Mahoning County Auditor Michael V. Sciortino, two of the defendants in the Oakhill Renaissance Place criminal-corruption case, accused prosecutors of making incorrect comments to the media about their motives.

In a Friday statement to The Vindicator, Lynn Maro and John B. Juhasz, the attorneys for McNally and Sciortino, respectively, said Dan Tierney, spokesman for the Ohio Attorney General’s Office – which is prosecuting this case with the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office – “has again made public comments that are not correct.”

“The defense is not trying to delay this trial and the defense has provided discovery to the state,” the two wrote in the statement, the first time they’ve commented to the newspaper since the May 29, 2014, arraignments of their clients.

In response, Tierney said the defense has provided discovery evidence, but none of it is “relevant” to this case.

“Our position has been clear from the beginning: It’s a corruption trial,” Tierney said. “It’s important the trial begin on time.”

Tierney has called various motions filed by the two attorneys “delay tactics.”

The trial is to begin in Cleveland on Feb. 29.

Read more about the dispute in Saturday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.