Two in Oakhill case critical of prosecutor statements made to media

YOUNGSTOWN

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

In a statement sent to The Vindicator today, 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 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.”

Along with attorney Martin Yavorcik, McNally and Sciortino are accused of being part of a conspiracy to stop or impede the relocation of a Mahoning County agency from a building owned by the Cafaro Co. to Oakhill, the former Forum Health Southside Hospital, owned by the county.

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

For the complete story, read Saturday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com