URGENT | No ruling in criminal-count reduction in Oakhill case

CLEVELAND – The judge overseeing the Oakhill Renaissance Place criminal-corruption trial didn’t rule today on a proposal by prosecutors to a major reduction in the number of counts facing the three defendants.

Judge Janet R. Burnside of Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court met for about two hours in a closed-door pretrial meeting with prosecution and defense attorneys.

Prosecutors filed an amended indictment Thursday to reduce the number of counts from 73 to 45. As some of the charges list more than one defendant, the three faced a total of 83 counts. Now, that number is 53 total counts.

Prosecutors eliminated counts they say were similar to other charges that remain in the indictment.

The judge said the defense has seven to 10 days from Thursday to respond to the amended indictment so it wouldn’t have been fair to rule today.

The reduction of counts and the eliminations of paragraphs in the charge of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity was done based on a Judge Burnside court order last month.

Also, the trial date was moved up a day to Feb. 29 from March 1.

Another pretrial is set for Feb. 19.

The defendants are Youngstown Mayor John A. McNally in his previous capacity as Mahoning County commissioner, former county Auditor Michael V. Sciortino, both Democrats, as well as attorney Martin Yavorcik, a failed 2008 independent candidate for county prosecutor.

The indictment accuses the three of being part of a criminal enterprise to stop or impede the relocation of a county agency from a building owned by a Cafaro Co. subsidiary to Oakhill Renaissance Place, the former Forum Health Southside Medical Center owned by the county. The indictment accuses the three of benefiting from being involved in the alleged enterprise. They have pleaded not guilty.

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