Attys. Atway, Cochran sentenced for professional wrongdoing

CLEVELAND

Two downtown Youngstown lawyers were fined Tuesday in federal court after each had earlier pleaded guilty to a charge contained in information filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Chief U.S. District Court Judge Solomon Oliver Jr. sentenced Neal Atway, 49, to four months of electronically-monitored house arrest and fined him $2,000; and he sentenced Atway’s law partner, Scott Cochran, 45, to two years’ probation and fined him $2,500.

Atway had pleaded guilty in October to one count of conspiracy against rights, and Cochran had pleaded guilty to a single count of misbehavior in the presence of the court.

The month-long trial of Atway and Cochran last year on extortion and obstruction of justice charges ended in a mistrial.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office had said it intended to retry the lawyers, but then filed the information containing the charges, to which Atway and Cochran pleaded guilty.

In the information, Atway was 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 and property to benefit somebody else.

Cochran was charged with failing to provide completely truthful testimony during last year’s trial of Atway and Cochran concerning conversations among Atway, Cochran and Muth.

Read more about the case in Wednesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.