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Flurry of activity paving the way for start of Oakhill criminal case
On the side
The Vindicator mailed letters a couple of weeks ago to certain candidates running in the March 15 primary in Mahoning and Trumbull counties – including those running for the state Legislature.
Those Democratic races are for Mahoning County recorder, Trumbull County recorder, Trumbull County sheriff, the 32nd Ohio Senate District and the 63rd Ohio House District. Those Republicans races are for the 32nd Ohio Senate District, and the 59th and 64th Ohio House Districts. Also on the list are Democrats in the 13th Ohio House District and for U.S. Senate, as well as the Republican candidates in the competitive race for a seat on the Ohio Supreme Court.
The deadline is Monday, but we can stretch it a few more days.
If you’re running in one of those races and haven’t received a letter or it “got lost in the mail,” call me at 330-747-1471, ext. 1264, or email me at skolnick@vindy.com. If it’s sitting at home, drop everything, follow the instructions and complete the online questionnaire.
Also, we’re endorsing in those races. To schedule an appointment, contact Bertram de Souza at 330-720-3105 as soon as you read this.
With the Oakhill Renaissance Place criminal-corruption case set to start Feb. 29, the number of court filings are increasing.
Judge Janet R. Burnside of Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, who is overseeing the trial, has already ruled a few times against motions from defense attorneys to dismiss the case.
She’s got a couple of other motions from prosecutors seeking to dismiss to consider.
One is from Youngstown Mayor John A. McNally, indicted in his previous capacity as a Mahoning County commissioner, and ex-county Auditor Michael V. Sciortino, two of the three defendants in the Oakhill case. Both are Democrats.
That motion contends that the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office, which are prosecuting the case, don’t have the proper authority to do that work.
Prosecutors dispute that contention.
The other is from McNally contending that a settlement agreement was reached in September 2007 over civil litigation in Mahoning County involving the purchase of Oakhill.
The filing states: “None of the parties of [that] agreement will solicit or intentionally persuade any individual to initiate any legal action against either any other party to [that] agreement.”
Prosecutors will file a written response, but say it’s “frivolous and meritless.”
I’m sure more motions to dismiss will be filed by defense lawyers as they contend Cuyahoga County isn’t the proper venue for this case.
Judge Burnside will determine the merit of all motions and will have a final pretrial hearing, if needed, on Feb. 26. It starts at 9 a.m. and I expect it to be a long and one. I expect the case to go forward Feb. 29.
The other defendant in this case is Atty. Martin Yavorcik, a failed 2008 independent Mahoning County prosecutor candidate.
Since almost the start of the indictment was unsealed in Cuyahoga County on May 14, 2014, Yavorcik has largely gone his own way.
One reason is Lynn Maro and John B. Juhasz – the attorneys for McNally and Sciortino, respectively – share office space and have been co-attorneys on a number of cases.
Nearly all of their filings are done on behalf of both McNally and Sciortino.
It has tied those two defendants together and in some situations for no logical reason.
For example, it was McNally and Sciortino who pushed for a hearing to determine the amount of secretly taped recordings made, primarily by Youngstown political consultant Harry Strabala, in this case.
But prosecutors have said all along that there are no recordings of McNally.
There have been rumors for months about at least one defendant taking a plea deal, and testifying against the other two as well as other people allegedly involved in a criminal enterprise.
However, with a month to go before the start of the trial, there is no indication that anyone is going to take a plea. It’s not impossible, but it is highly improbable.
The three face a total of 53 criminal counts including engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, conspiracy, bribery, perjury, money laundering and tampering with records. They’ve pleaded not guilty.
An indictment accuses the three of being part of a criminal enterprise to stop or impede the relocation of a Mahoning County agency from Garland Plaza, owned by a Cafaro Co. subsidiary, to Oakhill Renaissance Place, the former Forum Health Southside Medical Center owned by the county.
Job and Family Services
The Ohio Valley Mall, the subsidiary, received $440,000 a year in rent from the county to house the Department of Job and Family Services.
Obviously, there’s a lot riding on this trial for all three defendants.
All are attorneys and if found guilty, they could end up losing their law licenses, though I don’t believe any of them are practicing now.
McNally and Sciortino have kids. Also, should he be found guilty, McNally would no longer serve as Youngstown mayor.
It’s hard to determine how long this trial will take as there are plenty of witnesses and numerous charges.
Judge Burnside has expressed concern that jurors will be bored and lose interest. That led her to get prosecutors to reduce the number of total charges from 83 to 53.
But that’s still a lot of counts and a lot of evidence for a Cuyahoga County jury to digest about criminal charges against three guys from Mahoning County.