OAKHILL LIVE | Juror questioning continue today; 'What's your spouse do?'

CLEVELAND - The judge in the Martin Yavorcik conspiracy/corruption trial spent nearly two hours today talking with 29 potential jurors.

Yavorcik, a failed 2008 Mahoning County prosecutor and the only person in the Oakhill Renaissance Place criminal-corruption case to not plead guilty, and prosecutors will question the potential jurors some time after a lunch break. Court will be back in session around 12:30 p.m.

Judge Janet R. Burnside of Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court also spent two-plus hours Monday, the opening day of the trial, talking with the potential jurors.

The topics included personal information about their jobs, what their spouses do, and if they've sat on juries before. The judge also discussed about how a trial is conducted, quizzing them on the basics of trials and the law as well as if they could be unbiased.

Yavorcik, an attorney defending himself, and prosecutors have yet to talk to potential jurors to determine who will be seated. The judge's goal is to reduce the questioning by attorneys of the potential jurors.

In addition to 12 jurors, the judge wants three or four alternates for this trial.

One juror expressed concern that he couldn't be objective because of a bad experience with an attorney. He wasn't excused by Judge Burnside.

This is the second day of the trial.

Judge Burnside said she expects the trial to be finished by the end of next week, possibly stretching into a third week.

Yavorcik is the last of the Oakhill Renaissance Place conspiracy defendants to not plead guilty.

His two co-defendants - Youngstown Mayor John A. McNally and ex-Mahoning County Auditor Michael V. Sciortino, both Democrats - took deals Feb. 26 before the start of the trial.

Yavorcik faces 11 felonies: one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, one count of conspiracy, three counts of bribery, four counts of money laundering, and two counts of tampering with records.

Prosecutors contend Yavorcik is part of a criminal conspiracy that illegally tried to stop or impede the relocation of the Mahoning County Job and Family Services Department from Garland Plaza, owned by a Cafaro Co. subsidiary, to Oakhill Renaissance Place, the former Forum Health Southside Medical Center owned by the county.

However, Yavorcik had nothing to do with trying to stop that move.

Prosecutors contend members of the criminal enterprise - including McNally; Sciortino; Antonini; Anthony Cafaro Sr., the former head of his family-owned Cafaro Co. retail property development business; and Cafaro's sister, Flora, a company executive - illegally gave money to Yavorcik.

In exchange, prosecutors say Yavorcik ran as an independent in 2008 for Mahoning County prosecutor so that if he won, he wouldn't prosecute or investigate anyone in the criminal enterprise. He lost by 38 percentage points to incumbent Democrat Paul J. Gains. Prosecutors also accuse Yavorcik of filing false campaign finance reports.

For more updates, follow Vindy.com and for the complete story read Wednesday's Vindicator.