Friday testimony refutes McNally's earlier claims in Oakhill corruption case

CLEVELAND

Though Youngstown Mayor John A. McNally settled his criminal charges by taking a plea three weeks ago, he appears to be the one on trial.

Witnesses testifying at the trial of Martin Yavorcik, one of McNally’s co-defendants in the Oakhill Renaissance Place criminal-corruption case, on Friday answered numerous questions about McNally with some refuting what the mayor said during his statements in court Thursday and Friday.

McNally pleaded guilty Feb. 26 to four misdemeanors related to him faxing a confidential letter of Mahoning County’s proposal to buy Oakhill, when he was a commissioner. That happened July 18, 2006, with McNally sending the information to a lawyer with Ulmer & Berne, a Cleveland law firm that had Anthony Cafaro Sr. as a client.

Cafaro, who hasn’t been charged, was president of the Cafaro Co., his family-owned shopping center company, at the time.

The county wanted its Department of Job and Family Services to leave Garland Plaza, owned by a Cafaro Co. subsidiary, and relocate it to Oakhill, the former Forum Health Southside Medical Center that the county purchased for $75,000 in 2006.

An indictment contends numerous people formed a criminal enterprise, including McNally and Cafaro – but not Yavorcik – and conspired to impede or stop the JFS move and the county’s purchase of Oakhill.

As part of the alleged conspiracy, members of the enterprise are accused of bribing Yavorcik to run for county prosecutor in 2008 as an independent against incumbent Democrat Paul J. Gains to make the Oakhill investigation go away.

McNally said Thursday during testimony that he didn’t recall anyone – including Linette Stratford, chief assistant county prosecutor – telling him the letter was confidential.

On the stand Friday, Stratford said she reminded everyone in an executive session in 2006 that the letter was confidential. Stratford said she did that because she along with the two other commissioners – Anthony Traficanti and David Ludt – “were particularly concerned” about McNally’s relationship with Cafaro.

“I said, ‘John, (this is) confidential,’ and he said, ‘I know, I know,’”

Stratford said during her Friday testimony. “I was a little bit skeptical.”

Stratford testified for 50 minutes and will return to the stand Monday.

Gains is also expected to testify Monday.

McNally testified for more than three hours between Thursday and Friday. He was asked about legal fees related to lawsuits to stop the Oakhill purchase. He acknowledged Friday receiving legal assistance at no cost to him in 2006 from Ulmer & Berne.

Prosecutors showed McNally numerous pieces of correspondence between him and attorneys for Ulmer & Berne.

“Ulmer & Berne was assisting me and I wasn’t paying them,” McNally said.

McNally, then county Auditor Michael V. Sciortino – who also took a plea to one felony and two misdemeanors on Feb. 26 – and then county Treasurer John Reardon, all Democrats, wanted to stop the purchase of Oakhill.

“I was not paying the Ulmer attorneys,” he testified.

When asked who did, McNally said he assumed it was the Cafaro Co. because the firm was retained by the shopping center company to stop the Oakhill sale.

The county was planning to relocate JFS from Garland Plaza, owned by a Cafaro subsidiary, to Oakhill after it purchased the latter - which it did. The county was paying $449,000 annually in rent at Garland on Youngstown’s East Side.

McNally, Sciortino and Reardon were represented in 2006 by Taft Stettinius & Hollister, also a Cleveland law firm. Taft billed $22,477 for its work.

McNally said he didn’t pay the fee, and didn’t know if anyone paid it.

When asked to estimate the Ulmer fee, McNally said, “It would be substantially less than Taft.”

For more on the case, read Saturday's Vindicator or Vindy.com.