43
New attorney for defendant nixes plea deal
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
Typically, when a defendant wants to withdraw a guilty plea, prosecutors fight them tooth and nail.
But not Tuesday.
When Jason Moore asked Judge Maureen Sweeney of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to withdraw his guilty plea in a sports-fraud case, Assistant Prosecutor Martin Desmond almost tripped over himself to tell the judge he would not oppose Moore’s motion.
In fact, Desmond said the move allows him to take Moore’s case back to a county grand jury and indict him on even more charges so he could get far more time than the three years he was set to receive Tuesday for a guilty plea to a charge of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity.
“I actually want him to withdraw his guilty plea,” Desmond said.
Moore, 30, of West Farmington, is one of several people indicted last year for their roles in a sports-memorabilia fraud case that prosecutors said raked in between $1.5 million and $2.5 million.
The members are accused of selling fake autographs of sports personalities on the internet through eBay accounts. They would sell autographed pictures, balls or other types of memorabilia.
Desmond was recommending that Moore be sentenced to three years in prison and prosecutors would not oppose a request for early release.
Moore said he wanted to take his plea back because he felt intimidated by his lawyer to take the plea because he thought he would receive a much longer sentence had he been convicted. He also said he did not do the crime.
Desmond called Moore’s claims of innocence laughable. “He confessed,” Desmond said.
A new attorney was appointed for Moore and he will be back in court today for another pretrial hearing. He is free on bond. But Desmond said he may no longer be in a generous mood.
“The offer he got is a gift,” Desmond said.