Court suicide, officer's death, corruption top Valley's 2017 news

By JORDYN GRZELEWSKI

jgrzelewski@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Shocking deaths, the area’s ongoing corruption saga and major changes in local politics were among the headline-grabbing events in the Mahoning Valley in 2017.

An eventful news year began with bloodshed, when a Howland man fired at five people, killing two, near a busy township highway in February.

Then, in April, triple-murder defendant Robert Seman, accused of killing a young girl and her grandparents by setting fire to their Powers Way house, brought a stunning conclusion to what likely would have been a gripping trial by jumping to his death from the fourth floor of the Mahoning County Courthouse.

In other deaths that drew the attention of the community and beyond, a Girard police officer was killed in the line of duty; a veteran city firefighter died in an accident; and a body was found in a freezer in Campbell.

Along with the shocking deaths came news on what might not have been surprising to those familiar with the Valley: corruption.

These stories and more were identified by Vindicator staff reporters and editors – as well as by website and social media scoring – as the top news stories for 2017.

A look at the top 10 picks:

1 Robert Seman leaps to his death

Had Seman gone on trial for the arson deaths of Corinne Gump, 10, and her grandparents, William and Judith Schmidt, that news event likely would have made this list, too.

The story already was bizarre, chilling and highly publicized. Seman was indicted in 2015 in the deaths, which occurred the day before Seman was to go on trial on charges of raping Corinne. At the time of the fire, he was free on bond in the rape case.

Prosecutors had strong circumstantial death linking Seman to the fire, including video of him buying makeup to cover burns.

Events took an even more shocking turn when, on April 10, shortly before his capital murder trial was set to begin in Portage County, Seman, 48, leaped to his death from the fourth floor of the Mahoning County Courthouse.

The act was witnessed by numerous people at the courthouse, including veteran Vindicator reporter Joe Gorman. Seman was in court that day for a final status hearing.

2 Girard Patrolman Justin Leo killed in the line of duty

About 10 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21, police officer Justin Leo and his partner responded to a domestic-dispute call on Indiana Avenue. The 31-year-old was shot at the house to which he had responded, dying shortly thereafter at the hospital. The other officer shot and killed Leo’s shooter.

The loss left family, fellow officers and the community at large reeling. More than 1,000 people attended a candlelight vigil the night after he died, a nearly 100-car procession accompanied Leo’s body home from the Cuyahoga County Coroner’s office, and hundreds attended his funeral at Youngstown State University’s Beeghly Center.

3 Jamael Tito Brown elected as city’s next mayor

For the first time in the city’s history, all the candidates for mayor were black. Brown, who defeated Mayor John A. McNally in the Democratic primary, emerged victorious in the field of four, winning by 127 votes over Sean McKinney.

“I’ll be the mayor for everyone, not just those who voted for me,” Brown promised. He becomes the city’s second black mayor. The first was independent Jay Williams.

4 Nasser Hamad found guilty of aggravated murder

In November, Hamad was sentenced to life in prison with parole eligibility after 36 years. Hamad was found guilty of aggravated murder for the shooting deaths of Joshua Haber, 19, and Joshua Williams, 20. Hamad also injured three other people in the Feb. 25 gunplay at his state Route 46 home in Howland. The shooting followed a monthslong feud between Hamad and the people who came to his house that day.

After firing shots at the group, Hamad went back inside his house to reload his gun, then continued to fire.

5 Corruption

After a state probe, Dominic Marchionda, a downtown property developer, and his associated businesses were indicted in October by a Mahoning County grand jury on 105 counts related to more than $2 million given from the city’s water and wastewater funds to Marchionda’s NYO Property Group.

Also under investigation for the same matter is city Finance Director David Bozanich.

The indictment against Marchionda accuses him of a scheme “to funnel government money” to himself through various companies “to live his lavish lifestyle and enrich himself.” It also alleges that an unnamed city official, identified by sources as Bozanich, helped Marchionda in exchange for a $25,000 bribe in 2009.

Hints in the indictment point to Bozanich, such as a line referring to the need to “take care of Dave.”

Also, former Niles Mayor Ralph Infante was indicted in August on 41 criminal counts related to public corruption.

Infante is accused of accepting bribe money in exchange for city jobs on numerous occasions. Other allegations, such as accepting $8,000 worth of NCAA football championship tickets from a businessman or his son who did business with the city, also are included in the charges against him.

6 President Donald Trump visits the Valley

In July, six months into his presidency, Trump had a campaign-style rally for a packed house at the Covelli Centre. The event drew of crowd of nearly 7,000 people.

The president spoke for 55 minutes, touching on some of his signature campaign promises such as bringing back the steel factory jobs that left the Valley decades ago. “These jobs [that] have left Ohio, they’re coming back,” Trump told the crowd.

7 Youngstown city schools

The Youngstown Board of Education continued to oppose Krish Mohip, the district’s state-mandated CEO, by calling into question his hiring and spending.

The Vindicator reported in January that Mohip had hired about six people in leadership positions, with combined salaries of approximately $500,000. Additionally, Vindicator reporting revealed Mohip had conducted business with a company that was listed as a partner with a firm for which he had worked as a paid consultant, leading state lawmakers to contact the Ohio Ethics Commission. As of this month, the commission had not decided whether to open an investigation into the matter.

Also this year, Mohip continued his push to get parents more actively engaged with the district with initiatives such as a 10-session series called Coffee with the CEO, a weekly Facebook Live session called Mondays with Mohip and a new CEO’s Citizens Coalition.

8 Youngstown

Fire Department Battalion Chief Ron Russo killed in motorcycle accident

In October – the same weekend Girard patrolman Justin Leo was killed – Russo died after a van hit him on his motorcycle in Saybrook Township. Thousands of people attended services for Russo, who, at 37 years of service, was the city fire department’s longest-serving firefighter.

9 Woman’s body found in freezer in Campbell

In July, police arrested Arturo Novoa and Katrina Layton in connection with a body, later identified as Shannon Elizabeth Graves, found in a freezer at a Campbell home.

The couple is accused of killing Graves, who had been missing for several months. City prosecutors said Layton had assumed the identity of Graves, who at one point had dated Novoa. Graves’ body was found after Novoa moved the freezer to the home of a friend in Campbell. Friends called the police after finding the body while getting ready to make dinner.

10 Youngstown site chosen for marijuana grow operation

In November, a Youngstown business, Riviera Creek Holding LLC, was awarded a license by the state to grow medical marijuana. It will be one of 12 large-growing sites in the state and will operate out of 1275 Crescent St. The venture is expected to bring a $10 million to $15 million investment over three years and 181 to 319 jobs by 2022.