Kovachik pleads guilty to stealing from dementia patient

YOUNGSTOWN — A former congressional aide to the late U.S. Rep. James Traficant pleaded guilty to stealing from a woman with dementia.

Linda Kovachik, 70, of Youngstown, pleaded guilty to felony theft today in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.

Prosecutors reduced the degree of the felony because Kovachik cooperated in a civil case and helped the victim recover money from the bank.

Prosecutors will ask for a prison term at sentencing, which is scheduled for Jan. 18 at 2 p.m.

She faces up to three years in prison.