Infante suppression hearing set for Thursday

WARREN

The judge in the Ralph Infante public-corruption case will hear testimony at 1 p.m. Thursday to help her decide whether to suppress evidence gathered at the home at 560 N. Rhodes Ave. in Niles.

The former mayor and his wife, Judy, owned the home in earlier years, but his attorney argued in a September filing that they did not own it when investigators raided it Feb. 1, 2016, and seized records that special prosecutors say are related to illegal gambling and the operation of ITAM No. 39 on State Street in McKinley Heights.

Infante seeks to have the evidence suppressed because the Infantes didn’t live there when the search was done.

The filing argues that the privacy rights of other people living at the home also may have been violated by the search. It says John and Michelle Sudzina, son-in-law and daughter of Judy Infante, currently own the property.

Special Prosecutor Dan Kasaris of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, meanwhile, cited records from the Trumbull County Auditor’s Office indicating that the Infantes owned the house until July 28, 2016, as evidence that no one’s property rights were violated.

Infante, 61, is charged in a 41-count indictment with taking bribes, receiving inappropriate gifts, engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, tampering with records and illegal gambling. Judy Infante and former Niles auditor Charles Nader also were indicted.

Read more about the case in Wednesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.comn.