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Ex-Campbell mayor Krinos to report to prison today
By Justin Wier
YOUNGSTOWN
U.S. attorneys withdrew their motion to revoke the bond of former Campbell Mayor George Krinos on the condition that he reports to prison by 2 p.m. today.
Krinos, who served as mayor of Campbell from December 2009 to January 2011, received a 57-month prison sentence earlier this year after pleading guilty to securities fraud and willful failure to collect or pay tax.
He was scheduled to report to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons on Nov. 1.
U.S. attorneys reached the agreement in proceedings Tuesday before Judge Dan A. Polster in Cleveland’s U.S. District Court.
Krinos also had to submit to a debtor’s examination, which consists of answering questions about finances under oath.
U.S. attorneys filed a motion seeking to revoke Krinos’ bond last week, arguing that Krinos posed an economic threat to the community while out on bond.
The motion singled out Historic Community Rehabilitation, which claims to eliminate blight by obtaining federal, state and local grants to renovate houses. The company was nominally formed by Michael Bobic, an employee in Campbell’s water department, the motion said.
It detailed cases in which Krinos targeted communities in Columbiana, Ashtabula, Stark, Summit and Mahoning counties.
Tim Sokoloff, president of Iron Soup Historical, said Historic Community Rehabilitation contacted him about obtaining 39 Youngstown Sheet and Tube company homes in Campbell.
An email Sokoloff received from Krinos identifies himself as the executive director of Historic Community Rehabilitation and provides a document to transfer the deeds on the properties.
Krinos told Sokoloff his company would fix up the properties and Sokoloff could collect rent on those properties.
“When we brought up the fact that my people were uncomfortable with it, they tried to do the, ‘Oh, well, George isn’t involved anymore’ thing,” Sokoloff said.
Alden Chevlen, an attorney representing Sokoloff, said they met with Bobic and three other people comprising the organization’s construction team Aug. 20.
“They wanted title to all the company homes so they could use them to get tax credits,” Chevlen said.
Sokoloff also said Historic Community Rehabilitation used approaching tax-credit deadlines to pressure Iron Soup into signing the forms.
The motion filed by U.S. attorneys last week claimed Historic Community Rehabilitation “created a false sense of urgency to his proposals and used ‘hard sell’ tactics for flimsy or ill-defined projects.”
Krinos’ initial conviction resulted from defrauding at least 10 investors out of nearly $1.2 million between 2011 and 2014. The victims were primarily elderly people whom he persuaded to liquidate retirement accounts, U.S. attorneys said.