Suspended judge pleads not guilty in theft case

CLEVELAND — Suspended Mahoning County Court Judge Diana Vettori-Caraballo and her husband pleaded not guilty today at their arraignments in federal court to charges she bilked a woman’s estate out of several thousand dollars and then lied about it on their tax returns.

Both Vettori-Caraballo and her husband, Ismael Caraballo, were released on $20,000 unsecured bond before Judge Dan Aaron Polster in the U.S. Northern District Court of Ohio. The pair were indicted Nov. 15.

A pretrial conference of Feb. 6 was also set followed by another pretrial conference Feb. 25 and a jury trial for March 4.

Investigators believe Vettori-Caraballo took between $100,200 and $328,000 in cash from the home of Dolores Falgiani after Falgiani died in March 2016 then deposited the money intermittently and between several accounts, to avoid federal reporting requirements.

Ismael Caraballo is charged with filing a false tax return as he filed jointly with Vettori-Caraballo.