Thursday, May 29, 2014CLEVELAND -- After six minutes standing beside their lawyers as they entered not-guilty pleas inside the Cuyahoga County courtroom of Judge Pamela A. Barker (READ STORY), and another 40 minutes being booked into the county jail, Youngstown Mayor John A. McNally, Mahoning County Auditor Michael Sciortino and attorney Martin Yavorcik had little to say.
“Not guilty,” said Yavorcik.
“No comment,” said McNally.
The three men, all of whom were indicted again May 14 on public corruption charges centering on Mahoning County's purchase of the Oakhill building in 2006 (READ INDICTMENT), were arraigned this morning at the Cuyahoga County Justice Center.
“I believe in the justice system. I want a trial. I want a jury of my peers and I want all the facts to come out,” Yavorcik said. “This is the process. I respect it. I respect this court and I believe I'll get a fair trial whether it's here in Cuyahoga County or in Mahoning County or anywhere.”
Lynn Maro, McNally's attorney, spoke on behalf of the mayor.
“John McNally has always maintained that he has done nothing improper or illegal in opposing Oakhill,” she said. “We made that clear the first time around when we were defending these allegations.”
Similar charges were filed against the men in 2010 in Mahoning County, but were dismissed without prejudice, allowing them to be re-filed.
Jennifer Scott, Yavorcik's attorney, added that the trial is frustrating for her client because of the previous indictments.
“Mr. Yavorcik has lived through this once before. He was indicted and [the case was dismissed] in Mahoning County where all of the primary acts took place ... now we're here in Cuyahoga county,” Scott said. “They're just frustrated by the length of the process and having to live through this multiple times.”
Sciortino's attorney John Juhasz was not present and Maro spoke for him during his arraignment.
Judge Pamela Barker set a $15,000 personal bond for all three and told them not to leave the state without approval. A pretrial date was set for June 5 before Judge Janet Burnside.
Maro said she doesn't expect this to be a quick trial due to new evidence that the defense must go through, which presumably includes recordings of phone conversations between the defendants and Anthony Cafaro Sr., described as “Businessman 1” in the latest indictment (READ STORY).
McNally faces 34 charges including two counts of bribery, five counts of tampering with records and nine counts of perjury, along with a single charge of engaging a pattern of corrupt behavior.
Sciortino has been indicted on 21 counts that include money laundering, tampering with records and conspiracy.
Yavorcik faces 27 charges, 17 of which are tampering with records.
As an attorney, Yavorcik said he knows how these cases work, but that it's more frustrating for his family.
McNally seemed calm before his arraignment, working on the commencement address he will give this weekend at Ursuline High School, his alma mater. He walked briskly out of the Justice Center with Sciortino, both declining to speak to the press.
Yavorcik stated that only half of the arguments have been presented in the indictments -- the state's case.
“This is what they're alleging. This isn't what's true. You'll see what's true in court,” he said. “That's all I have to say."
Before leaving with his attorney and girlfriend, Yavorcik added one final comment — he “absolutely” denies all allegations.
Maro emphasized that McNally also denies the charges levied against them.
“This really is a test for our justice system. If it works the way it's supposed to, there should be an acquittal at the end of this,” she said.
Copyright 2014 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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