Former Mahoning County Auditor and Mahoning County Democratic Party chairman Lisa Antonini recently sat in a federal prison camp, presumably singing a chorus of political corruption in the Mahoning County, i.e. like most jailbirds do!
      Her songs, one can presume, helped to capture the alleged misdeeds of former Mahoning County Probate Judge, Mark Belinky, who was forced to resign earlier this year facing allegations of improper use of his campaign finances.
      Now, on their heels, the current Mahoning County Auditor, Mike Sciortino; Mayor of Youngstown, John McNally; and one-time Mahoning County Prosecutor hopeful, Atty. Martin Yavorcik, face indictment on a bevy of charges, all supposedly related to what they call the Oak Hill Renaissance Center, (the old South Side Hospital).
      Antonini, Belinky, McNally, Sciortino and Yavorcik join an ‘impressive’ list of at least 60 people, all Democrat leaders in the Mahoning Valley, who have been indicted over the last two decades on a wide variety of corruption allegations. In most cases, these people have been convicted and/or tossed out of office.
      It never seems to matter here, the revolving door keeps on swinging open, and closing, open and closing, and on and on.
      The people of the Mahoning Valley share much of the blame---For, while all the corruption is never-ending, the Democrats keep filling up the public offices---the people keep voting for them.
      Corruption in office and the will of the public here in The Valley, goes to extreme levels of absurdity. Remember when Sheriff hopeful Jimbo Traficant said the money he got from ‘the mob’ was part of his own investigation into corruption?
      Another one who comes readily to mind, of particular local note, is former Boardman Court Judge Martin Emrich.
      During his tenure on the bench, a drunk driver came before Judge Emrich. The drunk driver had struck a boy on a bicycle, the impact of the crash sent to young boy more than 35 feet threw the air. The drunk driver continued on his way, leaving the boy to die along the side of the road.
      Despite the tragedy, the case was fixed.
      Emrich didn’t get off the hook, though, like the drunk driver did. Emrich, like so many others, was booted out of office. These types of tales, from among this ‘Elite Group’ of office-holders, could go on and on, and on!
      The current trio of alleged misfits got themselves into trouble over something called The Oak Hill Renaissance Center, old South Side Hospital.
      The county bought the decaying building in 2006 for $75,000; like it was a real steal.
      Since that time, estimates are the county has pumped $16 million to $20 million into the site, moving, among other agencies, the Welfare Office and Board of Elections in the building.
      Still it is just 50 per cent occupied, but the county pays to heat and cool all parts of the structure, adding to the wasteful expenditures.
      Not to mention, the Mahoning County Board of Election Office, and all public offices in old South Side are The Disgrace of Mahoning County....dirty, filthy conditions, to the extreme.
      It is like the image of the Valley, tainted by the city of Youngstown and the Democrats, who have led the way all these years, one scandal after another---dirty to the extreme---to the point they most often step into office carrying the endorsement of unions and the major media who wait to feed off these birds.
      Perhaps asleep at the wheel are the Republicans. The door in this Valley so often opens wide enough to allow an elephant to walk through. The elephant, it seems, rarely makes the walk through the door---it is afraid to get dirty.
      JADjr
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