Anthony Cafaro Sr. says the case against him and others in the Oakhill Renaissance case should be thrown out.
Lawyers for Cafaro say the case has been tainted by the actions of Mahoning County Prosecutor Paul Gains, accusing Gains and his staff of acting unethically from the very start of this case, which involved the move of the Department of Jobs and Family Services. They argue Gains abused his power out of "dislike" for the Cafaro family.
At the heart of a 106-page court filing filed by Cafaro requesting dismissal of an indictment filed against him in the Oakhill scandal is what defense lawyers argue is Gains' "retaliation" against developer Anthony Cafaro Sr. as well as Mahoning County Commissioner John McNally, Auditor Mike Sciortino and former Treasurer John Reardon.
The four, along with several others, including a number of Cafaro-owned companies, were all indicted in the alleged conspiracy case involving the move of the Department of Job and Family services to Oakhill Renaissance Place and away from the Cafaro-owned McGuffey Mall. Cafaro and the others had all publicly opposed the county's purchase of Oakhill.
In an August 2010 interview, a Cafaro Company spokesperson said this about the indictments.
"All of them either opposed Paul Gains politically or provided support to his political opponent," spokesman Joe Bell said at the time.
In this latest filing, Cafaro's attorneys argue Gains has had a personal vendetta against the Cafaro Family claiming.. "the animosity toward the Cafaro defendants dates at least from 2000 when Attorney Leonard Hall, a Cafaro Company employee, ran against Gains for County Prosecutor."
We called Paul Gains to get comment on the lawsuit, but he declined to say anything. He said he's a witness in the Oakhill case and the special prosecutors office is handling all legal matters.
The filing also accuses Gains of prosecutorial misconduct, ultimately "resulting in systematic violations of laws governing grand jury secrecy, process and procedure."
Lawyers for Cafaro said the case against their client is nothing more than a vindictive prosecution "to manufacture crimes where none existed" and to deny the defendants their right to publicly criticize the Oakhill purchase
We contacted Cafaro's lawyers for comment and they said they would let the legal documents speak for themselves at this time.
