John Zachariah, the last of seven defendants in the Oakhill Renaissance case, was booked Wednesday morning at the Mahoning County Justice Center.
Zachariah had been out of the country since being indicted by the grand jury July 29. He is one of several current and former county officeholders and prominent business owners, accused of trying to keep Mahoning County from buying Oakhill Renaissance Place and moving the Department of Job and Family Services there.
Zachariah is the former director of JFS. Zachariah's lawyer, Atty. Roger Synenberg, said his client is not guilty.
Besides Zachariah, County Commissioner John McNally, Auditor Mike Sciortino and former Treasurer John Reardon are accused of working with developer Anthony Cafaro Sr. to keep JFS from moving out of the Cafaro-owned McGuffy Mall and into Oakhill. Cafaro's sister, Flora, and Attorney Martin Yavorcik are charged with money laundering in the case.
