(YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio)—Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and Mahoning County Prosecuting Attorney Paul Gains today announced that an indictment has been issued against former Mahoning County Auditor Michael Sciortino. The indictment was issued today by a Mahoning County Grand Jury.
Sciortino, 44 of Austintown, was indicted on 25 counts:
- Four counts of Theft in Office, felonies of the fifth degree
- 21 counts of Unauthorized Use of Property–Computer or Telecommunications Property, felonies of the fifth degree
The indictment alleges that Sciortino used his public computers, issued to him as Mahoning County Auditor, to conduct political campaign activities and campaign fundraising over several election cycles, as well as conduct his private professional law practice. Investigators became suspicious of Sciortino’s computer use when in September 2014, during the execution of a search warrant, Sciortino stated that he wanted to keep a public computer overnight, offering to bring it to law enforcement the next day. The criminal conduct is alleged to have occurred between October 2005 and August 2012.
The alleged criminal conduct specified in this indictment is a separate and distinct allegation of criminal activity from the ongoing prosecution in Cuyahoga County, involving Sciortino, John McNally (in his capacity as former Mahoning County Commissioner), and Martin Yavorcik.
The new indictments are a joint prosecution between the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and the Mahoning County Prosecutor’s Office.
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Files
Indictment (PDF)
Media Contacts
Dan Tierney: 614-466-3840
Jill Del Greco: 614-466-3840