Finalist for federal judgeship had local ties

I LOVE A PARADE: Saturday is my favorite local political event of the year: the Fourth of July Parade in Austintown. How can you not love an event that combines shaking the hands of sweaty politicians and the opportunity to get street candy thrown at your head? The weather is supposed to be nice on Saturday, but that doesn’t really matter. My family never misses the parade, even the one from a few years ago held during a major rainstorm. Traditionally, July 4 parades are a great opportunity for politicians to meet voters. Of course, the voters are primarily interested in grabbing some choice candy. One year I saw Judge Maureen Sweeney run to her parade car to grab candy because the people she wanted to say hello to wouldn’t do so without something to eat. The 2008 parade during the biggest election year for the Mahoning Valley in recent memory lasted only 50 minutes. Hopefully Saturday’s parade will last longer because that means more candy. On the flipside, there’s a better chance I’ll take a butterscotch candy to the head. But it’s worth the risk. skolnick@vindy.com

By David Skolnick

The name sounded so familiar to me, but I couldn’t figure out why.

When a spokeswoman for U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown gave me the three finalists to replace U.S. District Court Judge Peter C. Economus, who becomes a senior judge today, I was stuck on one name.

No, it wasn’t Judge Gene Donofrio of the Youngstown-based 7th District Court of Appeals.

I knew he’d be one of the three finalists even before a judicial advisory committee was formed to make those recommendations.

It was the name of Geoffrey Mearns that interested me.

When I was told he lived in Shaker Heights and is the dean of the Cleveland-Marshal College of Law, I thought there was no reason I’d recognize the name.

I thought more and more about it and for some reason I thought there was a connection between Mearns and ex-U.S. Rep. James A. Traficant Jr.

I looked through The Vindicator’s archives and it turns out I was correct.

Mearns represented J.J. Cafaro, executive vice president of the Cafaro Co., and Cafaro’s daughter, Capri, now the Senate minority leader, during Traficant’s 2002 federal corruption trial.

Mearns was extremely cooperative and accessible during the case.

J.J. Cafaro was found guilty of “conspiracy to provide an unlawful gratuity” to Traficant and avoided jail time.

He cooperated with federal prosecutors who successfully convicted Traficant of 10 felony counts including conspiracy, bribery and tax evasion.

The old adage in the newsroom that there’s always a Valley connection certainly rings true with Mearns.

So now Brown has to make an important decision: who will replace Judge Economus?

Among those who didn’t make the cut were Judge R. Scott Krichbaum of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, Judge Cynthia Rice of the Warren-based 11th District Court of Appeals, and Robert Shaker, who has a private practice in Niles.

Brown’s three choices are Judge Donofrio, Mearns and U.S. Magistrate Benita Pearson, a former assistant U.S. attorney, appointed to her current job in August 2008.

As far as experience on the bench, Judge Donofrio is the clear leader.

He’s been on the 7th District Court of Appeals for more than 16 years. But Judge Donofrio doesn’t have federal court experience.

Mearns spent about nine years as a special attorney to the U.S. attorney general and an assistant federal attorney.

He helped convict Terry Nichols, one of the two men convicted for bombing a federal building in Oklahoma City.

He also ran the U.S. Attorney Office’s organized crime and racketeering section in the Eastern New York District prosecuting several major organized crime cases.

Pearson’s bench experience is limited to 11 months as a federal magistrate based in Akron.

But she also has impressive federal prosecution experience serving as an assistant U.S. attorney who specialized in investigating and prosecuting white-collar corruption cases involving public officials.

She helped convict Mark D. Lay last year for his involvement in a $213 million investment fraud at the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation.

Mahoning Valley officials have supported Judge Donofrio and will continue to do so, in part because of concerns that the federal government will have Judge Economus’ replacement serve somewhere besides Youngstown. They figure there’s a better chance of keeping the position in Youngstown if a Valley resident is chosen.

Brown also strongly supports seating Judge Economus’ successor in Youngstown.

By David Skolnick(Contact David)