YOUNGSTOWN — A Mahoning County Common Pleas Court judge rejected a request from ex-Youngstown Mayor Charles Sammarone’s attorney to dismiss a charge of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity against his client.

Sammarone faces 14 counts — with engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity being the most serious. The others are nine counts of bribery, three counts of tampering with records, all felonies, and a misdemeanor count of falsification.

Sammarone is accused of accepting $10,000 in bribes from Raymond Briya, a former MS Consultants Inc. chief financial officer, from October 2012 to July 2013 to steer city contracts to the company without the knowledge of other MS officials. He’s also accused of failing to disclose the payments along with rental income derived from owning a condo in Florida, and of making false statements about the money to state investigative officials.

Sammarone, mayor from August 2011 to December 2013, pleaded not guilty. The trial is scheduled to start March 16.

Sammarone was indicted Aug. 30, 2018, along with former city Finance Director David Bozanich, downtown developer Dominic Marchionda and 10 companies affiliated with the latter. Judge Maureen Sweeney ruled in July 2019 in favor of John Shultz, Sammarone’s attorney, to have a separate trial for the former mayor.

Shultz argued the charge of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity should be dismissed because “a common purpose is (a) required element” for such a count, and that Sweeney’s decision to separate Sammarone for trial meant he was not involved with the alleged corrupt activities of his former co-defendants.

But in a Monday decision, made public Wednesday, Sweeney wrote: “The defendant is mistaken. This court granted defendant’s motion for relief so as to not prejudice the defendant from being associated with the other multiple offenses alleged against the other defendants in which he is not charged. This court did not absolve the defendant of any conspiracy or affiliation with the other defendants.”

Shultz also argued the charge was duplicitous, meaning the accusations listed in it are also included in other counts in the indictment.

It’s an argument also made by Bozanich, Marchionda and nine of Marchionda’s companies seeking to dismiss counts. Sweeney hasn’t ruled on those motions.

To convict on the count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, Sweeney wrote prosecutors have “to establish the commission of two or more offenses, that the offenses were related to the affairs (of) the same ‘enterprise’ and that they were so related that they can be interpreted as a single offense.”

Regarding Shultz’s claim of duplicity, Sweeney wrote: “This argument fails as a result of (Sammarone’s) successful motion for relief from joinder. While the defendant argues that he could be convicted without a unanimous jury, he fails to consider that the only evidence that will be produced at his trial is evidence that involves his alleged actions. The state of Ohio (has) the burden of proof to show that the defendant engaged in activity related to activities of his other former defendants.”

It’s the second argument by Shultz in this case in less than a week rejected by Sweeney.

Sweeney ruled last Friday that a 2014 tape recording by then-county Democratic Party Chairman David Betras of a discussion he had with Sammarone and Sammarone’s son, Christopher, could be used as evidence in the upcoming trial. Shultz wanted the recording — made without the knowledge of the Sammarones — to be excluded as evidence. Sweeney wrote Shultz’s arguments were “meritless.”

In the recording, the older Sammarone says, “I am with the old school, one hand washes the other,” and “anything is legal if no one else knows about it. I have been around for a long time,” according to the 101-count indictment against him and the others.

Bozanich is accused of assisting people, including Marchionda through an associate, who sought public funding for economic-development projects in exchange for money, golf fees, meals and trips exceeding $125,000.

Marchionda is accused of misspending at least $600,000 in city funds on personal items in addition to misusing money obtained from the city, state and federal governments for three of his development projects.

They, along with Marchionda’s companies, have pleaded not guilty.

That trial is scheduled to start June 1.