YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (AP) - A former Youngstown mayor has pleaded guilty to two counts of tampering with records and was sentenced to five years’ probation, the Ohio Attorney General’s Office said.
Charles Sammarone, 77, appeared Monday in a Mahoning County courtroom. He was indicted on racketeering, bribery, falsification and tampering charges in 2018.
Prosecutors accused the longtime Youngstown politician of receiving regular payments from a vendor in return for steering projects to the vendor’s company.
Sammarone, a former Youngstown City Council president, was mayor from 2011 to 2013.
The state auditor’s office said Monday that Sammarone failed to disclose on state ethics forms bribes paid by a local businessman, gifts exceeding $75 and rental income from a condominium he owns in Florida.
Defense attorney John Shultz said Sammarone has always maintained his innocence.
“I believe this case was overblown from the beginning,” Shultz said.
Bribery charges against Youngstown’s former finance director are pending.
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