YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) – The City of Youngstown filed a lawsuit this week trying to recoup some of the money it lost in a development scheme between former finance director David Bozanich and developer Dominic Marchionda.
The lawsuit goes back to the 2021 corruption scandal involving Bozanich, Marchionda, and the Erie Terminal and Flats at Wick projects.
While Bozanich and Marchionda were both convicted of crimes in the scheme that shuffled money out of the city’s Water Fund for Marchionda’s projects, the city says it’s still owed $834,608 (minus $100,000 the city collected from Bozanich’s insurance bond as a fiduciary) plus costs and fees for the money that was fraudulently turned over to Marchionda’s projects in the bribery scheme.
The city also wants Bozanich to refund the salary he was paid while he was in cahoots with Marchionda.
The city has named Marchionda, Bozanich and the LLCs created by Marchionda for the Erie Terminal and Flats at Wick projects in the lawsuit.
A 2021 forensic audit by the state uncovered the scheme to fund Marchionda’s projects and the bribes given to Bozanich, who was later convicted of taking unlawful compensation and records tampering. Bozanich served less than a year in prison for the crimes.
Marchionda pleaded guilty to four counts of tampering with records as part of a plea deal and was sentenced to five years of probation.
The lawsuit was filed Thursday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. A response from the defendants has not been recorded yet.
