Former finance director responds to city’s lawsuit

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) – It’s been nearly three months since the city filed a lawsuit against developer Dominic Marchionda and former city finance director David Bozanich, and now Bozanich has responded to the lawsuit in a court filing.

Bonzanich filed an answer to the lawsuit Tuesday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.

The City of Youngstown filed a lawsuit in November trying to recoup some of the money it lost in a development scheme between Bozanich and Marchionda. The lawsuit goes back to the 2021 corruption scandal involving Bozanich, Marchionda, and the Erie Terminal and Flats at Wick projects.

The city wants Marchionda to pay the city back $834,608 and wants Bozanich to pay the salary he was paid while he was in cahoots with Marchionda.

Bozanich wrote in his response that the city should have never filed the lawsuit and that its claims are “frivolous,” based on decades-old transactions that “were approved by the Youngstown City Council and City’s Board of Control.”

Bozanic also contends that the city didn’t suffer any economic loss because of his actions.

“…the city should not be wasting taxpayer dollars pursuing what it knows to be frivolous and time-barred claims.”

Bozanich is asking the court to dismiss that case.

Marchionda has filed a counter lawsuit against the city of Youngstown asking for $1 million he says he spent in wastewater upgrades for the projects and for “surplus property” he purchased from the city that has no value.

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.