AKRON
Ceremony for judge
AKRON: Jennifer Hensal will be sworn in as a court of appeals judge by Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.
The ceremony will be held in the atrium of the Oacasek office building, 161 S. High St. Tours of the court will be given, followed by a reception.
For more information, call 330-421-0283, send an email to lesiak@lhhlaw.com or visit the Hensal for Judge Facebook page.
Hensal defeated Clair Dickinson in the November election, claiming his seat on the 9th District Court of Appeals.
Group honored
AKRON: The Akron musical group Ruby & the Romantics will be honored at a tribute 1:30 p.m. Thursday in the Akron City Council Chambers, 161 S. High St.
The group’s song Our Day Will Come was released 50 years ago and reached No. 1 on the Billboard chart in March 1963.
Ruby Nash Garnett, the only surviving member of the group, still lives in Akron.
Kiwanis speech
AKRON: Kyle Kutuchief, director of development for the Austen BioInnovation Institute, will speak at the Akron Kiwanis meeting at noon Thursday.
The institute is a collaboration of Akron Children’s Hospital, Akron General Health Systems, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Summa Health System, the University of Akron and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation that is focused on innovation and commercialization in biomaterials and medicine.
Kutuchief is active in the Akron area, including as vice president of Torchbearers, a young professional organization focused on community service and leadership development, and as a member of the Summit and Medina County Workforce Investment Board.
Anyone wishing to attend is asked to call 330-643-5517.
Sentence for fraud
AKRON: A developer convicted of bank fraud and other charges in a scheme that led to a Northeast Ohio credit union’s collapse has been sentenced to seven years and three months in prison and must forfeit $23 million.
Authorities say 44-year-old A. Eddy Zai, of Pepper Pike, was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court. He pleaded guilty last year to charges including bank fraud, money laundering, bribery and making false statements of financial institutions in a scheme that led to the 2010 collapse of St. Paul Croatian Federal Credit Union.
The FBI says Zai was involved in bribing loan officials, submitting false documentation and obtaining millions of dollars in loans for non-operational businesses he managed.
— Associated Press
CUYAHOGA FALLS
Two facing charges
CUYAHOGA FALLS: Cuyahoga Falls police arrested two people in connection with a rash of car break-ins over the past several months.
Robert Ponte, 26, is charged with grand theft, theft and receiving stolen property. Diana M. Mikoletic, 28, is charged with falsification, misuse of credit cards and receiving stolen property.
Falls police Sgt. James Singleton said a lengthy investigation found numerous victims.
Among the items taken were two handguns, two rifles, ammunition, cash, jewelry, credit cards, laptop computers and GPS devices. Some items, including the rifles, have been recovered. Police say they have not located the two handguns.
Ponte is an inmate at the Lorain Correctional Facility being held on unrelated burglary and theft charges. He is expected to appear later for his initial court appearance on the Falls cases.
Mikoletic is free on bond after her appearance in Stow Municipal Court.
NORTHEAST OHIO
Change at coalition
The head of the Portage County Tea Party no longer will lead the Ohio Liberty Coalition, an umbrella group of 75 tea party and related groups across the state.
Tom Zawistowski, however, will still serve as executive director of the Portage tea party, one of the most active in the state, and as president of the “We the People Convention.”
“That is more than enough — to say the least,” Zawistowski said Tuesday in a phone interview.
Zawistowski said heading the statewide group, a role he held since July 2011, got to be too much with his other duties, which includes running his own business.
Ted Stevenot of Union Township in southwest Ohio is the new president of the Ohio Liberty Coalition.
