Carrollton board member, former superintendent plead not guilty to corruption charges
CARROLLTON ‒ Four people accused of setting up two shell companies to bilk the Carrollton Exempted Village School District out of nearly $50,000 pleaded not guilty Thursday to all charges.
Carroll County Common Pleas Judge Michael V. Repella II accepted the not guilty pleas from former Carrollton Superintendent David Quattrochi, board member Michael Pozderac, suspended Carrollton teacher Mary "Jackie" Pozderac and Canton-area business owner Gus Nickolas.
The judge scheduled the trial for July 17, and pretrial conferences for Feb. 23 and April 13.
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The group is facing felony counts of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, money laundering, theft in office, grand theft, having an unlawful interest in a public contract and telecommunications fraud.
The charge of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity is a first-degree felony.
Quattrochi, 54, of Steubenville, Michael Pozderac, 58, and Jackie Pozderac, 57, both of Carrollton, also face additional counts of prohibited representation by a present official and accepting unlawful compensation. Nickolas, 64, of Canton, faces an additional count of receiving stolen property.
Repella released Quattrocchi and the Pozderacs on their own recognizance, with the provision that they would have to pay $100,000 if they violated the terms of their release. Nickolas was previously given the same bond terms. Bond terms include appearing at court hearings, not getting arrested and giving the probation office their addresses and telephone numbers.
Repella told the defendants not to talk to each other about the case, noting the Pozderacs live together.
Attorneys for the defendants declined to comment after the hearing.
What crimes are they accused of?
They were indicted following an investigation by state Auditor Keith Faber's office. Attorney Tom Anger represented the auditor's office in court Thursday as a special prosecutor.
Quattrochi resigned Dec. 9. The board has asked the Pozderacs to resign.
Faber's office said special investigators began probing the district after learning that a vendor’s address listed on a purchase order was the same as a school board member's address.
The Pozderacs, Quattrochi and Nickolas are accused of using two shell companies, The Phoenix Rising and Pozitively Quality Air, to sell air purifiers totaling $70,450 to the school district. The four allegedly divided about $47,000 in resulting profits among themselves while attempting to hide their involvement from the district, according to the auditor's office.
Carrollton schools paid Phoenix $70,450 for 50 Vollara Active Pure Air Purifiers in 2021 using its federal coronavirus relief funds, according to records that were given to The Canton Repository as part of a public records request.
Pozitively Quality Air does not appear on the school district's general list of vendors or on the list of companies it paid using coronavirus relief funds, according to the district's public records response.
State records show that Michael Pozderac incorporated Pozitively Quality Air in March 2021.
Reach Nancy at 330-364-8402 or nancy.molnar@timesreporter.com.
On Twitter: @nmolnarTR
This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Four accused in Carrollton schools' theft case plead not guilty
