Judge scolds former Carrollton school officials for theft scheme, tacks on jail term

CARROLLTON − With prosecutors not pushing for prison time, a Carroll County judge wanted to send a message to local students and the community by sentencing their former school district superintendent and a former board member to 30 days in jail for stealing from taxpayers.

Common Pleas Judge Michael Repella on Tuesday ordered former Carrollton Exempted Village School District Superintendent David Quattrochi and board member Michael Pozderac to report to the Carroll County Jail within the next 30 days to serve their punishment.

"Are they (the kids in the school district) going to look back and say, 'Our superintendent did something illegal and he was allowed to get away with it.' That's my worry," Repella said when announcing the sentence. "What are the kids going to think?"

"In the grand scheme of things, it wasn't even that much money," he added. "And so my mind goes to why. Why did you do this? But then it immediately goes to thinking about the fact about who you are and what your job is and what you mean to the community. The fact that you should have been one of the best examples that your students had. And in this case you failed them. And then I think about, 'Can you just get away with that?' Can you pay this money and walk away and have a great rest of his life?'"

Quattrochi, 55, of Steubenville, must pay a $1,000 fine and Pozderac, 59, of Carrollton, a $1,500 fine on top of restitution and court costs. They will serve three years on probation. If they violate any of the terms, Quattrochi could be imprisoned for 18 months and Pozderac for three years.

Quattrochi previously pleaded guilty to a fourth-degree felony of theft in office. Prosecutors dismissed felony counts of grand theft by deception, having an unlawful interest in a public contract, telecommunications fraud, money laundering, engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity and other charges as part of a plea agreement.

Related: Former Carrollton superintendent, board member, teacher plead guilty in theft case

Pozderac pleaded guilty to a third-degree felony of theft in office as part of a similar plea deal.

With felony convictions, both are disqualified from holding any office of public trust in Ohio.

Related: 'Stealing money from my children.' Indicted superintendent out at Carrollton Schools

Taking responsibility in the Carrollton Exempted Village scam

Quattrochi's attorney Richard Blake said his client was paying restitution. Blake said his client is "mortified" at what he's done and takes responsibility.

"He loves working for the schools," Blake said. "Giving that up. Not being able to do it again is significant for him."

In December, the Ohio Auditor's Office accused the two and two other co-defendants of taking part in a scheme to steal by creating two shell companies to sell air purifiers at marked-up prices to the school district, yielding the defendants a profit of about $47,000. The two resigned their positions when the plot was uncovered.

Related: Shell companies and theft: Carrollton schools superintendent, board member facing charges

Quattrochi told the judge he apologized for what he had done.

"Definitely learned from this situation. I've never been in trouble," he said, later adding that he had a job prospect after he resigned in December.

"And I know when you got the check, you knew it wasn't right," said Repella. "You had to. You knew what you were doing was wrong. You knew it was underhanded. And you knew things were trying to be concealed from the state so you could get money that you didn't deserve."

Repella noted that had Quattrochi been convicted of the more serious charges he would have spent much of the rest of his life in prison.

Related: 'Stealing money from my children.' Indicted superintendent out at Carrollton Schools

Repella said because Quattrochi had agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, he would agree to most of the plea negotiations where prosecutors were not seeking any specific prison time. Still, he tacked on the 30 days in jail.

Repella denied Blake's request to reduce the jail time to 10 days.

"This is a case where I thought there would be a lot more time than 30 days," he said.

Related: School board member, teacher resign from Carrollton schools amid criminal charges

'Tears of genuine remorse' from Michael Pozderac

Pozderac's attorney Henry Hilow said his client immediately acknowledged what he had done was wrong, adding his actions negated all the good work he had done in his life as a golf course owner, fundraising for charities and as a school board member.

Hilow said Pozderac had shed "tears of genuine remorse" and "people look at him differently now. But his client had made full restitution payments and "hoped to resurrect his reputation and career."

"I regret everything," Pozderac told the judge. "I'm sorry for (embarrassing) my family."

Repella said Pozderac, his family and the golf course business were well respected in the Carrollton community.

"When I look at the pre-sentence investigation and I look at the facts behind the case, you seem to be the driving force behind why this happened. How it happened. Dragged your wife into it. Dragged Dr. Q into it. And you were always at the center of it," the judge said.

"In my view, the state's plea negotiations were soft. But I understand why they did it. I understand why they gave you the plea offer they gave you. To go to trial in this case wouldn't be good for the community at large. Especially given the fact that all of the restitution had been paid. ... But just like Dr. Q, I can't allow you to serve no time. .. You made a mistake. And it's one I hope that you can overcome. And it's one I hope the community can forgive you for at some point. But you also have to go through this punishment first."

Thomas Anger, an attorney for the Ohio Auditor's Office appointed as a special prosecutor, said the plea agreements allowed taxpayers to recover the stolen funds, led to the defendants acknowledging responsibility and deterred future thefts.

No jail time for Jackie Pozderac

Repella sentenced Pozderac's wife, Jackie, to 50 hours of community service, one year of probation with no jail time and to pay restitution and court costs, along with a suspended 180-day sentence if she violates the terms of her probation.

Jackie Pozderac, who was a teacher for the school district at the time, pleaded guilty last month to the misdemeanor of one count of having an unlawful interest in a public contract, downgraded from a felony charge.

As part of the deal, prosecutors dropped two other felony counts of having an unlawful interest in a public contract in addition to the same felony and misdemeanor charges filed against Quattrochi and her husband.

Court records did not give specifics on Jackie Pozderac's role in the scheme, but her husband had indicated in an affidavit that he had used her credit card to make a payment for the air purifiers without her knowledge.

"I'm sorry and embarrassed," Jackie Pozderac said to the judge. "This has been very difficult."

Jackie Pozderac's attorney Daniel J. Misiewicz, said his client is "ashamed, embarrassed." She had made with her husband a substantial joint upfront payment of restitution of $30,000 in addition to three checks totaling $25,820 to cover the rest of the restitution from the stolen funds related to the air purifiers and the audit costs by the school district and the Ohio Auditor's Office.

Repella said based on his reading of the pre-sentencing investigation he considered Jackie Pozderac the "least culpable" of the three defendants who pleaded guilty.

Fourth defendant declines plea deal

Gus Nickolas, 65, of Canton, a fourth defendant accused of taking part in the scheme, opted not to accept a plea agreement. If he had agreed to plead guilty to the fourth-degree felony charge of grand theft by deception, the prosecution had offered to drop the remaining charges of receiving stolen property and most of the same charges filed against the other defendants.

The judge scheduled a trial date of Sept. 5. Court records filed in January do not provide details about Nickolas' alleged role in the theft plot.

Reach Robert at robert.wang@cantonrep.com. Twitter: @rwangREP.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Carrollton Exempted Village school leaders get jail for theft plot