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LISBON --A federal judge will decide whether Stephen Strabala must resume making restitution payments to Columbiana County for his role in the county investment scandal.
The county prosecutor's office filed a motion four months ago in federal district court in Cleveland asking Judge Solomon Oliver Jr. to revive a $4.6 million judgment against Strabala from 20 years ago. Strabala quit making restitution in 2011 after paying $33,755.
Assistant County Prosecutor Krista Peddicord said the parties met last week with the federal magistrate, who will review the motions and make a recommendation to Judge Oliver.
The prosecutor's office took action after being alerted in August by the newspaper that Strabala had quit making payments despite still owing more than $4.5 million in restitution. Strabala spent seven years in prison after investigators determined he had illegally invested $10 million in county funds, $6 million of which was lost in the stock market. He also spent another $334,000 on himself.
The scandal resulted in the forced resignation of his father, former county treasurer Ardel Strabala, who spent one year in prison for investing county funds through his son, who was a stockbroker at the time.
As part of the plea deal with federal authorities, the younger Strabala was required to make restitution to the county in the amount of $4.7 million. The sale of Strabala's assets generated $144,000 and were applied against the judgment. Meanwhile, Strabala began making payments in 1998 while he was in prison, which continued sporadically over the next 13 years.
Peddicord, in her motion before Judge Solomon, argued state law has jurisdiction over reviving lapsed federal judgments, and the law allows motions of this sort to be brought within 21 years of the judgment becoming dormant by operation of the law, which in this case occurred in February 2000. This means the county has until February 2021 to seek revival of the judgment.
Peddicord is seeking revival of the $4.6 million judgment, plus interest, which would raise the amount owed by Strabala to $20.4 million.
Strabala is represented by Lisbon attorney Peter Horvath, who argued in his motion to the court that the county had 10 years -- or until February 2010 -- to seek revival of the judgment because of a change in state law enacted in 2004. "If you let a judgment lapse for more than 10 years it cannot be revived," he said.
Peddicord's motion stated the legislature cannot pass retroactive laws that affect legal rights, so any changes in the law made after the 1995 judgment against Strabala do not apply.