Pollis pleads innocent to charges; judge sets bond

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The Howland man and his wife face forfeiture of minks, jewelry and other property.

By PETER H. MILLIKEN

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — Bond has been set at $450,000 for Paul G. Pollis, 40, of Howland, who pleaded innocent today to charges of money laundering and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity.

Howland police arrested Pollis on Friday afternoon after he was indicted Thursday. Accompanied by his lawyer, Sam Bluedorn of Warren, Pollis appeared in court for arraignment wearing an orange Mahoning County Jail uniform, handcuffs and a leg chain.

After setting the bond, Mahoning County Common Pleas Judge Maureen Cronin said Pollis' trial is set for Oct. 11 before Judge Maureen Sweeney.

Charges against wife

In the same indictment, Pollis' wife, Deborah L. Toda, 48, who was arrested June 16, was charged with the same offenses.

Additionally, Toda, who is in Mahoning County Jail in lieu of $1.5 million bond, was charged with aggravated grand theft in the disappearance of more than $1 million between July 2004 and June 2006 from the North Central Pennsylvania Dialysis Clinic.

Toda, who was a bookkeeper in the clinic's administrative office in Boardman, was also charged with forgery of $100,000 or more in checks drawn on the clinic's account over the same period.

The charge of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity includes a forfeiture specification for property that Toda and Pollis reportedly derived from illegal activity.

The forfeiture specification includes a long list of business interests, household furnishings and appliances, bank and investment accounts, motor vehicles, furs, minks, jewelry, watches, pizzeria equipment and four Chevrolet Centre club seats.

Pollis' former wife, Charlotte Nagi-Pollis, disappeared in 1994 while the Pollises lived in Girard and has never been found.

Bond issue

Saying the current case involves "vast amounts of cash," Assistant County Prosecutor Robert Bush asked Judge Cronin to set bond at $500,000.

But Bluedorn called Bush's recommendation "slightly high," and noted that Pollis is a lifelong Trumbull County resident. If Pollis were inclined to flee, he has already had six weeks to do so since his wife's arrest, Bluedorn said.

Police seized cars and other assets and Pollis' passport when they executed a search warrant June 16 at Pollis' residence, Bluedorn said. "I believe he's been left with a mountain bike. He's certainly not going to get too far," Bluedorn told the judge.

Tuesday, August 1, 2006