Former Mahoning County Auditor Michael Sciortino faces sentencing for using his county owned computer for political campaigning and fundraising.

Sciortino appeared in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court on Monday where he pleaded guilty to unauthorized use of a computer.

One count is a felony and the other is misdemeanor.

Sciortino could face a maximum sentence of six months to a year in prison and a $5,000 fine for the felony.

The maximum sentence on the misdemeanor is six months in the county jail and a $1,000 fine.

Visiting Judge Patricia Cosgrove will sentence Sciortino on May 19th.

Sciortino was originally charged with four counts of theft in office and 21 counts of unauthorized use of a computer.

In June, the Mahoning County Grand Jury handed up an indictment alleging that Sciortino used a publicly owned computer from his county office more than 300 times to conduct political campaign activities and fund raising over several election cycles.

Investigators also allege he used county computers to conduct business for his private professional law practice.

Sciortino agreed to plead guilty to the two unauthorized use charges as part of a plea deal worked out during Sciortino's Oakhill corruption case.

In the earlier case,  Sciortino and Youngstown Mayor John McNally pleaded guilty to charges stemming from their parts in trying to stop county commissioners from buying the former South Side Hospital in Youngstown, which is now named the Oak Hill Renaissance Place.

Commissioners planned to use the building to house the Department of Job and Family Services.

The purchase paved the way for moving ODJFS offices out of office space at Youngstown's Garland Plaza, which the county had been leasing from a company operated by now retired mall executive Anthony Cafaro, Sr.

McNally pleaded guilty to two counts of falsification and one count each of unlawful use of a telecommunications device and attempted unlawful disclosure of government information.

Sciortino pleaded guilty to the more serious charge of having an unlawful interest in a public contract as well as two misdemeanor counts of falsification and receiving or soliciting improper compensation

Both men were placed on probation for a year and ordered to serve 20 hours of court community service.

Sciortino, who is now prohibited from seeking public office for seven years because of his conviction,  was removed as county auditor just two weeks before his term of office was to expire in February of last year.

In addition, the Ohio Supreme Court on Monday suspended Sciortino from practicing law because of the felony conviction.

Martin Yavorcik, a third player in the Oak Hill investigation, opted not to accept a plea bargain and was convicted of one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, one count of conspiracy, three counts of bribery, one count of tampering with records, and two counts of money laundering.

Investigators said Yavorcik ran an unsuccessful political campaign to defeat Mahoning County Prosecutor Paul Gains, who spearheaded the first Oak Hill investigation that was eventually dismissed at the request of prosecutors who said at the time that they could not obtain tape recorded evidence from the FBI.

Yavorcik, who received campaign donations from members of the Cafaro family, will be sentenced on April 22.