The Howland man and his wife face forfeiture of minks, jewelry and other property.
YOUNGSTOWN — Bond has been set at $450,000 for Paul G. Pollis, 40, of Howland, who pleaded innocent Tuesday 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, Judge Maureen Cronin of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court said Pollis' trial is set for Oct. 11 before Judge Maureen Sweeney. Jail authorities said Tuesday night Pollis posted bond and was released.
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 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. She is in Mahoning Council Jail in lieu of $1.5 million bond.
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 Pollis' 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.