Man gets prison in judge threat case
By MARK LAW, Staff writerSTEUBENVILLE - A man who threatened a common pleas judge presiding over a child custody case was sentenced Friday in Jefferson County Common Pleas Court to two years in prison.
Christopher S. Zrinyi, 36, of 307 Frostview Ave., Wintersville, was charged with felony retaliation after he threatened Jefferson County Common Pleas Judge Joseph Bruzzese Jr. in a restaurant in July. Bruzzese was presiding over a child-custody case involving Zrinyi.
Ted Schneiderman, a retired Summit County common pleas judge, had been appointed as a visiting judge to hear the case. Trumbull County Assistant Prosecutor Christopher Becker was appointed as special prosecutor in the case. Frank Pierce of Belmont County was appointed to represent Zrinyi.
Pierce told the judge that Zrinyi was disappointed the Eastern Ohio Correction Center had rejected Zrinyi from a six-month program at the Wintersville facility.
Zrinyi is facing a criminal case in Allegheny County, Pa., in which he was involved in a serious automobile accident that injured numerous people. Zrinyi also is charged with operating a vehicle under the influence after being arrested in Wintersville.
Schneiderman told Zrinyi those cases played a part in his decision to sentence Zrinyi to prison.
Zrinyi at his plea change hearing earlier this month apologized to Bruzzese for his actions.
(Law can be contacted at mlaw@heraldstaronline.com.)
