Plea deal reached in Conneaut Lake boat mishap case

A plea deal was reached Friday in Crawford County Court of Common Pleas in connection with a Conneaut Lake boating mishap that caused $200,000 in damages last year.

Two of four summary violation convictions were appealed to county court by Mario DeBlasio.

At a hearing Dec. 9, 2021, DeBlasio, 56, of 235 Lake Park Drive, was found guilty of negligent operation of a watercraft, speed restrictions and two counts of violating general boating regulations before Magisterial District Judge Rita Marwood. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission filed the four counts against DeBlasio for a July 26, 2021, incident on Conneaut Lake in which DeBlasio’s large pontoon boat crashed into a private dock as well as two moored boats.

Testimony at the December hearing found total damages were estimated between $214,000 and $237,000.

Marwood ordered DeBlasio to pay a total of $646 in fines and costs — $250 for negligent operation of a watercraft, $75 each for the speed restrictions and two general boating regulations violations, plus $171 in court costs. The general boating regulation violations were for not having a required throwable safety device onboard and for operating at greater than “no wake” speed within 100 feet of a dock.

However, DeBlasio, who is a member of Conneaut Lake Borough Council, appealed two of the magisterial court convictions to county court.

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DeBlasio appealed the speed restrictions conviction and the operating at greater than “no wake” speed within 100 feet of a dock.

At the start of Friday’s appeal hearing, Ed Hatheway, DeBlasio’s defense attorney, and Andrew Natalo, a Crawford County assistant district attorney, told Judge Francis Schultz a plea agreement had been reached.

DeBlasio agreed to withdraw his appeal of the speed restrictions conviction and let that conviction stand, while in exchange, the DA’s office then would dismiss the charge of operating at greater than “no wake” speed within 100 feet of a dock, the two attorneys said.

With dismissal of the “no wake” speed count under the agreement, DeBlasio won’t owe a $75 fine and $40.25 in court costs for that count.

Following the hearing, Hatheway declined comment on behalf of his client. Natalo called the agreement a “fair resolution under the circumstances of the case.”