CINCINNATI, Ohio –
A federal appeals court is refusing to review the case of a former Struthers tow truck operator who is serving a 17-year prison sentence for sex crimes involving teenagers.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued an order denying Alex Bugno’s request for a certificate of appealability. The decision effectively ends Bugno’s latest attempt to challenge his 2020 conviction in federal court. The court determined that Bugno did not show a substantial reason to believe his constitutional rights were violated.

Bugno, now 37, was the owner of Bugno Towing. His legal troubles began in 2014 when agents from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and local police raided his business offices on Indianola Avenue and a storage lot on North Garland Avenue.

The investigation started after a father reported that Bugno was paying his 16-year-old son for sex acts. Evidence presented during the trial showed Bugno paid teenagers between $200 and $500 for sexual contact. Prosecutors also showed that Bugno recorded a video of one encounter and gave the victims unidentified pills.

In February 2020, a Mahoning County jury found Bugno guilty of 14 counts of compelling prostitution and one count of making a pornographic video with a minor. A judge sentenced him to 17 years in prison and labeled him a Tier Two sex offender.

After his appeals were rejected by Ohio state courts, Bugno filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio in February 2024. A writ of habeas corpus is a legal filing used by prisoners to ask a federal judge to review whether their imprisonment is lawful under the U.S. Constitution.

Bugno’s attorney argued that the conviction was unfair for several reasons. He claimed that investigators took items not listed on search warrants and that prosecutors made improper statements during the trial regarding Bugno’s character. He also argued that the trial court should not have allowed evidence about Bugno remaining silent when he was first questioned by police.

In July, U.S. District Judge J. Philip Calabrese denied the petition. The judge ruled that the state court’s decisions were reasonable and followed established law.

Bugno then turned to the appeals court in Cincinnati. To move forward with an appeal in this type of case, a prisoner must first obtain a certificate of appealability. The certificate is only granted if the prisoner can show that reasonable judges could disagree with the district court’s ruling.

In the order issued Thursday, the appellate court found that Bugno failed to meet this requirement. The court noted that his arguments regarding the search of his business were already fully reviewed by state courts. The judges also found that his other claims did not warrant further review.

The ruling means that the federal court system will not take any further action on Bugno’s current petition. Bugno remains incarcerated at the Allen County Correctional Institution. His expected release date is in early 2037.