James V. Barbuto, a former Summit County prosecutor, common pleas and probate court judge who was convicted in a county corruption scandal in 1980, died Tuesday after an extended illness.He was 91.A nephew, Mark Barbuto, said Mr. Barbuto in recent years was doing well. He played golf and “nothing got him down.”“He was strong until the end,” the nephew said.Mr. Barbuto’s public career included work as a legal representative for the United Rubber Workers and as Akron’s law director. He was a former head of the Summit County Democratic Party and worked on a number of political campaigns, including those of President John F. Kennedy and Ohio Sen. John Glenn.Mr. Barbuto was convicted of gross sexual imposition for attacking a female courthouse clerk and of intimidating sheriff’s deputies investigating the sex charges against him. He served 78 days in prison.The county corruption scandal in which Barbuto was involved and other probes that followed ultimately led to convictions against the then Summit County sheriff, auditor, engineer, coroner and two deputies of the coroner.The Barbuto case drew national attention when his story, reported by Geraldo Rivera, was broadcast on ABC’s 20/20.In a 1998 Beacon Magazine profile, staff writer Bob Dyer wrote that Barbuto “doesn’t think his side has ever been told. And he wants desperately to be viewed as a man who has been rehabilitated, who has conquered his demons and emerged a better person.”After the scandal, Barbuto owned Dodie’s restaurant in Akron and Dale’s restaurant in Cuyahoga Falls until he retired in 1990.The Beacon Magazine article reported that Barbuto “washed dishes, scrubbed the floor, worked seven days a week” after purchasing Dodie’s.“He paid off the $425,000 mortgage in 4› years,” Dyer reported. “Started with three employees, wound up with 18.”At the time of the Beacon Magazine article’s publication, Mr. Barbuto was battling throat cancer. He later volunteered with the American Cancer Society and drove patients to radiation and chemotherapy treatments. He also volunteered with Meals on Wheels.Mark Barbuto said his uncle contributed greatly to the community, to the state and to the nation.“He marched with Martin Luther King,” Barbuto said. “Our family is uniting and grieving over a great man that we lost.”A graduate of Akron’s Central High School, Mr. Barbuto received undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Akron. He also was a veteran of the U.S. Army, serving at Fort Riley, Kan., from 1943 to 1945 during World War II.Calling hours will be 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. today at the Ciriello & Carr Funeral Chapel, 39 S. Miller Road, Fairlawn.Mass of Christian burial will be 10 a.m. Friday at St. Anthony Catholic Church, 83 Mosser Place, Akron. Burial will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery at 100 E. Waterloo Road in Akron.Contributions can be made to St. Anthony’s Catholic Church or to Hospice of Visiting Nurse Service at 3358 Ridgewood Road in Copley Township.Jim Carney can be reached at 330-996-3576 or at jcarney@thebeaconjournal.com.