Previous coverage:
• Sparks fly at Cuyahoga County commissioners meeting as Republican leader challenges Jimmy Dimora
• Read the main story about the charges and find links to all the coverage.
• Explore all of The Plain Dealer's continuing coverage of the county investigation.
• Read the court filing (pdf)
UPDATED: 1:20 p.m.
CLEVELAND — Commissioner Jimmy Dimora will not resign.
In a 20-minute diatribe during a packed commissioners' meeting this morning, Dimora -- the focus of a federal public corruption probe -- blasted the Republican Party, its Cuyahoga County chairman, Rob Frost, and The Plain Dealer.
"I haven't done anything wrong," the Democrat said as he flipped through notes on a yellow legal pad. "I am innocent."
Dimora, one of three county commissioners, voted on all but one of the board's decisions this morning, abstaining from one contract because it is connected to the legal firm he hired for his defense in the investigation. He did vote on an amendment to award Ozanne Construction Co. a $2.4 amendment to a contract for additional work on the Juvenile Justice Center.
Dimora has not been charged or convicted of a crime. Documents related to charges against Democrat J. Kevin Kelley and three other party insiders describe a seven-year pattern of corruption by someone identified as Public Official 1. The description of that official identifies him as Dimora.
This morning, Dimora remained quiet for most of the meeting.
When two citizens came to the podium to make statements about the investigation and allegations of bribery, commission President Tim Hagan fired back.
"This is not a court of law. We are not investigating," Hagan said. "We intend to conduct the business of county government."
But when Frost asked Dimora to resign, he launched into a litany of allegations, ranging from fraud dealing with the Board of Election's purchase of electronic voting machines, to county reform, to trips to Vegas.
He also ranted in his own defense.
He said that on 95 percent of votes, he has voted with Hagan and Commissioner Peter Lawson Jones. On 97 percent of them, he voted for the lowest bidder. And he said he has never appealed to either of his co-commissioners to vote for a contract or hire an employee.
None of his relatives work for departments controlled by the commissioners, he said.
Afterward, answering questions from a throng of reporters, he said he wasn't worried about possible wiretaps on his phone. He said he has no idea if he'll be indicted.
"I'm going to show up, do my job and keep voting on the issues before me because that's what I was elected to do."
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http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/06/cuyahgoa_county_commissioners.html
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