The Cuyahoga Rough Writers Blog

The man who robbed Peter to pay Paul while he worked in the Prosecutor's office

A good section of the front page of today's PD delves into the why Bill Mason has yet to prosecute Christopher McCauley.  

On August 29, 2007, the Ohio Supreme Court's disciplinary arm decided that, "McCauley misappropriated more than $300,000 from his clients and kept it for his own use -- partly while in Mason's employment," according to the article (that's the quick version...here's the long version).    

Who is Christopher McCauley you ask?? What makes this case so special??

The answer to that ladies and gentleman is that Mason and McCauley go way back...over two decades! They are old college buddies who took the Bar together.  McCauley has been represented by Mason in court, donated to his campaign, and was hired to work in the Prosecutor's office.

Here's the kicker, Mason has declined to comment on whether he knew about McCauley's disbarment. 

This is one of those time's in life when a person's professional and personal life colllide...it seems to be that the wrong path was chosen.  

***The right way is not always the popular and easy way. Standing for right when it is unpopular is a true test of moral character -- Margaret Chase Smith

Ameritrust Developer K&D Charged With Bribery

Federal prosecutors have charged Henry J. Picozzi, a superintendent and project manager for K&D Group Inc., with bribing two Cleveland building inspectors in connection with the Stonebridge development on the West Bank of the Flats.

The inspectors are not named. One did electrical inspections. The other examined structural work.

The investigation started separately from the FBI's work on pontential corruption in Cuyahoga County government.  But the investigation into building inspectors became a tentacle of the county probe when one of the inspectors helped agents investigate Steve Pumper, the chief executive officer of D-A-S Construction. The company had done work at County Commissioner Jimmy Dimora's home in Independence.

The charge, which was filed in U.S. District Court Monday, states that the Stonebridge project was at various times behind schedule and over budget. Picozzi bribed the inspectors to expedite the approval process, to obtain "approval to reduce construction time and costs, and to expedite approval of occupancy permits for some floors at Stonebridge so that the project could begin to receive income."

The bribes took the form of cash payments of $3000, $2000, and $1,000, as well as entertainment and dinner at a strip club.

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Dimora's Influence In North Royalton? County Corruption Probe Spreads

         The city has been subpoenaed by a U.S. District Court grand jury to relinquish several documents that involve Mayor Robert A. Stefanik and Joseph O'Malley, second assistant prosecutor.
The subpoena relates to the ongoing FBI investigation into alleged Cuyahoga County corruption.  The subpoena asked for several items, including any and all documents pertaining to O'Malley's personnel file, as well as his application, references, reference letters and documents or electronic mailing about his hiring.                                                                     
         Stefanik's mayoral campaign finance records, prior to the election to present, also were requested.
        The subpoena also asked for communication between any North Royalton city employee and Commissioner Jimmy Dimora, Jason Lucarelli, Samuel Lucarelli, Vincent Russo, doing business as Vincore, 1-888-Ohio Comp, Minutemen Staffing and Doan Pyramid. 
         Stefanik appointed O'Malley, with approval from City Council, in February 2008. It was rumored shortly after Stefanik became mayor that O'Malley was in line for the job to pay back a favor -- Dimora had allegedly loaned money to Stefanik's campaign, then reportedly told Stefanik to give O'Malley the job. Stefanik denied that on Monday. 
        "There is no truth to that," he said. "They are doing this (requesting subpoenas) in a lot of cities. This is just not North Royalton and not just picking on me." The collected documents must be delivered by 9 a.m. Wednesday to the Carl B. Stokes U.S. Courthouse in downtown Cleveland.
        The overall investigation extended from Dimora and Cuyahoga County Auditor Frank Russo to such entities as 1-888-Ohio Comp, Minutemen Staffing, Vincent Russo and Doan Pyramid. The investigation crossed into 1-888-Ohio Comp, a workers' compensation firm that has ties to county employees as well as Russo's son, Vincent.
        The county has used the firm for its compensation claims since 2000. North Royalton, the school district and many other communities also recently began using that firm.
        Former Mayor Cathy J. Luks reportedly said she felt pressured to use the group as well. She then found herself challenged for her seat by a county employee, although she was re-elected.
James Lucarelli is president of 1-888-Ohio Comp and was a Dimora gift giver. His records were requested earlier.
        Samuel Lucarelli helps run Minute Men Human Resources Systems, which offers employer services, including temporary labor and payroll processing. The business includes 1-888-Ohio Comp. William Edwards with the U. S. Attorney Office said the agency could not comment on the grand jury matter.

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County Recorder Greene Continues O'Malley's Patronage Practice

When sitting judge Lillian Greene was handed the appointment of Cuyahoga County Recorder in June, she promiesed to "restore credibility" to a office that was marred by rampant patronage and the unethical leadership of Patrick O'Malley. (Cleveland.com)  Yet, news surfaced today that the State Of Ohio, not the Democrat Recorder Greene, will have to step in to cut out the irresponible patronage and governement waste.

(Plain Dealer) The state auditor is expected to report today that the Cuyahoga County Recorders Office has too many workers and needs to cut positions.

County Administrator James McCafferty, who reviewed a draft of the report, on Monday said Auditor Mary Taylor recommends eliminating 17 positions from an office that employs about 100 people.

Taylor declined to comment Monday, but has scheduled a news conference today in Cleveland.

County commissioners asked Taylor for the administrative audit in May, a week after then-Recorder Patrick O'Malley pleaded guilty to a federal obscenity charge and resigned.

In April, The Plain Dealer reported that O'Malley had given three dozen patronage jobs in 2007, hiring former mayors, the son and daughter of a judge and the wife of a councilman.

As of April, the newspaper also reported, his office employed 103 workers -- nearly twice as many employees as in the recorder's office in Franklin County, which has slightly fewer people than Cuyahoga County.

County recorders are responsible for the filing of real estate transfers and other county documents.

O'Malley could not be reached Monday for comment.

McCafferty and other county officials -- including current Recorder Lillian Greene -- were told of Taylor's findings earlier this month.

Greene declined to discuss the findings, but McCafferty said she already has cut some of workers she inherited. More workers could leave through the county's early retirement incentive package offered to employees next year.

"Her intent is not to put anybody out of work," McCafferty said.

Greene's chief deputy, John Kandah, said the recorder is committed to restoring the office's credibility.

Greene "doesn't believe in gray areas and playing politics," Kandah said.

Personnel costs have been the office's top expense since at least 2003. Salaries were more than $3.8 million this year. The 2009 county budget, which was adopted earlier this month, calls for reducing payroll to $3.1 million. But Cuyahoga's elected officials, such as the recorder, have the authority to outspend their budgets and occasionally do so.

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Cuyahoga Commissioner's Blunder The Budget, Again

(Plain Dealer) Cuyahoga County commissioners were surprised Thursday by a six-figure legal bill for medical mart negotiations that they thought was already covered.

The $100,000 charge is part of an estimated $175,000 in legal fees that commissioners will pay in trying to land the combined medical mart/convention center.

Commissioners thought that last year they had set aside $161,000 in leftover money from a defunct convention center organization to pay Cleveland attorney Fred Nance to deliver the medical mart project downtown. But the money has been spent, and none of it went to Nance...

Commissioners wondered aloud why the money had not been paid. Then, they wondered where the money went.

"Our understanding was this was being paid by Positively Cleveland," said Commissioner Peter Lawson Jones.

County Administrator James McCafferty answered that Positively Cleveland, the region's tourism bureau, thought it could use the money on a wide range of medical mart expenses.

Contacted after the meeting, agency President Dennis Roche said it had been made clear to the county that the $161,000 would be spent determining the best place to locate the medical mart.

A handful of companies, including Squire Sanders, were hired to complete what would be a $350,000 study to place the complex.

The study recommended building at Tower City, but Merchandise Mart disregarded the report. The company is doing its own site and cost study and in turn is delaying completing a development agreement with commissioners to launch the project that many hope will be an economic boon to the area.

Commissioners want a site picked and an agreement in hand by Jan. 15.

Jones said commissioners will pay Squire Sanders using sales tax money being collected to pay for the medical mart, then recoup the legal costs by siphoning some of the monthly bed-tax disbursements that make up part of Positively Cleveland's funding.

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FBI Probe: More Details On Council Pres. Sweeney

(Plain Dealer) Sweeney was a rising council star in 2002 when he made plans for a two-story addition to his family's Cape Cod-style home on West 133rd Street. He served as the council's majority leader, one step below then-Council President Frank Jackson, who is now the mayor.

A friend recommended that Sweeney hire Solomon & Associates to manage the addition, Sweeney said. The company, according to marketing materials from around 2001, specialized in retail and other large-scale commercial projects, such as renovations to a downtown hotel.

Solomon obtained a building permit for Sweeney's house in August 2002.[mst: 2001 or 2002? It's 2002, Henry confirmed: ]that year. Doan Pyramid pulled a permit to handle the electrical work the following month.

In December 2002, Solomon applied to become a lead contractor for the city's sound-insulation program for homes near Hopkins, records show.

Three months later, a panel of city administrators accepted Solomon's $831,000 bid for the job. In August 2003, Solomon received a similar contract, this one for an additional $500,000.

The company previously had been a subcontractor for the city's sound-insulation work at a West Side Catholic school, a job worth $472,000.

"We were pleased with the work they did for us," said Keith Tolliver of Gene's Refrigeration, the Medina company that served as lead contractor on that project.

The soundproofing program, which uses federal dollars, had been one that Sweeney had championed as a West Side neighbor to those frustrated with the noise of airplanes flying overhead.

Council members have no vote in awarding such contracts. But, when asked if he had put in a good word for Solomon & Associates, Sweeney replied: "I don't recall."

Other documents show that Roger Solomon of Solomon & Associates and Doan Pyramid President Michael Forlani each presented Sweeney with gifts worth more than $75 in 2002.

The forms, which elected officials must file with the Ohio Ethics Commission, do not specify the nature of the gifts. Sweeney said neither gift relates to his home addition, but he declined to disclose what he received from either businessman.

Solomon, who has since closed his company's downtown office, did not return messages left for him this week at his Valley View home. A lawyer for Forlani declined to comment.

Who hired whom

Sweeney said it was Solomon's choice to hire Doan to do the electrical work at the house.

John McCaffrey, an attorney representing Doan, confirmed that Solomon hired his client as a subcontractor, perhaps "on a suggestion from Mr. Sweeney. That was likely the case here."

Doan, McCaffrey added, billed Solomon $1,700 for its electrical work. He said Doan officials are confident that Solomon paid. He also believes that Solomon, as the project manager, ultimately charged Sweeney for those costs.

Sweeney is not the only elected officeholder to have employed Doan. The company once did electric, furnace and air-conditioning work at the home of Russo, the county auditor.

But Doan specializes in large-scale commercial and government projects, including at Hopkins airport. In 2001, the year before Doan was hired to help at Sweeney's, the company worked on an airport expansion project.

Doan returned to Hopkins in April of this year as a subcontractor on a $4.2 million taxiway relocation project led by Blaze Construction, another focus of the federal corruption probe.

Both of the subpoenas that seek information about Sweeney also seek information related to a project or prospective project at Hopkins sometime around April. One of those subpoenas was served on Blaze Building Corp., which shares a Berea address with Blaze Construction.

Like the soundproofing contract awarded to Solomon, city administrators, not council members, voted on the taxiway contract. Sweeney said he had no role in selecting the winners.

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Council President Sweeney And Others Named In County Corruption Probe

Cleveland Council President Martin J. Sweeney Named In Investgation

A tentacle of the federal corruption probe gripping Cuyahoga County reaches into the highest levels of Cleveland City Hall, the office of the council president.

The Plain Dealer last week obtained documents showing that agents are investigating the relationship between Council President Martin J. Sweeney -- one of the two most powerful men in Cleveland government -- and two construction companies that share a building in Berea.

Investigators also are asking questions about whether some public officials have financial ties to contractors, the same contractors they awarded hundreds of millions of tax dollars to for work at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and the county's 800 miles of roads. The airport is in Sweeney's council ward and is operated by the city. He once was responsible for oversight of the airport as chairman of council's Aviation Committee.

The documents show for the first time that the corruption probe does not stop at the doors of Cuyahoga County government.

The investigation was revealed to the public July 28, when 175 federal investigators fanned out across the county to raid the offices and homes of government officials and contractors, seizing computers, hundreds of cartons of documents and other materials. Since then, agents have searched other offices -- of contractors and two judges -- serving a total of about 200 subpoenas.

But even the latest subpoenas obtained by the newspaper -- served on July 28 -- show that the focus of the probe remains on the two men who run Cuyahoga County and the county Democratic Party -- Commissioner Jimmy Dimora and Auditor Frank Russo.

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Plain Dealer List More Names Being Investiaged

Last week, The Plain Dealer obtained several more court documents that included new names and companies that have caught the attention of federal agents. Among them:

Marty Sulzmann is the yard-equipment clerk at the Cuyahoga County engineer's office. He began working for the county in 2001. A message left at his office was not returned.

Mike Dever, former head of construction for the county engineer's office, is the deputy to the sanitary engineer. He is not sure why he is named in a subpoena, though he said he once accepted a campaign contribution from Blaze Construction owner Ferris Kleem as a Lakewood councilman.

Ohio Lottery. Subpoenas served on Russo's house sought records of the Ohio Lottery. Michael Dolan, lottery director, said, "I've spoken to no one involved in the investigation."

Rudy Stralka is treasurer of the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party and a member of the Ohio Lottery Commission. He was subpoenaed to produce documents from Dimora's and Russo's political committees. Investigators also subpoenaed financial records, job recommendations, information about hirings and other records.

Marous Brothers Construction is a developer. The Willoughby construction company and its president, Chip Marous, were listed in a federal subpoena and search warrant for Russo. But County Administrator James McCafferty said the county has no major projects involving Marous Brothers Construction. Cleveland has paid the company $5.9 million since 2001.

Lopat Development Co. is at 151 Lou Groza Blvd., in Berea. That is the same address listed for Blaze Construction and Phoenix Cement, which have received millions of dollars in public contracts. State records do not indicate who owns Lopat.

Johnson Controls Inc. is a publicly traded, Milwaukee-based company that specializes in energy efficiency in buildings.

The Parma School District has awarded the company $19.8 million in contracts since 2000. J. Kevin Kelley, a school board member and employee in the county engineer's office, is under federal investigation for ties to companies that do business with the district.

Johnson Controls, in many of its deals with Parma schools, selected as a subcontractor another company under federal investigation -- Doan Pyramid Electric.

The company also has done business with Cuyahoga County, which has paid the company at least $3.3 million since 2004.

Joe Gouker is the project manager for the Parma School District. He said he is not sure why he is named in the Blaze subpoena. He said Blaze has bid, unsuccessfully, on one Parma schools project.

Oracle Corp. is a software company that is tied to a computerized Cuyahoga County mapping system developed by Kelley. Based on Kelley's recommendation, the county hired Michael Baker Jr. Inc. to help build the system with Oracle software.

Federal investigators are checking into that $4 million project.

The county has spent more than $422,000 on Oracle's products since 2006. Cleveland has had contracts with Oracle since 2001 totaling more than $7.5 million. Parma schools have done $14,000 worth of business with the company since 2002.

Dick Corp., now known as dck Worldwide, is based in Pittsburgh and is one of the country's largest construction and construction-management firms. Federal agents raiding Russo's home sought documents about the company. Company lawyer Mike Ambroso said he had no knowledge of the subpoena. A database of county payments to vendors shows the company has received at least $438,775 since 2005.

Woolpert Inc. is a national design and engineering firm based in Dayton. The company provides services including engineering, information management services, construction administration and airport design services. Cuyahoga County has paid about $1.2 million to the company this year.

Green-Source Products LLC is affiliated with D-A-S Construction of Garfield Heights. Green-Source makes insulated wall panels and has a manufacturing plant in Collinwood. The company has been served a subpoena for documents and is cooperating, lawyers said. The business is part owned by John Pumper, father of Steve Pumper. Steve Pumper is CEO of D-A-S and authorities are investigating whether he did work for Dimora in exchange for public contracts.

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Sutherland v. Peter Lawson Jones; Sutherland Draws Stark Differences

An already hotly contested race for Cuyahoga County commissioner got even more heated Wednesday as Debbie Sutherland, who is white, accused black incumbent Peter Lawson Jones of playing the race card.

The jab came during a debate at the City Club of Cleveland in response to an audience member who asked how the mayor of suburban Bay Village would lead such a diverse county.

"It doesn't matter if you are black, white, rich, poor, East Side, West Side -- we have got to work together to move this county forward," replied Sutherland, a Republican, who then added: "My opponent would like to [make this] about race and class, and it's not."

Jones, a Democrat, scolded Sutherland for the remark in his rebuttal.

"How dare you?" he said. "I have done nothing in this race to play on race and class."

After the debate, Sutherland accused Jones of planting someone at debates to ask her questions about diversity. Jones' response: "Give me a break."

The tone was much the same during their hourlong showdown.

Jones, who has held the job since 2002, focused largely on his efforts to create and retain jobs in the county. But Sutherland repeatedly scrutinized her opponent's character and questioned his leadership in the wake of a federal corruption probe of county government.

"Patronage, cronyism, lack of leadership, mismanagement -- and let's not forget the chauffeur and strip club manager," Sutherland said, rattling off a list of complaints.

The chauffeur dig involves the county car and driver Jones has used for county-related meetings. The strip club manager is Rosemary Vinci, a county employee and political ally of Auditor Frank Russo and Commissioner Jimmy Dimora, both focuses of the corruption probe.

Sutherland asked Jones several times during the debate to explain what he has done and would do to address patronage charges and concerns about the ongoing FBI investigation.

Jones never answered her. Instead, he emphasized his record of supporting county funding to create jobs and promote other economic development...

Each candidate borrowed a label from the rival party's presidential nominee.

Sutherland cast herself, much like Democratic Sen. Barack Obama, as the "change" candidate. Jones, alluding to Republican Sen. John McCain, called himself a maverick.

"I said 'no' to raising the sales tax to pay for the medical mart," Jones said, citing the first of two examples of his lone opposition votes on the county's three-member commission. "Then, when we talked about tearing down the Ameritrust Tower, I said 'no' to that."

Sutherland, this time doting on Republican vice presidential nominee Gov. Sarah Palin, won some hearty laughs after landing a quick rebuttal: "I may not know how to field-dress a moose," Sutherland said. "But I know a maverick when I see one -- and Peter's not it."

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Butler takes on Mason

Yes, Bill Mason bothered to show up at the City Club yesterday... and probably wished he hadn't.  Here's the report from WCPN:

The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's office is up for grabs this November and Annette Butler would like to take the seat off Bill Mason's Hands. In an unprecedented move, Mason had previously refused to debate Butler, but yesterday the pair squared off in downtown Cleveland. ideastream®'s Gretchen Cuda reports.

Mason, who has held the prosecutorial post since November of 2000 (sic), refused to debate Butler on two separate occasions on the grounds that she wasn’t a serious candidate. But Butler finally got her chance when Mason agreed to debate at the City Club of Cleveland.  She spoke plainly about her concern that the current prosecutor’s office is not applying justice is not being applied with an even hand, that it is dysfunctional and needs reform.

BUTLER: We have an honorable prosecutor.  We have some honorable prosecutors.  But something is very wrong.  And maybe it’s the style.  Maybe it’s the commitment.  Maybe it’s the practicing fairness that I’ve done for 24 years that’s missing in the county prosecutors office.  Well I’d like to add it to the county prosecutors office.

And when it comes to style, perhaps the most striking differences between the two candidates was in the way they handled several emotional audience members who claimed Mason refused to see them or properly address their court cases Mason kept his cool and denied any personal knowledge of the case details, and scoffed at Butler’s suggestion to assemble a community advisory board.

MASON:  We already have a community advisory board currently. It’s called the Grand Jury.

But Butler said she believes the prosecutor’s office should pay much closer attention to the people it is supposed to serve.

BUTLER: It’s your law firm.  YOU should have everything to say about how it operates.

Gretchen Cuda, 90.3
Listen to the report at WCPN.org
Or listen to the entire debate on the City Club Podcast at CityClub.org

More Details on FBI Raids, CMHA, Phillips & Mike Fratello

(Plain Dealer) Investigators want to know whether the head of Cuyahoga County's public-housing agency traded your tax dollars for private jet rides, golfing and property in Florida.

During Wednesday's raid of the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority, agents sought any documents showing relationships between Chief Executive George A. Phillips and more than a dozen contractors and developers, including former Cavaliers coach Mike Fratello.

This new thread of the deepening public-corruption probe unspooled Friday in public records that CMHA officials initially refused to release.

Many of the contractors listed in a CMHA subpoena match those on a subpoena for MetroHealth Medical Center -- a publicly funded hospital served with a subpoena on the same day as the housing agency. In MetroHealth's case, investigators want to know whether the public hospital's former vice president -- John J. Carroll -- exchanged tax dollars for kickbacks on building projects.

No one has been indicted in the public-corruption probe, which launched publicly in July with raids of county offices and the homes of Commissioner Jimmy Dimora, Recorder Frank Russo and several contractors.

But the scope of the investigation threatens to upend county leadership and weaken the Democrats' longtime stranglehold on local government.

Phillips is clearly a focus of the CMHA aspect of the investigation, according to documents the agency released Friday. So are contractors who worked for the agency, an energy-conservation project and work done at Beachcrest Towers and Lakeview Terrace housing complexes.

The feds specifically sought documents since 2004 related to Phillips' golfing, eating at country clubs and attending the 2008 Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club.

Phillips has declined to comment, but a CMHA spokeswoman said he is not stepping down and has not been asked by the agency's board to leave.

"Nobody has been accused of doing anything wrong .¤.¤. nobody has been charged with a crime," said spokeswoman Laura Boustani.

CMHA is no stranger to trouble.

Claire Freeman, who directed the agency from 1990 until 1998, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for stealing tax dollars, committing mail fraud and lying about a loan.

Terri Hamilton Brown took over the agency after Freeman was fired and in 2000 hired Phillips from Chicago's housing authority. When Brown left three years later, she was applauded for turning CMHA around, and Phillips was promoted.

As CEO, Phillips oversees a $215 million budget and about 1,000 employees. The agency provides housing for more than 36,000 people in public apartments and subsidized rentals.

One of the more intriguing names to surface in the county probe is Fratello. What relationship Phillips has with the basketball coach-turned TV color-man for the New Jersey Nets is unclear.

Fratello, who coached the Cavs from 1993 to 1999, could not be reached for comment. Fratello, a New Jersey native, appears to divide his time among Atlanta, Fisher Island in Florida and Bratenahl.

He has been involved in at least one Cleveland development. In 2000, he joined a group of men renovating the historic Reliance Building at West 10th Street and St. Clair Avenue downtown.

They planned to open a 24-hour breakfast place for late-night partiers after bars closed. The bottom floor of the building eventually housed a satellite location for stalwart Murray Hill doughnut-maker Gilly's.

The project was led by Bill Neiheiser, CEO of Reliance Mechancial. Neiheiser's name is listed directly above Fratello's on federal documents searching for information from CMHA.

Federal agents this week searched Neiheiser's business and two of his vehicles. Federal agents also searched Neiheiser's home in 2003 during a gambling investigation that involved sports talk show host Bruce Drennan.

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