Cleveland Man Charged with Extortion

William J. Edwards, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, and C. Frank Figliuzzi, Special Agent in Charge of the Cleveland Division of the FBI, today announced that an Information was filed charging Richard J. Huberty, age 50, of Cleveland, Ohio, with six counts of extortion under color of official right and four counts of bribery in federally funded programs.

The Information states that Huberty received thousands of dollars in cash, in addition to entertainment and dinners, using his official position of electrical inspector with the City of Cleveland Building and Housing Department (“CBHD”). As an agent of CBHD, Huberty was responsible for inspecting electrical work on commercial and residential construction projects within the City of Cleveland to ensure compliance with the City of Cleveland’s building and zoning codes.

The Information states that Huberty, along with a building inspector (identified as Inspector No. 2), sought and received bribes in connection with the Stonebridge project, a commercial and residential development project under construction on the West Bank of the Flats district in Cleveland, Ohio, consisting of luxury condominiums, retail and office space, including restaurants owned by K& D Group, Inc., a privately owned development firm.

The Information states that the bribes were paid in order to expedite the CBHD approval process, to obtain CBHD 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 Information further states that Huberty demanded and received bribes from the representatives of several dining establishments in exchange for official CBHD action; Huberty demanded and received bribes from a purchaser of houses from New York to reduce the prices of houses using CBHD violation notices and removing those violations after receiving cash payments; and Huberty demanded and received cash payments from the owner of a warehouse located in Cleveland, Ohio in exchange for CBHD actions. The purchaser of the houses and the owner of the warehouse were FBI agents acting in an undercover capacity.

If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin J. Roberts, following investigation by the Cleveland office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The investigation is ongoing.

An Information is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.