Former Cuyahoga County Auditor's Office Employee Charged in Connection with Public Corruption Investigation

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 a one-count Information was filed charging Dennis Dooley, a former employee of the Cuyahoga County Auditor's Office, in connection with the Cuyahoga County public corruption investigation. This Information follows John Kevin Kelley, Kevin F. Payne, Daniel P. Gallagher, Brian Schuman, and Steven Wayne Pumper pleading guilty to charges of bribery, fraud, obstruction, and other federal offenses. They await sentencing.

The Information charges Dooley, age 56 of North Olmsted, with one count of bribery in connection with a program receiving federal funds. According to the Information, Dooley bribed John Kevin Kelley, a former employee of the Cuyahoga County Engineer's Office, in exchange for a job in an unnamed public agency.

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 ofthe 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. Attorneys Ann C. Rowland and Antoinette T. Bacon, following investigation by the Cleveland office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service. 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.