Euclid Man Charged with Making False Statement Involving Cuyahoga County Public Corruption Investigation

A criminal information was filed today against Damir Blecic, age 53, of Euclid, Ohio, with one count of making a false statement to law enforcement, involving the Cuyahoga County public corruption investigation, said Sharon L. Long, Deputy Chief, Criminal Division in the Northern District of Ohio and Stephen D. Anthony, Special Agent in Charge of the Cleveland Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Blecic was formerly employed in the Weights and Measures Department of the Cuyahoga County Auditor’s Office. The filed information charges Blecic with making false statements to FBI agents regarding other individuals paying former Cuyahoga County Auditor Frank Russo for positions in his office and his own payment for a job with the Auditor’s office.

The filing of an information means that a defendant has waived his or her right to have their case presented to a federal grand jury. When an information is filed, a defendant still must enter a plea of guilty and it must be accepted by a court.

If convicted, the sentence in this case may be determined by the court after consideration of the advisory Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which depend upon a number of factors unique to each case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the unique 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.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. Patton following an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Cleveland, Ohio.

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.