Willoughby Hills Man Charged in Ongoing Cuyahoga County Public Corruption Investigation

An information was filed against Pat Boyce, charging him with one count of mail fraud and honest services mail fraud as part of the ongoing investigation into corruption in Cuyahoga County, law enforcement officials announced today.

Boyce, 63, of Willoughby Hills, Ohio, was employed by Business 13, a company with an office in the Greater Cleveland area. Steven Wayne Pumper was the chief executive officer of DAS Construction and an officer in DAS Development, Inc.

From on or about 1990 through on or about May 23, 2008, Boyce and Pumper devised a scheme to defraud Business 13 of money, property and the intangible right to the honest services of Boyce and others.

Pumper provided things of value to Boyce and other company officials in return for their influence in awarding contracts to DAS, according to the information.

Among the things Pumper provided to Boyce were: several cash payments to Boyce of approximately $2,000 for a total of approximately $5,000 to $7,000; two trips to Las Vegas; several gift cards valued at $2,000 each; two to four tickets to each of approximately 11 professional sporting events and several repairs to Boyce’s residence and the residences of other Business 13 employees and their families, according to the information.

Business 13 prohibited its employees from using the company’s contractors to perform work on their personal residences.

DAS did not bill Boyce and other Business 13 employees for the work on their residences, or billed them at a significant discount, according to the information. Pumper inflated DAS invoices to Business 13 to compensate DAS for some of the costs incurred by giving things of value to Boyce and other Business 13 employees, according to the information.

From in or about 2003 through May 23, 2008, Business 13 paid DAS approximately $9,104,449 on various contracts. As a result of the schemes described, DAS generated profits on those contracts of approximately $1.7 million, according to the information.

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 United States Attorney Henry DeBaggis following an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service. The investigation is ongoing.

An charge 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.