Mentor Man Charged with Federally Funded Program Bribery

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 Henry (“Hank”) J. Picozzi, age 43 of Mentor, Ohio with five counts of bribery in federally funded programs.

The Information states that Picozzi gave approximately $6,000 total in cash, in addition to entertainment and dinners at a strip club, to an electrical inspector (identified as Inspector No. 1) and a building inspector (identified as Inspector No. 2) with the City of Cleveland Building and Housing Department (“CBHD”) 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.

The Information states that Picozzi was employed by K& D Group, Inc., a privately owned development firm, as Superintendent and Project Manager. In that capacity, Picozzi was responsible for overseeing job sites, managing day to day operations on job sites, and working with CBHD to ensure compliance with the City of Cleveland’s building and zoning codes.

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.

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.