Three More Individuals Charged in Connection with the Cuyahoga County Corruption Probe
U.S. Attorney’s Office September 18, 2009 |
William J. Edwards, First Assistant United States Attorney in the Northern District of Ohio; C. Frank Figliuzzi, Special Agent in Charge of the Cleveland Division of the FBI; and Jose A. Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, today announced that a six-count Information was filed charging former Maple Heights City Schools Board of Education member and former Cuyahoga County Auditor’s Office employee Santina “Sandy” Klimkowski, age 58, of Maple Heights, Ohio, attorney Bruce Zaccagnini, age 48, of North Royalton, Ohio, and attorney Timothy J. Armstrong, age 65, of Huron, Ohio, in connection with the Cuyahoga County public corruption investigation.
The Information charges Klimkowski, Armstrong and Zaccagnini with a bribery conspiracy that caused millions of dollars in losses to the County over 10 years. According to the Information, a person identified as PO2 received approximately $1.22 million in kickbacks from attorneys Louis C. Damiani (deceased), Zaccagnini, Armstrong, and an unnamed lawyer related to approximately $22 million in County Commercial Reappraisal Contracts. Klimkowski is charged with accepting approximately $154,000 in cash kickbacks on the contracts. The Information charges that Klimkowski and Damiani gave the cash kickbacks to PO2. Damiani, Zaccagnini, Armstrong and the unnamed lawyer received revenues of approximately $8,985,380 from the scheme. In addition, Zaccagnini and Damiani’s relative shared additional revenue of approximately $3,689,000.
The Information also charges Klimkowski in a separate bribery scheme involving former DAS Construction executive Steve Pumper. According to the Information, Klimkowski accepted bribes in the form of household improvements from Pumper, in exchange for assisting DAS in obtaining approximately $458,600 in Maple Heights City Schools contracts. Pumper previously pleaded guilty to these and other bribes.
Klimkowski is also charged with participating in a scheme to defraud the Maple Heights City Schools by diverting school district property for her personal use and the personal use of others, including Damiani. The Information cites one example of the conspirators moving a school district mobile classroom to private property to use as a hunting cabin.
The Information further alleges that Klimkowski obstructed justice by instructing an employee of the Maple Heights City Schools to “get rid of” a television that the employee received in exchange for performing official acts. The Information alleges that the employee followed Klimkowski’s instruction and removed the television from his home.
The Information charges Klimkowski with making a false statement on her income tax returns by failing to report income she received from bribes.
The following individuals were charged previously in connection with the Cuyahoga County corruption investigation:
DEFENDANT |
ROLE |
DATE CHARGED |
CASE STATUS |
John Kevin Kelley |
Former Geographic Information Systems project manager, Cuyahoga County Engineer’s Office Former President, Parma City School District Board of Education, Principal, J. Kevin Kelley Consulting, LLC |
6/12/2009 |
Awaiting Sentencing Guilty Plea 7/1/2009 |
Kevin F. Payne |
Retired Chief of Staff, Engineer’s Office, Cuyahoga County |
6/12/2009 |
Awaiting Sentencing Guilty Plea 7/1/2009 |
Daniel P. Gallagher |
Retired Chief of Staff, Engineer’s Office, Cuyahoga County Principal, The Eagle Group |
6/12/2009 |
Awaiting Sentencing Guilty Plea 7/2/2009 |
Brian Schuman |
Former co-executive director, Alternatives Agency |
6/12/2009 |
Awaiting Sentencing Guilty Plea 7/2/2009 |
Steven Wayne Pumper |
Chief Executive Officer, DAS Construction |
7/8/2009 |
Awaiting Sentencing Guilty Plea 7/17/2009 |
Dennis Dooley |
Principal Office Assistant, Cuyahoga County Auditor’s Office |
7/22/2009 |
Awaiting Sentencing Guilty Plea 9/9/2009 |
John J. Carroll |
Former Vice President of Facilities and Construction Services |
8/6/09 |
Awaiting Sentencing Guilty Plea 9/9/2009 |
Nilesh R. Patel |
Former Vice President of East West Construction Company |
8/6/09 |
Awaiting Sentencing Guilty Plea 9/9/2009 |
Anthony C. Sinagra |
Former Mayor of Lakewood, Former Member of the Ohio State Senate, Principal of AC Sinagra & Associates |
8/13/09 |
Awaiting Sentencing Guilty Plea 8/31/09 |
If convicted, each defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including that defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, that 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. 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.