Nine People Charged in Connection with Cuyahoga County Public Corruption Investigation
| U.S. Attorney’s Office May 26, 2010 |
Sharon L. Long, Deputy Chief, Criminal Division 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 an Information was filed charging the following individuals in connection with the Cuyahoga County public corruption investigation.
- Christopher D. Krause, age 52, of Hudson, Ohio, the former treasurer of the Maple Heights City Schools (“MHCS”). Krause was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, fifteen counts of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds, and one count of obstruction of justice.
- Giacanto Vaccarella, age 52, of North Royalton, Ohio, the former director of building and grounds for the MHCS. Vaccarella was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, and one count of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds.
- Rocky Laurie, age 51, of Mayfield Heights, Ohio, the former business manager of the MHCS. Laurie was charged with one count of misprision of a felony and one count of making a false statement to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
- Shannon Riley, age 46, of Sagamore Hills, Ohio, the owner of Riley Industrial Services located in Cleveland, Ohio. Riley was charged with one count of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds.
- Kenneth Kushmider, age 50, of Hudson, Ohio, the sole owner of Landscape Design Associates, located in the greater Celveland, Ohio area. Kushmider was charged with one count of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds.
- Todd Ozanich, age 48, of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, the owner of Imperial Heating and Cooling, located in Solon, Ohio. Ozanich was charged with three counts of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds.
- Todd Gemma, age 40, of Solon, Ohio, a principal of Gemma Development Company, located in Solon, Ohio. Gemma was charged with one count of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds.
- Ronald Monroe, age 42, of Macedonia, Ohio, a principal of Gemma Development Company, located in Solon, Ohio. Monroe was charged with one count of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds.
- Bryan Carlton, age 43, of North Olmsted, Ohio, a principal of Gemma Development Company, located in Solon, Ohio. Carlton was charged with one count of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds.
The following 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 $3,664.00 payment toward restitution 11/9/2009 $5,000.00 payment toward restitution 1/5/2010 |
| 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 Sinagra | Former principal of AC Sinagra & Associates, Former Mayor of Lakewood, Ohio Former member of The Ohio Senate. | 8/13/09 | Awaiting Sentencing Guilty Plea 8/31/2009 |
| Santina Klimkowski | Former elected member of the Maple Heights School Board of Education from 1981 to 2005 Former Department of Appraisal Specialist, Auditor’s Office | 9/18/09 | Awaiting Sentencing Guilty Plea 10/2/2009 $91,859.48 payment toward restitution 1/25/10 $57,100 Forfeiture Order 3/26/2010 |
| Timothy Armstrong | Attorney, Sole Practitioner | 9/18/09 | Guilty Plea 9/29/2009 $1.2 Million payment toward restitution 12/30/09 $373,545 payment toward restitution 1/29/10 Sentenced 2/3/10: 42 months imprisonment; restitution: $1,573,345 (paid) |
| Bruce Zaccagnini | Partner, Belcuy Partners | 9/18/09 | Guilty Plea 10/2/09 $500,000 payment toward restitution 11/2/09 Sentenced 2/2/2010: 60 months imprisonment; restitution: $3,215,845 |
| John Valentin | Principal in Stone Design | 11/20/09 | Awaiting Sentencing Guilty Plea 12/16/2009 |
| Dinesh Bafna | President of Mont Granite | 11/20/09 | Awaiting Sentencing Guilty Plea 12/8/09 |
| Thomas Greco | Retired, Former Agent of MetroHealth Systems | 11/23/09 | Arraignment 11/24/09 Plead Not Guilty 11/24/09 |
| $1.95 Million | Proceeds from Louis Damiani’s criminal activity | Civil Forfeiture 12/11/09 | Forfeiture filed 12/11/09 |
| Joseph Gallucci | Former employee of Auditor’s Office | 11/22/09 | Awaiting Sentencing Guilty Plea 1/8/2010 $15,000 payment toward restitution 12/30/09 $1,055 payment toward restitution 2/3/2010 |
| Nicholas A. Zavarella | Zavarella Brothers Construction | 2/24/10 | Awaiting Sentencing Guilty Plea 3/10/10 |
| Joseph P. O’Malley | Former employee of Auditor’s Office as an independent contractor. Former employee of the Cuyahoga County Recorder’s Office | 4/19/10 | Awaiting Sentencing Guilty Plea 4/27/2010 |
| Ferris Kleem | Owner of Blaze Construction | 4/22/10 | Awaiting Sentencing Guilty Plea 5/7/2010 |
| Anthony Ma | Owner of Broma Information Technology | 5/24/10 | Awaiting Arraignment |
If convicted, the defendants’ sentences will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendants’ prior criminal records, if any, the defendants’ roles in the offenses and the characteristics of the violations. In all cases the sentences 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.
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