Westlake Man Charged in Cuyahoga County Public Corruption Investigation
| U.S. Attorney’s Office July 30, 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 Daniel Weaver, age 44, of Westlake, Ohio, with one count of conspiracy in connection with the Cuyahoga County public corruption investigation.
Weaver was employed by Cuyahoga County as the Director of Information Services Center (“ISC”) and as Secretary of the Automated Data Processing Board (“ADP Board”).
The Information charges Weaver with participating in a bribery conspiracy with an Cuyahoga County official described in court documents as “Public Official 2.” Weaver gave the public official cash (1) with the expectation that the county official would perform official acts for the benefit of the defendant when specific opportunities arose and (2) so that the county official would be receptive to the defendant’s ideas on specific ISC and ADP Board projects.
The Information charges that the county official knew Weaver had resources aside from his county employment which would enable the defendant to give the county official cash. It also charges that Weaver gave things of value to the county official on his birthday and at Christmas time between 2005 and on or about July 29, 2008. These things of value consisted of cash in amounts of $50 or $100, ties or $100 gift cards.
The county official never gave things of value to Weaver.
The Information also charges that in addition to the birthday and Christmas payments described above, the county official asked Weaver for “loans” two to four times per year. Initially, the county official asked Weaver for $30 to $50 for lunch. On later occasions, the county official would say he was going out and needed money, or that he was “short” and needed money. In response, Weaver gave the county official $300 to $500, which is the amount Weaver had in his possession at the time. The county official often specified an amount when asking Weaver for money. In or about late March 2008, the county official asked Weaver for approximately $1,000. The county official never repaid the “loans” described above and Weaver did not expect the county official to repay them.
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 $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 | Guilty Plea 9/9/2009 Sentencing set 8/4/10 |
| John J. Carroll | Former Vice President of Facilities and Construction Services | 8/6/2009 | Awaiting Sentencing Guilty Plea 9/9/2009 |
| Nilesh R. Patel | Former Vice President of East West Construction Company | 8/6/2009 | Guilty Plea 9/9/2009 Sentencing set 8/4/10 |
| Anthony Sinagra | Former principal of AC Sinagra & Associates, Former Mayor of Lakewood, Ohio Former member of The Ohio Senate. | 8/13/2009 | 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 | 9/18/2009 | Awaiting Sentencing $91,859.48 payment toward restitution 1/25/10 $57,100 Forfeiture Order 3/26/2010 |
| Timothy Armstrong | Attorney, Sole Practitioner | 9/18/2009 | 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 | 9/18/2009 | Guilty Plea 10/2/09 $500,000 payment toward restitution 11/2/09 $500,000 & $100.00 payment toward restitution 2/17/10 $89452.79 payment toward restitution 4/14/10 $25.00 payment toward restitution 7/7/10 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 | Guilty verdict 6/8/2010 Sentencing set 8/12/10 |
| $1.95 Million | Proceeds from Louis Damiani’s criminal activity | Civil Forfeiture 12/11/09 | Forfeiture Hearing 7/22/10 |
| Joseph Gallucci | Former employee of Auditor’s Office | 11/22/09 | Awaiting Sentencing $15,000 payment toward restitution 12/30/09 $1,055 payment towardrestitution 2/3/2010 $1,055 payment towardrestitution 3/3/2010 $1,055 payment towardrestitution 4/14/2010 $1,055 payment towardrestitution 5/5/2010 $1,055 payment towardrestitution 5/28/2010 $1,055 payment towardrestitution 7/7/2010 |
| Nicholas A. Zavarella | Zavarella Brothers Construction | 2/24/2010 | 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 | 4/19/2010 | Awaiting Sentencing Guilty Plea 4/27/2010 |
| Ferris Kleem | Owner of Blaze Construction | 4/22/2010 | Awaiting Sentencing Guilty Plea 5/7/2010 |
| Anthony Ma | Owner of Broma Information Technology | 5/24/2010 | Awaiting Arraignment 8/2/10 |
| Christopher Krause | Former treasurer of the Maple Heights City Schools | 5/26/2010 | Awaiting Sentencing Guilty Plea 7/1/10 |
| Giacinto Vaccarella | Former director of building and grounds for the Maple Heights City Schools | 5/26/2010 | Awaiting Sentencing Guilty Plea 7/1/10 |
| Rocky Laurie | Employee of Maple Heights City Schools | 5/26/2010 | Awaiting Sentencing Guilty Plea 7/1/10 |
| Todd Gemma | Principal of Gemma Development Group | 5/26/2010 | Awaiting Sentencing Guilty Plea 7/1/10 |
| Shannon Riley | Owner of Riley Industrial Services | 5/26/2010 | Awaiting Sentencing Guilty Plea 7/2/10 |
| Kenneth Kushmider | Owner of Landscape Design Associates | 5/26/2010 | Awaiting Sentencing Guilty Plea 7/2/10 |
| Todd Ozanich | Owner of Imperial Heating and Cooling | 5/26/2010 | Awaiting Sentencing Guilty Plea 7/12/10 |
| Ronald Monroe | Principal of Gemma Development Group | 5/26/2010 | Awaiting Sentencing Guilty Plea 7/2/10 |
| Bryan Carlton | Principal of Gemma Development Group | 5/26/2010 | Awaiting Sentencing Guilty Plea 7/2/10 |
| Joseph Bibbo | Owner of Midwest Paving | 6/8/2010 | Awaiting Trial |
| Vince Russo | Owner of Vincore | 7/13/2010 | Awaiting Trial |
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. 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.