Two More Indicted in Connection with Cuyahoga County Public Corruption Investigation
| U.S. Attorney’s Office August 19, 2010 |
A federal grand jury indicted Steven Canepa, age 43, and Charles E. Edwards, age 42, both of Mantua, Ohio, in connection with the Cuyahoga County public corruption investigation, The United States Attorney’s Office 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, announced today.
The indictment charges Canepa, former business manager of Maple Heights City Schools, with one count of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, two counts of conspiracy to commit bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds, one count of Hobbs Act violation, and one count of mail fraud. The indictment charges Edwards, owner of C. Edwards Landscaping, Inc., with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds, one count of Hobbs Act violation, and 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 $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 | 8/6/2009 | Awaiting Sentencing Guilty Plea 9/9/2009 |
| Nilesh R. Patel | Former Vice President of East West Construction Company | 8/6/2009 | 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. | 8/13/2009 | 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 towardrestitution 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 12/30/0 $373,545 payment toward restitution 1/29/10 Sentenced 2/3/10: 42 months’ imprisionment; 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 restitution2/17/10 $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 | Arraignment 11/24/09 |
| $1.95 Million $1,466,394.21 | Proceeds from Louis Damiani’s criminal activity Proceeds from Louis Damiani’s criminal activity | Civil Forfeiture Filed 12/11/09 Civil Forfeiture Filed 5/27/10 | Civil Forfeiture Completed 5/28/10 Civil Forfeiture Completed 8/10/10 |
| Joseph Gallucci | Former employee of Auditor’s Office | 11/22/09 | Awaiting Sentencing $15,000 payment toward restitution 12/30/09 $1,055 payment toward restitution 2/3/2010 $1,055 payment toward restitution 3/3/2010 $1,055 payment toward restitution 4/14/2010 $1,055 payment toward restitution 5/5/2010 $1,055 payment toward restitution 5/28/2010 $1,055 payment toward restitution 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 8/2/2010 |
| 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 | Sentencing 11/30/10 Guilty Plea 8/9/10 |
| Vince Russo | Owner of Vincore | 7/13/2010 | Awaiting Trial |
| Daniel Weaver | ISC Director, Cuyahoga County Auditor's Office | 7/30/2010 | Awaiting Sentencing Guilty Plea 8/17/10 |
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 Nancy L. Kelley and Assistant U.S. Attorney 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 Indictment 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.