Independence Man Indicted on Charges Related to the Cuyahoga County Corruption Investigation

Bernard A. Smith, Appellate Chief, Criminal Division in the Northern District of Ohio; Harold V. Bickmore, Acting 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 federal grand jury indicted Steven A. Tomasone, age 53, of Independence, Ohio, in connection with the Cuyahoga County public corruption investigation.

The indictment charges Tomasone, owner and president of Southwest Companies, Inc., with one count of honest services mail fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit honest services mail fraud in connection with the Cuyahoga County public corruption investigation.

Tomasone provided cash and gift cards to Maple Heights City Schools (MHCS) officials in return for favorable treatment in getting work valued at approximately $250,453 from the school district between November 2006 and December 2008, according to the indictment.

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 Henry DeBaggis, 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.