Construction Executive Steven Pumper Sentenced to Eight Years in Prison for Paying Bribes to Public Officials

A Cuyahoga Falls man was sentenced to more than eight years in prison and ordered to pay more than $2 million in restitution for paying bribes to public officials as part of the Cuyahoga County corruption investigation, law enforcement officials said.

Steven W. Pumper, 49, was sentenced to 97 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Sara Lioi. She also ordered Pumper to pay restitution in the amounts of $1.7 million to Phillips Health Care, $186,000 to Cuyahoga County, $117,000 to Maple Heights City Schools, and $15,000 to Parma City Schools.

Pumper previously pleaded guilty to a nine-count information for charges including conspiracy to commit bribery of programs receiving federal funds, obstruction of justice, bribery, mail fraud, structuring, and mail fraud.

Pumper, the former president and CEO of DAS Construction, admitted to paying bribes to public officials in return for official actions on his behalf. For example, Pumper provided $33,000 in cash to then-Cuyahoga County Commissioner Jimmy Dimora and also provided free improvements to Dimora’s home worth tens of thousands of dollars. These actions were done in return for Dimora’s support on several projects in which Pumper was involved, including securing funding for development projects.

In another example, Pumper provided a political donation to the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party that was specifically to be used by the campaign of Parma School Board member J. Kevin Kelley. In return, Kelley helped Pumper’s company secure a $96,000 contract from the school district.

Dimora is currently serving a 28-year prison sentence while Kelley is scheduled to be sentenced later this month.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ann C. Rowland and Antoinette T. Bacon following an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Cleveland office and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation.