Search our website
Chronicle E-dition








FBI raids judges’ chambers in Cleveland

Filed by Associated Press September 24th, 2008 in BREAKING.
Print this story
Read comments and discuss this story

CLEVELAND (AP) — The FBI said Wednesday it raided two judges’ chambers as part of a public corruption investigation that began with earlier raids on the offices and homes of two elected county officials.

Agents executed search warrants around 8 p.m. Tuesday on the courtrooms of Cuyahoga Count Common Pleas Judges Bridget M. McCafferty and Steven J. Terry, FBI Spokesman Scott Wilson said.

Wilson wouldn’t say what the agents took from the judges’ chambers and the evidence was under seal.

McCafferty declined comment and Terry did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment.

The searches were a continuation of a county probe that began July 28 when agents sent employees home for the day and used U-Haul trucks to take away items from the offices and homes of Commissioner Jimmy Dimora and Auditor Frank Russo. No charges have been filed and Dimora and Russo say they’ve done nothing wrong.

The focus of the federal investigation hasn’t been disclosed, but The Plain Dealer has reported that agents were looking into allegations that Dimora, one of three county commissioners who is also the county’s Democratic chairman, and Russo traded county jobs and contracts for thousands of dollars in free improvements to their spacious suburban homes.

McCafferty, 42, has been a Common Pleas judge since 1999. She previously was a juvenile court magistrate and served as chief counsel to former county Commissioner Jane Campbell in 1997 and the Ohio House of Representatives from 1995-1997.

Terry, 50, was appointed to the bench in April 2007 by Gov. Ted Strickland to fill a seat vacated when Judge Mary Jane Boyle was elected to the Eighth District Court of Appeals. He is up for election in November.

Terry previously served as the director for the Cuyahoga County Department of Justice Affairs. He also held several positions with the city of Cleveland from 1994-2001, including chief counsel, assistant director of public safety and first assistant city prosecutor.

Cuyahoga County has an estimated 1.29 million residents and had the nation’s third largest population decline last year. Its Democratic-controlled county government has 9,400 employees and a $1.5 billion annual budget.

 



Print this story
Report an innappropriate comment


In order to comment, you must agree to our user agreement and discussion guidelines.
You must be registered and logged in to post a comment. If you aren't already registered, click here.
If you are registered, click here to log in.
Need help? Email Us.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.