The president of a North Ridgeville company and four others pleaded guilty Monday in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court to charges linking them to a massive corruption investigation at the Ohio Department of Transportation’s Garfield Heights office.

Craig Gorsuch, who runs West Shore New Holland, could get up to a year in prison when he is sentenced later this year on the single bribery charge he entered the guilty plea to. Ryan Miday, spokesman for Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason, said the sentence will be up to the judge in the case.

Gorsuch, 58 is one of two Lorain County businessmen charged in connection with the case. The other local businessman, Mark O’Donnell, who owns North Shore Door Co. in Elyria, has pleaded not guilty to bribery and is scheduled to be in court again Sept. 2.

Gorsuch, O’Donnell and the other seven ODOT vendors and employees charged so far in the case are all cooperating with investigators.

Ohio Inspector General Tom Charles’ report on the investigation, released in November, began after a former North Shore Door employee sent an anonymous e-mail to state officials.

Charles’ investigation turned up a wide-spread problem of contract-steering and bribery that ranged from boat trips for ODOT vendors with ODOT officials and Cleveland strippers. As many as 31 people are expected to be charged in the case, including Dennis Kratochvil, the district’s facilities manager, and Terrence Kosmata, the district’s equipment manger.

Gorsuch, who lives in Wellington, was accused of arranging two hunting trips to Texas for himself and Kosmata, whom he purchased a new rifle for before each hunt. The purpose of the trip, according to Charles’ 69-page report, was to impress officials at a Texas company that Gorsuch did business with.

The report also accused Gorsuch of purchasing a stolen ODOT plasma cutter that was never entered into ODOT’s inventory system from Kosmata for $2,864.

He also hired a company owned by Kratochvil to do work on a home he owned in Berea and West Shore New Holland’s North Ridgeville offices, according to the report.

In one instance, Gorsuch paid Kratochvil for a roofing job that was never done, despite a bogus invoice. Instead, the money was actually used to pay for a high-end 12-gauged shotgun that Kratochvil wanted to deduct as a business expense, according to the report.

In exchange for the bribes and gifts, the report said Gorsuch’s company, which sells tractors and other heavy equipment, received ODOT contacts.

Gorsuch did not return a call seeking comment

Also pleading guilty to various charges on Monday were ODOT Purchasing Coordinator Thomas Short, ODOT Storekeeper Joseph Jedrzejek, ODOT mechanic William Werman and vendor Richard Goldizen.

Contact Brad Dicken at 329-7147 or bdicken@chroniclet.com.

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