Cuyahoga County Commissioner Jimmy Dimora calls for U.S. Justice Department to investigate

[Algorem]

Source: Plain Dealer

the motives bebind the local corruption probe

Posted by Mark Puente June 29, 2009 17:46PM

CLEVELAND -- Cuyahoga County Commissioner Jimmy Dimora accused the U.S. Department of Justice of launching its local public corruption probe two years ago in a conspiracy with Republicans to undermine Democratic candidates including Barack Obama.

Dimora said he and his lawyers will ask for a federal investigation into the motives behind the corruption probe, which became public last July when FBI agents raided the commissioner's home and office and the home and office of political ally Frank Russo, the county auditor.

"This is a Republican-driven prosecution," Dimora said during a news conference from the county office building.

His remarks come weeks after federal prosecutors released documents that make it clear that prosecutors believe Dimora and Russo are at the center of a pay-to-play political system that involves millions of dollars in public contracts...



Read more: http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/06/thomas_ondreycuyahoga_county_c.html

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Cuyahoga County Commissioner Dimora calls for federal investigation of FBI/IRS investigation

http://www.wkyc.com/news/local/news_article.aspx?storyid=116805&catid=33

CLEVELAND -- ...
He said that, later this week, he will ask the U.S. Attorney General and the "appropriate Congressional committee" to launch an investigation into the Department of Justice's investigation.

He alleges that the DOJ started its Cuyahoga corruption probe two years ago in an alleged conspiracy with Republicans to undermine Democratic candidates, including Barack Obama


Dimora said he and his lawyers will ask for a federal investigation into the DOJ's motive in conducting the probe.

"This is a Republican-driven prosecution," Dimora said, regarding the corruption probe...


Dimora Accuses Justice Dept. Of 'Witch Hunt' Against Dems

http://www.newsnet5.com/news/19896276/detail.html

POSTED: 5:44 pm EDT June 29, 2009
UPDATED: 6:14 pm EDT June 29, 2009


CLEVELAND -- County Commissioner Jimmy Dimora has accused the Department of Justice of a "witch hunt" targeting the Democratic Party in Cuyahoga County.

Dimora said earlier on Monday that he would be holding a news conference to make a major announcement.

Many thought the announcement may have involved the embroiled commissioner's resignation as county commissioner or head of the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party...


Dimora admitted last week that he is being targeted in a federal public corruption investigation in Cuyahoga County, but said he is innocent.

[fascisthunter]

1. Our Country is Starting to Look like Honduras

this is not a democracy... seems the right wing, no matter where in the World they are, they are garbage.

[JohnWxy]

6. you have a gift for understatement... or euphemism!

Don't close GITMO just yet. we got some lifers comin!

[AnOhioan]

2. Not buying into it

I am dyed-in-the-wool progressive who has lived in Cuyahoga County most of my adult life. I think Commissioner Dimora would be best served by letting the investigation run its course.

If he is, as he asserts, innocent of any wrong-doing then that will come out. If he is guilty of abusing the public trust then he needs to go, much like former Ohio AG Marc Dann. The Democratic Party needs to be the party that will not stand for corruption, even if one of their own is guilty of it.

By accusing the DOJ as he is, it gives him the appearance of trying to dodge responsibilty. I don't know if he is guilty of anything or not, I just know that this tactic is not a good one.

[ArcticFox]

3. You're serious?

And what if there in fact is a political persecution underway by embedded republicans? We should just forget about that? If it really is going on, those being persecuted should speak out, not shut up.

[AnOhioan]

5. And how would you prove there are

embedded Repub operatives in the DOJ? If there were I would say root them out. But where is the proof?
We have a Democratic administration in DC now...if this was a political hit job, my guess is that it would have been uncovered already.

Dimora is claiming that the "witch-hunt" was designed to damage Democratic chances in elections. I assume he was talking about Democratic chances in Cuyahoga County. Guess what? Obama won, so did the Dennis Kucinich, so did the late Stephanie Tubbs Jones.

The Republican Party in Cuyahoga County is basically a few guys in a downtown Cleveland office, hardly a organization capable of holding a political witch-hunt emanating from Washington.

As I said, I have no proof of Dimora's guilt or innocence, but that being said, the investigation was not a total surprise to me.

One more note, the official voted into Congress to replace the late Ms. Tubbs Jones, Congresswoman Marcia Fudge, asked Dimora to step down from the Party Chair and from his Commissioner position...is she a Republican plant? I doubt it.

[Doremus]

14. And yet Cuyahoga County Repukes were able to throw the 2004 recount

No impotent group of a "few guys in an office" pulled that off.

[AnOhioan]

16. Umm that would have been Ken Blackwell not the Cuyahoga Repubs

[Doremus]

18. Wrong. The Chair of the Cuyahoga Co. election board was the leader of the state Repuke party,

Who undoubtedly had the support of the SofS, but work like that doesn't get done without plenty of pull in many quarters ... and feet on the ground.

The name Bennett ring a bell? A google search will remind you of his connections.

You severely underestimate the power the repukes had in this county.

And that is precisely Dimora's point.

[No Elephants]

28. The head of the Ohio Pub Party also headed the Cuyahoga Cty Election Board? OMG.

No conflict there?

[Doremus]

35. And some people think the Cuyahoga Co. repuke party is a couple of guys sitting in an office.

:rofl:

[TankLV]

15. Where's the fucking PROOF?!?!! Just look how the REPUKES behaved for the past TWELVE years!!!

for chrissake man - OPEN YOUR EYES AND EARS!!!

WE all KNEW this was going on - it was just a matter of time to have all the DIRT filter out...

LOCKING DEMOCRATS ONLY OUT OF MEETINGS...

HOLDING VOTES WITH NO DEMOCRATS PRESENT FOR LEGISLATION BECAUSE "they already had all the votes"...

NOT EVEN LET ANY DEMOCRAT SEE LEGISLATION UNTIL JUST BEFORE VOTING BEGAN on things they "LET" democrats vote on at all...

PENALIZING ANYONE CAUGHT DEALING WITH DEMOCRATS IF THEY WANTED GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS...

GIVING MULTI-BILLION FEDERAL CONTRACTS TO REPUKE LED COMPANIES ONLY - EVEN COMPANIES THAT HAD NO PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE - LIKE HALLIBURTON - WHO SUBSEQUENTLY BECAME MULTI-BILLION LARGE CORPORATIONS OVERNIGHT!!!

and on and on and on...

[AnOhioan]

17. Dude...take a pill

No-one is saying the repubs are all charm and grace. All I am saying is the probability of Repub implants operating under a Democratic DOJ is slim.

[Doremus]

19. You need to read up.

Apparently you haven't read a thing about the "burrowing in" of Cheney loyalists in the months before Chimpco's departure.

You really should do so before making a further fool of yourself. Just a friendly suggestion.

[AnOhioan]

21. I did read that article

I stand by my words. Dimora is making his situation worse by attacking the DOJ. Just because he is a Democratic County Commissioner and head of the County Party does not make him automatically innocent, nor does it excuse any wrongdoing that may have occurred.

Call me a fool if that is your style but his assertion doesn't add up. If there was a political witch-hunt going on, why would he be a target? I would expect any such effort to be targeted at SOS Brunner, or Gov. Strickland, not a county chair/commissioner.

[Doremus]

22. 85 percent of indicted locally elected officials under the Bush administration were Dems

Of the 309 indictments of local elected officials, 262 were Democrats, 37 were Republicans, and ten were independents.
Elliot Mincberg, chief counsel for oversight investigations of the House Judiciary Committee said the chances of this happening randomly would be one in ten thousand.

http://www.courthousenews.com/2009/06/26/Bush_DOJ_Hunted_for_Democrats_Panel_Finds.htm


As I said, you need to read up.

That, and put aside your dislike of Dimora long enough to consider the high probability that he is right.

[AnOhioan]

23. I am fully aware of the stats you posted

Does not change my position at all. Are you even from the Northern Ohio area? Or are you going to defend him ad nauseum just because has a "D" after his name?

If that is your position, blind faith, then I see no sense in continuing the discussion. Those who say the Democratic Party can do no wrong are just as bad as those on the right who profess the same regarding the Repubs.

[Doremus]

24. Lived right here in Cuyahoga County all my life.

I serve with Jimmy as a precinct chair on the Dem Committee. Truth be told, I'm not particularly fond of him but I will give him the benefit of the doubt until facts prove he isn't trustworthy.

Your eagerness to assume his guilt until proven innocent is the antithesis of Democracy, (R), (D) or (I).

[AnOhioan]

26. I am not assuming guilt...or innocence

I am for letting the process play out. If you assumed my point was otherwise you are mistaken.


On edit: The federal prosecutor leading the investigation, Ann Rowland, is a Democrat. Sorta blows a hole in Dimora's argument huh?

[Doremus]

27. Rowland is Assistant US Atty.

William J. Edwards has been the acting US Attorney since Feb.'08. Gregory A. White was his predecessor, having been appointed by the Bush cabal in 2003.

Apparently you're under the mistaken assumption that assistant attorneys call their own shots.

Or that US Attorneys, under the Cheney/Rove regime, did.

Which brings us full circle, vis-a-vis statistics re: percentages of Dems vs. Repukes investigated.

[No Elephants]

31. So far, you seem to be the one operating on blind faith. Also, there is a difference between saying

embedded Republicans are in the Obama administration and saying Democrats can do no wrong.

[sendero]

29. I don't think they are slim at all..

... there's plenty of evidence of that without even looking that hard.

I have no opinion of the guilt of Dimora, let the evidence decide. I DO have ZERO PROBLEM believing that the Bush DOJ was/is corrupt. I've seen plenty of evidence of that.

[No Elephants]

32. +1

[No Elephants]

30. Obama invited all Republican political appointees to stay on. In May, Holder announced that some

would be replaced, but I have not heard of any significant number of replacements yet. Also, just before Bushco left office, they converted some political positions throughout government into civil service positions, meaning that firings immediately became more difficult. Further, after being granted immunity, Godling testified to Congress that Bushco practices for hiring for civil service (supposedly non political) positions were illegal, in that the prospective hires for non-political positions were screened by their politics.

On what specifics are you basing your claim of improbablity?

[Deep13]

8. Me neither.

The first time I met Dimora in the '90s I thought, "That guy looks like a mobster!" He's an old-style party boss and it doesn't surprise me at all that he is being investigated.

[defendandprotect]

13. What about Siegelman and politicization of DOJ?

[ohio2007]

34. Nobody wanted to talk about the story last year when the FBI raided the county building on Lakeside

That thread got locked and sunk like a rock.

Jimmy had a lot of 'home improvements' done that not exactly off the record. Not to mention how little he ( and a few others ) paid in county property tax.


...but I'll stay out of this fray and leave it to the "experts" ;)

BTW, to all the outsiders, a dem is running the current investigation and, just to name one, is
Dennish Kucinich sounding off in support Jimmy ?


:shrug:

[ClevelandSportsCurse]

4. Dimora is a DINO

He is no progressive whatsoever. He's the typical half-wit old school big city machine politician that happens to have a "D" after his name. He's talking about discrimination against Italians? Give me a break.

It's such an abomination for him to talk about voting machines when he didn't do a damn thing to make sure the vote wasn't rigged and suppressed in Cuyahoga County in 2004. It was Jennifer Brunner who led the charge in cleaning up the mess.

It's no wonder the Republicans have not challenged him in elections. It's not simply because it's a heavily Democratic County. Dimora often does the same bidding for big business the Republicans like to do.

[Deep13]

9. I just sent Brunner money for her Senate bid.

The campaign reporting period ends tomorrow night and she needs a strong $$$ showing to compete with Fisher in the primary.

[Doremus]

20. My history with Dimora goes back to the early 80s when I lived in Bedford Hts.

He was mayor there for many years. He didn't win his first campaign for county government and local lore had it that it was because his hometown crowd didn't want to lose him.

To say he was revered is an understatement. City services were unparalleled, and still are. The civic center bears his name.

Dimora often does the same bidding for big business the Republicans like to do.

Can you back that up with some facts please? I'd appreciate it, thanks.

[Doremus]

25. Still waiting for links that back up your charges. Thanks. nt

[JohnWxy]

7. see link for post re investigation of DoJ

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=5954923&mesg_id=5954923

[mod mom]

10. I don't know anything on Dimora, but I question former US Atty Greg White's action in the Noe case

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/mod%20mom/6

[xchrom]

11. LOL -- from reading this thread -- one could conclude corruption at both ends.

i say investigate AND let the prosecution continue -- sounds like there is enough stink to cover every body -- which is worse.

we NEED to know what is going on.

[No Elephants]

33. Undoubtedly, sometimes Pubs are at fault ; sometimes Dems are and sometimes both are. But Pubs

more often, it seems. Unless you let Fox News keep count.

[defendandprotect]

12. How much more Repug-driven garbage do we still not know about?