Westlake Attorney Arrested in Connection with Ongoing Cuyahoga County Public Corruption Investigation

William Mitchell, Jr. was arrested this morning following the unsealing of a three-count indictment in connection with the ongoing Cuyahoga County public corruption investigation, said Bernard A. Smith, Appellate Chief, Criminal Division in the Northern District of Ohio; Harold 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.

Mitchell, 61, lives in Westlake, Ohio, according to court documents.

He is accused of taking part in a bribery conspiracy that caused millions of dollars in losses to Cuyahoga County over more than a decade.

Mitchell, a licensed attorney, was one of four partners in the law firm of Armstrong, Mitchell, Damiani and Zaccagnini (AMDZ). From 1997 through May 2009, Mitchell conspired to bribe programs receiving federal funds, according to the indictment.

Those he conspired with include former Cuyahoga County Auditor Frank Russo, former auditor employee Santina Klimkowski and his former law partners, according to the indictment.

Mitchell was part of a group that paid more than $1.1 million in cash bribes and kickbacks to Russo, sometimes through Klimkowski, in return for contracts worth $21.4 million related to commercial real estate appraisals, according to the indictment.

The charges include one count each of: conspiracy to commit bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds; bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds and Hobbs Act conspiracy.

If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after a 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 Gary D. Arbeznik, 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 thegovernment’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.