Saturday, September 18, 2010

OH: 3 Other County Judges Under Investigation

Three other county judges are coming under scrutiny after they were mentioned in the bombshell federal indictments announced that accused County Commissioner Jimmy Dimora and two Common Pleas Court judges of corrupt activity.

One is the brother of former county Auditor Frank Russo, who pleaded guilty to 21 corruption charges. County Probate Court Judge Anthony Russo has not been charged but fits the description of Public Official 11, described in the indictment of Dimora.

Then there's county Domestic Relations Judge Cheryl Karner. She isn't named in the indictment, but the description of Public Official 8 matches her description.

The federal indictment also involves an unidentified Common Pleas Court judge. Prosecutors said Dimora used his influence on the judge to arrange a meeting involving a halfway house that's been linked to bribes and a trip to Las Vegas that Dimora went on in April 2008.

Judge Steven Terry was charged with judicial corruption after being accused of accepting bribes and political help from Russo, in return for helping Russo's friend in a civil case.

And Judge Bridget McCafferty was accused of lying to FBI agents about her secret dealings on court cases with Frank Russo and Dimora.

Full Article and Source:
Investigator: Three More Cuyahoga County Judges Show Up in Indictments

4 comments:

Tom said...

Sounds like there's a real problem in this Ohio county.

Connie said...

Will it turn out to be another Luzerne Co?

Anonymous said...

Hang 'em high!

StandUp said...

Get out the big magnifying glass and have a look at judges on a routine basis, judicial committees, and things would be much better.