http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2018/04/no_excuses_for_joe_cimpermans.html

Eric J Brewer writes on FB:

You're wondering why Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O'Malley is taking such a light approach to prosecuting ex-Councilman Joe Cimperman for voting on 26 contracts that enriched him and his wife, Nora Romanoff. I have an opinion about his reasons.

O'Malley was on Cleveland city council in 2000 when Ward 17 Councilman Tim Melena sponsored an ordinance to let council divide about $11 million of the city's $30 million in block grant funds from HUD between each of the city's 21 wards. Council had been taking $300,000 a piece in block grant funds since 1995. In 2000 they upped it by another $200,000 to give themselves $500,000 each.

This shit was criminal and a violation of federal block grant laws for council to “appropriate” HUD's money that way but it didn't matter. 2000 was the year before the 2001 elections and $1 million each would give them money to spend thereby creating the illusion in “their” wards that they were doing something.

Michael Polensek was council president. Bill Patmon chaired the finance committee. O'Malley was representing Ward 16 and couldn't stand Mayor Michael White. Mayor Frank Jackson was representing Ward 5. Polensek, Patmon, O'Malley, Melena and crew wanted to stick it to Mike and it didn't matter if they violated federal laws to do it.

Linda Hudicek (Hudacek)  was Mike's community development director. Chistopher Quinn who now leads Cleveland.com as vice president was a reporter for the Plain Dealer covering city hall in 2000. He wrote about council's theft of federal funds in a March 28, 2000 story. The FBI and HUD's inspector general should examine the City Record in 2000 and retrieve Ord. No. 135-2000 Melena sponsored. 2000 is the year I joined the White administration as a special assistant.

Linda told Quinn council was creating a slush fund of $1 million each that they wanted to spend without oversight. O'Malley was one of the councilmen Linda targeted in her statement. Patmon wouldn't let her speak at the council meeting where they were discussing the cash grab although it is a “charter-mandated” right of department heads to address the council on matters that involved the department's they supervise. I joined Mike's administration later in 2000 as one of his special assistants and the impact of what council had done was still being discussed

And, Eric J. Brewer goes on in response to a question about the audits:

I can tell you for a fact and without any hint of hesitation that Adam Rosen, as an example, who works for Detroit Shoreway Corporation has submitted fraudulent paperwork to Jeff Ramsey that he's submitted to the city that ex-acting Community Development Director Michael Cosgrove chose not to investigate. Notice how abruptly Cosgrove left the city right before the raid at city hall. I can tell you for a fact that Rosen's time allocation sheets are fraudulent and he's probably not the only one over there falsifying federal "time allocation sheets" in exchange for federal funds under Ramsey. He's an attorney. I dare him to sue me.

See related article by Lily Miller:

http://realneo.us/content/cuyahoga-county-land-bank-report-fraud-waste-hud