COLEMAN SCANDAL TOLL

Although some speculated that Scott Coleman would do all he could to hang in, despite Rep. Dave Joyce's Federal Elections Commission filing, that didn't prove to be the case.

He has resigned as mayor....an implicit admission of the seriousness of the charges against him.
https://www.cleveland.com/open/2019/02/highland-heights-mayor-scott-coleman-resigns-after-campaign-embezzlement-allegation.html

The Council President---in this case Mayfield City Service/Parks Department employee Chuck Brunello---will serve in Coleman's stead until a new mayor is elected in November.

Various council members, quoted in the press, have indicated that they don't think any city financial shenanigans have gone on under Coleman's watch.....but I think they need to prove that to residents by obtaining an independent audit of the city's books, going back several years. 

I do wonder what would cause Coleman, if true, to engage in the alleged behavior.

Why would a well-paid, well-respected member of this community do something so stupid and so ruinous? 

Speculation abounds....was there a problem with drugs? gambling? blackmail? Or was it just plain old greed? We may never know.

What I do know is that Coleman is now a ruined man.

No company likes the kind of publicity that Coleman's behavior has engendered. My best guess, given the seriousness of the allegations, is that on top of everything else he will lose his accounting/tax manager job with Progressive Insurance (if he hasn't already).

Anyone who reads this blog knows that I have never been a big fan of Scott Coleman, the mayor, but I can say quite honestly that I have never wished Scott Coleman, the person, ill.

I am truly sorry for the agony his family must be experiencing.

It is a very sad end to a long political career.

IS MAYOR COLEMAN IN LEGAL JEOPARDY?

I’ve taken a pretty long break from this blog----life changes as we move forward and it can be a challenge keeping up old routines when the cosmos shifts underfoot.

But it’s hard to ignore the buzz arising from this recent Cleveland.com story.

Treasurer embezzled money from Rep. Dave Joyce’s campaign, says letter to FEC. https://www.cleveland.com/open/2019/02/treasurer-embezzled-money-from-rep-dave-joyces-campaign-says-letter-to-fec.html

Basically, according to the reported story, this is the deal:

• Until recently Mayor Scott Coleman acted as treasurer for Representative Dave Joyce’s campaign committee.
• The campaign organization filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) accusing Coleman of a list of improper actions, including:

• making $80,000 worth of improper ATM cash withdrawals; 
• shorting bank deposits; and 
• submitting false campaign report records that over-reported campaign expenses and under-reported donations/campaign receipts.

Wow!!!

Before you say, “Well that kind of record-keeping can be hard for a layperson,” remember this:

Coleman is an accountant who works as a tax manager for Progressive Insurance.

Given his professional background as an accountant and his own repeated runs for office, Coleman certainly understands both how to keep, and the importance of keeping, accurate campaign finance records. 

That’s what makes his alleged actions so egregious.

        What is even more fascinating about this story, however,
        is the fact that it got this far, into public view.

Bad publicity like this is anathema to politics and politicians. Normally I would expect this kind of thing to be worked out behind the scenes if at all possible… perhaps through reimbursement of unaccounted-for funds and the filing of an amended campaign finance report.

For whatever reason, that didn’t happen.

Instead the campaign committee contacted a local prosecutor and filed a complaint with the FEC (whose stated mission is “Protecting the integrity of the campaign finance process“). 

It might have been a necessary self-preservation move on Joyce’s part, to preserve his own integrity and that of his campaign.

So, is Coleman in legal jeopardy? My guess would be “yes”.

There is both a civil and criminal component here.

The FEC is a civil agency charged with overseeing compliance with federal election laws. It can investigate, make findings and assess hefty civil penalties for campaign law violations.

Criminal prosecutions, on the other hand, are initiated by prosecutors. We will have to wait and see if criminal charges are brought against Coleman arising out of the alleged behavior.

I would hope Coleman would be criminally prosecuted if he did what the Joyce campaign alleges.

What confidence can we have in the legal system otherwise?

SO LONG SUMMER

I spend too many hours in front of a computer every day, working as an online legal analyst.
Because of that you are likely to spot me power-walking through my neighborhood in the middle of the day, almost every day.
Walking helps clear away the mental cobwebs and unstiffens my legs.

I always enjoy seeing what's going on in my neighborhood, and I have to say there are a couple of spots I always look forward to reaching.
One of them is along Radford Drive, near the intersection with Kenbridge.
The house has a tiny decorative bench in the front yard, near the sidewalk, that's always decked out for the season.

I expect to see a fall theme shortly, now that the kids are back in school and we're about to hit Labor Day.
But not yet. 
Here's this year's summer bench.
Hope you enjoy seeing it as much I do, every day, on my daily rounds!

POOL DECK: DISAPPOINTING DECISION.....ONCE AGAIN

I have to say as a lawyer I get very disappointed when courts appear to fall down on the job.
 Despite hopeful signs during oral argument, the 8th District Appeals Court ended up giving the City a pass on the massive Rutland Drive deck.

The court noted, and then blithely dismissed in a footnote, the significant flaws in the permitting process that led up to the after-the-fact issuance of a permit for the deck.
It also shrugged its shoulders at the fact that the owners ended up erecting a deck 74% larger than the one actually permitted by the City.... even though city ordinances make doing that a punishable offense (a misdemeanor carrying a $500 a day fine).
No matter.
Essentially the court's message was:

The City didn't follow or enforce its own permitting rules and regulations?
No problem!
Since the permit wasn't rescinded...everything's Jake.
Right?

No, not all right.
It is absolutely stunning to me that a court would think it's okay for a City not to obey it's own laws....and put its stamp of approval on such conduct.
Essentially residents have been given permission to do whatever they want....

As long as they have enough political clout with the Mayor and the Law Director to get away with it.

Once again, enforcing City code is left to the intrepid neighbors.
Hopefully the Ohio Supreme Court will be willing to right the many wrongs in this case.
As always, I'll keep you posted.