200 Federal Agents Raid Cuyahoga County Offices

(Cleveland, Ohio) Local officials are being investigated by the FBI and IRS. Reportedly, 200 federal agents executed search warrants.

The FBI and the Internal Revenue Service this morning executed search warrants at the Cuyahoga County administration building, the office of the county engineer, the county data center and the homes of several county officials, the outgrowth of a long-term public corruption investigation.

Phil Okonek, a special agent with the IRS, said warrants were executed to search offices on the third and fourth floors of the administration building at Ontario Street and Lakeside Avenue in downtown Cleveland. He said search warrants were executed at other offices and homes around the county, but he would not be specific.

Several sources, including commissioner Peter Lawson Jones, said the offices of county commissioner Jimmy Dimora and county auditor Frank Russo were among those searched.

News reports said warrants also were executed at the county engineer’s office on the Superior Viaduct and at the county information services center on Euclid Avenue at Playhouse Square. The reports also said the homes of Messrs. Dimora and Russo were searched.

The office and home of J. Kevin Kelly, director of the county’s geographical information system, also were believed to have been searched.

You know it's going to be a bad week when, literally, scores of federal agents show up at reception areas first thing on a Monday morning. It's also noteworthy that reporting of the federal raid fails to indicate that the Cuyahoga County government is populated with Democrats.