Mundane testimony reveals inner workings of lengthy FBI covert investigation of Jimmy Dimora

AKRON, Ohio - Federal jurors in the Jimmy Dimora corruption trial on Friday afternoon heard the details of the inner workings of the FBI’s covert operation against former commissioner Jimmy Dimora, his co-defendant Michael Gabor and other targets of the largest public corruption investigation in Cuyahoga County history.

Cell phone tower pings, pen register records of cell phone calls, covert surveillance outside abandoned commercial building areas, wiretap phone calls, analysis of cryptic phone messages and multiple whiteboards filled with the dates and activities of the FBI’s corruption investigation targets were all laid out to jurors one after another by FBI Special Agent Christine Oliver and Assistant U.S. Attorney Antoinette Bacon.

Bacon and Oliver walked back through what on the surface appeared to be the most mundane and long-dragging testimony so far in the trial. But using dozens of transcripts, wiretaps and photographs, Bacon began constructing for jurors a timeline on a courtroom whiteboard to create what will likely be a very critical timeline for summarizing the multitude of individual schemes jurors have heard about during the first five weeks of the trial.

To date, jurors have been shown hidden camera photos outside of an upper-scale Las Vegas steakhouse, covert surveillance photos of Dimora and his “A-Team” at a topless pool at The Mirage Hotel in Vegas and top-quality Vegas casino floor security camera videos that zoomed in close enough to see handwritten notes and the hands of individuals moving casino chips. They also heard about federal snitches wearing wires to secretly record conversations, testimony from co-conspirators turned federal witnesses, testimony by FBI agents who conducted undercover surveillance at times a couple dozen feet away from Dimora in restaurants, and allegations of corruption directly from the mouths of individuals claiming they bribed Dimora.

Friday afternoon testimony and evidence explained by Agent Oliver illustrate how the FBI investigation proceeded forward over multiple years by peeling away layers of some discovered information while simultaneously piecing together other seemingly unrelated tidbits of information gathered along the way. One brief conversation overheard in a few seconds of a wiretapped conversation could lead agents to dig deeper into an entirely new corruption scheme involving a whole new set of players in an investigation that eventually culminated in a 149-page indictment with 36 separate counts of alleged federal crimes.

While most of the initial FBI investigation was covert, federal agents also used open source records such as county commissioner meeting agendas and other publicly accessible records. Once the FBI investigation became public, the FBI dramatically expanded the reach of their investigation by serving search warrants on county offices and homes of the investigation targets, and interviews with targets of their investigations.

Federal grand jury subpoenas also produced financial records, contractor invoices and expense, emails and memoranda, letters, lunch appointment schedules, calendars, credit card charges, handwritten notes, minutes of meetings, government employee time sheets and local and county government employee personnel files. Search warrant photos of Dimora’s home included numerous pictures of a pool, patio, pizza oven, granite countertops, masonry walls, a shed, and even a photograph of a framed Beanie Wells souvenir football jersey in Dimora’s basement.

The massive collection of documents can expose corrupt activities that may not be evident when viewing individual documents alone. In a series of checks presented Friday afternoon Agent Oliver explained the suspicious nature of four Dimora checks, all dated May 23, 2008, that were issued to contractors who in prior years had performed work on the Dimora home.

Federal prosecutors have alleged that once Dimora became aware of the FBI investigation, he tried to have backdated invoices manufactured and made payments on previously unpaid home improvements. Agent Oliver testified FBI and IRS agents considered the four checks unusual due to their near-consecutive check numbers and rounded dollar amounts with no cents, including a $600 check to D-A-S Construction followed by a $500 check to Zavarella Brothers Construction that were both signed by Lori Dimora.

Friday afternoon’s timeline provides a tool for federal prosecutors to pull together the massive evidence presented during the first weeks of the trial as they lead up to their star witness, former auditor Frank Russo, who is expected to testify in the next week or two.

The trial will resume next Monday morning.

Dimora and Gabor have maintained their innocence of all federal charges.

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