List Of Items Taken From Dimora's Office Released
Investigators Look Into Improvements At Homes Of Dimora, Russo
POSTED: 6:08 pm EDT July 29,
2008
UPDATED: 7:28 am EDT July 30,
2008
CLEVELAND -- Investigators released an inventory list of the items federal agents seized from Cuyahoga Commissioner Jimmy Dimora's office during Monday's raid.The FBI and the IRS searched Cuyahoga County government offices, companies they do business with and the private homes of some Cuyahoga County officials.The federal investigation inventory sheet is extensive and gives a glimpse inside the public corruption investigation swirling through the county, reported NewsChannel5's Duane Pohlman.It lists all the items agents hauled away in boxes from Dimora's office, from business cards to e-mails to bank deposit slips, nothing was off-limits.Agents secured hundreds of employment applications and requests for employment from a judge and the sheriff.They also seized construction project documents and correspondence, including dozens of documents dealing with the new multimillion-dollar juvenile detention center that is being built.According to the search warrant, agents were after any of Dimora's records dealing with income, contracts, bank accounts and loans.Also seized were documents relating to the juvenile justice center, the Ameritrust project and the Veterans Administration project.Agents want to know about Dimora's involvement in three big construction projects involving public money and they're looking into Dimora's travel, Pohlman reported.Neighbors are also curious about big improvements made to Dimora's home. The search warrant shows the investigation is looking into all documents reflecting improvements to Dimora's real estate.At Dimora's home, building permits claim he and his wife personally did everything from building pool shelters and paving driveways to electrical and plumbing work, NewsChannel5's Ron Regan reported.At Auditor Frank Russo's home, a company doing business with the county was paid $200 for furnace and air conditioning upgrades.The FBI is looking into companies doing business with the county, including Blaze Construction, which was awarded four contracts for more than $17 million for road improvements.It also is looking at Pyramid Electric, with contracts totaling more than $1 million, mainly for non-bid purchase orders for electrical work.DAS Construction was awarded more than $24,000 for reviewing a county renovation project, and is also under scrutiny.County Commissioner Peter Lawson Jones downplayed whether contracts were traded for home improvements."Although this is what has been asserted in the print media today, we have no independent and formal confirmation of any of those facts," he said.
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