Jimmy Dimora's gambling trip to Windsor

Jimmy Dimora's gambling trip to Windsor: limousines, women and meals, testimony shows
By James F. McCarty, The Plain Dealer The Plain Dealer

AKRON, Ohio -- A candidate for the top nonelected job in Cuyahoga County paid $20,000 for a gambling trip for then-county Commissioner Jimmy Dimora that included meals, gambling chips, lodging, limousines and women, Daniel Gallagher, a former county official, testified Monday.

The 2003 trip to Windsor, Ontario was the second criminal scheme involving a gambling junket that federal prosecutors have introduced to jurors during the first two weeks of Dimora's racketeering trial in U.S. District Court. The first trip mentioned in trial was to Las Vegas in 2008, and involved $25,000 that prosecutors said was bankrolled by Berea contractor Ferris Kleem.

Gallagher, who was working in 2003 as a private consultant, testified that he agreed to act as an intermediary between Dimora and Samir Mohammad, a friend who was in charge of the computer system at the county recorder's office.

Mohammad hoped that 20 $100 bills would buy Dimora's support for his efforts to land the soon-to-be vacant county administrator's job, Gallagher said. Although Gallagher confessed to having doubts about Mohammad's chances of landing the job, he agreed to enlist Kevin Payne, the chief of staff at the county engineer's office and a close friend of Dimora's, in the scheme to win over the powerful commissioner.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Antoinette Bacon asked Gallagher why he felt it was important to lavish Dimora with the payoff and not one of the two other county commissioners whose votes would determine the next county administrator.

"Because Mr. Dimora would take the cash," Gallagher responded.

Gallagher described himself as a "man on a mission," having promised Mohammad that he would verify the bribe money would be delivered to Dimora. He acknowledged under questioning, however, that he pocketed $2,000 to $5,000 of the money -- he told conflicting stories -- and that Payne may have taken a $5,000 cut for himself.

"I don't know what Mr. Payne did with the rest of the money," Gallagher testified.

Gallagher said he personally handed $2,000 in cash to Dimora, and asked that he keep Mohammad in mind when he cast his vote for the new county administrator.

Dimora rode in a limousine to Windsor with then-county Auditor Frank Russo, attorney Anthony O. Calabrese III, contractor Steven Pumper, union official Robert Rybak, and county employee J. Kevin Kelley. Payne drove Gallagher separately, but first they stopped to pick up two women along the way, he testified.

When Gallagher and Payne arrived at the casino, they found Dimora and his friends eating dinner. Payne introduced the women, and Dimora immediately took one of them away.


Marvin Fong, The Plain DealerDaniel Gallagher, left, a former administrator in the Cuyahoga County Engineer's Office, with his attorney, Jim Jenkins, leaves the federal courthouse in Akron after testifying Monday in the racketeering trial of former Cuyahoga County Commissioner Jimmy Dimora.

Later, the two women announced to the other men that they had a room at the hotel "if anyone wanted to avail themselves of their services," Gallagher said.

Payne paid for the limousine, the rooms and the women, Gallagher said. The men all chipped in with casino-issued credit slips to pay for the meal, and Dimora pocketed the leftover chits, he added.

When they returned to Cleveland, Gallagher reported back to Mohammad that he thought his money had been invested well.

But Mohammad did not get the county administrator's job. He did not even make the list of finalists.

As an alternative, Mohammad was offered a job as head of the county's data center, which he turned down, Gallagher said. Russo later offered Mohammad a $120,000-a-year job as his chief of staff, which he accepted.

In his testimony Monday, Gallagher also described how the bribery and kickback scheme blew up on July 28, 2008, when the FBI raided the county administration building, Dimora's and Russo's homes and offices, and Payne's home and office at the engineer's building.

After the raids, Mohammad helped smash Gallagher's computer hard drive with a sledgehammer to destroy evidence of payoffs he received and kickbacks he paid to Payne and Mohammad, Gallagher said.

Mohammad was later arrested and indicted on charges of bribery, and he is awaiting trial later this year. His lawyer denied the allegations by Gallagher on Monday.

"Gallagher is a known, habitual liar," said attorney Joseph A. Dubyak. "Sam Mohammad never gave $20,000 to Gallagher, and he never destroyed anything."

In October 2008, Gallagher agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors and pleaded guilty to five corruption charges, including bribery, that could send him to prison for nearly five years, and require him to pay $85,000 in restitution.

Under cross-examination, Gallagher said he could have received up to 12 years in prison had he not agreed to help the FBI.

Defense attorney Andrea Whitaker listed all of the kickback schemes Gallagher was involved in, as well as his role in the Windsor trip, then asked him in disbelief:

"Are you telling this jury the only incident of illegal contact with Mr. Dimora was when you passed him $2,000 for a job you didn't think [Mohammad] would get?"

After multiple objections and a conference with Judge Sara Lioi, Gallagher replied yes.

Gallagher said he also twice wore a hidden recording device, and expects to testify for the prosecution in at least two more trials.

Russo pleaded guilty to 21 corruption-related charges and faced up to 22 years in prison before he agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. He also is expected to testify against Dimora in a trial expected to run two more months.

J. Kevin Kelley has pleaded guilty to multiple counts of bribery, and is expected to testify against Dimora.

Payne was charged with bribery, but died of cancer. Pumper has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing. Calabrese and Mohammad are awaiting trial on multiple corruption charges.

Gallagher said his life has fallen apart since he was caught and pleaded guilty.

"I wake up every day with fear of the unknown, with what's going to happen to me," he said. "It's not the best existence in the world."

With reporting by Peter Krouse, Rachel Dissell, John Canigilia and Stan Donaldson