CLEVELAND, OH – While federal agencies are investigating officials in Cleveland, East Cleveland, Cleveland Heights and the Cuyahoga County “land bank” for accepting “things of value” from individuals representing companies doing business with the local governments, Ward 7 Councilman Basheer Jones used the office of a councilman to shake down the down owners of Dave’s Supermarket for 50 baskets of food.
https://www.facebook.com/BasheerJonesofficial/videos/534470893720896/
Jones’ “shake down” of Dave’s came less than a week after building department employees were ordered by Mayor Frank Jackson to stop taking asking for and receiving gift cards and food from individuals representing companies doing business with the city. Jackson acted after learning of the rampant officer bribery and that employees engaged in Friday work stoppages to eat expensive donuts from Jack’s.
A building department employee, Rufus Taylor, was “handled” by FBI agents for at least two years who pressured him to demand gifts and cash from contractors seeking permits from the Jackson administration that were connected to the misuse of federal funds.
Jackson, the city’s chief law enforcement officer, did not know federal law enforcement officials were engaged in obstructing the “municipal” government’s official functions.
Under R.C. 737.11 Ohio’s general assembly gave “federal” law enforcement authority to “municipal police” under the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The state law reads in part that the duties of municipal police officers are “to obey and enforce all ordinances of the legislative authority of the municipal corporation, all criminal laws of the state and the United States.”
Federal agents operated “beyond the powers” of the federal government to obstruct Jackson’s law enforcement authority as mayor; and to use municipal employees he supervised to entrap contractors and others doing business with the local government.
What Jones as a member of the municipal legislative authority should be doing under R.C. 705.21 is seeking a council investigation of the impact of the FBI’s acts on the city’s government; and demanding that his colleagues use their “congressional-like” investigative authority to hold hearings.
No council president or member in Ohio has thus far been knowledgeable, bold and “intellectually empowered” enough to know they have the authority to issue a subpoena to U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman pursuant to R.C. 705.21 to answer for the FBI’s “authority exceeding” and “government obstructing” acts that involve a “municipal” government under their authority.
705.21 Investigations by municipal corporation – production of testimony. The legislative authority of a municipal corporation, or any committee thereof authorized by it, may compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of books, papers, and other evidence at any meeting of such legislative authority or committee, and for that purpose may issue subpoenas or attachments in any case of injury or investigation, to be signed by the presiding officer of such legislative authority or chairman of such committee, which shall be served and executed by any officer authorized to serve subpoenas and other processes. If any witness refuses to testify to any acts within his knowledge, or to produce any papers or books in his possession, or under his control, relating to the matter under inquiry, before the legislative authority or any such committee, the legislative authority may commit the witness to prison for contempt. No witness shall be excused from testifying touching his knowledge or the matter under investigation in any such inquiry, but such testimony shall not be used against him in any criminal prosecution, except for perjury. Effective Date: 10-01-1953 .
Jones, a resident of South Euclid who has illegally served on Cleveland city council and committed theft for the last year, is particularly weakened as an “enforcer” of the city’s ordinances because he’s violated them as a candidate and now as a criminally-obstructive elected official.
The “shake down” of Dave’s for 50 baskets of food is just as criminal as building department ex-employee Rufus Taylor shaking down contractors needing permits for cash.
Jones act of bribery confirm he’s not read R.C. 705.21 to know what he’s supposed to be doing; and to understand he should be asking council to issue a subpoena to Housing Court Judge Ronald O’Leary to explain how he allowed the bribery to occur while he claims to have “cooperated” with the obstructive federal agents.
Like contractors needed permits from Taylor and “mysteriously-resigned” building employee Damian Borkowski under O’Leary; the owner of Dave’s needs them for the new Ward 7 supermarket they’re opening on Chester Avenue near the Third District.
The only “legal” authority council has in the permitting process is to pass the permit and zoning ordinances. They approve the budget that funds the employees who work under the mayor and set the wages. They can create and abolish departments and jobs; but after the ordinance is passed there is no legal role for any “individual” member of council to perform pursuant to R.C. 731.05.
“The powers of the legislative authority of a city shall be legislative only, it shall perform no administrative duties, and it shall neither appoint nor confirm any officer or employee in the city government except those of its own body …”
What individual members of Cleveland city council have done is unlawfully “inserted” themselves in the permitting and plans process with “unwritten rules” they’ve created as a way to approach individual businesses and property owners for bribes like the one Jones got from Dave’s.
In the image EJBNEWS screenshotted of Jones’ video it shows the “logo” of city council as the South Euclid resident uses it to create the illusion that the Dave’s bribery is an “official act” of the municipal government.
It is not a willful act of benevolence on the part of the permit-seeking business owner to give-away 50 baskets of inventory that come with slim mark-ups for profits. He’s never given Jones 50 baskets of food in the past for “the people.”
Ward 7 residents who launched three recall attempts at Jones this year have complained about his illegal interference with the city’s administrative affairs in dealing with property owners and non-profits funded by council.
Jones called police to remove 200 black men, women and children from the African American History Museum during an invent. Jackson stopped the police from responding to the councilman’s administrative interference. Jones told police the property was unsafe days after Jackson’s building department officials permitted them to operate.
Recently he sent building inspectors to inspect Martin Luther King Plaza owner Wesley Toles’ property. Councilman have been using inspectors under O’Leary and other building officials to harass property owners for developers who want their property or land. The interference with the mayor’s “administrative duties” appears to have continued under Blue-Donald.
EJBNEWS reviewed Cleveland’s codified ordinances to learn if the council had enacted a substantially equivalent version of R.C. 2921.02, the state’s “bribery” law.
Every council in a chartered city has the authority to enact local ordinances that mirror or use the same language as federal and state anti-corruption laws. EJBNEWS’ review of Cleveland’s ordinances reveals Council President Kevin Kelly has not led the legislative authority to enact a local “bribery” ordinance that reads under Ohio law as follows:
2921.02 Bribery. (A) No person, with purpose to corrupt a public servant or party official, or improperly to influence a public servant or party official with respect to the discharge of the public servant’s or party official’s duty, whether before or after the public servant or party official is elected, appointed, qualified, employed, summoned, or sworn, shall promise, offer, or give any valuable thing or valuable benefit. (B) No person, either before or after the person is elected, appointed, qualified, employed, summoned, or sworn as a public servant or party official, shall knowingly solicit or accept for self or another person any valuable thing or valuable benefit to corrupt or improperly influence the person or another public servant or party official with respect to the discharge of the person’s or the other public servant’s or party official’s duty.
