There is no “Circle East” as the Land Bank sells an Al Zubair brothers-like scheme 5 years after its contract expired

CLEVELAND, OH – Convicted ex-Mayor Brandon Lee King and his former now convicted ex-chief of staff, Michael Leon Smedley, were involved in a scheme with two brothers to convince foreign investors to give them $10 million. According to testimony during the federal trial that resulted in Smedley being jailed while he waits the long sentence he’s expected to receive, he, King and fired ex-law director Willa Mae Hemmons led investors to believe the brothers actually owned General Electric’s former Nela Park lighting division headquarters property. It’s similar to the scheme the Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corporation (CCLRC) employees used to…




