Prosecutors have said that Kelley was essentially a middleman in several bribery schemes where he peddled county and school board contracts and jobs. He used his relationship with Dimora and Cuyahoga County Auditor Frank Russo as leverage to solicit bribes, according to his plea.

By JAMES W. WADE III

Staff Reporter

The trial of Jimmy Dimora is taking place in Federal Court in Akron, Ohio and has been full of twists and turns. Dimora is charged with 36 counts and Kevin Kelly is one of the key witnesses.

Kelley's testimony at the ex-commissioner's corruption trial, didn't take long to deliver a bombshell in court Monday, tying county Prosecutor Bill Mason to a backroom election deal and a job swap involving one of Mason's brothers.

Mason declined to answer questions Monday about Kelley's testimony, but issued a brief statement. "There is an ongoing federal prosecution that I will not undermine by specifically commenting on Kelley's testimony. However, I adamantly deny his claims regarding me."

The prosecutor has not been charged with any crimes, but has been criticized for failing to detect or investigate the rampant corruption exposed by a sweeping federal investigation of county government.

Kelley recounted how in 2002 he dropped plans to run for mayor of suburban Parma after being called into the office of his boss, then-county Auditor Frank Russo, and being told about a meeting Russo had with the prosecutor and Parma Democratic Party head Marty Vittardi, both of whom favored Dean DePiero as the party's mayoral candidate.

Kelly testified that he reached out to Dimora and former county auditor Frank Russo because of their powerful influence. “Pre-FBI raids in 2008, commissioner Dimora and auditor Russo were two of the most powerful politicians in Cuyahoga county,” Kelley said.

Kelley was paid about $200,000 over six years as a consultant for Alternatives, using his connections to help the halfway house get $250,000 in taxpayer money in 2008 alone.

Kelley, a former Parma school board member and Cuyahoga County employee, is cooperating with prosecutors. On July 1, 2009, he became the first public official to plead guilty in the investigation. Officials say he will likely serve at least six years in prison.

He also testified regarding a number of other schemes which prosecutors had already introduced through previous witnesses, particularly Massie.

Prosecutors in Dimora's racketeering trial offered accounts of how people trying to curry favor went to great lengths and expense to arrange extra-marital trysts for the then-Cuyahoga County commissioner.

They connected with female escort services. They dispatched limos to pick up women from as far away as Toledo. They searched for discreet spots for encounters. They dropped off condominium keys. And they talked about the women in the bluntest of terms. "Get the one with the thing in her tongue," Dimora could be heard saying in one secretly recorded phone conversation.

Jurors previously had heard testimony suggesting that Dimora sold his influence to contractors and others for much more mundane loot: a refrigerator, a wide-screen television, a gambling junket to Las Vegas, a poolside tiki bar for his Independence home.

Former county employees J. Kevin Kelly and Kevin Payne, who worked together in the county engineer's office wanted Dimora to increase their boss' pay so that their own salaries, which were higher, wouldn't seem so out of line, FBI Special Agent Michael Massie testified.

Prosecutors played intercepted phone conversations in which Kelley, Payne and Dimora planned for Dimora to have a Saturday night adventure.

At one point, Kelley asked Dimora if a penthouse at the Embassy Suites hotel at Cleveland's Reserve Square would work. But the commissioner nixed the idea, fearing he might be spotted by someone from television station WOIO Channel 19, which had offices nearby.

The men also considered a condominium at the Stonebridge complex on the west bank of the Flats. Kelley repeatedly phoned Dimora about Payne's efforts to get a key, almost to the annoyance of Dimora. "Don't make yourself crazy, OK?" Dimora said. "If it works, it works."

After securing one of the condos, Payne told Dimora he would drop off the key en route to taking his daughter to a birthday party. "I appreciate your due diligence on this for me," Dimora said. "You're a good man."

Payne had access to the condo development through architect Robert Corna, he said in the recordings. Corna partnered with The K&D Group and developer Doug Price to design and build the complex, which consists of three buildings near the Superior Viaduct.

K&D's lawyer, Virginia Davidson, said this week that Corna is no longer associated with the development. At the time, Davidson said, Corna was one of several partners involved in the development. He was in charge of construction management, including on-site operations. K&D, she said, provided property management services, for example, sales, rentals and accounting services. Corna did not respond to a call or email for comment.

Dimora and his friends used the condo on other occasions, according to Massie. And again, Dimora raised the subject of sex. During the planning for a poker game one night, Dimora asked if there was going to be a little "gumar," an Italian slang term for a mistress or girlfriend.

Prosecutors alluded to other connections between Dimora, his friends and women. They played a recording of Kelley, who was with Dimora at the time, calling Payne and looking for the number of a woman named Rebecca.

Prosecutors have said that Kelley was essentially a middleman in several bribery schemes where he peddled county and school board contracts and jobs. He used his relationship with Dimora and Cuyahoga County Auditor Frank Russo as leverage to solicit bribes, according to his plea.