E. CLEVELAND Mayor's downfall saddens residents

The mayor was shown on tape accepting an envelope of hundred-dollar bills.
EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio (AP) -- Emmanuel Onunwor based his approach to being mayor of this Cleveland suburb on the hope that impoverished neighborhoods could be transformed and residents could feel safer from crime.
Now Onunwor is jailed, convicted last week of taking thousand of dollars in bribes from city contractors.
Council President Saratha Goggins was sworn in as Onunwor's replacement Thursday to lead the city of 27,000 for the remainder of the year. Goggins and other officials said they want move forward with improvements despite their disappointment over Onunwor's actions.
During his years in office, the mayor received attention for expressing outrage over the crime in East Cleveland, one of the nation's poorest cities.
He walked the streets, demanding answers from those he suspected of drug dealing and prostitution. He once used a pair of bolt cutters to sever the lines of several pay phones used by drug traffickers.
"The community liked the mayor," Goggins said. "He has done some good things in the community. A lot of people were shocked by what happened."
The case
Federal prosecutors say Onunwor used his position to force city contractors and consultants to pay thousands in bribes. In one exchange caught on tape, political consultant Nate Gray slid an envelope filled with $100 bills across a conference table to Onunwor, who quickly pocketed it. His lawyers insist it was a gift.
A federal jury found Onunwor, 46, guilty of one count of racketeering, four counts of mail fraud, 11 counts of extortion, five counts of filing false tax returns and one count of bankruptcy fraud. He was acquitted of witness tampering.
U.S. Attorney Gregory White said Onuwor received payoffs, often through intermediaries, while he served as mayor and during previous jobs as city council president and director of community development.
Councilman O Mays, who supported Onunwor's campaigns for office, said the mayor's actions have undermined residents' faith in their elected officials.
"I am disappointed, and also not only disappointed but saddened for the community as a whole because it certainly has a devastating effect on this community and his family," Mays said.
"I certainly had no idea that he was so deeply involved in some of the things that came out in the trial."
Onunwor became the first black, African-born mayor in the United States when he was elected in 1997. He was born in Nigeria and moved to the United States at age 22 to escape instability left by a civil war.
Mays said he encouraged Onunwor to seek office in East Cleveland and agreed not to run against him for mayor. Now Mays said he will contemplate competing for the job next year with Goggins, who has said she will run.
Opinions
John E. Barnes, a former Cleveland city councilman who knew Onunwor, said some outsiders saw the former mayor as a promising sign for the suburb.
"When he first was elected, there were great hopes for the city of East Cleveland," Barnes said.
The city, which began as the summer home for Cleveland elite such as John D. Rockefeller, remains under a fiscal emergency declared by the state in 1988.
East Cleveland resident Vince Johnson, 36, said the mayor's resignation is good for the future of his hometown. "Now we can get someone honest in there," he said.
Johnson said the city's public officials need to be monitored more closely and suggested citizens form a watchdog committee.
Adam Johnson, 39, another East Cleveland resident, said the mayor is taking too much blame for the city's problems. "East Cleveland was messed up before he got here. Looks like he's taking the weight for all of it," he said.
Defense attorney John Pyle said Onunwor's case likely will be appealed, a decision that will be made after he is sentenced in November. Onunwor faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
"I saw him in jail. He's in good spirits," Pyle said. "He's looking forward, not backward. He understood the situation, so rather than protracting this, he chose to resign."
Councilwoman Barbara Thomas said Onunwor's conviction will not derail council's plans.
"The city is going to go forward because we must," she said. "It's going to take some time, but changes will come."
Councilwoman Mildred Brewer said East Cleveland is showing signs of improvement, with new schools and houses under construction.
"Things were moving better; they're going to continue to be better," she said.