Officials probe alleged ODOT bid scheme

CLEVELAND (AP) — Days after a state watchdog accused eight Ohio highway department supervisors and employees of accepting lap dances at strip clubs, fishing trips and other favors in exchange for steering contracts, municipal and regional officials were looking into whether any of their employees participated in the scheme.

The Ohio Inspector General’s Office on Thursday said an 18-month investigation found nearly $11 million in questionable or improper payments to contractors, and $390,000 in payments and gifts from vendors to employees at the Ohio Department of Transportation.

But little more was revealed by officials, who say the matter remains under investigation.

Employees of the department’s Northeast Ohio District 12 office were to be referred to Cuyahoga County authorities for prosecution, Inspector General Tom Charles said Thursday. Also, the Ohio Ethics Commission has been asked to look into allegations that a number of other public and private figures took part in the scheme.

Among the allegations in Charles’ report were that two former ODOT supervisors maneuvered millions of dollars in state contracts to friends in return for cash, vacations and sex with strippers.

It also states that one of the vendors, Best Equipment Co. of the Cleveland suburb of North Royalton, chartered fishing trips for Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District workers and employees of Wadsworth, Hudson, Middleburg Heights, Warren, Bowling Green and North Royalton.

But the report doesn’t give names or dates, making it difficult to move forward locally, said Julius Ciaccia, head of the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District.

“It’s so vague we don’t know what to make of it,” he said. “Were these people going fishing on our time or on their vacation time? We don’t even know when this happened.”

A review of records Friday showed that the district hasn’t done business with Best, Ciaccia said.

Middleburg Heights did some business with Best, but most transactions were small, with the exception of a $194,000 leaf pickup machine purchased in 2003, said the city’s law director, Peter Hull.

Middleburg Heights will leave it to the state’s Ethics Commission to investigate if any city employees were involved in improprieties, Hull said.

North Royalton officials would take action if the state were to come forth with more information, Mayor Robert Stefanik said.

“If there is someone who still works for the city involved in this, we will deal with this swiftly,” he said.