The FBI handed arrest warrants to a pack of rats nesting in the swamps of Toledo, Ohio on Tuesday and they’re still chasing a lawyer who got away. Four city council members cashed in with a pay-for-play influence peddling scheme. The FBI is “actively looking for” attorney Keith Mitchell.
Arrested on federal warrants
Holy Toledo! Early Tuesday morning, the FBI rounded up city council members Larry Sykes, Tyrone Riley, Yvonne Harper, and Gary Johnson to hand them their arrest warrants, and take them away in cuffs. Lawyer Keith Mitchell gave them the slip for now but the FBI declared they are “actively looking” for him.
Along with U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman, the Federal Bureau of Instigation has been digging into the scheme for around two full years before the warrants were issued. They wanted to have a firm trail of evidence documenting the “bribery, extortion and abuse of their public office for financial benefit.”
The parent organization of the FBI, the Department of Justice, put out a press release praising the bureau for doing something other than trying to link President Trump to Russian collusion. They proudly proclaimed, “four sitting Toledo City Council members and one local attorney were charged in a criminal complaint today.” Its about time they served some warrants on someone. Maybe James Comey will get his name on one soon.
Cash, check, or money order
You have to hand it to the corrupt council members, they made their extortion convenient. Before the warrants were issued for their “participation in a bribery and extortion scheme,” they accepted “cash, checks, money orders, or other things of value from local business owners.”
In exchange, the corrupt City Council members bartered their votes on local issues. The warrants were issued pursuant to “a federal criminal complaint filed in the Northern District of Ohio.” They didn’t know it but they tried to shake down an undercover agent.
Court documents spell out all the sordid details of how “each of the council members” allegedly accepted “thousands of dollars in payments from an FBI source.” All caught on HD video and surround sound. They took the money “in exchange for support with a business matter that was up for council approval over the course of 2019 and into early 2020.” They were totally surprised when the FBI showed up at their doors with warrants.