Clambake corruption detailed as McFaul pleads guilty

Did you catch this detail in the coverage of Gerald McFaul's guilty plea? The former sheriff pocketed $50,000 in cash from selling souvenirs at his infamous clambakes. From this morning's Plain Dealer story, which says McFaul will repay $130,000 in ill-gotten gains:

$50,000 will go back to McFaul's campaign fund. McFaul sold items -- coffee cups, shirts, hats and instant bingo tickets -- at his annual clambake but never listed the cash in his campaign filings, Lingo said. ... The money can only be used for political purposes or donated to charity.

That's 50 grand in 10 years, or $5,000 a year. How many T-shirts and hats is that? I wonder if they'd have a residual value as kitsch. Surely authentic McFauliana would be even funnier than these satirical pins. Frequent clambakers should sell their swag on eBay. I'd buy it.

Although McFaul held the clambake for more than three decades, the theft charges stem from 2000 to 2009 because investigators could only prove the thefts during that time, Lingo said. "I can't tell you how long it was going on," he said.

The answer is, a long, long time. Here's another key detail:

$80,000 of the restitution will go to the Sheriff's Office for the time employees spent selling clambake tickets while on-duty. He estimates workers spent about 500 hours a year selling tickets.

Who bought these tickets? Well, who's at the Justice Center every day? Judges, lawyers, bailiffs -- the people who administer justice in Cleveland. This shows us how Cleveland's political culture has changed quickly -- how corrupt corner-cutting was tolerated, unquestioned, whispered of for years. Everyone knew.

What changed? With McFaul, the answer is Mark Puente's exposés, all the more impressive because he found something others at the PD missed. Consider former PD editorial page editor Brent Larkin's March 2009 mea culpa for having endorsed McFaul five times. He wrote then:

Sure, there were warning signs, either dismissed or downplayed. ... there were periodic rumblings about the aggressive fund-raising tactics surrounding McFaul's annual clambake.

Then, in 2007 and 2008, light after light switched on, first at the local FBI offices, then in newsrooms. I've blogged before about how quickly the county government went from unexamined to relentlessly watchdogged after the $40 million Ameritrust Tower debacle, how secrets tumbled out once people knew someone wanted to know.

Now a retired judge from Geauga County will decide whether McFaul goes to jail, maybe even the jail he used to run. I may have spoken too soon when I said he'd probably be locked up -- lots of people think he'll get probation. His plea and restitution might buy him freedom. It may depend on whether the judge holds McFaul to the standards Cleveland is holding elected officials to today, or considers the much lower standards McFaul got used to years ago.

Clambakes and cane: McFaul charged

Looks like Gerald McFaul, who ran the Cuyahoga County Jail for 32 years, is going to jail. The former sheriff was arraigned this morning on theft in office charges. He'll plead guilty to criminal clambake sales and other crimes on Thursday, says his lawyer.

To mark the occasion, here's a greatest-hits compilation: my article about Mark Puente, the Plain Dealer reporter whose 17 stories in three months brought McFaul down; my blog post on McFaul's liquor collection; and best of all, a video of McFaul poking Puente with his cane.

The reporter who took on the sheriff

I've got a new politics article in the June issue of Cleveland Magazine. It's about Mark Puente (pictured), the Plain Dealer reporter whose exposés this winter ended with Sheriff Gerald McFaul's resignation.

Here's a link to the article on clevelandmagazine.com.

(If you'd like to link to it, you can use this shortcut: tinyurl.com/PuenteMcFaulCM)

Dems pick Bedford's Bob Reid as new sheriff

Democrats chose Bob Reid, Bedford's city manager and safety director, as the new Cuyahoga County sheriff this morning.

Reid (pictured), who was Bedford police chief for 10 years, beat Clayton Harris, police chief and police academy commander at Cuyahoga Community College, by a 280-206 vote. Jimmy Dimora, party chairman and county commissioner, said Reid will likely take over from interim sheriff Frank Bova on Wednesday.

"Professional law enforcement will always be first," Reid promised the county Democrats' central committee members, gathered at downtown's Music Hall, before the vote. "If appointed this morning, I can assure you that the residents of Cuyahoga County will be extremely proud of the Cuyahoga County sheriff's department." Reid also promised diversity in hiring at the sheriff's office. He said he supported the efforts to process county jail prisoners faster, including early release for defendants accused of non-violent felonies.

Reid also said he would listen to his staff and value their input -- which sounds like an everyday promise unless you read today's Plain Dealer story about life under ex-sheriff Gerald McFaul. "Talented people work best when they know their opinion counts," Reid said.

Reid joined the Bedford police in 1975 and worked his way up to police chief, then switched to the civilian side of Bedford City Hall to manage the town for the mayor and city council.

Lakewood Mayor Ed FitzGerald, a Reid supporter, told me he likes Reid's combination of law-enforcement and city management experience. The sheriff's office is "crying out for professional management," FitzGerald said. "He's a good fit."

Dimora presided over the meeting, but FitzGerald told me the party chair had kept a low profile in the race. Though Dimora is reportedly a friend of Reid's, FitzGerald says he did not know of Dimora making any calls to lobby for Reid.

Reid's support came mostly from suburban mayors and councilpeople, while Harris had the backing of Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson and U.S. Rep. Marcia Fudge.

Most suburbs went for Reid, while most Cleveland wards went for Harris. Lots of East Side wards gave all their votes to Harris, and he won a majority in only five suburbs: Cleveland Heights, Fairview Park, East Cleveland, Shaker Heights, and Warrensville Heights. Reid racked up totals such as 30-0 in Strongsville and 11-0 in Middleburg Heights, and also won in Cleveland's Old Brooklyn, Detroit-Shoreway and West Park neighborhoods. Applause broke out when Fairview Park and Cleveland's West Side wards 18 and 19 went for Harris -- which struck me as a sign that Harris supporters were surprised and excited when a community's votes didn't follow racial lines.

Music Hall, the city's beautiful and under-used 1910s theater behind Public Auditorium, looked great in a rare public moment. Stone comedy and tragedy masks smiled and frowned at the crowd from far above the blue stage curtains. The city may sell Music Hall and Public Auditorium to the county this week as part of the convention center deal. Mayor Jackson, who was greeting Democrats on the Mall after the vote, confirmed to me that he hopes to nail down a deal on Monday.

30 bottles of booze on McFaul's wall

Mark Puente's story about the interim sheriff's first day in office is as pure and taut as a poem. After the news of Frank Bova's memos banning political activity, solicitations, and gift-taking comes this gem:

After Bova was sworn in Saturday, he found two cabinets stuffed with about 30 liquor bottles. The booze was packed up and delivered to McFaul.

"It is his personal property," Bova said.

Perhaps someone compiled a detailed inventory before shipping the alcohol. Then reporters could file records requests to find out what McFaul drank on the job.

I hope he kept a fully stocked bar. That would be so much more suave than 30 bottles of the same thing.

Any guesses what McFaul's favorite drink might be? I'm torn between Jameson Irish Whiskey and Gordon's Dry Gin.

(Photo, not necessarily representative of McFaul's collection, from Krizalis on flickr.com.)

Sheriff = Santa?

Jimmy Malone, the morning radio host, has a great talent for political satire. I've appreciated it since 2005, when I asked him who Cleveland's perfect mayor would be, and he replied, "Nate Gray. Because that would cut out the middleman." (Gray, ex-mayor Mike White's ex-best friend, was about to go on trial on 45 charges of political corruption.)

You've got to read Malone's op-ed in today's Plain Dealer, a hilarious rewrite of the famous newspaper article, "Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus." Malone assures Virginia that yes, there is a Cuyahoga County sheriff, even if he never comes to work.

If you don't remember how the original goes, read it first, then read Malone's update. He doesn't change much of the text -- which makes it even funnier.

If you don't get all the Sheriff McFaul jokes, click here.

Bonus McFauliana: The PD's best photo gallery ever -- McFaul's Jan. 5 reaction to reporter Mark Puente's first exposés of his office, including McFaul poking Puente with his cane!

How long will McFaul last?

Today's front-page PD headline, "McFaul told how to dodge subpoena," makes me wonder, how much longer will Sheriff Gerald McFaul stay in office?

The paper's been after the sheriff since Jan. 2, when he laid off about 20 people but promoted some relatives and friends. Usually, by this point in a scandal, the other side pushes back, accusing the PD of a vendetta. But look at what reporters have found. Sheriff's deputies selling tickets to McFaul's fundraiser in the Justice Center, breaking the law. McFaul using the foreclosure crisis as an occasion for patronage, naming political buddies as real-estate appraisers, even though some don't have a license. Add to that the death of Sean Levert in the county jail last March after sheriff's employees took his medication away.

Now, the paper has a 23-year-old tape of McFaul telling his then-girlfriend how to avoid a subpoena from his alleged ex-girlfriend -- who was suing him for sexual harassment, claiming he fired her after she broke up with him. Girlfriend/Employee #2 didn't testify. Alleged Girlfriend/Employee #1 lost her case.

I don't think any public official survives being heard on tape saying, "The only one who can put the finger on me is you. The only one who can put a finger on you is me." (He was talking with G/E #2 about their relationship, but still!)

Someone needs to start a betting pool: which county official resigns next? I'm placing my bet: it's not Dimora, probably not Russo, but McFaul.

Update, Fri. a.m.: Bill Mason says he'll appoint a special prosecutor. "The rule of law applies equally to all -- let the chips fall where they may," Mason says. A local attorney says McFaul may have "committed bribery, obstructed official business, obstructed justice and interfered with someone's civil rights."