After weeks of delays, the prosecution and defense presented opening statements Tuesday in the corruption trial of East Cleveland Mayor Brandon King and former city council member Ernest Smith.
Prosecutors say King used his office to receive improper benefits for himself via businesses owned by his family. The defense argues King is the victim of a politically motivated effort to smear his reputation and force him from office.
On Tuesday, prosecutors argued the East Cleveland City Council repeatedly told King and Smith they weren’t allowed to take certain actions, according to Cuyahoga County Assistant Prosecutor Andrew Rogalski.
“And [King] explicitly stating, ‘No, I have that power. I can do it if I want,’” said Rogalski. “He doesn’t take ‘No’ for an answer.”
The prosecution’s case is based on findings by the Ohio Ethics Commission, which investigated contracts between the city and two companies owned by King’s family, and by the Ohio Auditor of State’s office, which investigated Smith’s allegedly improper use of a city-owned vehicle and gas card.
The two companies are King Management Group (KMG), which owns a building that rents office space to the city’s domestic violence office, and American Merchandising Services (AMS), which sold supplies to the city.
“As mayor, you cannot use the office, your authority, to authorize contracts" for your own benefit, said Rogalski.
King also authorized Smith’s use of a city vehicle for personal use, including keeping it at home overnight, which would not have happened “without the actions of Mr. King,” said Rogalski.
There are only three officials in East Cleveland who are allowed to have take-home city vehicles: the mayor, the fire chief and the chief of police. Only city council can add people to that list, according to prosecutors.
“Council did not do that in this case,” said Rogalski, who plans to call members of city council and council staff as witnesses in the trial.
King’s attorney, Charles Tyler, argued the contracts were cleared by the Ohio Ethics Commission years ago and that King did nothing improper when he kept approving payments as mayor.
During his opening statement, Tyler referenced opinions by the Ohio Ethics Commission in 2014, 2016 and 2018 about the KMG contract. It was unclear from Tyler’s opening statement what those opinions told King he should do.
After becoming mayor in 2016, King was removed as managing partner of KMG, but the financial records show he was still controlling the company, said Rogalski.
“Lo and behold, there’s only one person who can sign the checks for KMG, only one person,” said Rogalski, referring to King.
The companies were started long before King joined city council in 2014, said Tyler.
“He was 10-years-old, a little boy in East Cleveland, when his father started AMS,” said Tyler. His father also bought the property owned by KMG long before King joined city government and, at the time, the city’s domestic violence office was already a tenant.
“There was no negotiation of any new contract” under King, said Tyler, who also argued that the charges are the result of a years-long campaign to unseat the mayor by members of city council who are expected to testify.
“They will ask you to help them remove the mayor through this case,” Tyler told the jury.
King is suspended from office until his case concludes and could be removed from office if convicted.
Smith’s attorney, Michael Lisk, argued that Smith brought the city vehicle home because he was using it for city business after hours. And he argued that city council had authorized his use of the car, despite the claims of the prosecutor’s office.
“Anybody can use that car for city purposes,” said Lisk. “Anybody can use the gas card for city purposes.”
Lisk echoed the belief that the criminal charges against Smith were the result of political attacks against King and described Smith as “collateral damage.”
The trial is expected to wrap up by the end of the week.
