This article was published in partnership with The Marshall Project - Cleveland, a nonprofit news team covering Ohio’s criminal justice systems.
Citing what it calls an extensive pattern of misconduct, a state board has recommended a two-year suspension for Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court Judge Leslie Ann Celebrezze.
The report by the Ohio Board of Professional Conduct states Celebrezze made false statements to fellow judges and state investigators while steering work to her longtime friend, businessman Mark Dottore.
The recommendation comes two years after The Marshall Project - Cleveland first began investigating Celebrezze’s relationship with Dottore.
“The public does not expect nor should it, that judges can make false statements … and receive nothing more than a reprimand or stayed suspension,” the board wrote in its decision.
“An actual suspension is necessary to deter other judges from committing similar misconduct and make it clear to the public that this type of judicial conduct will not be tolerated.”
One year of the suspension should be eliminated if Celebrezze commits no further misconduct and pays the costs of the proceedings against her, the recommendation stated.
The case now goes to the Ohio Supreme Court. The justices could accept the recommendation or impose a more severe penalty.
A ruling is likely months away. Celebrezze’s term expires in January 2027.
Celebrezze and Dottore did not reply to a request for comment. Both remain the focus of an FBI grand jury investigation, which also followed reporting from The Marshall Project - Cleveland.
The federal probe is cited in the conduct board’s ruling as Celebrezze’s reason for invoking her Fifth Amendment rights and declining to answer questions during her disciplinary hearing.
In court papers, Celebrezze asked for a public reprimand after admitting to 15 violations of judicial and professional conduct.
The Ohio Supreme Court’s Office of Disciplinary Counsel, which handles civil complaints against attorneys and judges, requested a one-year suspension, which would be reduced to six months with good behavior. The recommendation was then sent to the conduct board.
In response, board members wrote that they found the counsel’s recommended penalty “not sufficient given the extent and nature of the misconduct.”
Its 30-page report goes on to detail multiple violations in four divorce cases handled by the judge, including improper assignments, undisclosed personal relationships and false statements made during the disciplinary process.
The report centers on how Celebrezze worked to steer lucrative divorce cases to Dottore by manipulating the assignment of several cases to her docket and bypassing the court’s random assignment process.
In several instances, the report shows, Celebrezze either directed assignments to herself or signed false entries stating the cases had been randomly assigned to her. She also failed to disclose her personal interactions with other attorneys involved in the cases she presided over, the report noted.
In some complex divorce cases, judges appoint receivers to act as neutral parties to control a couple’s marital assets, including real estate, cash, equipment, deposit accounts and businesses. The receivers are paid by the divorcing couples.
Celebrezze approved nearly $500,000 in fees to Dottore Cos. LLC between January 2017 and June 2023, The Marshall Project - Cleveland reported. The judge appointed either Dottore or his daughter to be the receiver in six of the eight cases she was handling at the time, according to Cuyahoga County court records.
The board said Celebrezze and Dottore’s relationship would have likely gone undetected had Strongsville businessman Jason Jardine not hired a private investigator to follow the judge.
The private investigator captured Celebrezze on video spending hours at Dottore’s home and office on workdays. He also captured images of the two kissing outside a restaurant.
Celebrezze and Dottore have both denied a romantic relationship.
Jardine said he became suspicious of the relationship after witnessing the judge and Dottore interact in court. He is stunned, he said, that Celebrezze never disclosed the relationship in court.
“This should have never happened, and it just did not happen to me,” referring to others affected, Jardine told The Marshall Project - Cleveland after the board’s decision.
In June, a visiting judge ordered Dottore to repay Jardine and his former wife hundreds of thousands of dollars for unauthorized expenses and overbilling. Dottore has said he plans to appeal the ruling.
The board found the evidence shows more than a “close personal” friendship between Celebrezze and Dottore.
For example, records show she consulted with two attorneys about a divorce from her husband. She also told other judges she was in love with Dottore. Phone records show the duo spent over 300 hours on the phone in one year.
“Whether the two had an actual sexual relationship, romantic relationship, or deeply emotional relationship does not matter,” the ruling said.
“It is the effect of the appearance of that relationship to the parties and the public that undermines the confidence in the decision making of the judge.”
