Cleveland building inspector pleads guilty to bribery, extortion

CLEVELAND -- Former City of Cleveland Housing and Building Department Inspector Richard J. Huberty, 50, has pleaded guilty to multiple federal bribery and extortion charges.

Huberty's plea agreement has him serving a sentence of between 2 and a half and three years in prison.

He appeared before U.S. District Judge Kate O'Malley late Wednesday and pleaded guilty to six counts of extortion and four counts of bribery.

His lawyer, John Ricotta, had previously said Huberty would plead guilty because federal agents had multiple video and audio recordings of the former electrical inspector taking money from business people and/or undercover agents.

Huberty was indicted March 25 on the charges.

Huberty is said to have demanded and received bribes from representatives of several dining establishments, including the Mirage Nightclub on Elm Street and La Copa Bar & Grille on Clarke Avenue.

Regarding Mirage, Huberty is said to have used his official position to demand and receive bribes from the owner in exchange for advance notice of surprise CBHD inspections.

Regarding La Copa, Huberty demanded and received cash for finding an approved contractor's name to place on La Copa's CBHD permit even though a non-registered contractor did the work.

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson released a statement when the charges became public last month.

Jackson said he had met with the FBI, FBI Special Agent in Charge Frank Figliuzzi, Cleveland Police Chief Michael McGrath and Cleveland Safety Director Martin Flask in August "to discuss my concerns regarding allegations of potential misconduct by an employee or employees within the Cleveland Building & Housing Department."

"I am aware of the information that was filed in U.S. District court today," Jackson said. "I am deeply disturbed by the charges of the employee's dishonest and unscrupulous behavior...that inspector is no longer an employee of the City of Cleveland, as he submitted his letter of resignation on Monday."

Huberty had worked for the city since 1993.