Updated: 7/29/2008 5:17:08 PM Posted: 7/28/2008 9:57:24 AM
CLEVELAND -- The FBI and IRS executed search warrants early Monday morning inside the Cuyahoga County administration building, the county engineer's office and elsewhere throughout Cuyahoga County, including the Independence home of Cuyahoga County Commissioner Jimmy Dimora; the Mayfield Village home of Cuyahoga County Auditor Frank Russo; and the Parma home of J. Kevin Kelley, a Russo employee and a Parma school board member.
At the county administration building, the FBI's Scott Wilson said the raid was the culmination of a longstanding investigation but did not elaborate when asked by Channel 3's political correspondent Tom Beres.
FBI and Internal Revenue Services vehicles encircled the building early this morning. They have questioned and released dozens of employees on the third and fourth floors. PHOTOS
Those employees were told to go home.
People inside the building said the search warrants are being executed on the third and fourth floors and that the warrants are focused on information regarding public and political corruption.
The third floor is where Russo's office is and the fourth floor houses the Cuyahoga County commissioners -- Jimmy Dimora, Tim Hagan and Peter Lawson Jones.
Dimora is also chairman of the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party.
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason sent Dave Lambert, the head of Mason's civil division, to the county administration building early this morning to provide legal guidance to officials.
Mason said, overall, he has advised all county officials and employees to cooperate with the federal authorities.
Jones released a statement, saying "Jimmy Dimora is my friend and colleague, and I fervently hope and pray that when all is said and done, this is a mere tempest in a teapot."
In addition, Channel 3's Investigator Tom Meyer has learned that the FBI also briefly raided Cuyahoga County Engineer Bob Klaiber's office over on Stonebridge Avenue on Cleveland's near West Side.
Sources inside the county engineer's office told Channel 3 News that the focus is not on Klaiber but on the county's IT administrator J. Kevin Kelley, who helped design a new Web site for the engineer's office.
Channel 3 News has confirmed that the FBI and IRS also searched the offices of Vincore LLC at Burke Lakefront airport. Vincore is registered to Vince Russo, Frank Russo's son.
The FBI and IRS also searched the offices of Doan Pyramid Electric in Bedford Heights and Blaze Construction in Berea.
Channel 3 News has also learned that a Garfield Heights construction company, DAS Construction, was also raided, as well as the county data center at 1255 Euclid Avenue.
DAS also had dealings with Dimora and the county commissioners and has been the recipient of county contracts.
Early Monday morning, Meyer placed a call to the county administration building and was told that the building was conducting a fire drill.
Stay tuned to Channel 3 News and wkyc.com fo the latest updates.
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