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Former Cleveland City Councilman Joe Cimperman charged with multiple ethics violations

Cimperman says he will not contest the charges as part of an agreement with the state of Ohio.

Former Cleveland City Councilman Joe Cimperman, who represented Ward 3 for 18 years before resigning in 2016, is now facing 26 misdemeanor ethics charges, all listed as "having an unlawful interest in public contracts."

Legal experts believe a deal has been reached that would eliminate jail time for Cimperman in exchange for him not contesting the allegations that he arranged for the city of Cleveland to enter into contracts that would benefit him.

In a statement to WKYC, Cimperman said he had reached an agreement with the state of Ohio and will therefore not be contesting the charges, which date back to 2002.

"I accept full responsibility for my actions and I apologize to anyone who may have been impacted by this," he added. "I look forward to having this investigation and legal process complete."

The case is being handled by a special prosecutor picked by Ohio's state auditor because of Cimperman's deep connections to so many in our area.

Cimperman, who many thought would be headed to the mayor's office someday, is instead headed to court on Friday. Current Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson did give glowing praise to his old friend in a statement, saying, "I served with Joe for many years. He has done a lot for the Ward he represented and the City of Cleveland. I am proud to call him my friend."

This is not the first time Cimperman has run into issues with the Ohio Ethics Commission: He reportedly accepted a massive amount of more that 350 gifts back in 2008, although most were later found to have been related to the birth of his daughter and his family's house burning down.

Cimperman's current employer, Global Cleveland, announced on Wednesday night that they are standing behind the former councilman. The company's board chairman, David Fleshler, released this statement:

“When we hired Joe, we did so because we were looking for a strong leader who would take Global Cleveland to the next level. During our search and hiring process, Joe made it known to us that there was a pending review of some of his actions when he served on City Council. That review is complete and he is accepting responsibility for his actions in court. Our Board has voted unanimously to have Joe continue as our president. We have tremendous faith in Joe look forward to increased success of the organization in the years ahead.”

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