Ohio C&D contractor indicted for bribery

A construction and demolition contractor from North Royalton, Ohio has been indicted for paying cash bribes to a City of Cleveland building official.

Martin Fano, 69, was indicted on seven counts of honest services mail and wire fraud, according to a Feb. 7 press release from the Northern Ohio Department of Justice.

According to the indictment, Fano owned and operated ABC Construction LLC, a business that provided demolition and construction services in the Cleveland area. The company did demolition work for the city of Cleveland, the Cuyahoga County Land Bank and private parties.

Fano paid bribes to Rufus Taylor, who served as the city of Cleveland’s chief of the demolition bureau. Fano paid money to Taylor so that Taylor would use his position to ensure work performed by Fano’s company would be quickly inspected after completion, receive signed permits faster for the work performed, and receive faster payment for demolition jobs, the indictment says. This took place between June 2016 and January 2017.

Taylor has pleaded guilty to bribery and extortion charges and is scheduled to be sentenced later this year.

“Bribery is not acceptable, whether you are a contractor paying the bribe or a public official accepting the money,” U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman says in a press release. “Rooting out corruption is vital to protecting our public institutions.”

Brad Geary, the special agent in charge of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Inspector General, says, “The prosecution of Mr. Fano’s conduct should serve as a reminder that the HUD Office of Inspector General will vigorously pursue these individuals and bring them to justice.  We wish to thank the U. S. Attorney’s Office and our federal law enforcement partners for their continued partnership throughout this investigation.”

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Inspector General and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations.

If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant's role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation.  In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.