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Panel recommends that Cuyahoga County Judge Leslie Ann Celebrezze be suspended for two years
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 stated that 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 could 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. Read more here.
– Mark Puente
New app lets you see who is in the Cuyahoga County jail
It took years of deliberation, but you can now use a smartphone to find out if your loved ones or friends are in the Cuyahoga County jail.
In recent weeks, Cuyahoga County quietly unveiled The Sheriff App, which updates hourly to list who is booked into the jail.
The move comes seven months after The Marshall Project - Cleveland and Spectrum News 1 reported that the sheriff’s department lagged years behind other counties in allowing the public to search online jail rosters.
Ohio’s other large counties like Franklin, Hamilton, Summit and Lucas have provided their daily roster information online for years. Smaller counties that border Cuyahoga have also done the same. Cuyahoga County had been the exception.
“This is a great thing,” said William Malachi, who operates transitional housing sites for 50 formerly incarcerated men in Cuyahoga County. “We can see who is in jail.”
At times, Malachi had spent days searching for people—only to find out later that they were in jail.
The app, available on Apple and Android platforms, is also a tool used by crime victims seeking assurances that their perpetrator is in custody.
For Cuyahoga County, the app provides an incarcerated person’s age, race and gender, along with booking information that includes a photo, the date and time the person entered the jail and the charges they are facing.
Numerous sheriff’s offices across Ohio use the app, which provides daily jail rosters, push notifications, news and information on how to add money to commissary accounts for incarcerated people. It also allows the public to provide crime tips.
Chief Deputy Aaron Reese, the sheriff’s second-in-command, helped lead the effort to get the app. He acknowledged the department is behind others, but said the agency hopes to bolster community engagement with the new app.
“This app is important for us in being transparent and interacting with the community,” Reese said. “We want to make it easy to find information.”
– Mark Puente
House bill would expand sheriffs’ use of commissary profits
Ohio House Bill 397, introduced last month by Reps. Kellie Deeter, R-Norwalk,
and Mark Johnson, R-Chillicothe, would expand how sheriffs may use profits from jail commissary purchases.
The new bill would allow sheriffs to use commissary profits for:
- Emergency expenses, if the need is urgent and other funds aren’t available
- Equipment, salaries and training for staff who investigate and safeguard the rights of the incarcerated
- Jail supplies or equipment that go beyond state or federal minimum standards
Johnson said Deeter knows the sheriff who requested the measure, but declined to comment further. Deeter did not respond to a request for comment.
Under current law, commissary profits can be used to buy supplies and equipment that benefit incarcerated people, fund jail education or treatment programs, pay commissary staff, invest in contraband detection technology or renovate jail facilities for medical or mental health care.
The proposal follows investigations into how Cuyahoga County manages commissary funds. In 2022, a Cuyahoga County inspector general report flagged more than $100,000 in questionable purchases by the sheriff’s department. The purchases included a vehicle, riot ammunition, laptops, printers, employee travel and groceries, parking fees and a $25,000 payment to a sex offender community notification program.
The Cuyahoga County Fiscal Office now administers the jail commissary fund. However, the sheriff still controls the spending, subject to the county’s budget process.
“Our prior investigation into the jail commissary identified expenditures that were inconsistent with the applicable laws in place at the time. I don’t anticipate the proposed changes would require additional oversight,” First Assistant Deputy Inspector General Mark Cutright wrote in an email. “Of course, if the law changes, we would expect the sheriff to make appropriate adjustments to remain in compliance with the changes.”
– Brittany Hailer
Around the 216
- A Cleveland police officer who crashed a vehicle while driving Mayor Justin Bibb is facing a five-day suspension following a year-long investigation. News 5
- Cuyahoga County has received $30 million in state funding to build a 32-bed community correctional facility designed to allow youths to receive treatment closer to home. Cleveland.com
- The City of Cleveland has agreed to pay $75,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by the former executive director of the Cleveland Community Police Commission. Fox 8 News
