A federal grand jury subpoena delivered to the Cuyahoga County Home Relations Courtroom reveals that federal investigators are investigating Decide Leslie Ann Celebrezze and her ties to court-appointed receiver Mark Dottore since she was elected in 2008.
The wide-ranging grand jury subpoena, dated Feb. 12, comes after The Marshall Challenge – Cleveland detailed in June 2023 how Celebrezze assigned herself a number of divorce circumstances and appointed Dottore and his firm as a receiver — what’s meant to be a impartial occasion to deal with marital property together with actual property, money and companies — in profitable divorce circumstances.
Federal brokers are requesting hundreds of pages of information. Brokers are additionally looking for info on how the court docket’s different judges appoint receivers in divorce circumstances.
Celebrezze accepted practically $500,000 in charges for Dottore Firms, LLC between January 2017 and June 2023, The Marshall Challenge – Cleveland reported. The choose appointed both Dottore or his daughter to be the receiver in six of the eight circumstances she was dealing with on the time, based on Cuyahoga County court docket information.
Celebrezze didn’t reply Tuesday to a request for remark. Dottore referred to as the grand jury subpoena a “witch hunt.”
“It’s all bullshit,” Dottore instructed The Marshall Challenge – Cleveland on the phone. “Nothing in there may be true. I by no means took something from her. I get appointed to courts in 38 states. So little of my enterprise is in Cleveland.”
The federal subpoena seeks contracts, subcontracts, billing info, charge approvals and fee info associated to Dottore Firms, LLC.
Federal investigators additionally need:
- All written and digital correspondence between any court docket worker and representatives of Dottore Firms, LLC
- Insurance policies and procedures governing the judicial appointments of receivers, the project of circumstances, conflicts of pursuits, recusals and the function of the executive choose
- Any and all personnel information for Celebrezze and her workers, together with efficiency critiques, evaluations and any public complaints and/or referrals
- Present and historic listing/worker listing of Home Relations Courtroom judges and their workers
- Any and all payroll information for Celebrezze
The subpoena, written by FBI agent Michael Pinto and Assistant U.S. Legal professional Vanessa Healy, orders the court docket handy over information for the grand jury listening to on March 4 at 9 a.m.
In 2023, Celebrezze and Dottore instructed The Marshall Challenge – Cleveland that they had been lifelong buddies, even after a non-public investigator recorded movies of them kissing outdoors a steakhouse and Celebrezze visiting Dottore’s residence and workplace quite a few occasions. Every denied a romantic relationship.
Dottore even served as marketing campaign treasurer when Celebrezze ran efficiently for her judgeship in 2008. Her marketing campaign headquarters is listed beneath Dottore’s enterprise handle.
In July 2023, The Marshall Challenge – Cleveland reported how the 5 Cuyahoga County Home Relations Courtroom judges, together with Celebrezze, deal with hundreds of recent circumstances every year. Three of these judges instructed The Marshall Challenge – Cleveland that they by no means appoint receivers.
Two of these three judges additionally declined to reply questions on whether or not Celebrezze ever requested them to recuse themselves from a case, which might enable her to imagine management because the then-administrative choose and make the profitable appointments.
The amount of labor Celebrezze gave to Dottore has sparked concern over whether or not she usurped case project coverage to steer circumstances to her good friend.
Decide Tonya Jones recused herself in 2022 from the divorce case of Strongsville businessman Jason Jardine.
Her preliminary recusal didn’t listing which choose would deal with the case, court docket information present. Three days later, she vacated it and filed a second one, writing that it was “additional ordered that this matter be reassigned to Administrative Decide Leslie Ann Celebrezze.”
Celebrezze then accepted a whole lot of hundreds of {dollars} in charges for Dottore Firms, LLC.
In August 2023, Ohio Supreme Courtroom Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy completely eliminated Celebrezze from Jardine’s case. Kennedy discovered that Celebrezze violated court docket guidelines when she bypassed court docket coverage to assign the case to her personal docket and appoint Dottore as receiver.
The Ohio Disciplinary Counsel then launched an investigation in November 2024 and alleged Celebrezze made a false assertion and has ties to Dottore. Celebrezze has already admitted to violating quite a few judicial codes of conduct for failing to recuse herself from a divorce case involving Dottore.
She faces a disciplinary listening to in March.
The subpoena additionally seeks personnel information for Celebrezze’s workers. These information are on the middle of a court docket battle with a former worker.
In September 2023, Georgeanna Semary, certainly one of Celebrezze’s longtime judicial assistants, filed a lawsuit contending Celebrezze transferred her out of the workplace and compelled her to take a $20,000 pay reduce after she allowed The Marshall Challenge – Cleveland to assessment public court docket information involving Dottore.
A visiting choose dismissed the lawsuit, however it’s now beneath attraction to a particular panel of judges assigned by the Ohio Supreme Courtroom. All judges on the Eighth District Courtroom of Appeals recused themselves from the case.
“It’s encouraging that federal authorities are apparently comprehensively investigating,” Subodh Chandra, Semary’s legal professional, wrote in a press release in regards to the grand jury subpoena. “This reinforces Ms. Semary’s grievance allegations that she was a witness — and endured retaliation and intimidation in consequence.”
Celebrezze took workplace in 2009 after voters elected her to interchange her father, James Celebrezze, who had served practically 20 years on the Cuyahoga County Home Relations Courtroom bench.
She made headlines that very same yr after the Ohio Supreme Courtroom ordered her elimination from a divorce case involving Marc Strauss, a rich actual property developer. Dottore was additionally the receiver within the case and cited as a motive to disqualify Celebrezze, The Plain Supplier reported in Might 2009.
James Celebrezze appointed Dottore to that case and 10 others over the past six months of 2008, netting Dottore $340,000 in charges. But “the choose gave no work to another receivers throughout the identical interval, information present, regardless of an Ohio Supreme Courtroom rule that such appointments be rotated equitably,” the Plain Supplier reported.
Dottore’s charges and work have come beneath scrutiny earlier than.
In 2005, Cleveland Scene detailed disputes about how Dottore payments events in circumstances. Cuyahoga County Widespread Pleas Courtroom Decide Nancy M. Russo raised questions on Dottore’s practices.
“I might by no means appoint him once more,” Russo instructed Cleveland Scene in 2005.
Dottore mentioned the character of his work created enemies.
