(Cincinnati, OH) - The on-going saga at City Hall continued Tuesday afternoon. City Councilman Wendell Young released a statement saying he believes the Mayor tried to bribe him to vote in favor of a proposed severance package for City Manager Harry Black.
Read his full statement below:
"Last Saturday, I received a call from Mayor John Cranley regarding the severance package he has been shopping around to various members of the city council for their vote. Mayor Cranley asked me what I wanted from him for my vote in supporting his ordinance that would pay the city Manager over $400,000.00. I told him absolutely nothing and hung up.
This call troubled me greatly as I have worked in law enforcement and felt that there was something wrong with his offer. Yesterday, I called the Ohio Ethics Commission about the call. After waiting for ten minutes, the investigator suggested that I go to law enforcement- not the Ethics Commission- as he felt there is a potential bribery case against the Mayor.
Based on the Ethics investigator’s recommendation, tomorrow, I will head to the U.S. Attorney’s Office where I will be filing a complaint against Mayor John Cranley, for a possible bribery charge. Because of the sensitivity of this matter, I will have nothing to say until I have met with the U.S. Attorney’s Office."
Mayor John Cranley's Office released the following statement in response:
“This is nothing more than another in a long line of silly political stunts offered up by Councilman Young. Like the other frivolous suit Councilman Young filed against the Mayor (SERB complaint 2016), we’re confident this one will be dismissed. It's disappointing that Councilman Young continues to put his personal animosity and political agenda ahead of doing what is best for the city. But, given that he has spent over four years fighting against instead of working with the mayor to move our city forward, we’re not surprised that he can’t tell the difference between an offer to collaborate and a bribe.”
Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters says, “I have read Mr. Young’s letter and there is no crime in this letter. This is going nowhere.”