East Cleveland Mayor Brandon King, 56, pleaded not guilty to 12 charges, including theft in office and having an unlawful interest in a public contract during his arraignment Friday.
Former East Cleveland Councilmember Ernest Smith, 49, also pleaded not guilty to five charges Friday.
Smith and King were indicted in October and are out of jail awaiting trial.
“Mayor Brandon King demonstrated a complete disregard and disdain for the rule of law,” Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley said in a media release. “The citizens of East Cleveland deserve better.”
Mariah Crenshaw, a community activist who has long called for King’s removal from office, said Friday she and other residents are overjoyed.
"It makes me feel good to know that O'Malley is moving the Supreme Court to remove him from office to stop the hemorrhaging," she said. "Hopefully, the healing process will begin."
The charges, which include four felony counts, stem from city contracts and payments King authorized to businesses he and his family members owned, according to the release.
East Cleveland's Domestic Violence Department leased a building on Euclid Avenue, owned by the King Management Group Limited, from Jan. 1, 2019 to October for about $14,000 a year, according to the prosecutor's office. Over the course of three years starting in March, 2019, the city purchased about $5,800 worth of cleaning supplies from American Merchandising Services.
Both the King Management Group and American Merchandising Services are owned by King and his family members, the prosecutor's office said.
Smith was charged because between 2018 and March, 2022, King improperly provided him with a city vehicle and city gas cards to purchase fuel, the release said. Smith used two gas cards to buy almost $7,000 worth of gas at East Cleveland taxpayer expense.
Crenshaw said she doesn’t think the buck stops with these indictments. She hopes more charges against other public officials will materialize to right the wrongs in a city with a long history of corruption.
In East Cleveland, residents have watched as many public officials have faced criminal charges in recent years.
More than a dozen East Cleveland officers have been indicted in Cuyahoga County on charges including felonious assault, interference with civil rights, tampering with evidence and dereliction of duty. Last year, two were sentenced to prison for pulling people over and robbing them. Two others were found guilty of taking bribes. Some cases are still working their way through the courts.
In March, former East Cleveland Police Chief Scott Gardner pleaded guilty to a single charge of failing to pay taxes. He was initially indicted on 24 counts, including theft in office, money laundering, passing bad checks and other charges; 23 charges were dismissed.
The prosecutor's office said the King investigation, which is being conducted by the Ohio Auditor of State and the Ohio Ethics Commission, is ongoing.
The state of Ohio will be filing with the Ohio Supreme Court to suspend King from office during the case, the office said.
