Cuyahoga County Officials Indicted On Corruption-Related Charges

CLEVELAND — Two former Cuyahoga County officials and one current administrator were indicted by a Cuyahoga County Grand Jury on Friday on corruption-related charges, the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's office announced.

Emily McNeeley, former general counsel for the county's IT Department, former Regional Corrections Director Ken Mills and Chief Talent Officer Douglas Dykes were all indicted on Friday. McNeeley and Mills resigned their positions and are no longer employed by the county.

“Ten years ago, County government drowned in a sea of corruption. Citizens rightly expected that the new form of County government would usher in an era of high ethical behavior and effective governance,” said Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley. “Sadly, today’s indictments demonstrate that our new form of government has not met those expectations. Our investigation continues.”

The investigation into county affairs was led by the prosecutor's office and the Cleveland FBI, O'Malley said while thanking his team.

According to the indictments from O'Malley's office: McNeeley appeared before Cuyahoga County Council and recommended a $9 million contract for IT services go to Ciber, Inc. McNeeley didn't disclose that her father had been convicted of being bribed by Ciber, in his role as Pennsylvania Turnpike Commissioner, and that Ciber had a history of defrauding other states, the indictments said.

Council awarded the contract to Ciber, but five months after that meeting the company declared bankruptcy. The contract, which was signed by McNeeley, required Ciber to get a performance bond, which they failed to do.

McNeeley is also accused of failing to disclose her connections to Hyland Software, where her spouse works, while the county had active contracts with the Westlake-based software company, the indictments said.

The indictment against Mills said he appeared before Cuyahoga County Council to address medical services and conditions in the county jail. During that hearing, the indictment said, he lied about his role in blocking the hiring of necessary nursing staff. The indictment also said that Mills lied about his interactions with a high-level Cuyahoga County official.

Finally, Dykes is accused of using his role as Chief Talent Officer to give a $15,000 bonus to then-Chief Information Officer James Hay. The money was originally supposed to be used to cover moving expenses, but was converted to a signing bonus, the indictment said.

The indictment further said that Dykes lied to a Cuyahoga County employee, saying Law Director Robert Triozzi had approved the signing bonus conversion.

O'Malley said Friday's 29-count indictment was the result of a years-long investigation into county affairs.

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