An Ohio county commissioner has been sentenced to 28 years in prison on 33 bribery- and corruption-related charges, reports 19 Action News in Akron.
Former Cuyahoga County commissioner Jimmy Dimora denied his guilt Tuesday in a statement after the hearing, despite the litany of charges, including bribery, extortion, obstruction of justice and racketeering, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer:
More than 60 county employees and businessmen have been convicted of dozens of bribery and kickback schemes.
Federal prosecutors had asked for a "landmark corruption sentence" of at least 22 years. Anything less would not accurately reflect the seriousness of Dimora's crimes, Assistant U.S. Attorney Antoinette Bacon said in sentencing documents.
Dimora was Democratic Party leader from 1994 until he resigned in 2009.