CLEVELAND -- Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Tim McGinty is under fire for his silence on the pardon request made by his longtime friend and political ally Benny Bonanno.
Michael O'Malley, the only declared opponent in the race for Cuyahoga County prosecutor, called a news conference Friday to criticize McGinty's ongoing refusal to appoint a special prosecutor to handle Bonanno's application for a full pardon.
Furthermore, O'Malley questioned the relationship between McGinty and Bonanno and businessman Robert Kanner, who donated $90,000 to McGinty's 2012 election campaign and has employed Bonanno as an executive for more than a decade.
Bonanno, the former Cleveland Municipal Court clerk of courts, was convicted in 1996 of felony theft in office for running local Democratic candidate campaigns on public time. A few years after Bonanno was released from prison, he was hired by Kanner's company, Pubco Corp.
Bonanno, 66, remains a vice president of marketing at the Cleveland-based investment house and label manufacturing company. He has been with the Pubco for about 15 years.
O'Malley openly criticized McGinty's inaction given his longtime relationship with Bonanno, and his acceptance of Kanner's hefty campaign donation, which amounted to about one-third of McGinty's entire campaign chest.
"Did the $90,000 buy silence?" O'Malley asked Friday.
McGinty responded Friday afternoon with a statement released by his campaign spokeswoman Helen K. Smith.
"I have always followed all the rules to a 'T' in all five of my elections as judge and prosecutor and will continue to do so," McGinty said, in the statement.
In his pardon application letter, Bonanno admitted he "violated the public trust," but now says he has been rehabilitated. He credited Pubco for giving him a second chance.
He also said he helped engineer a development deal between Pubco and Cuyahoga County.
"I assisted Pubco in obtaining a $3.5 million industrial development bond with Cuyahoga County to fund the purchase of new manufacturing equipment that has created community jobs," Bonanno boasted.
Bonanno's latest pardon request was filed in April 2013. He's been denied twice in the past two decades. The Ohio Parole Board already has voted against recommending a pardon. Its recommendation has been sitting unanswered by Ohio Gov. John Kasich for about a year.
Reached by phone this week, Bonanno declined comment.
In an interview this week with The Investigator Tom Meyer, McGinty said he has not been formally notified by the parole board nor asked to opine on Bonanno's request.
"I've not been involved in Benny Bonanno's pardon request. I've never written a letter," McGinty said.
Indeed, since the board chose not to recommend a pardon, no notification letter was sent to McGinty's office, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections said in a prepared statement.
McGinty says he remains close friends with Bonanno and that, if formally notified of the pardon request, he would immediately request a special prosecutor, just as former prosecutor Bill Mason did in previous years.
O'Malley said formal notification is a "feeble excuse" for McGinty's silence and continued inaction in response to Bonanno's request.
"He needs to recuse himself like he should have done three years ago and let a special prosecutor weigh in on this issue," O'Malley said.
Meanwhile, O'Malley pledged on Friday to reject any campaign contributions in excess of $2,500. He made the remarks after again criticizing McGinty for accepting $90,000 from Kanner.
O'Malley has also written a letter to county council President Dan Brady requesting legislation that would cap donations in the future. Such legislation failed to be approved by council four years ago. Currently, there are no limits on how much an individual or organization can contribute to a candidate for prosecutor.
O'Malley called the generous campaign donation by Kanner "unheard of in local politics."
"I think [the $90,000 donation] sends the wrong message," he said. "The office should not be perceived as 'for sale' by the highest bidder."
He further pointed out that McGinty accepted the Kanner money while Jimmy Dimora's corruption case -- and the case of Frank Russo -- were pending in federal court. Dimora, a fellow Democrat, is now serving a 28-year prison term. Russo is serving 22 years.
"It shows a complete lack of a moral compass," O'Malley told reporters.
McGinty countered that O'Malley, a former prosecutor, was part of the political machine that sought donations from employees.
"I am very surprised about my opponent’s sudden conversion to campaign finance reform given his history in this office," he said. "While in charge of the county prosecutor's office, he ran a political machine, collecting tens of thousands of dollars directly from his employees and much more from their family and friends."
"They held continuous fundraisers to amass a war chest which was used to support their favored candidates, punish their enemies and give and/or loan money to encourage their employees to run for political or party office including ward clubs."
McGinty, however, stopped short of any self-imposed campaign contribution limits. He said his campaign is supported strictly by friends, family members and supporters.
"I will be happy to support any responsible legislation to address any issues with campaign finance but also to toughen laws about any public official using his or her office as a political machine to advance their political machine," he said in his statement.
Kanner's $90,000 contribution in the 2012 election cycle amounts to just under one-third of the $280,000 McGinty raised that year. McGinty told Channel 3 News this week that Kanner has promised more money for this year's campaign. He would not reveal the amount.
McGinty said Kanner is a longtime family friend who "believes" in what he stands for.