CLEVELAND — This is Part One of a two-part series focusing on the city of Cleveland’s hiring practices.
Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson has always lived by the mantra of second chances.
A look around City Hall shows he’s surrounded by them.
A month’s-long investigation by Channel 3 News reviewed about 4,500 employees and found that about one out of every 10 workers surveyed has a felony record. That’s a total of 445 workers with convictions for high-level crimes representing the city, many working in our neighborhoods.
Records for safety forces and first-responders were not examined. Positions such as police officers ban felons from being hired.
"Yes, there are people who work for the city of Cleveland who commit violence," Jackson told The Investigator Tom Meyer during an interview last fall. "I do not know all the people who are ex-felons"
The crimes are as varied as the departments they work. From murder to manslaughter, kidnapping to assault. Committed by workers inside myriad departments, from streets, to water to waste collection and more.
Jackson wasn’t fazed by the findings of Channel 3 News. But others were.
"I didn't realize the number was that high, quite frankly,” Councilman Michael Polensek told Channel 3 News.
Nonetheless, Jackson said he will not alter the way the city conducts its hiring.
"I don't have a problem with the numbers because we hire ex-felons,” he said.
The list of felons includes nine sex offenders, convicted of changes ranging from rape to sexual battery to unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.
"Well, those [sex offenders] are always problematic,” Jackson said.
Sex offenders aside, Cleveland’s “second chance” policy has benefited the so-called “Godfather” of the Heartless Felons street gang, one of the most dangerous groups in the city’s history. Ex-con Antonio Peterson was hired to work in the city’s streets division.
Councilman Blaine Griffin, a former Jackson cabinet member, helped the former gang member land the city job. He said Peterson’s proven to be a terrific worker.
“Antonio has come back into this community. He has been an asset to this community. He has worked hard. He has been an exemplary employee," Griffin said.
Polensek said it’s imperative the city place felons in positions that don’t threaten the safety of coworkers and the public.
"Would you put someone in recreation where they have a history of violent actions? No, you wouldn't," he said.
But, according to the Channel 3 News investigation, Jackson’s administrators have placed 10 violent offenders within the city’s recreation department, and potentially within arm’s reach of children.
“Well, that’s what I find extremely troubling,” Polensek said.
For about nine years, the city abides by a “ban the box” pledge. No longer are applicants asked about felony records. It’s a practice now used by most large cities across the country.
Jackson gave such an opportunity to Lance Mason, a former rising political star and common pleas court judge who brutally beat his wife, Aisha Fraser, in front of their two young children in 2014.
After serving time in prison, Mason was hired in 2017 by Jackson’s staff as minority business administrator. Just last November, Mason was arrested in Fraser's murder.
RELATED: Former Cuyahoga County Judge Lance Mason pleads not guilty to murder charges in death of ex-wife
"We believe in giving people the opportunity to become good citizens if they've done the time," Jackson said.
Part Two of this series will show the city’s misjudgment on Mason was not isolated. The Channel 3 News investigation exposed a city employee with eight felony convictions now accused of violently attacking his wife.