CLEVELAND — A Cuyahoga County grand jury on Tuesday handed down a new indictment against former East Cleveland Police Chief Scott Gardner, adding on 11 additional felony charges to the 13 he already faced as of last August.
The latest developments are related to an ongoing investigation against Gardner for alleged theft and fraud while in office. Per a copy of the new superseding indictment obtained by 3News, the new charges are as follows:
- 2 counts of money laundering
- 1 count of theft in office
- 1 count of grand theft
- 1 count of passing bad checks
- 6 counts of fraudulent actions concerning a tax return
In addition, Gardner also still faces the following prior criminal counts:
- 1 count of telecommunications fraud
- 1 count of aggravated theft
- 1 count of tampering with records
- 1 count of theft in office
- 1 count of grand theft
- 6 counts of collecting and failing to remit (in relation to the Ohio tax code)
- 2 counts of passing bad checks
In regard to the new charges, Gardner is specifically accused of stealing public property worth at least $7,500 between 2015 and 2020, as well as attempting to transfer a total of seven fake checks through PNC and Bank of America worth a total of $34,000. He is also facing an additional charge of stealing at least $7,500 from the East Cleveland police union, something he he is already blamed for doing at least once before.
Gardner was first arrested in August of 2022, telling WKYC the initial indictment was a "surprise" to him. The 48-year-old Ravenna native pleaded not guilty and was released on a $5,000 bond, last appearing in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court this past June 1 for a pretrial hearing.
Following Gardner's indictment, East Cleveland Mayor Brandon King fired Gardner and replaced him with Brian Gerhard, who has pledged to clean up the department. King has since praised Gerhard for his efforts, and blamed his own decision to hire Gardner for the position on a city law requiring the police chief be promoted from within.
"We promoted Scott Gardner based on the former chief's recommendation," the mayor told reporters this past March. "Twice, we have asked our city council to pass legislation allowing us to go outside of the city and do national searches for chiefs."
King as well as Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael C. O'Malley have seemed to partly point the finger at Gardner for a "cancer growing" within the East Cleveland Police Department, one that has seen 17 current or former officers (including Gardner) arrested over the last nine months. The charges have ranged from things like fraud and evidence tampering to assaulting motorists during traffic stops.
Per Gerhard, all of the officers involved have either been suspended without pay or are no longer with the police force. The department faced a massive manpower shortage as a result, with the city since bringing in the Ohio State Highway Patrol to help as it looks to hire additional employees.
Back in 2014 before he became chief, Gardner pleaded guilty to prohibition and tax violations, receiving five years probation and an order to pay $30,000 in restitution. If convicted of all current charges, he faces a maximum sentence of 63 1/2 years in prison. An arraignment for the superseding indictment has been set for June 28.