CLEVELAND — President Joe Biden has commuted the sentence of former Cuyahoga County Commissioner Jimmy Dimora.
According to a press release from the White House, Dimora was one of 1,499 people granted commutation by President Biden on Thursday.
"I’m very happy for Jimmy. He’s a free man at last," Dimora's attorney Philip S. Kushner in a statement to 3News.
Dimora was released from prison in June 2023 after serving nearly 12 years for public corruption charges.
Dimora had been serving his 23-year prison sentence at the Devens Federal Medical Center in Massachusetts. His sentence was reduced from 28 years after a partial appellate court win in 2022.
At this time of his release, the former Cuyahoga County Democratic Party leader had been in poor health and was granted release under the CARES Act. As a result of his initial release, Dimora was to remain under house arrest until 2030.
“America was built on the promise of possibility and second chances,” Biden said in a statement. “As president, I have the great privilege of extending mercy to people who have demonstrated remorse and rehabilitation, restoring opportunity for Americans to participate in daily life and contribute to their communities, and taking steps to remove sentencing disparities for non-violent offenders, especially those convicted of drug offenses.”
Dimora was convicted in July 2012 on 32 counts, including the Hobbs Act, bribery and other charges. Federal prosecutors said Dimora “used his office to engage in a series of wide-ranging bribery and fraud schemes wherein he ‘received over $250,000 in bribes, including ‘home renovations, expensive dinners, trips, . . . and encounters with prostitutes.’”
In multiple conversations with 3News during his prison term, Dimora continually insisted on his innocence, stating that he was just one of three county commissioners who voted on contracts and any gifts he received were noted in ethics reports filed with the state of Ohio.
3News' Dave DeNatale contributed to this report.
