CINCINNATI, Ohio — Federal authorities announced Tuesday that Cincinnati City Councilman Jeff Pastor took $55,000 in bribes over the course of a year, according to our news partners at WCPO-TV.
Authorities said the bribes were in exchanges for votes related to development projects in the city.
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According to WCPO-TV, Pastor, 36, was charged by a federal grand jury with conspiring to commit honest services wire fraud, honest services wire fraud, bribery and money laundering.
David DeVillers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, said, “This indictment is indicative of culture of corruption, a culture of extortion and culture of pay-to-play.”
WCPO-TV said the FBI arrested Pastor early Tuesday morning at his home.
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Pastor, and his business partner, Tyran Marshall, 35, were charged in the corruption case. Authorities said Pastor is accused of accepting bribes in relation to two developments in Cincinnati between August 2018 and February 2019.
According to WCPO-TV, the indictment indicated Marshall was the middleman and accepted the bribes, while Pastor used Marshall’s non-profit business called Ummah Strength, LLC to launder the money.
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