Cincinnati City Council member Tamaya Dennard was arraigned today in federal court after she was arrested on charges that she accepted money in exchange for votes on public business between August and December last year.
The first-term council member elected in 2017 faces charges of extortion, bribery and wire fraud. The extortion and wire fraud charges carry a penalty of up to 20 years in prison each, while the bribery charges are punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Her attorney denies she has committed any wrongdoing and says Dennard will contest the charges.
The charges are based on an affidavit from the FBI with information from an unnamed individual — an employee at a law firm involved with development at The Banks identified in the affidavit as CHS — alleging Dennard asked for between $10,000 and $15,000 in exchange for advantageous votes on business before city council.
The timeframe of the alleged conversations — some of which the FBI says are taped or captured as text messages —align with a contentious battle between the city and Hamilton County over a complicated land swap at The Banks allowing a new music venue to go forward there. Some of the alleged conversations between Dennard and CHS deal with those negotiations.
“As the affidavit details, a concerned citizen contacted law enforcement following an interaction with Dennard, feeling an ethical and moral obligation to report any criminal wrongdoing,” U.S. Attorney David M. DeVillers said in a statement today. “The individual then worked at the direction of law enforcement throughout this investigation. It takes courage for citizens to come forward and assist law enforcement as this individual did.”
According to the affidavit, Dennard first asked for the money Aug. 16 last year for a down payment on a used car and security deposit and first month’s rent on an apartment. During the alleged conversations, Dennard discussed an eviction from her previous apartment.
“I called because I literally am out of options,” a text Dennard sent later that day to the individual allegedly reads, according to the affidavit. “Can you please tell me why people won’t help? What I need to get my head above water is a pittance to many who are able. I have $200 in my account. I got into a rough spot trying to help my mom and now I have nothing.”
“It would be totally inappropriate for me to represent you or provide any financial assistance,” the unnamed person responded in a text to Dennard, the affidavit claims. “Please don’t suggest it again.”
The individual reported Dennard’s requests, the affidavit says, and subsequently worked with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which directed the individual to provide the money Dennard requested.
The individual recorded a conversation Sept. 5 with Dennard, the affidavit says, during which Dennard requested the money again and suggested she would sign a promissory note and follow a repayment plan for the money. On another recorded phone call the next day, the individual allegedly told Dennard she could pick up $10,000 of the money Sept. 9 and another $5,000 after a second vote in council on The Banks land swap that would benefit the firm.
Dennard asked for the extra $5,000 sooner, the affidavit claims, and told the individual that they “didn’t have to worry about my vote.”
“With the music venue, I don’t have a dog in the fight,” Dennard allegedly said in a text. “It’s wealthy people fighting to be more wealthy.”
Federal officials allege that Dennard deposited $10,000 into her bank account the same day the individual provided it to her. She spent another $4,000 portion of an additional $5,000 on a brief trip to a Florida resort in September, federal attorneys allege.
Dennard voted in favor of a deal that would have allowed the land swap to happen Oct. 2, though that deal didn’t get enough votes to pass council.
Federal attorneys say they can document more than $20,000 in unidentified cash deposits into Dennard’s personal bank account between June and November last year.
Dennard’s colleagues on Cincinnati City Council have said they did not know that her arrest today was coming. Dennard’s attorney Erik Laursen has said Dennard has not done anything illegal or unethical and will fight the charges.
It is unclear what the next steps are for Dennard in relation to her council duties .Laursen says she intends to continue doing her job. Should she step down, however, Councilmember P.G. Sittenfeld would name her replacement. Cincinnati’s charter requires all council members to select another council member to name their successor should they be unable to finish out their terms. Dennard, once a staffer for Sittenfeld, chose him.
While the city charter mentions removal of council members from office, it does not specify a way for that to happen. State law outlines a complicated process involving the county prosecutor, the state’s attorney general, the chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court and a county judge by which city leaders convicted of felonies can be suspended from office. If that process were followed, the county probate judge — Republican Ralph Winkler — would choose Dennard’s temporary successor.
Dennard was released on her own recognizance after the 1:30 p.m. arraignment today. Her next court date is March 9.
This article appears in Feb 19-28, 2020.
