East Cleveland Mayor Indicted, Suspended From Office
East Cleveland’s mayor, Brandon King, has been hit with an indictment for his sprawling corruption case.
FOX 8 I-Team reported that King, along with Councilman Ernest Smith, were indicted back in October 2024. On Tuesday (Jan. 28), a special commission of judges issued their final determination, voting to suspend King from office, stating that the mayor’s actions “adversely affected the rights and interests of the public.”
King now faces a plethora of charges, including two counts of theft in office, four counts of having an unlawful interest in a public contract, four counts of representation by a public official or employee, one count of filing a false disclosure statement, and one count of soliciting improper compensation. Councilman Smith has been charged with theft, soliciting improper compensation, theft in office, and mishandling credit cards.
One of his past offenses found Brandon King issuing and authorizing a lease for East Cleveland’s domestic violence department— on property that was allegedly owned by his own family business. According to the outlet, the cost for the endeavor was approximately $14,100 a year.
In this project, the special commission pointed out that Mayor King planned to return city funds to his family’s business. However, the move, which the embattled politician ultimately vetoed, was overridden and prevented by sitting council members.
It should be noted that East Cleveland began leasing the space owned by the King family in 2008, and Brandon King wouldn’t become mayor until 2016.
Another particular incident found the disgraced mayor gifting a gas card and a city car to Smith for undisclosed reasons.
Watch clips from the indictment above.
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