What are the accusations against Toledo City Council members? See the full list

The beginning: 

On March 5, 2018, an individual - the FBI did not release their name - who owns several businesses in Toledo reported that they had previously provided Riley "things of value" for his vote on city council, according to an affidavit prepared by a federal investigator. 

The source told the FBI they had purchased a gas station and convenience store on Dorr Street back in 2013, and that they had a liquor license for that location. 

Shortly thereafter, another person was interested in opening a nearby gas station and a convenience store. That person needed approval from council to move with their plans. 

The source told the FBI they went to Riley's office at One Government Center to discuss their concerns and wanted the council member to vote against their possible competition. 

FBI records state that Riley told the source he was having a fundraiser that day and requested money. The source reported they wrote a $300 check and gave it to the council member, according to the FBI. 

The source stated to investigators that Riley asked them to have alcohol delivered to their business for that fundraiser in order to avoid taxes, which the source agreed, according to the FBI. 

Investigators say that once the shipment arrived, Riley requested the source they pay for the delivery fee of about $300. The source agreed to pay but requested the council member not to cash their check. However, Riley cashed the check and didn't reimburse the source for the fee, taking about $600 from the source, according to records. 

The FBI checked Riley's bank accounts, specifically his 'Riley for City Council' account. Investigators found that on June 13, 2013, Riley deposited a check for $300 from the source's spouse.

The 'curb cut' project: 

After reporting this information to the investigators, the source filed paperwork in May 2018 with the city of Toledo under the direction of the FBI. 

The source requested a 'curb cut' be placed near their gas station off of Dorr Street in order to increase traffic flow into their business. This business was located in Riley's district and the source needed approval from city council for the 'curb cut.' 

Prior to the vote, the FBI says the source arranged a lunch meeting with Riley to ask for his support. 

On May 23, 2018, the source, Riley, and a person the FBI is identifying as 'the middleman' met at a restaurant in Toledo. The source told investigators the middleman and the source knew each other, and they knew Riley trusted this person. 

During the meeting, the source discussed the project with Riley, who expressed support. After the meal, Riley did not offer to pay for his portion of the approximately $130 bill. Additionally, the council member ordered prime rib and carrot cake to go, knowing the source would pay for it, according to records.

The middleman and Riley talked briefly in the parking lot without the presence of the source. Afterward, the middleman approached the source and told them Riley wanted $2,000 to be delivered to a family member soon, according to the FBI. 

On May 31, 2018, the source had a second lunch meeting with Riley and the middleman at a different restaurant in Toledo. The 'curb cut' project was discussed again and the source handed an envelope with $2,000 to Riley, and said, "this is for your support," according to court records. 

Additionally, records show the middleman paid $1,000 of their own money, in which Riley told them to take the $3,000 cash in lieu of Riley accepting it in a public setting.

The middleman then bought four money orders of $500, all payable to Riley, and forged the source's name as the purchaser, the FBI stated. 

Afterward, the FBI reviewed two of Riley's bank accounts and found he deposited all of them in two different accounts over several months, according to records. 

On June 20, 2018, the middleman met the source and said Riley was upset at them for being too obvious when giving him the bribe payment in the restaurant and asked them to be more discrete in the future but that Riley would vote to support the project, according to the FBI. 

On Dec. 10, 2018, the FBI approached the middleman, who admitted paying bribes to Riley and acting as an intermediary between the source and the council member, according to investigators.

The middleman agreed to cooperate with the FBI and became another source. 

On Dec. 11, 2018, the middleman spoke with Riley about the 'curb cut' project and indicated the source was willing to pay more money. The council member agreed to meet again over lunch, according to the FBI.

On Jan. 2, 2019, the source met with Riley at a restaurant and discussed the $2,000 bribe from May, and the council member reassured them he would take care of everything to make sure the project got approved. Riley also asked support for his re-election event and left without paying for his meal again, according to investigators. 

On Feb. 28, 2019, the source attended a neighborhood meeting ran by Riley, who addressed the 'curb cut' project and advocated for it. As the source was leaving the meeting, the council member said he would be in touch.

On March 14, 2019, the project passed the Plan Commission with a recommendation for approval. The project was scheduled for a full vote in April 2019.

Investigators say the source called Riley that same day and asked for reassurance regarding the number of votes the project needed to pass. Records indicate Riley said he would take care of everything.

On April 30, 2019, the day of the vote, Riley reassured the source he had gotten the votes but that he would abstain, according to the FBI. City council approved the project.

Riley abstained from the vote.

On May 9, 2019, the source had lunch with Riley and thanked hi for his assistance with the vote to which the council member answered, "You're welcome." 

"This cut is a very big deal to me, whatever you want, I'll do it, if you want me to give it to (the middleman), I'll give it to (him/her), you know, however you want it," the source said to Riley, according to records.

The two also discussed why the council member abstained from the vote. Riley said since they were doing business together, it is better to abstain so there is no appearance of impropriety, according to the FBI. 

Records show that Riley asked for $500 from the source and said he would contact the source soon to get the money. The council member left the restaurant without paying for his meal and ordered a carrot cake to go. 

The middleman's Holland-Sylvania Internet Café: 

Before the middleman agreed to cooperate with the FBI, they had applied for rezoning an internet café business on Holland-Sylvania Road.

During the meeting the middleman had with the other source and Riley on May 31, 2018, the middleman gave the council member $1,000 for his eventual vote on this project, according to records. 

On Oct. 23, 2018, just before city council voted on this project, an FBI investigator saw Riley give the middleman a 'thumbs up" in the council chambers, according to records. Moments later, the rezoning passed council unanimously. 

The next day, the middleman sent Riley a text message and thanked him for his vote. Records indicate the two discussed an additional payment of $1,000 to come from two separate businesses of the middleman. 

According to the FBI, Riley directed him to write checks payable to 'Smith Park Community Coalition;" one of his bank accounts. 

On Oct. 26, 2018, Riley called the middleman to coordinate picking up the checks. The middleman directed the council member to pick up one $500 check from one of his business and to get the second half in-person at a second business location, according to the FBI. 

After reviewing Riley's bank accounts, the FBI concluded he deposited the two checks into his 'Smith Park Community Coalition' account. 

The middleman's Central Avenue Internet Café and bribe payment:

Around October 2018, the middleman applied for a special use permit with the city of Toledo in order to open an internet café on Central Avenue.  

On Oct. 11, 2019, Riley called the middleman and said he needed to raise $5,000. The middleman said they would see what they could do, but they needed Riley's help on the permit for the café. 

FBI records indicate Riley agreed. 

A few days later, on Oct. 15, the middleman and Riley met at a local restaurant and discussed the permit. In the parking lot, the middleman gave Riley $5,000 in cash, which they hid in a magazine, according to records.

On Oct. 18, 2019, Riley met with the middleman and citing trust issues, he temporarily returned the cash but told them to hold on to it because he had a plan for the money, according to the FBI.

On Oct. 29, 2019, FBI records indicate the Riley took the cash back after a lunch meeting and told the middleman he was taking this as a loan with no interest rate and the payment was due by the end of 2024. 

When handing the council member the money, the middleman dropped some bills on the ground. Riley hastily picked it up and citing concerns over security cameras in the parking lot, he returned the money, according to the FBI.

Records show the middleman and Riley decided to meet in a different parking lot nearby, and when they arrived, Riley accepted the money. 

The FBI reviewed Riley's bank accounts through April 2020 but did not find any cash deposits for $5,000. 

On Feb. 25, 2020, Riley voted yes for the middleman's permit. 

The middleman's two Reynolds Road internet cafés and moratorium legislation

Around September 2019, the middleman applied for two special use permits for two internet cafés on Reynolds Road. During that same period of time, FBI records indicate the middleman wanted council to pass a moratorium to prohibit any additional internet cafés within the city of Toledo for a specific time frame. 

Records show $500 in cash were handed to Riley under a napkin during a lunch meeting on Aug. 9, 2019, for his vote on these issues. 

On Jan. 2, 2020, Riley voted in favor of all three measures; the Reynolds Road internet cafés and the moratorium.

The source's sprinkler waiver:

When council approved the source's 'curb cut' project, the city required that the source pay for, and install, a sprinkler system on the property. 

But the source did not want to pay for the system before the construction of the 'curb cut' because they feared the construction would destroy it and they would have to pay for it again. 

FBI records show the source expressed that frustration to Riley and said they had paid $1,700 in bribes, and asked if the council member could remove the sprinkler condition from their approved permit. 

On May 24, 2019, Riley asked the source to pay $600 as a campaign donation during a fundraiser the next morning, but the source gave cash to Riley on the spot, according to the FBI.

On June 5, 2019, Riley told the source he could not take the cash and requested a $500 check from the source to be paid to his campaign, according to documents.

Records state Riley handed $400 to the source, though he indicated he was giving back the full $600 and that he would personally intervene on the source's behalf. 

Investigators say Riley solicited a total of $700 from the source; $200 in cash that was kept and an additional $500 check. 

On Aug. 2, 2019, Riley told the source he had a fundraiser coming up and he needed the source to donate $500, according to the FBI. 

The source agreed and asked for Riley's help in removing the sprinkler system condition. The council member said he would look into it and get back to the source, according to records. 

On Aug. 28, 2019, Riley went to the source's business and said he spoke with the Plan Commission and conveyed they had agreed it didn't make sense to install the system before the construction. Riley then asked the source to give a $500 check to the owner of a nightclub where he was hosting a fundraiser, according to the FBI.

Records show the source gave Riley the check but left the name field blank. 

Investigators confirmed the check was made out to the nightclub owner after reviewing the source's bank documents.  

On Jan. 31, 2020, Riley asked the source for another $500 in the form of a money order so he could pay a caterer for an event he held for his constituents, according to documents. 

Investigators say that as the source handed him the money order, they asked again about the sprinkler waiver, and Riley said he would have more information the following week. 

On Feb. 18, 2020, Riley said he convinced the director of the plan commission to remove the sprinkler system condition, which was formally removed, according to the FBI. 

The middleman's Central Avenue Internet Café:

(The person being described here as 'the middleman' is suspected of intermediating bribe payments between another business owner and Tyrone Riley. This person has agreed to cooperate with the FBI and investigators did not disclose their name) 

Around October 2018, the middleman applied for a special use permit with the city of Toledo in order to open an internet café on Central Avenue.  

The proposed address for the café was within Harper's district and at that time, they did not "have the same type of relationship with Haper as she/he enjoyed with Riley," according to the FBI. So, the middleman reached out to an acquaintance, who is a business owner in the Toledo area and who investigators refer to as M.F. 

In April 2016, despite strong opposition from neighboring businesses and the Toledo Police Department, city council recommended approval for the renewal of a liquor license for one of M.F.'s businesses within Harper's district. 

The middleman reached out to M.F. to ask how he secured Harper's favorable recommendation. FBI records state that M.F. told the middleman - before he was cooperating with investigators - that he paid Harper a $4,000 or $5,000 bribe through attorney Keith Mitchell, which was the only way to ensure her support.

Records also show M.F. suggested the middleman do the same in order to get his special use permit approved. 

The middleman eventually bribed Harper through Mitchell and the other three council members charged Tuesday, according to the FBI.

On Feb. 25, 2020, the permit for the internet café passed unanimously. 

Bribe payments to Harper:

On Dec. 14, 2018, the middleman called M.F., who said he had arranged a meeting with Harper during which the middleman should tell the council member they wanted to make a "donation" to the city, according to the FBI.

Three days later, records show the middleman called M.F., who told them they should not call Harper directly about the bribe money and that the payment must go through Mitchell. 

On Dec. 19, 2018, the middleman called M.F. to arrange a final meeting time with Harper. M.F. asked them to come to his store because he didn't want to talk on the phone.

In that meeting, records show that M.F. reiterated the payment must go through Mitchell and that he believed Harper needed money because she was up for re-election that year. 

On Jan. 3, 2019, the middleman, M.F., and Harper met at her office at One Government Center. Records state that during that meeting, the middleman and M.F. told the council member "they wanted to 'take care' of her in return for her support of their business initiatives. Harper responded she was feeling 'generous.'" 

Then, Harper directed them to submit their plans to the Plan Commission, said she would advocate on their behalf, and added, "You're getting gifts right now because I got to run (for office) this year, so I'm gonna be nice to you," according to the FBI. 

Records show that after the meeting, M.F. told the middleman she was "hungry for donations" and they should pay her $500. 

On Jan. 18, 2019, the middleman met with Mitchell for lunch and asked for guidance on how to get money to Harper, to which the lawyer answered he would talk to the council member and let them know, according to the FBI. 

On Jan. 24, 2019, Mitchell told the middleman he had recently talked to Harper and she had said she would support his special use permit as a "'Christmas present' and a one-time deal," according to the FBI.

Records show that after the middleman asked how much they owed her, Mitchell said they "could work out some kind of legal fee agreement between you and me." 

On Jan. 29, 2019, the middleman called Mitchell again and asked how to pay Harper the money. Mitchell said he wanted to avoid the appearance of a "quid-pro-quo" but agreed they call the payment a fee for legal advice, according to the FBI. 

The middleman asked if other council members would support the plan and Mitchell said since the café was on Harper's district, the other members would probably follow her lead, according to records.

On Feb. 5, 2019, the middleman met M.F. in person and expressed concern that M.F.'s past bribe of thousands of dollars would make their $500 bribe look cheap. FBI records state M.F. disagreed and said local politicians like them because they pay bribes.

On Feb. 6, 2019, Mitchell asked the middleman if they would pay $320 to sponsor a table at an upcoming event for Harper, according to the FBI. The middleman agreed and asked again how they should pay Harper.

Mitchell explained he would draft legal documents and the middleman should pay him for "legal advice" and by money order.

On Feb. 14, 2019, the middleman met Mitchell at his downtown Toledo law office. On that occasion, records show they paid the lawyer a total of $2,825 ($2,000 for Harper, $500 for Mitchell, and $320 for Harper's fundraiser). The middleman added $5 to the total by accident. 

The middleman asked if Harper would be satisfied with the amount of money and if Mitchell need anything. The lawyer answered that $500 were his and that the council member would take care of them, according to the FBI. 

Records show the middleman signed paperwork reflecting the money was for legal advice, per Mitchell's request. 

After the middleman left Mitchell's office, FBI investigators observed the lawyer walk to the Key Bank in downtown Toledo. 

After reviewing Mitchell's personal bank account, investigators confirmed the lawyer had deposited $2,500 into two personal accounts -  not on an 'Interest on Lawyer Trust Account.' Ohio law requires lawyers to hold property of clients on a separate account.  

Mitchell also withdrew $350 cash from the deposited money orders, according to records. 

On March 7, 2019, the middleman called Mitchell and asked if Harper had received the money. Records show Mitchell said she had not received it yet, but knew it was coming. 

On March 21, 2019, the middleman called the lawyer again and told him he had received a few letters from the city regarding his permit that alleged the business was too close to a library and a school.

The next day, Mitchell emailed the middleman and asked more questions about the café location and if it was within 1,000 feet of a school, public park, public library or childcare center. The middleman answered that it was not.

On March 25, 2019, the middleman called Harper and discussed the pending permit for the café. The council member said she was having trouble getting the votes because people were against the proposed business and explained which council members were a 'yes' vote and which ones she was trying to persuade, according to the records. 

Then, the middleman asked if she had met with Mitchell. According to the FBI, Harper said she had and they were "cool," and that she would keep them informed about the votes. 

On April 19, 2019, Mitchell withdrew $2,000 cash from his personal bank account, according to the FBI.

On June 6, 2019, the middleman spoke with Harper at one of her fundraisers and asked if she had received the money from Mitchell. Records state she said yes and confirmed she was willing to solicit the requisite votes from the other council members for the permit to pass. 

On Dec. 2, 2019, the middleman called Harper and reminded her that their permit for the café would be before the Plan Commission three days later. The middleman also reminded her about the previous bribe payment and Harper said, "I know what's going on. I got your back. I'm gonna try to work it for you!" according to the FBI. 

On Dec. 11, 2019, during a meeting between Harper and the middleman at One Government Center, the council member warned them that a man who used to lead the "Block Watch" program for that neighborhood had obtained signatures in opposition to the permit request. 

"You need to hold that up until we can figure something out...they are loading up on you! We gotta do something, we gotta do something...," Harper said to the middleman, according to records.

On Jan. 2, 2020, the middleman met with Harper at her office again. Records show they discussed the pending permit and Harper said, "Let me tell you what's going on: dude is getting signatures against you." 

According to the FBI, Harper went on to say the "Block Watch" leader had a "pretty strong opposition" to the café and he was getting the nearby church leader involved. 

She then said, according to records, "You need to get with, get some support..., you'll want to get a letter because there's a school down there and then you'll need to talk to somebody at the library. I'm telling you what to do to help you out because this guy is pretty strong, and I probably won't have the votes on the floor." 

She proposed her legislative assistant put the middleman in touch with the "Block Watch" leader to work things out. 

On Jan. 8, 2020, Harper approached the middleman at the Zoning and Planning Committee meeting and told them she would postpone the vote to the following month because she had not secured the votes for it to pass. 

When the permit came up on the agenda along with its recommended disapproval, Harper was the only member to speak. She requested the vote was delayed for an additional 30 days, which the committee accepted and announced the issue would be addressed on Feb. 12, 2020.

On Feb. 7, 2020, Harper called the middleman and said she needed them to sponsor two tables at an upcoming event, totaling $640, according to records. The middleman agreed to pay.

On Feb. 12, 2020, the middleman reminded Harper the permit would be addressed later that day at the Zoning and Planning Committee meeting during a phone call. The council member agreed to see the middleman later that afternoon and directed them to buy money orders on the amount of $640 to "Perry Burroughs Democratic Women's Club," according to the FBI. 

The middleman gave the money orders to Harper's assistant while inside the council chambers. 

During the meeting, records show Harper advocated for the permit and Gary Johnson and Larry Sykes asked questions to the middleman. They indicated they were satisfied with their answers. 

Harper ultimately made a motion to the committee to send the permit forward for a full vote. 

On Feb. 25, 2020, Harper voiced her support for the permit and spoke favorably about the middleman's business operations. She urged council to pass the measure. 

When put to a vote, Harper voted in support of the permit, which passed unanimously.  

A.M.'s Manhattan Blv. internet café:

An acquaintance of the middleman - identified by the FBI as A.M. - approached them about opening an internet café on Manhattan Boulevard, which is located in Harper's district. 

Records show the middleman told A.M. on April 10, 2019, he would need to bribe Harper to get her support to which A.M. said he was willing to pay whatever was necessary. 

On April 17, 2019, the middleman called Mitchell and told him that A.M. wanted to open up a business in Harper's district and they had already informed him he would need to pay a bribe to get the council member's support, according to the FBI. 

On May 16, 2019, Mitchell told the middleman during lunch that Harper would support A.M.'s project so long as he provided the proper documentation and donated money to Harper's campaign, according to the FBI.

Records indicate that Mitchell said, "Not a certain amount, but, it ought to be substantial, and by substantial would mean five to ten grand." He added, according to documents, the checks should be made to "Harper for Council District 4," and as an effort to disguise the payments, A.M. should send some "'contracts' so he (Mitchell) could 'review' them." 

On May 21, 2019, the middleman told A.M. he should pay Harper $5,000 to get his internet café permit approved, according to the FBI. 

The next day, during a phone call, the middleman asked Mitchell, "Do you need to do, uh, one of those contracts, one of those phony things, or whatever you want to call it?" according to records.

According to the FBI, Mitchell said "that would be nice," and said A.M. would need to provide two checks; one to Harper for $5,000 and one for his "legal work" for $1,500.

On June 6, 2019, A.M. and the middleman attended Harper's fundraiser and A.M. gave the checks to the council member's staff on the front table, according to the FBI. Records show the middleman told Harper they would need the votes, and she confirmed she was going to get them. 

The FBI confirmed the checks were deposited into Harper's campaign account and Mitchell's personal account. 

On July 23, 2019, Harper voted in favor of A.M.'s permit during the council meeting. The permit was approved unanimously.

Harper's extorsion of the source:

(The person being described here as 'the source' worked with federal agents during this investigation. The FBI did not disclose their name, although said they own multiple businesses in Toledo, including a gas station and convenience store on Dorr Street.) 

On Nov. 26, 2019, court records show that one of Harper's constituents the FBI identified as R.S. posted on Facebook that an employee of a gas station located in Harper's district used racial slurs when interacting with a customer. 

After the post, in-person protests and negative remarks on the internet followed.

The source owned the building and was leasing it to another business owner. 

Harper had a meeting with the source, Sykes and other community leaders to discuss the issue, and suggested the source paid $350 to R.S. as an effort to appease the constituent and make the protests stop, according to the FBI.

Court records show the source paid R.S. $500.

At another meeting, on Jan. 6, 2020, Harper lashed out at the source, saying she expected them to pay more, according to investigators. 

On Jan. 10, 2020, the source called R.S. and said Harper had told them she was disappointed with the amount of money they had given him. R.S. told the source he was satisfied and whatever additional amount Harper demands is good with him, according to documents. 

About a week later, on Jan. 18, records indicate that R.S. and the source talked again. The constituent said Harper was not happy with the $500 amount and if the source didn't give him more money, the protests were back on the table. 

Later that day, R.S. and the source talked again and this time R.S. said, "This is what she (Harper) told me, she said you need to put some more, she said you should have put at least $2,500 on there, she said $500 was unacceptable, she told me, that I saved you guys too much money for $500, that's what she said. I'm just keepin' it real, that's what she told me," documents read. 

According to the FBI, R.S. went on to say the protests would go away and he would hold a press conference stating support for the source if they gave him $2,500 at Harper's request.

Documents show the source said they would get back to R.S. and asked if the payment should be made in cash or check. R.S. said the money was going to his kids and suggested making a check out to him or giving him cash, and he would give the source a receipt, according to the FBI. 

Between Jan. 22 and Jan. 28, records show that R.S., the source, the middleman, and Harper talked on different occasions about the payment. 

On Jan. 31, 2020, the source paid $2,500 to R.S. by check.

On Feb.3, 2020, R.S. cashed the $2,500 check from the source, according to investigators. 

(The person being described here as 'the middleman' is suspected of intermediating bribe payments between another business owner and Tyrone Riley. This person has agreed to cooperate with the FBI and investigators did not disclose their name) 

Around October 2018, the middleman applied for a special use permit with the city of Toledo in order to open an internet café on Central Avenue.  

On Jan. 2, 2020, the middleman was at One Government Center to meet with Harper, but while there, Gary Johnson called them into his office.

Johnson asked the middleman to put him in touch with their business associates so he could ask permission to place his sheriff campaign signs at their businesses. The middleman agreed and said they had a pending special use permit for an internet café on Central Avenue that day. 

Johnson expressed he would vote in the middleman's favor. 

On Jan. 6, 2020, during a lunch meeting with the middleman, Johnson said he had no opposition to the pending permit as long as the café was more than 1,000 feet from any school. 

Records show that after expressing his support, Johnson told the middleman he was "going to have a fundraiser the first week of February, so I'll let you know." 

The middleman agreed to go to the fundraiser and told Johnson they wanted to talk to him outside. While walking to the parking lot, the middleman asked if he could put $1,000 for Johnson on their behalf. 

Johnson said yes and the middleman tried to give the council member cash. According to the FBI, Johnson said he couldn't accept the cash and added, "No, in fact, I, you know, I got, 'cuz, I'd have to report it and you don't want your name on there right?" 

The middleman agreed they didn't want their name associated with the money and Johnson instructed them" to give him the money in a more discrete fashion stating, "If you can do that, like have, get a check from somebody else to write the check, and then donate it to the campaign," according to the FBI. 

On Jan. 9, 2020, the middleman told Johnson they had a check for him in somebody else's name and they agreed to meet the next day. When they met, the middleman told Johnson the check was signed by their cousin, and the council member told them to make it to "Citizens to Elect Gary Johnson," according to records.

The middleman also told Johnson that he had Harper's support for the pending permit. Later that month, the council member told them he was voting with Harper and when the vote came in February, he voted in the middleman's support.

A.M.'s Secor Road internet café:

In December 2019, a business owner the FBI identified as A.M. filed for a special use permit to open an internet café on Secor Road. 

On Feb. 13, 2020, the Plan Commission recommended rejecting the permit. Months later, on April 15, 2020, another committee forwarded the permit for a full council vote with no recommendation but stating the proposed location was within 1,000 feet of a park.  

On April 20, 2020, Johnson told the middleman he was trying to raise $2,000 for his sheriff campaign and asked if they could help him with anything, adding, "And I'm not looking for the whole $2,000 from you, just whatever you can do," records read.

According to the FBI, the middleman called A.M. and explained they would need to bribe Johnson. The two business owners agreed the middleman was going to give A.M. $1,000 and then, A.M. would write a check to Johnson for $2,000.

Records show that later that night, the middleman called Johnson back and said they would help him financially, and that the next day there was a city council vote for A.M.'s internet café. 

Johnson looked up the specifics of the permit while on the phone with the middleman and said he didn't see a reason to vote against it, but asked what Tyrone Riley intended to do. The middleman said Riley would support the permit. 

The middleman asked Johnson to do whatever he could to influence the other council members and told him to not worry about his sheriff campaign shortfall because they and A.M. would take care of it, according to the FBI.

On April 21, 2020, city council voted on A.M.'s Secor Road internet café permit. Because the Plan Commission had recommended rejecting it, the permit needed 9 of 12 votes to pass. 

Johnson, Harper, Riley, Larry Sykes and two other members voted in favor of the permit but the issue ultimately failed to pass. 

The next day, Johnson told the middleman he tried getting the votes but the other council members told him he would follow the district council member's lead. The middleman thanked the support and told Johnson he had his money, according to documents. 

Records state the middleman said he had to give Johnson cash because the other sheriff candidates couldn't find out he was giving him more money. Investigators say Johnson agreed to cash. 

After the middleman asked Johnson if A.M. could appeal the decision, the council member instructed them to call the director of the Plan Commission because it would look like quid-pro-quo if it came from one of the council members, records read. 

According to the FBI, Johnson said that if the permit came back up for a vote, he would work to get it passed, and asked the middleman for A.M.'s phone number so he could thank him for the $,1000.

(The person being described here as 'the middleman' is suspected of intermediating bribe payments between another business owner and Tyrone Riley. This person has agreed to cooperate with the FBI and investigators did not disclose their name) 

Around October 2018, the middleman applied for a special use permit with the city of Toledo in order to open an internet café on Central Avenue.  

On July 17, 2019, Larry Sykes and the middleman met for lunch and discussed the permit for the café and moratorium legislation to eliminate future competing cafés.

FBI records indicate that after the meal, the middleman told Sykes they had $1,000 for him, but inadvertently gave him $800. Sykes said he would take the money as campaign contribution.

After the middleman realized he only gave Sykes $800, he called the council member and said they had made a mistake and they would give him the rest $200 in a future meeting, according to the FBI.

On Aug. 9, 2019, the middleman gave Sykes $200 and an additional $500 for his vote on the Central Avenue café permit during a lunch meeting, according to the FBI. 

Records show Tyrone Riley also joined the middleman and Sykes on that meeting, and they discussed the permit vote and the moratorium legislation. 

The FBI reviewed Syke's 'Larry J Sykes Committee to Elect Larry Sykes' bank account but did not find any cash deposits from July 17, 2019, through April 2020. 

The middleman's two Reynolds Road internet cafés and moratorium legislation:

Around September 2019, the middleman applied for two special use permits for two internet cafés on Reynolds Road. During that same period of time, FBI records indicate the middleman wanted council to pass a moratorium to prohibit any additional internet cafés within the city of Toledo for a specific time frame. 

The middleman paid Sykes $1,000 in bribe money for three votes in favor of the two cafés and the moratorium, according to the FBI. 

Between Aug. 22, 2019, and Dec. 18, 2019, the middleman and Sykes talked multiple times to discuss the moratorium, and the council member said he was drafting the legislation, that he would present it to council soon and get it passed, according to court records.

On Jan. 2, 2020, Sykes voted yes on the moratorium on internet cafés and the two Reynolds Road permits. All three measures passed.