TOLEDO, Ohio — In a bit of a surprise, testimony in the Gary Johnson corruption trial wrapped up Thursday afternoon after testimony from the defendant.
Judge Jeffrey Helmick had told the jury that testimony could continue into next week.
Johnson is accused of accepting two bribes, totaling $3,000, in exchange for positive votes on proposed Internet cafes.
But on the stand, he repeatedly said he believed the money was given to him as campaign donations from a longtime associate, Nabil Shaheen.
Unbeknownst to him, Shaheen had been implicated in a bribery scheme involving council members Yvonne Harper, Larry Sykes and Tyrone Riley and was cooperating with the government by recording calls and meetings with council members, including Johnson.
Shaheen pleaded guilty last month and a sentencing hearing will be scheduled at the conclusion of Johnson’s trial. But in his testimony on Tuesday, Shaheen admitted that he was hoping to avoid jail by cooperating with the government.
FBI Special Agent Matthew Cromley was the first witness called by the defense on Thursday and he testified about the meeting to turn Shaheen to a cooperating informant. Besides discussing Shaheen’s own criminal wrongdoing, Cromly also told Shaheen that the FBI knew of criminal wrongdoing by his two sons.
On the stand, Johnson said he had known Shaheen for about 10 years and claimed he had no idea he was recording their conversations.
“I didn’t know him explicitly, but I didn’t think someone I’d known for 10 years would put me in a position to go to jail,” Johnson said.
But that is what he did, beginning with a recorded conversation on Jan. 2, 2020 in One Government Center, when Johnson asked Shaheen if he could help out with finding him campaign signs. Johnson was running for Lucas County Sheriff and testified he had previously asked Shaheen in 2019 for space for his signs. At that point, Shaheen, who was president of the Midwestern Retailers Association, said no. He said he wouldn’t want to anger fellow sheriff candidates.
However, in the January meeting, Shaheen committed to helping him find space, which he did. Johnson said Shaheen was not the only businessman to help him. Shaheen then called Johnson the following day, saying he wanted to discuss a couple items with him.
In a lunch meeting, Shaheen said he wanted to give him a check for $1,000 and also mentioned an upcoming vote he had before council about opening an internet café on Central Avenue near Cherry Street.
Johnson said he had no problem supporting it because Yvonne Harper, the district council member, was supporting it. The measure passed 12-0.
Defense attorney Gregory Gilchrist later walked Johnson through recordings captured by Shaheen in April 2020. At that point, the primary had been pushed back to April 28 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The majority of votes were cast by absentee ballots and Johnson was looking for $2,000 for a digital ad campaign.
Marketing specialist Matt Zaleski testified earlier Thursday that they provided Johnson with a list of possible donors for him to call. He called Shaheen, asking him to provide whatever he could. The informant called him back later that night, saying he and his cousin Ali Mahmoud were willing to provide the entire $2,000.He also mentioned that Mahmoud had a proposed Internet café on Secor and Alexis up for a vote.
In a recording, Johnson is heard saying that he would likely support the SUP because he believed it was the right thing to do. But he added, “I don’t want you to think it’s because of you donating to me. It’s the right thing to do.” He told the jury that he is pro-small business and believes in supporting them as long as no one is opposed to the business in the area.
Lawyers will be hammering out final jury instructions on Friday. Final statements by both sides will be presented on Monday, before the jury receives the case.
Johnson is charged with two counts of extortion under the Hobbs Act.
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