Activists object to Plain Dealer endorsement of Mayor Jackson pick of Triozzi for county prosecutor, say Triozzi and McGinty are bad for Blacks

Robert Triozzi, the ousted law director of Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, whom the Cleveland Plain Dealer Newspaper has endorsed for Cuyahoga County prosecutor in spite of his record of maliciously prosecuting Blacks, women and innocent Cleveland school children for Jackson when he was law director, his dearth of Blacks in the city law department, and his malfeasance around the Imperial Ave. Murders. He is under fire for refusing to seek the prosecution of convicted Serial Murderer Anthony Sowell when he was a law director who often usurped the role of Cleveland City Prosecutor Victor Perez, and for allowing the release of Sowell from police custody in 2008 on a rape complaint where six of his 11 murder victims, all off whom were Black women, were murdered thereafter. Sowell was indicted by a Cuyahoga County grand jury on criminal charges in 2009 and convicted of numerous counts of aggravated murder, rape and other charges last year and sentenced to death.

Tim McGinty, a former Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas judge and prior assistant county prosecutor who has maliciously prosecuted Blacks and has had his orders to imprison Black men as a judge overturned on appeal as harassment. McGinty has promised the kitchen sink to some Cleveland area Black leaders for the few endorsements he has, activity that might prove illegal and unethical. In spite of being an admitted source to the Plain Dealer, its editorial board would not endorse him this week for county prosecutor.

Cleveland Ward 9 Councilman Kevin Conwell, also chair of the safety committee for city council, who says that Cuyahoga County prosecutor candidate Subodh Chandra hired more Blacks than there are now under the Jackson administration as then city law director under former Cleveland Mayor Jane Campell. Conwell says he is tired of no Blacks coming to the table for safety committee meetings since Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson has an all non-Black law enforcement leadership team as to his appointed law director, chief of police, chief prosecutor, safety director, and EMS commissioner.

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, a Black man with no Blacks as law director, safety director, chief of police or EMS commissioner in a predominantly Black city, and who has a dearth of Blacks in the city's law department.

Subodh Chandra, a candidate for Cuyahoga County prosecutor endorsed by prominent Blacks like Congresswoman Marcia Fudge (D-OH) and State Sen. Nina Turner (D-25) who increased the number of Blacks in the Cleveland City Law Department as then law director under former Cleveland Mayor Jane Campbell, only to have his efforts erased when since ousted law director Robert Triozzi became law director under Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson where Blacks have since left.

Tina Bromaugh (lt.), and her daughter Destini Bronaugh, a victim of former Cleveland Law Director Robert Triozzi who harassed Destini Bronaugh and her younger sister DeAsia Bronaugh in retaliation for a peaceful student protest at Cleveland's Collinwood High School in 2010 over teacher layoffs and school closings. With the blessing of his former boss, Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, Destini Bronaugh was maliciously prosecuted, an action her mother says was racist, sexist and evidence that both Jackson and Triozzi are anti-Black, anti-female, and corrupt. Following community protests, the charges were dropped against DeAsia Bronaugh and Destini Bronaugh took a diversion program with the misdemeanor charges brought by Triozzi against her subsequenrly dismissed. Her mother said that she agreed to the diversion program to avoid trial and potential case fixing by then Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Lynn McLaughlin Murray, whom Jackson endorsed in exchange for alleged case fixing against his maliciously prosecuted enemies, and who lost to now Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Pinkey Carr in Nov. Carr was one of the lead prosecutors in the Anthony Sowell capital murder case.

From the Metro Desk of The Kathy Wray Coleman Online News Blog.Com and Cleveland Urban News.Com (www.kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com and www.clevelandurbannews.com)

CLEVELAND, Ohio-The endorsement on Sun. by the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Ohio's largest newspaper, of former Cleveland law director Robert Triozzi for Cuyahoga County prosecutor over Tim McGinty is a bad anti-Black gesture, but not as bad as had Tim McGinty been endorsed, community activists say.

"Mr. Triozzi is the lesser of the two evils but both are a detriment to the Black community and to the Democratic process," said Imperial Women Leader Kathy Wray Coleman. "Tim McGinty is a pint size man with a Napoleon complex that has a record as a former assistant county prosecutor and prior common pleas court judge of harassing Blacks and others and then losing on appeal, including the reversal of his racist and illegal orders to send Black men to prison, and Triozzi harassed and did in union members and Black women and girls as the law director under Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, including the malicious prosecution in 2010 of innocent Black teens Destini and DeAsia Bronaugh for a peaceful student organized protest at Collinwood High School over teacher layoffs and school closings."

Tina Bronaugh, the mother of the two girls, one of which malicious criminal charges were dismissed against and the other of whom took a diversion program for subsequent dismissal of the charges in fear of judicial case fixing by since ousted Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Lynn McLaughlin Murray, says Triozzi is dangerous.

"Why would Mr. Triozzi, as the then law director, usurp the role of the chief city prosecutor to bring back bogus misdemeanor charges against my innocent daughter Destini after county prosecutor Bill Mason dismissed all of the illegal charges lodged against my girls, charges brought by Mr. Triozzi for Mayor Jackson to get at the teachers and because they both are anti Black and anti-female," said Tina Bronaugh. "Mr. Triozzi is unfit to be a county prosecutor given his disdain of Blacks and women and his complete disregard for the law, and I would urge voters to soundly reject him at the ballot box next month."

McGinty allegedly lost the Plain Dealer endorsement in part for holding a recent fundraiser and distributing free tickets to assistant county prosecutors, activity that his foes say is simply another example of his unethical shenanigans.

He admitted in 2010 that he was a source to the Plain Dealer, handing reporters court records on Black defendants that came before him as a judge, including the mental health and medical records of since convicted serial killer Anthony Sowell, a case where he had to recuse himself for such impropriety.

He is also promising the kitchen sink to naive Black leaders and Cleveland's Black press, with community activists saying look at the candidate's record rather than being so gullible as to believe what he or she might do in the future.

"We are looking at the candidate's record not at what he or she promises to do for or give to Black leaders such as Cleveland City Council members and Cleveland NAACP officials when running for office," said Community Activist Ada Averyhart. "And Subodh Chandra was endorsed by the Carl Stokes Brigade and other activist groups because he has the best record and the qualifications and experience to do well as county prosecutor."

Community activists are also investigating whether McGinty is violating the law in making false promises in exchange for endorsements from some Black leaders that say he offered something in return for their support, according to ads and associated articles that have run in the past few weeks in the Call and Post Newspaper, Cleveland's Black press.

Triozzi, a former Cleveland Municipal Court judge who lost a primary election for mayor against Jackson and others in 2005 by getting only 3 percent of the vote, is also endorsed by the mayor, though with little fanfare, given Jackson's ongoing battle with city labor unions over seniority and working conditions, among other collective bargaining issues.

He and other members of the mayor's all non-Black law enforcement leadership team such as Chief of Police Michael McGraft and Safety Director Martin Flask took heat for the release of Sowell from police custody in 2008 on a rape complaint so that he could then rape and murder the last six of the 11 women.

Sowell was indicted by a Cuyahoga County grand jury in 2009 and is slated to die by lethal injection next year, though his convictions are on appeal.

All 11 of the women were strangled to death at his home on Imperial Ave. on Cleveland's predominantly Black east side of town.

Triozzi and Chief Prosecutor Victor Perez allegedly refused to recommend that Sowell be prosecuted, allegedly per Jackson's recommendation, something McGinty says he would not have done, coupled with his claims that the Jackson administration is responsible for malfeasance around The Imperial Ave. Murders.

According to reliable sources, Ward 9 Councilman Kevin Conwell, who has complained of Jackson's still all non-Black law enforcement leadership team and the dearth of Blacks in the city law department, has bragged that he worked with Chandra, a former federal prosecutor and then law director under former Cleveland Mayor Jane Campbell, to hire more Blacks. He told the The Kathy Wray Coleman Online News Blog.Com and Cleveland Urban News.Com that he feels uncomfortable with a Black mayor bringing no Blacks to the table in top law enforcement leadership positions as chair of city council's safety committee.

Data show that Jackson has fewer Blacks in the city law department than his predecessors Campbell and former Cleveland Mayor Michael R. White, and community activists say he used Triozzi, with the help of Chief Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Ron Adrine and former Cleveland judges McLaughlin Murray and Kathleen Ann Keough, to bring malicious charges to fix cases against what he believed were his enemies, including innocent Cleveland schools students and outspoken community activists.

As city law director Triozzi, who was ousted last year by Jackson, had problems with city union leaders and their members, including the city's police and Cleveland teachers.

Many of them say that he pushed the mayor to make contract negotiations more difficult and tried then, and is still trying now, to help Jackson destroy Cleveland teachers by seeking to get Senate Bill 5 agendas, such as teacher merit pay, through the back door by seeking a state law to negate the netgotiated collective bargaining agreement.

SB 5, a state law enacted by the Republican controlled state legislature early last year that dismantles public sector collective bargaining in Ohio, was repealed by Ohio voters in Nov.

And while McGinty has support from some unions, some of his opponents say that because he is so disliked, he is trying to buy the election with the money of his rich daddy, a former stock broker.

A candidate endorsed and supported as county prosecutor as a police prosecutor by the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association, McGinty's record as a judge and assistant county prosecutor reveal that he pushed cases against innocent Black defendants and community activists, often based upon what the police wanted.

And as an assistant county prosecutor the over zealous McGinty sent Michael Green to prison for 13 years .

A Black man released after DNA sampling proved that a White woman had lied in crying rape, Green is now free, though the White woman that accused him of rape escaped perjury charges, allegedly with McGinty's unofficial recommendation as he was judge by the time Green got out of prison and cleared his record.

And in 2010 Cleveland NAACP President George Forbes, Cleveland Councilmen Zach Reed and Jeff Johnson, and a host of other Black leaders, took on Cleveland police, alleging during a press conference with Black state legislators and then Cleveland NAACP Executive Director Stanley Miller that Blacks were being harassed by police moonlighting at local bars and restaurants.

From that fallout came promises by restaurant owners to monitor the harassment of Black patrons more carefully, and other measures crafted with the NAACP's guidance.

The Democratic and Republican primaries are March 6.

Other candidates are James J. McDonnell and Stephanie Hall, the only Black and woman in the race.

No Republican or Independent has taken out petitions making the winner the next Cuyahoga County prosecutor.

Reach Kathy Wray Coleman by email at kathy@kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, and by telephone at 216-932-3114.