Cincinnati Business Courier | Tom Demeropolis
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost filed a request Monday to force the suspension of Jeff Pastor, Cincinnati city councilmember, who faces felony charges of bribery, extortion, wire fraud, money laundering and other crimes.
Pastor pleaded not guilty to a sweeping 10-count federal indictment after he was arrested Nov. 10 at his North Avondale home. Between August 2018 and February 2019, Pastor, 36, allegedly accepted $55,000 in payoffs from developers in exchange for his vote or help on projects, according to an indictment unsealed by the federal court in Cincinnati last week. Pastor faces up to 20 years in prison.
“When an elected official puts personal gain ahead of public service, he or she cannot be trusted to act for the good of the public and must be removed from office, at the very least during the pendency of the charges,” Yost said in a release. “Ohioans deserve government that is free of public corruption at every level.”