The Dayton Daily News received copies of the subpoenas Monday from the city of Dayton two weeks after pursuing a public records request in the wake of the announcement of a federal investigation into what one official called a ‘culture of corruption’ in the Dayton region.
The subpoenas received Monday were given to the city in 2017 and 2018.
The records show that the city received a subpoena to testify before a grand jury on Nov. 14, 2017 and to bring a documents related to contractors, bids and internal communications. That subpoena requests records relating to the how a company called Green Star Trucking, which is owned by Joyce Cameron, became certified by the city. It also sought records related to her and her husband James Cameron and for records related to Steve Rauch and his companies.
Joyce Sutton Cameron said Monday she does not know why her company is referenced in a November 2017 subpoena. “I don’t know anything about that,” she said Monday.
Cameron said she has no reason to believe she is connected to an investigation that was revealed recently when federal prosecutors announced charges against former Dayton city commissioner Joey Williams, former state lawmaker Clayton Luckie, city of Dayton employee RoShawn Winburn and local businessman Brian Higgins.
Cameron said the FBI spoke to her “a few years ago.” She declined to say what agents asked about.
Green Star Trucking has been in business 31 years and currently has four trucks, she said. She said her husband James is not part of the company.
A request for comment from Steve Rauch was not returned in time for this article.
Records show Dayton received a second grand jury subpoena to provide testimony on Dec. 11, 2018 and provide documents related to the Dayton Kettering Consortium. The subpoena sought information on how the consortium used money from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. It also sought a copy of the personnel file of a former city planning director, Aaron Sorrell, as well as bank records, vouchers, reports and other material related to the transactions.
Sorrell resigned his job as director of planning and community development in June 2017. A call for comment to Sorrell was not returned Monday in time for this article.
Related: Two Dayton officials resign after being put on leave
Sorrell oversaw a department with a more than $3 million general fund budget for 2017. The department is in charge of housing, community development and historic preservation programs, as well as developing and administering urban design, subdivision and zoning code standards, regulations and plans.
The Dayton/Kettering Consortium is a partnership between the cities of Dayton and Kettering the cities use to jointly seek federal funds for housing stabilization projects in both communities.
COMPLETE COVERAGE ON THIS STORY
May 1: Ex-Dayton commissioner, state lawmaker arrested; more arrests coming
May 1: 6 things to know about Dayton corruption probe
May 3: 7 times area public officials accused of fraud, theft
May 5: Corruption probe linked to demolition contracts
May 12: Some targets of Dayton corruption indictments faced bad debts
May 17:Dayton worker accused of bribery runs business linked to city department
May 19:Dayton hired contractor despite red flags
STAYING WITH THE STORY
The Dayton Daily News first broke the news about a federal investigation into corruption in Dayton. The newspaper will continue to dig into this important story to find out what’s really going on. If you have tips or any information on this investigation, please call or email Josh Sweigart at 937-328-0374 or josh.sweigart@coxinc.com.
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