Three former local politicians — former Dayton Commissioner Joey Williams, former state representative Clayton Luckie and former Huber Heights Councilman and Dayton employee RoShawn Winburn — and businessman Brian Higgins are facing corruption and fraud charges, some linked to contracts with the city of Dayton, according to federal court documents unsealed in late April.
Benjamin Glassman, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, said the arrests of the four men was just “the first wave of indictments.”
“Now that the investigation is open and overt, I expect there to be more arrests and more charges going forward.”
Here’s what we learned from the subpoenas released Monday:
1. Federal prosecutors twice sought records from Dayton: one about local companies involved in trucking and demolition. The second one related to something called the Dayton/Kettering Consortium, which is a partnership between Dayton and Kettering city governments to apply for federal funds. The subpoena sought information on how the consortium used money from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
2. The FBI has been looking into this situation at least since 2017, based on one of the subpoenas.
3. The subpoenas request records relating to how a company called Green Star Trucking, which is owned by former Trotwood Mayor Joyce Cameron, became certified by the city of Dayton. It also sought records related to her and her husband James Cameron and for records related to demolition contractor Steve Rauch and his companies.
4. Federal investigators also asked the city for 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 related to the consortium's use of federal money.
COMPLETE COVERAGE ON THIS INVESTIGATION
May 1: Ex-Dayton commissioner, state lawmaker arrested; more arrests coming
May 1: 6 things to know about Dayton corruption probe
May 1: Gov. DeWine says he doesn't believe there's a 'culture of corruption' in Dayton area
May 3: 7 times area public officials accused of fraud, theft
May 5: Corruption probe linked to demolition contracts
May 9: Who else in Ohio has FBI squad in Dayton corruption case investigated?
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
May 20: Federal subpoenas show extensive reach of FBI case in Dayton
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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