Plea agreement in red light camera bribery case
A Columbus lobbyist connected to a bribery scandal involving the red light camera company Redflex and elected Columbus officials has entered into a plea agreement with prosecutors. The Columbus Dispatch reports that John Raphael will enter guilty pleas to a charge of extortion. The charges state that Raphael acted on behalf of officials to extort money from companies hoping to begin or continue business with the City of Columbus.
The trail of funds allegedly shows that those companies followed contact with Raphael with donations to campaigns for Columbus City Council President Andrew Ginther and Mayor Michael Coleman.
Ginther is now the leading candidate to be the city’s next mayor.
Both Ginther and Coleman have denied connection to the bribery scandal and neither has been charged. In response to word of the John Raphael plea agreement, Ginther’s campaign has released this statement claiming vindication:
A plea agreement between federal investigators and lobbyist John Raphael filed in court today completely vindicates Andy Ginther. Ginther previously stated he was not a subject, target, or person of interest in the case. Ginther joined over a dozen others who provided records to help the investigation. According to court documents, John Raphael acted alone and is charged with misleading Redflex executives about city contracts to extort money from the company. Mr. Raphael’s plea does not include any conspiracy, meaning he admits to acting alone, with no knowledge of his actions on the parts of elected officials. There were no bribes or attempted bribes, or public corruption, as evidenced by Mr. Raphael’s plea. Previously, a former Redflex executive pled guilty to conspiracy to attempt to commit bribery. She was guilty because she believed Redflex money would be used to influence elected officials. By pleading to extortion, Mr. Raphael has acknowledged that he misled Ms. Finley because he had no ability or intention of impacting the award of city contracts.
Through his attorney, John Raphael released this statement:
Today, I signed a formal plea agreement to take full responsibility for actions involving my dealings with my client, Redflex, regarding city of Columbus contracts. Contrary to the public reports and rumors that have circulated about me over the past several months, there are no charges that have been brought against me for bribery or public corruption or conspiracy to do these things.
Raphael faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
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