Suspended councilman Tyrone Riley files multiple requests ahead of deadline
Aug. 17—The defense attorney for one of four suspended Toledo city councilmen, Tyrone Riley, has filed motions in U.S. District Court in Toledo, asking for charges to be dismissed against his client, and claiming the FBI did not have probable cause for its wire taps.
Mr. Riley's defense attorney, Frederick Benton Jr., filed four motions late Monday, including a request for a separate trial from Mr. Riley's co-defendants and colleagues Larry Sykes, Yvonne Harper, and Gary Johnson. The councilmen are accused of accepting money from Toledo business owners for their votes for various matters, federal investigators say.
Local attorney Keith Mitchell was also charged in the alleged scheme, but he died in April.
The motions are similar to those Mr. Johnson's attorneys Richard Kerger and David Klucas have filed over the past few weeks. Monday was the deadline set by Judge James Carr. A message was not immediately returned with Mr. Benton on Tuesday.
Mr. Benton renewed motions that were originally filed following the officials' indictment in July, 2020, including for the disclosure of any evidence regarding any promises of leniency to a witness, determining the admissibility of co-conspirator statements in the alleged conspiracy, and anything relating to other acts or crimes to be disclosed by the government.
The attorney asked for a separate trial for Mr. Riley, a motion to dismiss charges due to the lack of subject matter jurisdiction, a request for a bill of particulars and memorandum of law, and a motion to suppress electronic surveillance.
Mr. Benton is seeking that five counts of extortion and one count of conspiracy be dismissed because "this court lacks subject matter jurisdiction," he wrote in the motion. Additionally, the indictment fails to fully inform Mr. Riley about the government's allegations, including how the alleged conduct "obstructed, delayed, or affected commerce," and how he allegedly accepted a bribe in exchange for an official act, the defense attorney wrote.
"Mr. Riley would contend the mere incantation that the alleged activities 'affect commerce' is insufficient to invoke this court's jurisdiction and bring these alleged activities within the purview of a federal prosecution," Mr. Benton wrote. "There are adequate provisions under Ohio law by which these activities, assuming a crime has been alleged, may be prosecuted."
If the judge does not require federal prosecutors to file such information, "the constitutional rights of [Mr. Riley] would be violated in that he would not be able to prepare for and avoid surprise at trial," Mr. Benton wrote.
Mr. Benton also challenged the use of wire taps by federal investigators in this case. Specifically, the government failed to establish probable cause for its first wire tap, the defense attorney wrote.
"The government did not demonstrate necessity for the wiretaps in this case because normal investigative techniques were working — and did work — during the investigation," Mr. Benton wrote. "The government inappropriately manufactured necessity because it was not interested in investigating the organization without the use of a wiretap and used boilerplate language to support its application."
A court hearing regarding the motions was not filed as of Tuesday morning.
First Published August 17, 2021, 11:17am
