CINCINNATI — Cincinnati City Council Member Jeff Pastor was arrested and federally charged with bribery, extortion and money laundering while in office.

Pastor was arrested at his home and indicted on 10 federal charges, including one count of conspiring to commit honest services wire fraud, two counts of honest services wire fraud, three counts of bribery, three counts of attempted extortion by a government official and one count of money laundering, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio David DeVillers said at a press conference Tuesday afternoon detailing the public corruption case.  

DeVillers detailed the public corruption case.

"It doesn't matter if you are an official, if you're a government official, if you're an elected official, and you promised to do something in your official capacity for money was going in your pocket, or whether it's going into your campaign, it is a federal crime. It has been a federal crime, that will remain a federal crime and we will prosecute that federal crime here in Southern District, Ohio,” DeVillers vowed.

The charges listed in the indictment are for both Pastor, as well as his business associate, Tyran Marshall, who is charged with one count of conspiring to commit honest services wire fraud, one count of bribery, one count of attempted extortion and one count of money laundering, DeVillers said.

Together, their alleged involvement of these charges stemmed from six months after Pastor, 36, took office in 2017.

The indictment alleges that Pastor solicited and received $55,000 in bribes between August 2018 and February 2019 in exchange for promised official action related to development projects before the City of Cincinnati.

Marshall, 35, of Cincinnati, allegedly acted as a middleman in the receiving payments, the indictment alleges.

The indictment detailed that in September 2018, Pastor and Marshall flew to Miami, Florida on a private plane to meet with investors regarding a real estate development project. Pastor never paid for or disclosed the trip. During the trip, Pastor explained he would ensure favorable action on behalf of the city for the project and could receive money through Marshall’s nonprofit, the indictment alleges. 

According to the indictment, Pastor discussed “compensation” and agreed to accept $15,000 for helping with the project. He said the purpose of Marshall’s role was to “sanitize” the money. Pastor accepted $15,000 in cash about a week later.

Pastor and Marshall allegedly solicited and received another $20,000 in October and November 2018. They allegedly received two $10,000 payments in exchange for Pastor’s official city action benefitting a second project, according to DeVillers. And from January 2019 through March 2019, Pastor allegedly continued to attempt to secure more bribe money for help on a city project.

"While pastor was being paid by the taxpayers to represent the city of Cincinnati, he was secretly soliciting bribes from developers. He promoted his own interest above those of the citizens of Cincinnati,” said Cincinnati FBI Special Agent in Charge Chris Hoffman. "As mentioned in the indictment, Pastor and Marshall were 'aggressive and cavalier' in their requests for money. They wanted developers to pay them thousands of dollars in order to deliver votes to City Hall."

Public corruption, like this case, among others in Ohio, like the bribery and racketeering investigation into Ohio Speaker of the House Larry Householder (R-Glenford), remains the top priority for the FBI, Hoffman said.

“It undermines the public trust and undermines the public's confidence in the strength of our democracy,” Hoffman said. "The people of Cincinnati deserve better. Businesses who want to come to Cincinnati want to know they're getting a fair deal. They don't want to pay-to-play. When a City councilmember attempts to line his pockets in exchange for favors or votes in City Hall, it is a disservice to the citizens of Cincinnati.”

Pastor is the second Cincinnati City Councilmember to be investigated by the FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Ohio, for suspicion of bribery this year.

"This indictment is indicative of a culture of corruption that we have — and we need to address a culture of extortion and a cultural of pay-to-play… and it has to end,” DeVillers said. “We've had a lot of corruption here in southern Ohio in the past year, and this is indicative of this concept. We want to flip that script. And one of the reasons we're here today is to flip that script. We want to turn this from a culture of corruption to a culture of whistleblowers, to a culture of individuals will come forward and talk with us and let us know what is happening.”

In February, Cincinnati City Council President Pro Tem Tamaya Dennard, 40, was arrested and federally charged with honest services wire fraud, bribery and attempted extortion, according to DeVillers.

Between August and December 2019, DeVillers said, Dennard engaged in acts and attempted acts of bribery and extortion, attempting to exchange her votes for money.

“As the affidavit details, a concerned citizen contacted law enforcement following an interaction with Dennard, feeling an ethical and moral obligation to report any criminal wrongdoing,” DeVillers said in February. “The individual then worked at the direction of law enforcement throughout this investigation. It takes courage for citizens to come forward and assist law enforcement as this individual did.”

Dennard, who was also elected to Cincinnati City Council in 2017, allegedly requested between $10,000 and $15,000 from the individual to pay for her personal expenses. According to DeVillers, in coordination with FBI, the individual and the city council president exchanged a total of $15,000 for upcoming votes on a matter scheduled to be heard by council.  

Dennard was federally charged with one count of honest services wire fraud, one count of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds and one count of attempted extortion under color of right.

In June, she pleaded guilty to the honest services wire fraud charge.

“She sought to deprive the citizens of Cincinnati of their rights to honest services by an elected official in order to enrich herself through corruption,” DeVillers said in June.

Dennard faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. A sentencing hearing date has not been set.

“There is a culture of corruption, not just in Cincinnati,” DeVillers said Tuesday afternoon. "And it's just surprising and shocking. And anything we can do to change that culture is what we want to do.”

"We want people to come here to start businesses to develop and to make Cincinnati the best place to live. And if you're a developer, and you're afraid you can't get a fair shake, maybe you're gonna go somewhere else,” he said.  

While the two cases are unrelated, Hoffman said, that is cause for more alarm for citizens, as well as potential developers looking at the Queen City for business opportunities.  

"The fact that two in one year, that tells you all you need to know,” Hoffman said. “It's almost more disturbing that they have nothing to do with each other. Right, because of this culture that we're talking about."

“The only common denominator is greed,” Hoffman said.

Pastor's fellow City councilmember and Hamilton County GOP Chairman took to Twitter Tuesday morning.

“It is with great sadness that I read media reports of Councilman Pastor’s arrest this morning on what is being reported as a bribery scandal. The Hamilton County GOP has zero tolerance for this kind of behavior," Hamilton County GOP Chairman Alex Triantafilou tweeted regarding the Republican city council member.

He continued: "While Mr. Pastor should be afforded the presumption of innocence and due process, he is not entitled to continue working for the citizens of Cincinnati as he sorts through whatever charges may be coming. Jeff should resign his position on City Council and make his family and his defense a top priority.”

Cincinnati City Council Member Betsy Sundermann echoed those sentiments, calling for his immediate resignation.

"I was deeply shocked and saddened to hear the news about Councilmember Jeff Pastor's arrest this morning. While he is owed the presumption of innocence and due process, I firmly believe he needs to step aside from his role on council and resign immediately. It is clear that, in his current situation, he will be unable to fulfill his duties as a member of council. His continued presence will only create potential roadblocks and liabilities for the city of Cincinnati as we work to find solutions to the problems facing our community,” Sundermann tweeted.

"It’s critical that we have a full, functioning council. The last 2 years have exposed an ongoing culture of corruption in city hall. It's one of the reasons I came to council - to restore integrity and trust. I’ll continue this fight every day, because Cincy deserves better,” she continued.

Pastor, a husband and father of four, was elected to serve on the Cincinnati City Council in 2017, and resides in Mt. Lookout. According to his website, Pastor taught at King Academy Community School and graduated from Central State University, Payne Theological Seminary and Wright State University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in communications, a master's degree in divinity and MBA. He served in the United States Navy Reserve as well as the Ohio Army National Guard.

Pastor has not pleaded to the federal charges against him.