‘The Dimora Special’ – county loan deal

If you want to get business with the county, you have to wine and
dine them, and construct an outdoor cabana area at an official’s
home. That’s what contractor Steve Pumper told a federal jury in
court Tuesday, and his direct exam resumes Wednesday morning.

Pumper, formerly of D-A-S Construction and other companies,
testified against former commissioner Jimmy Dimora. He repeatedly
told the jury he gave things of value to Dimora to gain his
influence on contracts and loans with the county for his
businesses.

Prosecutors spent a lot of time reviewing what Pumper says he
gave Dimora. They still are going through how they say Pumper’s
companies benefited from the “friendship.”

“The Dimora Special”

One of the ways Pumper used Dimora for his businesses was through
a loan with the county. He testified Dimora directed him on how
to get a loan for D-A-S Construction. Pumper said when he secured
the loan, he got what a county worker called, “The Dimora
Special,” meaning the best rate available.

The benefits of a county loan are lower interest rates and the
payments can be negotiated easier than with a bank, Pumper said.
Even with a lot of “red tape,” with Dimora’s help, “I moved from
the bottom to the top, real quick,” Pumper said of the
application process.

Pumper and other investors were working on the Parkview Allerton
project. The Parkview Apartments are in a HUD subsidized building
in downtown Cleveland, at East 13th Street and Chester Avenue.
The building is formerly known as the Allerton Hotel.

During the loan process, Pumper said he updated Dimora and if the
process slowed down too much, he said he would “ask Dimora to
make a call to get it moving.”

The plan was to remediate the property using a county loan and
get benefits from the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit. The
state’s urban development website says, “The tax credit can be
applied to applicable dealers in tangibles, corporate franchise,
foreign and domestic insurance premiums, or individual income
taxes.”

But it didn’t all go according to Pumper’s plan. He told Dimora
on a call recorded by the FBI that the tax credit hadn’t gone
through yet, and he had planned to repay the loan through that
source of funding.

On another wiretap call played for the jury, Dimora said to
Pumper, “Ya need anything?”

Pumper started talking about the $1 million-Parkview loan.

“Do you think they would extend that thing for a year or so?”
Dimora didn’t sound happy, but agreed to arrange a meeting to
work on a loan extension. On a later call, Dimora told Pumper,
“You got your meeting.” In fact, D-A-S got the loan extension.

The jury heard another wiretap with Dimora and Pumper talking
about the extension. Then prosecutors showed the jury a letter
from the county announcing the extension. The call happened
before the letter was written.

When Dimora’s defense attorneys have their chance to cross
examine Pumper, they are likely to point out that Dimora was just
one commissioner, and had no sole power to approve any county
business. They have used that fact in their case with previous
witnesses.

“Things of Value”

Prosecutors said Pumper’s company was involved with work at
Dimora’s Independence home as early as 2002, starting with
irrigation in the pool area. Work also was done in 2004, 2005 and
2007.

Pumper said Dimora would call him and invite him over, and show
him an architect’s sketches of jobs he wanted accomplished. The
sketches included the bathhouse area and the patio that housed
the outdoor kitchen equipment, including a pizza oven and other
appliances with custom metal coverings.

Most of the carpentry work was done by D-A-S Construction, but
Pumper testified there was no serious discussion of price, or
billing. A few years later after the FBI arrested Pumper, J.
Kevin Kelley testified Dimora became worried about the lack of
invoices for his home improvements.

The jury again saw photographs of Dimora’s home improvements. The
photos show a well-appointed outdoor kitchen under a patio
covering, a pleasant looking sitting area featuring a large
table, and an outdoor bathhouse. Pumper said Dimora was glad for
the bathhouse “so nothing gets tracked through the house.” Pumper
also testified when all the work was completed, Dimora was happy
with how everything turned out.

Through D-A-S season ticket accounts, Pumper also gave Dimora
tickets to Cavs and Indians games. For one game, Pumper’s brother
canceled his own family’s plans so Dimora could attend the event.

Prosecutors also asked Pumper to briefly outline a gambling trip
to Windsor, Ontario, card parties at Stonebridge and some
people’s homes. Pumper testified women sometimes were at the card
parties to give “blow jobs, or oral, if you want to use that
term.

In addition to help with county contracts and loans, prosecutors
say Dimora helped Pumper with a civil suit involving a major
flood at Cleveland Browns Stadium. Pumper’s testimony has not
touched on that yet, and is expected at some point when his
direct examination resumes in court on Wednesday.

Dimora and co-defendant Michael Gabor say they are innocent on
all federal charges.

“Pumper’s Price Tag”

• USDA loan, DWR water project on Butte supervisors’ agenda – Oroville Mercury
• 3 arrested in alleged loan modification scam
• Jackson County set to refinance $8 million in bonds on three projects – The Jackson Citizen Patriot
• USDA loan, DWR water project on Butte supervisors' agenda
• DeSoto approves refinance of general obligation bonds