Bulldog McCloskey to get early prison release in time to run for mayor

McCloskey, 62, a Democrat who was on council 13 years until his resignation in May, 2006, is to be released Tuesday from the U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility in Ashland [KY] and transferred to a halfway house after serving 20 months of a 27-month sentence on bribery convictions, his attorney said yesterday. Mr. Feldstein said the release from prison and transfer to the halfway facility is normal procedure for federal prisoners, who receive credit for good behavior in the lockup.

U.S. District Judge David Katz sentenced McCloskey to the 27-month sentence July 21, 2006, for accepting $2,000 and $3,000 bribes offered five weeks apart from a businessman who wanted assistance from the city on development projects. He was given a concurrent one-year punishment for an unrelated bribery conviction in Lucas County Common Pleas Court from Judge James Bates.

Defending Mr. McCloskey has already cost the city more than $38,000 in legal bills. And on Friday, the city's law director forwarded an ordinance to City Council asking for $50,000 more to pay for Mr. McCloskey's outside lawyer, Jay Feldstein. The Pilkington North America executive had just been told by a Toledo politician that if Pilkington wanted a 15-acre parcel rezoned by Toledo City Council, the price would be $100,000.

The politician was Councilman Bob McCloskey, representative of the 3rd District, which includes East Toledo where the parcel was located. The money was needed to help pay for prescription drugs for Pilkington retirees. In May, 2004, the suit claims that Mr. McCloskey in 2002 requested $100,000, and after not receiving the cash worked to defeat Mr. Speckin's deal with Pilkington to rezone the 15 acres to build a new charter school.

The suit claims the $100,000 would have benefited Mr. McCloskey personally because he is a Pilkington retiree and because he was the union official who had negotiated the prescription drug benefit and was under fire from fellow retirees for the capping of drug benefits.

I think there is going to be a lot more to the McCloskey story than this.

(historymike is being very careful not to compromise sources as well as to keep certain information from going public yet)

Let's start again...

All I can say right now is that something is happening, and that...man, it's hard to say something while saying nothing.

Toledo City Council President Rob Ludeman replaced Councilman Frank Szollosi as chairman of economic development and appointed Councilman Robert McCloskey in his place. Mr. Ludeman said Mr. McCloskey wanted the seat and is interested in the Marina District, one of the city's top economic development projects.