Vorys Sater Documents Subpoenaed in Expanding Ohio Probe
The FBI has subpoenaed documents from Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease as it expands its probe into corruption in the Cleveland area.
The subpoenas relate to work done by one of the firm’s former lawyers for public officials under investigation, according to the Am Law Daily, citing stories from the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The former Vorys partner, Anthony Calabrese III, had at least six clients touched by the investigation, according to the Plain Dealer.
The law firm issued a statement to the Am Law Daily that said neither the firm nor any of its lawyers are under investigation. A spokeswoman said Calabrese was placed on leave in February and is “no longer associated with the firm in any capacity.”
Calabrese has not been charged with a crime. Two other lawyers who once practiced for a now-disbanded firm have been charged, however.
Timothy Armstrong and Bruce Zaccagnini are accused of helping to funnel $1.3 million in bribes to a county auditor to win appraisals for a company controlled by one of their law firm partners, who is now deceased. Prosecutors claim the company’s appraisals helped clients of Armstrong and Zaccagnini’s law firm who sought to lower property taxes.
