CLEVELAND (AP) - A former Cleveland city councilman has been sentenced to probation for voting on contracts involving a company he had close ties with.
Investigators say Joe Cimperman voted to approve contracts with a company where he had been a board member and where his wife worked as a project manager. He pleaded guilty to 26 misdemeanor ethics charges.
At sentencing Tuesday, Cimperman apologized and said he “should have known better.” He was ordered to serve one year of probation, pay a $10,000 fine and perform 100 hours of community service. Prosecutors had pushed for jail time.
All of the contracts were approved with unanimous council support.
Cimperman, a Democrat, was first elected to the council in 1998. He resigned in 2016.
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