Staff article by Kathy Wray Coleman, editor, associate publisher

CLEVELAND, Ohio-Ex-East Cleveland councilman Ernest Smith walked out of common pleas court a free man on Tuesday, after Common Pleas Judge Hollie Gallagher sentenced him to three years probation, answering the pleas by Black community activists for leniency and ignoring Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Mike O'Malley's demand for imprisonment.

He was also ordered to pay $6,791 in restitution.

"Thank you to everybody who supported me," a relieved Smith, who is Black, said after sentencing.

Former East Cleveland mayor Brandon King, 57, and Smith were both convicted by a county jury of public corruption charges in office in May, King for steering more than $75,000 in city contracts to friends and family members and having an unlawful interest in a public contract, and Smith for using a city car and gas card for what he says was community and city business.

It is not uncommon for city officials in other cities in the county to use city vehicles and it is sometimes routine, sources said. O'Malley targeted Smith, in part, because East Cleveland, a neighboring Cleveland suburb, is a Black city, and one of the poorest in the nation, his critics said.

Smith, 49,  was found guilty of one count of theft in office, one count of soliciting or receiving improper compensation, one count of misuse of credit cards and two counts of theft. But activists said prison was uncalled for, given the situation, and because White elected officials traditionally do as they please without consequences from prosecutor O'Malley.

Though they were tried together, Gallagher scheduled the sentencing for Smith for early Tuesday morning and for King early Wednesday morning, an attempt, said activists, to minimize any planned protests.

An affidavit of disqualification and bias had been filed by King's attorney against Gallagher that sought her removal as presiding judge over the case but it was denied by Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy prior to trial.

On Tuesday at Smith's sentencing the judge was professional, activists who attended the sentencing said.

"Ernie got probation and we are pleased," said community activist Art McKoy of Black of Black Crime Inc., who led an activist protest against O"Malley and racism in the legal system at the  county Justice Center in downtown Cleveland Monday afternoon.

Activists said at Monday's protest that O'Malley is hungry to prosecute activists and Black elected officials like King and Smith while leaving White elected officials alone, including some common pleas judges accused of covering up fixed indictments, falsification, tampering with records, and denying Black and poor defendants their constitutional and statutory right to indigent counsel.

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com are the most-read Black digital newspaper and blog in Ohio. Tel. 216-659-0473. Email-editor@clevelandurbannews.com

By Kathy Wray Coleman, editor-in-chief,  Cleveland Urban News.Com and The Kathy Wray Coleman Online News Blog.Com, Ohio's No 1 and No 2 online Black news venues (www.clevelandurbannews.com) Reach Cleveland Urban News.Com by email at editor@clevelandurbannews.com and by phone at 216-659-0473

EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio-The Ohio Eighth District Caucus group, an organization founded by former East Cleveland City councilman Charles Bibb, a longtime affiliate of the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party, will host a candidates debate forum on community issues for those seeking election or reelection to one of three of five city council seats up for grabs in November in East Cleveland on  Saturday, October 5, 2013.The event begins at 1 pm at the East Cleveland Public Library, 14101 Euclid Avenue. A majority  impoverished suburb of Cleveland, the city has some 18,000 residents. For more information contact Senior Spokesman Charles E. Bibb at 216-659-4619.

The election is November 5 as no primary for city council seats is held pursuant to the city charter.

On Tuesday Oct. 1 incumbent Mayor Gary Norton won the Democratic primary over City Council President Joy Jordan, who placed second, above third place candidate Vernon Robinson. With no Republican in the race for November, Norton secures his mayoral position.

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com

Staff article by Kathy Wray Coleman, editor, associate publisher

CLEVELAND, Ohio-Black activists, led by Black on Black Crime founder and longtime Black activist Art McKoy (pictured), picketed Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Mike O'Malley at the Justice Center on Lakeside Avenue in downtown Cleveland on Monday afternoon.

The activists say O'Malley is an unfair and vicious prosecutor who mistreats and maliciously prosecutes Black activists and Black elected officials while leaving Whites alone, and that he is run by judges and the White establishment to the detriment of the Black community.

" If you stand for nothing, you will fall for anything," said McKoy of O'Malley at a rally before leading a protest around the steps of the Justice Center.

McKoy highlighted his own situation.

After East Cleveland Councilman Twon Billings punched him in the nose following a dispute between the two at the Home Depot in Cleveland Hts. last year and O'Malley failed to get an indictment after Billings testified before the grand jury, saying McKoy, 81, was the alleged aggressor, McKoy has been upset with him in particular.

Also at issue is O'Malley's demand that Common Pleas Judge Hollie Gallagher sentence former East Cleveland mayor Brandon King, 57, and ex-councilman Ernest Smith to prison for jury convictions of public corruption in office in May. King was convicted of steering more than $75,000 in city contracts to friends and family members, and Smith was convicted of using a city car and gas card offered by King for what he says was community and city business.

Smith, 49, is a former activist, and activists say prison is harsh and uncalled for, given the situation and because White elected officials traditionally do as they please without consequences.

Though they were tried together, Judge Gallagher scheduled the sentencing for Smith for early Tuesday morning and for King early Wednesday morning, an attempt, say activists, to minimize any planned protests.

An affidavit of disqualification and bias filed by King's attorney against Gallagher that sought her removal as presiding judge over the case was denied by Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy prior to trial.

Other speakers at Monday's protest include the family of Sheila McFarland, who is ten years into a life sentence without the possibility of parole per a sentence by former common pleas Judge Daniel Gaul, who was suspended by the Ohio Supreme Court for malfeasance only to get his law license back thereafter.

Activists want a review of all serious cases presided over by Gaul, who has a history of harassing Black people from the bench, according to an investigation by the disciplinary counsel arm of the Ohio Supreme Court that recommended his suspension.

McFarland was charged with accessory to murder and other charges following the death of a drug snitch at the Indian Hills senior living community in Euclid, Ohio, a neighbouring lower-middle-class suburb of Cleveland. She says she is innocent and that she refused a plea deal of 15 years in prison.

After a jury found her guilty of the charges, she called Gaul a racist at sentencing, and he unleashed a life without the possibility of parole sentence. It was later upheld by the 8th District Court of Appeals in Cuyahoga County and the state Supreme Court.

Activists said Monday that O'Malley is hungry to prosecute activists and Black elected officials like King and Smith while leaving White elected officials alone, including some common pleas judges accused of covering up fixed indictments, falsification, tampering with records, and denying Black and poor defendants their constitutional and statutory right to indigent counsel.

This is a continuing story.

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com are the most-read Black digital newspaper and blog in Ohio. Tel. 216-659-0473. Email-editor@clevelandurbannews.com