In Advance of Possible Lawsuit, Bobby George Claims Prosecutor Bias

While the future of criminal charges against Bobby George now rest with Special Prosecutor Jane Hanlin (D-Jefferson County), who this week was appointed by Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Mike O'Malley after he recused his office from the case citing campaign donations from Tony George, the felony charges originated with Cleveland police and the Cleveland Prosecutor's Office in muni court.

Earlier ths week, Leo Spellacy, who is representing George in a possible civil manner separate from but related to the criminal issue in which George is represented by Leo's brother Kevin, sent an evidence preservation letter to the city of Cleveland in advance of a possible lawsuit.

"There's no complaint filed or written yet, but his civil rights were violated," Spellacy asserted.

Cleveland Law Director Mark Griffin has wholly denied the insinuation in previous comments after the arrest.

"Information is gathered, evidence is presented to the prosecutor, and an objective decision is made solely based on the facts," Griffin said. "It's imperative for the public to know that this case was treated according to standard protocols like any other case — regardless of the defendant's name, title, or occupation."

George believes differently.

In addition to asking the city to preserve any and all communications regarding the investigation into George, it also asks the city to preserve any communcations relating to an open letter sent on Dec. 2, 2023 to Democratic candidates in Cuyahoga County urging them to avoid holding events or fundraisers at businesses owned by Tony or Bobby George.

Signed by the Stonewall Dems, the Progressive Caucus, the Young Black Dems, the Women's Caucus and others, the open letter cited a laundry list of reasons to avoid George establishments including Tony's opposition to a Cuyahoga County ordinance prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity; Tony's ties to the HB6 bribery scandal; Tony's support for Donald Trump; Bobby and Tony's involvement in property issues affecting the Irishtown Bend park; and the attempted prosecution of a protestor outside of TownHall.

Cleveland Chief Prosecutor Aqueelah Jordan is a board member of the Stonewall Dems, which Leo Spellacy claims is an issue, as the group signed the letter.

"Our belief is that we have an incomplete suspect investigation done by a prosecutor who's affiliated with an entity that has previously sent a letter to candidates that states, 'Don't do business with the Georges,'" Spellacy said. "It's not very flattering to Bobby and Tony George, and the person who is the prosecutor is affiliated with the board. There's concerns that Bobby has been mistreated."

But Jordan played no part in the Stonewall Dems signing on to the open letter, according to its president Brooks Boron.

"The open letter was not drafted by the Cleveland Stonewall Democrats or its Board. CSD was approached to ask for its input and whether we would sign onto the letter. I alone in my authority as President of CSD approved CSD being listed as a co-signer," he told Scene.

George notably and recently refused to air the Summer Olympics in any of his restaurants as a protest stemming from wrongly informed outrage over an opening ceremony drag performance that was an ode to Dionysus and not, as many Christians claimed, a take on The Last Supper.

As for the dissonance between that and anger over what some local Dems urged last year, Spellacy told Scene: "I have no problem with anyone expressing their First Amendment rights. Everyone is entitled to their point of view, for sure, no probme. That's the great thing about this country. But when you have a prosecutor affiliated with an entity that expressed public disdain for George, that's a problem. That's not expressing your First Amendment rights."

Asked if he was insinuating that Jordan, whose personal views aren't even known and who didn't craft or decide on signing the letter, couldn't abide by a fair legal process, Leo Spellacy added: "I'll defer to his criminal defense lawyers. This was a completely shoddy investigation. You put two and two together."

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