Attorney Arrested for Federal Bribe, Extortion Charges
“Prosecutors contended attorney Keith Mitchell is a flight risk who should remain behind bars after he eluded authorities for more than 24 hours and potentially obstructed justice when he called four Toledo city councilmen after learning he and they were the targets of a federal bribery and corruption probe,” reports Allison Dunn in The Blade.
“Mr. Mitchell told a federal judge he thought the call he received Tuesday morning by an FBI agent informing him of his pending criminal charges was nothing more than a prank, hence his refusal to disclose his location during the call — and his subsequent contact with his four co-defendants.”
“But the call, it turned out, was no prank. And even though U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey Helmick on Wednesday declined prosecutors’ request and released Mr. Mitchell from custody, the long-time lawyer with deep community ties nows joins city councilmen Yvonne Harper, Tyronne Riley, Larry Sykes, and Gary Johnson, in a precarious position: free on bond, but very much under scrutiny as the federal government embarks on what could be the largest public corruption prosecution in northwest Ohio history.”
