A federal grand jury subpoena delivered to the Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court shows that federal investigators are investigating Judge Leslie Ann Celebrezze and her ties to court-appointed receiver Mark Dottore since she was elected in 2008.
The wide-ranging grand jury subpoena, dated Feb. 12, comes after The Marshall Project – Cleveland detailed in June 2023 how Celebrezze assigned herself several divorce cases and appointed Dottore and his company as a receiver — what’s meant to be a neutral party to handle marital property including real estate, cash and businesses — in lucrative divorce cases.
Federal agents are requesting thousands of pages of records. Agents are also seeking information on how the court’s other judges appoint receivers in divorce cases.
Celebrezze approved nearly $500,000 in fees for Dottore Companies, LLC between January 2017 and June 2023, The Marshall Project – Cleveland reported. The judge appointed either Dottore or his daughter to be the receiver in six of the eight cases she was handling at the time, according to Cuyahoga County court records.
Celebrezze did not respond Tuesday to a request for comment. Dottore called the grand jury subpoena a “witch hunt.”
“It’s all bullshit,” Dottore told The Marshall Project – Cleveland on the telephone. “Nothing in there is true. I never took anything from her. I get appointed to courts in 38 states. So little of my business is in Cleveland.”
The federal subpoena seeks contracts, subcontracts, billing information, fee approvals and payment information related to Dottore Companies, LLC.
Federal investigators also want:
- All written and electronic correspondence between any court employee and representatives of Dottore Companies, LLC
- Policies and procedures governing the judicial appointments of receivers, the assignment of cases, conflicts of interests, recusals and the role of the administrative judge
- Any and all personnel records for Celebrezze and her staff, including performance reviews, evaluations and any public complaints and/or referrals
- Current and historical directory/employee list of Domestic Relations Court judges and their staff
- Any and all payroll records for Celebrezze
The subpoena, written by FBI agent Michael Pinto and Assistant U.S. Attorney Vanessa Healy, orders the court to hand over records for the grand jury hearing on March 4 at 9 a.m.
In 2023, Celebrezze and Dottore told The Marshall Project – Cleveland that they were lifelong friends, even after a private investigator recorded videos of them kissing outside a steakhouse and Celebrezze visiting Dottore’s home and office numerous times. Each denied a romantic relationship.
Dottore even served as campaign treasurer when Celebrezze ran successfully for her judgeship in 2008. Her campaign headquarters is listed under Dottore’s business address.
In July 2023, The Marshall Project – Cleveland reported how the five Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court judges, including Celebrezze, handle thousands of new cases each year. Three of those judges told The Marshall Project – Cleveland that they never appoint receivers.
Two of those three judges also declined to answer questions about whether Celebrezze ever asked them to recuse themselves from a case, which would allow her to assume control as the then-administrative judge and make the lucrative appointments.
The volume of work Celebrezze gave to Dottore has sparked concern over whether she usurped case assignment policy to steer cases to her friend.
Judge Tonya Jones recused herself in 2022 from the divorce case of Strongsville businessman Jason Jardine.
Her initial recusal didn’t list which judge would handle the case, court records show. Three days later, she vacated it and filed a second one, writing that it was “further ordered that this matter be reassigned to Administrative Judge Leslie Ann Celebrezze.”
Celebrezze then approved hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees for Dottore Companies, LLC.
In August 2023, Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy permanently removed Celebrezze from Jardine’s case. Kennedy found that Celebrezze violated court rules when she bypassed court policy to assign the case to her own docket and appoint Dottore as receiver.
The Ohio Disciplinary Counsel then launched an investigation in November 2024 and alleged Celebrezze made a false statement and has ties to Dottore. Celebrezze has already admitted to violating numerous judicial codes of conduct for failing to recuse herself from a divorce case involving Dottore.
She faces a disciplinary hearing in March.
The subpoena also seeks personnel records for Celebrezze’s staff. Those records are at the center of a court battle with a former employee.
In September 2023, Georgeanna Semary, one of Celebrezze’s longtime judicial assistants, filed a lawsuit contending Celebrezze transferred her out of the office and forced her to take a $20,000 pay cut after she allowed The Marshall Project – Cleveland to review public court records involving Dottore.
A visiting judge dismissed the lawsuit, but it is now under appeal to a special panel of judges assigned by the Ohio Supreme Court. All judges on the Eighth District Court of Appeals recused themselves from the case.
“It’s encouraging that federal authorities are apparently comprehensively investigating,” Subodh Chandra, Semary’s attorney, wrote in a statement about the grand jury subpoena. “This reinforces Ms. Semary’s complaint allegations that she was a witness — and endured retaliation and intimidation as a result.”
Celebrezze took office in 2009 after voters elected her to replace her father, James Celebrezze, who had served nearly two decades on the Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court bench.
She made headlines that same year after the Ohio Supreme Court ordered her removal from a divorce case involving Marc Strauss, a wealthy real estate developer. Dottore was also the receiver in the case and cited as a reason to disqualify Celebrezze, The Plain Dealer reported in May 2009.
James Celebrezze appointed Dottore to that case and 10 others during the last six months of 2008, netting Dottore $340,000 in fees. Yet “the judge gave no work to any other receivers during the same period, records show, despite an Ohio Supreme Court rule that such appointments be rotated equitably,” the Plain Dealer reported.
Dottore’s fees and work have come under scrutiny before.
In 2005, Cleveland Scene detailed disputes about how Dottore bills parties in cases. Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Nancy M. Russo raised questions about Dottore’s practices.
“I would never appoint him again,” Russo told Cleveland Scene in 2005.
Dottore said the nature of his work created enemies.
