Ohio Jury Convicts Ex-Fugitive In $100M Fraud Case

Bobby Thompson, who authorities have identified as Harvard-trained attorney John Donald Cody, is handcuffed after being found guilty Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013, in Cleveland. Thompson was convicted of racketeering, theft, money laundering and other charges. He was charged with looting the United States Navy Veterans Association, a charity he ran in Tampa, Fla.

CLEVELAND (AP) — A mysterious defendant in a $100 million, cross-country Navy veterans charity fraud case was convicted Thursday of racketeering, theft, money laundering and other charges.

Jurors deliberated for about three hours Wednesday before reaching guilty verdicts on all 23 counts. They heard nothing from the ex-fugitive, who changed his mind and decided against testifying. His attorney said he wanted to tell his story but worried about his mental state if he faced aggressive cross-examination by prosecutors.

The defendant identifies himself as 67-year-old Bobby Thompson, but authorities say he's Harvard-trained attorney John Donald Cody. He was indicted in 2010, disappeared for nearly two years and was arrested last year in Portland, Ore.

He faces up to 67 years in prison at his sentencing, which was scheduled for Dec. 16. The defendant rolled his eyes toward the ceiling and rocked on his feet as the verdicts were read. Deputies cuffed his wrists after the first guilty verdict was announced. Unlike the last two days of his trial, the defendant showed up with his shirt buttoned and his hair combed.

He was charged with looting the United States Navy Veterans Association, a charity he ran in Tampa, Fla. As his five-week trial wound down, he had appeared disheveled in court, so much so that the judge suggested a break Tuesday to allow him to get a clean shirt and comb his hair.

"The defense rested without calling anyone to the stand because there is no defense for the scam that John Donald Cody pulled on Americans in the name of our country's veterans," said Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, whose office handled the trial.

Defense attorney Joseph Patituce said after the verdict that ineffective legal representation issues stemming from limited preparation time and his client's cooperation might be a basis for a planned appeal.

Patituce said he doubts other states will seek to prosecute his client at this point. He also said he had questions about his client's mental health and asked the judge to order an assessment before sentencing. The judge agreed and urged the defendant to be honest with the mental health review team.

Patituce said earlier that the defendant had bloodied himself last week while pounding his head against the wall in a holding cell. The judge said the defendant was checked by the jail medical staff. Authorities believe he defrauded donors of up to $100 million in 41 states. A fraction of that money was found.

When he was arrested, authorities found fake IDs and a suitcase with $980,000 in cash. Records show the defendant had showered politicians, often Republicans, with political donations. The judge rejected a defense request to subpoena testimony from leading Ohio Republicans, including U.S. House Speaker John Boehner.
Authorities said they traced the name Bobby Thompson to a man who wasn't connected to the charity case and had his identity stolen, including his Social Security number and date of birth. The defendant was identified through military fingerprint records.

...Notorious Cases In Cleveland Area

A suspect is in custody after three bodies were found wrapped in plastic bags in an East Cleveland neighborhood, and a police chief says he believes one or two more victims could be found.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Accused serial killer Anthony Sowell appears for the start of his trial in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court in Cleveland. Sowell was arrested Oct. 31, 2009, after police investigating a woman’s report that she had been raped at his house began finding bodies. Eventually, the remains of 11 troubled women were discovered. There are other recent high-profile cases involving the disappearance of women from the Cleveland area. On Sunday, July 21, 2013, authorities say a suspect is in custody after three bodies were found wrapped in plastic bags in an East Cleveland neighborhood, and a police chief says he believes one or two more victims could be found. Image: Associated Press


Here is a look at some of the most recent high-profile cases involving the disappearances of women from the Cleveland area: — Anthony Sowell was arrested Oct. 31, 2009, after police investigating a woman's report that she had been raped at his house began finding bodies. Eventually, the remains of 11 troubled women were discovered. Prosecutors say that the victims began disappearing in 2007 and that Sowell lured them to his home with the promise of alcohol or drugs. The victims were disposed of in garbage bags and plastic sheets, then dumped in various parts of the house and yard. Sowell was convicted in 2011 and sentenced to death in the women's murders. He now sits on death row.

— In May of this year, a woman missing for a decade escaped from a run-down Cleveland home, saying she and two other women had been held captive there for years. Former school bus driver Ariel Castro was later charged with nearly 1,000 counts of kidnapping, rape and other crimes. The three women disappeared separately between 2002 and 2004, when they were 14, 16 and 20 years old. Each said she had accepted a ride from Castro, who fathered a daughter, now 6, with one of the women. He has pleaded not guilty and is jailed on $8 million bond.

— And on Friday, a report of a foul odor at an East Cleveland home led police to the discovery of one body and the arrest of a suspect, who engaged authorities in a standoff. Two other bodies were found in the same neighborhood Saturday — one in a backyard and the other in the basement of a vacant house. The three bodies, all female, were wrapped in trash bags. A 35-year-old registered sex offender was in custody Sunday but hasn't been charged. Mayor Gary Norton said the suspect made comments that he might have been influenced by Sowell. Police Chief Ralph Spotts says he believes searchers could uncover one or two more bodies.

Memorable Images And Time

African American Athletes at News Conference
Nation's top Negro athletes gathered for a meeting at the Negro Industrial and Economic Union to hear Cassius Clay's view for rejecting Army induction. News conference shows (front row) Bill Russell, Boston Celtics; Cassius Clay; Jim Brown and Lew Alcindor. Back row (left to right): Carl Stokes, Democratic State Rep.; Walter Beach, Cleveland Browns; Bobby Mitchell, Washington Redskins; Sid Williams, Cleveland Browns; Curtis McClinton, Kansas City Chiefs; Willie Davis, Green Bay Packers; Jim Shorter, former Brown and John Wooten, Cleveland Browns. Date: June 04, June 04,1967. Location: Cleveland, Ohio. Image: Bettmann Collection


Former track star Jesse Owens (C) and Cleveland Indians' pitcher Satche Paige (R) are congratulated by Illinois States Attorney John Boyle after they received Ebony Magazine Awards as two of the nation's outstanding African American athletes in 1949. Date: August 20, 1949. Location: Chicago, Illinois. Image: Bettmann Collection


Flanked by athletes who are supporting a boycott of the 1968 Olympic Games, George M. Houser, (3rd left), executive director of the American Committee on Africa, calls for a meeting of the International Olympic Committee in order to reverse its decision readmitting South Africa to the games. Attending press conference here are (left to right): Heyward Dotson, Staten Island, N.Y., Columbia University basketball team; Kwaku Ohene-Frempong, Ghana, Yale University track team; Houser; Steve Mokone, South African soccer player and student at University of Rochester; New York Yankee infielder Ruben Amaro; and New York Yankee pitcher Jim Bouton. Date: April 11, 1968. Location: New York, New York. Image: Bettmann Collection.