By Lucas Sullivan, The Columbus Dispatch, and staff
COLUMBUS – Once the most powerful lobbyist at Columbus City Hall and a friend to prominent elected officials, John Raphael, is now headed to federal prison for 15 months.
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U.S. District Court Judge Michael H. Watson handed down the punishment Wednesday during a hearing that lasted about two hours. Watson, who said he knew Raphael, at times seemed pained by the task.
Raphael pleaded guilty to one count of extorting campaign contributions for city officials from red-light-camera vendor Redflex by threatening company executives with the loss of influence and contracts. According to the office of Acting U.S. Attorney Benjamin Glassman, Raphel admitted that the company made over $70,000 in campaign contributions, which were funneled to elected officials through Raphael in his own name and in the names of his family members, friends and business associates.
Former Redflex executives who cooperated in the federal investigation said those payments were bribes that they passed through Raphael for contracts.
Karen Finley, the former CEO of the red light camera vendor, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery and honest services wire and mail fraud.
Raphael, 61 of Clintonville, pleaded guilty the extortion charge in October, saying that officials, including Mayor Andrew J. Ginther, former Mayor Michael B. Coleman and former City Council President Michael C. Mentel did not know what he was doing.
Federal court documents trace Redflex payments involving each of those officials: $20,000 through Raphael and the Ohio Democratic Party to Ginther’s City Council campaign fund in 2011; $5,000 through Raphael to the Franklin County Democratic Party at the request of Mentel in 2009; and $5,000 from Raphael to Coleman’s mayoral campaign account in 2007.
All three have said they did nothing wrong.