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Former Columbus City Hall lobbyist John Raphael pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges on Wednesday. Federal investigators allege Raphael accepted bribes from a food vendor in exchange for securing a favorable contract with the Greater Columbus Convention Center.
Raphael served on the Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority board and operations committee, and as treasurer. In these roles, the complaint reads, Raphael had access to confidential information that he was prohibited from using for “private or personal gain, including by providing confidential information to persons not authorized to receive this information for private gain or advantage.
According to a criminal complaint, filed in December in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Raphael billed clients what he called “success fees, which were, in reality, bribes. The kickback scheme spanned from 2013-2015, during which Raphael received approximately $144,000.
Updated: 1:05 PM EST February 3, 2021
COLUMBUS, Ohio A former Columbus lobbyist could spend up to 20 years in prison after he pleaded guilty in a bribery case.
The U.S. Attorney s Office said John Raphael entered a guilty plea Wednesday to honest services wire fraud in connection to a contract with the Greater Columbus Convention Center.
Raphael was the treasurer for the Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority (FCCFA) and also served on its board. That agency ran the Greater Columbus Convention Center.
In 2014, he became a consultant for one of four companies that put in a bid to be a food vendor at the convention center, according to the U.S. Attorney s Office.
John Raphael, the former influential Columbus City Hall lobbyist and one-time political ally to several high-ranking local Democrats, has again agreed to plead guilty to federal corruption charges for billing clients success fees that were really intended as bribes in return for securing public contracts, court documents show.
And for the second time since 2016, Raphael is facing prison this time for up to 20 years for his role in a bribery and kickback scheme he devised and carried out between 2013 and 2015 as a member of the Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority, the public entity that owns Nationwide Arena, the Greater Columbus Convention Center, a high-rise hotel adjacent to the convention center and another hotel currently under construction.