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Paul McKibben reports:

Posted in: Crime, News, Widmer Trial |

Tags: Tags: 12th court of appeals, appeal, bathtub murder, conviction, coroner, fraud, genetic, homicide, jeff braley, long qt syndrome, mason, michele berry, murder, neal bronson, russell uptegrove, ryan widmer, sarah widmer

Legal experts who’ve followed the Ryan Widmer case say the chances of the convicted Mason man getting a fourth trial are “fair” at best.

Attorneys for Widmer, who was convicted in February in the 2008 drowning death of his wife, Sarah, filed a motion Wednesday asking a Warren County judge to set aside Widmer’s February murder conviction and accusing officials of perjury and cover-up.

• Photos: Ryan Widmer speaks with The Enquirer
• Photos: Ryan Widmer convicted of murder

The Enquirer’s Janice Morse spoke with several legal experts who’ve been following the case about the latest court documents filed.

“I think Judge (Neal) Bronson probably has a pretty strong case of ‘Widmer fatigue,’ but even so, he’ll do the right thing,” says defense lawyer Mike Allen, who has closely watched the saga since it began in 2008 with the drowning of Widmer’s wife, Sarah, 24, in their Hamilton Township bathtub.

While Allen, Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell and other experts think Widmer’s chances of persuading Bronson to grant a fourth trial are small, University of Cincinnati law professor Christo Lassiter says issues swirling around the case are grave.

Concerns about the honesty of Jeff Braley, the lead investigator, and how he may have influenced the county coroner, Russell Uptegrove, “not only provides a reason to doubt the conviction, it reeks of an injustice,” Lassiter said.

Despite that strong statement, Lassiter agrees with other experts that it will be very difficult for Widmer’s lawyer to overcome legal hurdles to prove a new trial is warranted.

Joe Mooney, a Northern Kentucky University law student who coordinated a panel discussion on the Widmer case said, “I think this (motion for a new trial) is a ‘Hail Mary’ pass that will likely fall incomplete. … At the end of the day, I would not bet any money on a fourth trial.”

Bronson’s decision on whether to grant a retrial may well turn on whether he now agrees that a jury should have been allowed to hear Widmer’s lawyers grill Braley over his credentials. Bronson blocked that line of questioning after a closed-door hearing in his chambers in 2010 about alleged resume fraud.

“When he made that decision, Judge Bronson didn’t know everything that we know now about Braley. … And now, if the judge believes Braley committed perjury, that’s one of the keys to the case,” said Mark Krumbein, a defense lawyer who became so fascinated by Widmer’s case he attended portions of all three trials.

Braley resigned in June after an investigator reported that Braley falsely claimed he had served in the U.S. Special Forces, which secured him a position heading the township’s police tactical unit in 2001 – before he became a sworn police officer.

“What happened with Braley was an abomination,” Allen said. “It’s almost unbelievable that a person could misrepresent his credentials like that and be put in such a position of responsibility.”

The investigator also found evidence dating to 1996, supporting allegations that Braley falsely asserted on township documents that he earned a master’s degree and held various jobs; Braley denied making the misrepresentations, but a handwriting analysis supported the allegation that the writing was his, officials said.

Fornshell downplayed the significance of Braley’s issues. But Allen, a former Hamilton County prosecutor, said that if he were in Fornshell’s position, he thinks the situation is “egregious enough” to consider taking the case to a grand jury to consider a possible perjury indictment of Braley.

“The problems with Braley are huge,” Allen said. “But did not knowing about them during the trial affect the outcome? I think a strong argument could be made either way.”

Lassiter thinks that, in order to grant a new trial, Bronson would have to decide that revelations about Braley may well have changed jurors’ minds about Widmer’s guilt, had they been aired during the trial.

Allen notes that Bronson has a reputation for doing what he thinks is just, even if it draws fire. It was Bronson who voided Widmer’s 2009 murder conviction because of jury misconduct; a hung jury resulted in 2010, followed by a conviction this year.

Fornshell dismisses Braley’s issues as irrelevant to the crime that Widmer is convicted of committing. But Krumbein said it’s reasonable to question the entire foundation of the case based on Braley’s involvement in it.

“Judge Bronson may feel that, if he (Braley) lied about substantive things in the past, and lied under oath in a pre-trial hearing, can anything he did or said be trusted?” Krumbein said.

And Braley did play a pivotal role in the case, Krumbein said.

“He maintained the crime scene, supervised gathering all the evidence. Then he told the coroner he thought this was a homicide – and he may not have been any more qualified to say that than the Man in the Moon. His qualifications were pretty bad.

“As the defense has already argued, if you can’t trust the messenger, you may get the wrong message.”

Widmer, 30, who last lived in Mason, was convicted in his third trial on Feb. 15.  His first trial ended in a conviction, but the guilty verdict was set aside because of jury misconduct.  The second trial ended with a hung jury.

Related stories:

• Will there be a fourth Ryan Widmer trial?
• Prosecutors agree to give Widmer more time to file murder appeal
• Ryan Widmer: “I’ll never give up”
• Widmer attorneys file notice of appeal to higher court
• Widmer’s defense lawyers fight for 4th trial
• Widmer jurors speak out amidst defense reports of juror misconduct
• Ryan Widmer found guilty of murder

What do you think?  Should Ryan Widmer get a fourth trial?  Discuss in the comments below.

Posted in: Crime, News, Widmer Trial |

Tags: Tags: appeal, bathtub murder, conviction, coroner, fraud, genetic, homocide, jeff braley, long qt syndrome, mason, murder, russell uptegrove, ryan widmer, sarah widmer

An attorney for Ryan Widmer has filed a motion requesting a new trial for the Mason man convicted in the 2008 drowning of his wife, Sarah.

Widmer’s lawyer, Michele Berry, filed court documents today asking a Warren County judge to set aside Widmer’s February murder conviction and accusing officials of perjury and cover-up.

• Photos: Ryan Widmer speaks with The Enquirer
• Photos: Ryan Widmer convicted of murder

Berry also wants the judge to grant a hearing based on the “newly discovered evidence of false statements, lack of competence and training and outright fraud by the lead detective in this case, former Lieutenant Detective Jeff Braley.”

Further, Berry says Widmer’s former lawyers also made a grievous mistake when they failed to get Sarah Widmer’s DNA tested for Long QT Syndrome, a genetic condition that could have contributed to her drowning.

That alone should entitle Widmer to a new trial, Berry said.

Enquirer reporter Janice Morse has more details on the latest development in the case:

But much of the 35-page motion hammers on Braley’s involvement in the case and authorities’ failure to disclose information about Braley’s history of alleged misrepresentations. Braley resigned from his job earlier this year after an outside investigator checked into those allegations.

If the defense lawyers had been aware of the facts that were later released, Widmer’s lawyers could have impeached Braley and mounted a defense “which would have changed the nature of the entire trial,” Berry said.

“Had the defense been aware of these facts, this evidence could have been used not only to impeach Braley … but… to mount a … defense, which would have changed the nature of the entire trial.”

Last month, an expert who has evaluated 500 cases of police misconduct nationwide, Dennis Waller, issued a report about the Widmer case and “opines that, based on national law enforcement standards, Braley could be classified as ‘an opportunist without substance in a police department without established standards,’” Berry wrote.

In the court filing, Berry alleges that Braley committed perjury in a closed-door hearing on May 5, 2010, focusing on allegations that he had misrepresented his qualifications.

Previously, prosecutors have asserted that Braley’s role in Widmer’s trial was minimal, and the evidence was strong enough to obtain a conviction without him.

But in court records, Berry says Waller believes that “Braley’s incompetence, untrustworthiness, and penchant for manufacturing facts to further his career, are all relevant to the fingerprints and other marks on the bathtub, the collection of evidence in general … the decision to charge Widmer, and the conclusion of (Warren County Coroner Russell Uptegrove) that this case was a homicide.”

Uptegrove, in an interview with the Enquirer earlier this year, denied that Braley exerted any undue influence.

Widmer, 30, who last lived in Mason, was convicted in his third trial on Feb. 15.  His first trial ended in a conviction, but the guilty verdict was set aside because of jury misconduct.  The second trial ended with a hung jury.

MasonBuzz will update this story.

Related stories:

• Prosecutors agree to give Widmer more time to file murder appeal
• Ryan Widmer: “I’ll never give up”
• Widmer attorneys file notice of appeal to higher court
• Widmer’s defense lawyers fight for 4th trial
• Widmer jurors speak out amidst defense reports of juror misconduct
• Ryan Widmer found guilty of murder

What do you think?  Should Ryan Widmer get a fourth trial?  Discuss in the comments below.

Posted in: Crime, News, Widmer Trial |

Tags: Tags: appeal, bathtub murder, conviction, coroner, fraud, genetic, homocide, jeff braley, long qt syndrome, mason, murder, russell uptegrove, ryan widmer, sarah widmer

Tim McGee readies for the snap during a 1987 NFL game between the Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers. / Getty Images/Rick Steward

Two former professional athletes with Cincinnati and Mason ties are facing off against each other in court over allegations of fraud involving hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Former Cincinnati Bengal Tim McGee is being sued by ex-University of Cincinnati basketball player Ruben Patterson, who claims McGee misled him in business deals and hasn’t repaid a load.  Patterson is seeking repayment of $687,000 plus $1 million in punitive damages.

McGee, a Mason resident and former Bengals wide receiver, called the allegations “frivolous.”

“I have built a reputation of integrity for the last 20-some-odd years… in Cincinnati,” McGee countered, saying he was looking forward to defending that reputation at trial.

Enquirer reporter Kimball Perry has the details:

Patterson, who played professional basketball for a decade and lives in Indian Hill, notes in the suit that he so trusted McGee that he hired him to serve as his agent. That included giving McGee a power of attorney and access to the bank account in which Patterson, who made millions, deposited his paychecks.

In 2004, the suit alleges, McGee offered to sell Patterson a piece of land adjacent to Courts 4 Sports, a McGee-owned indoor sports facility in Mason. When Patterson agreed, McGee took $337,000 out of Patterson’s account for the property.

On that piece of land, in the 800 block of Reading Road, McGee opened Geeter’s Bar & Grill. It’s now closed. Its Facebook page says it will

open soon at another location but doesn’t say where or when.

Ruben Patterson, a former Cincinnati Bearcat star, moves the ball upcourt during his NBA years as a Los Angeles Clipper. / Getty Images/Stephen Dunn

McGee told Patterson in July 2010 that Patterson didn’t actually buy the property.

“McGee indicated that the $337,000 was actually a lump-sum payment of 99 years of rent, and not a cash purchase of the property, contrary to the prior agreement and

intention of the parties,” the suit noted.

In 2005, Patterson also paid McGee $300,000 for an interest in Courts 4 Sports.

…The suit accuses McGee of fraud, breach of contract, negligence and unjust enrichment.

“To date, Patterson has not received any paperwork or indication that he is a member of … any business interest associated with the Courts 4 Sports business,” the suit said.

The $1.7 million suit also accuses McGee of borrowing another $50,000 from Patterson in April of 2010 to help open Geeter’s. McGee, the suit alleges, promised to repay the loan in 30 days but repaid nothing.

While expensive, the experience also has been painful to Patterson, his attorney said, because of what Patterson considers a breach of trust.

“I don’t think he (Patterson) paid close enough attention. He wakes up one day and he’s lost a lot of money,” McTigue said.

The case is next in court Aug. 15 before Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Beth Myers. An Oct. 24 trial is scheduled.

Posted in: Business, News |

Tags: Tags: agent, basketball, bengals, business, cincinnati, football, fraud, lawsuit, mason, ruben patterson, sue, suing, tim mcgee, university of cincinnati bearcats

University of Cincinnati Coach Bob Huggins hugs guard Anthony Buford during the final seconds of a victory over Memphis State on March 29, 1992. Buford, of Mason, pleaded guilty to one one count of conspiracy to commit mail, wire and bank fraud.

Former University of Cincinnati basketball star Anthony Buford pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court this week to charges of mortgage fraud conspiracy.

Buford, 42, and Jolie O. Neal, 47, both of Mason, pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud lending institutions out of $2,779,500 by cheating the system in order to obtain mortgages on three properties they owned and keeping the money rather than paying off existing loans.

According to court documents, Buford and Jolie O. Neal of Mason conspired to commit felony bank, wire and mail fraud from 2004 through July 2007.

During that time, Buford worked as a mortgage broker for Dynus Financial Services, which had offices in Bond Hill and Fairfield.

Neal owned Tri-State Title Co. in Sharonville, where she was a closing agent.

Together, Buford and Neal brokered fraudulent deals to refinance property they owned individually and together in Mason by making false representations to Fifth Third Bank and Lehman Brothers, according to court papers.

The properties included 5763 Clearwater Drive, which Buford owned; 6492 Hunters Green, which Neal owned; and 7694 Plantation Drive, which the pair owned together.

Buford and Neal applied for and received nine loans totaling $2.77 million for the three properties in Mason.

Rather than using the loan proceeds to pay off existing mortgages, they used the dollars for personal benefit, Brenda Shoemaker, financial crimes chief for the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of Ohio, alleges in the filing.

As part of the scheme, the U.S. attorney’s office says, the pair committed mail and wire fraud by mailing and using wire transfers to send off their fraudulent mortgage documents.
Buford was a starting guard on the Bearcats’ 1992 Final Four team. He also has been a television announcer for UC basketball games.

Buford and Neal each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail, wire and bank fraud. They face a maximum penalty of up to 30 years in prison, a fine of $1 million or twice the gain to the defendant or loss to the victim and mandatory restitution. The plea agreement reached includes a recommended restitution of $2,779,500.

Carter M. Stewart, United States attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and J. Mark Batts, acting special agent in charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced the pleas entered Tuesday before Senior U.S. District Judge Sandra S. Beckwith.

The judge will set dates for sentencing for the defendants.

Lisa Bernard-Kuhn contributed to this story

Posted in: Crime, News |

Tags: Tags: anthony buford, bank fraud, basketball, conspiracy, court, felony, fraud, jolie neal, mortgage fraud, mortgage fraud conspiracy, u.s. district court, uc bearcat

A Mason financial planner pleaded guilty Tuesday to defrauding customers of more than $2 million.

Prosecutors say Elliot Kravitz, 54, convinced nine clients to invest in real estate through his company, EMC Financial Services, and instead stashed the money in accounts he controlled. He sent at least one client phony portfolios listing the fake investments, court records say.

Prosecutors say the fraud occurred between 2004 and 2010. Kravitz pleaded guilty to wire fraud before U.S. District Judge Herman Weber. He faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced in August.

Posted in: Business, News |

Tags: Tags: elliot kravitz, emc financial services, fraud, judge herman weber, mason, u.s. district court

Homearama 2008 Kurlemann Custom Building group

A federal judge sentenced Mason home builder Bernard J. Kurlemann to 24 months in prison and ordered him to pay $1,115,409 in restitution in connection to a fraud scheme involving multi-million dollar homes.

A jury convicted Kurlemann in November on one count of conspiracy to commit loan fraud, two counts loan fraud and bankruptcy fraud.

U.S. District Judge Timothy S. Black imposed sentences on Kurlemann and three other conspirators on April 1.

Seven people have now been sentenced in connection with federal fraud and conspiracy charges involving high-end homes in Greater Cincinnati.

The charges were the result of a two-year investigation by the Greater Cincinnati Mortgage Fraud Task Force.

Prosecutors say Kurlemann participated in a mortgage fraud concocted by Eric Duke, a self-employed tax preparer and interior designer. The conspiracy involved the sale of the homes by using straw buyers and phony financial documents.

Duke, 36, of Cincinnati, was sentenced on April 1 to 60 months in prison and ordered to pay $2,094,609 in restitution and forfeiture.

Prosecutors added the bankruptcy charge after they said they learned Kurlemann did not disclose an option to buy back a property he had sold prior to filing bankruptcy for his company, Kurlemann Builders Inc., or KBI.

The fraud scheme allowed Kurlemann, whose company has built luxury homes in the area for two decades, to walk away from $3.5 million in mortgage debt and receive $500,000 in seller’s proceeds, prosecutors say.

“Bernard J. Kurlemann engaged in a scheme to defraud the creditors of KBI and the bankruptcy trustee,” as stated in the indictment.

Others indicted in the scheme:

Terrence J. Monahan, 36, of Cincinnati was sentenced April 1 to 18 months in prison, fined $5,000 and ordered to pay $264,000 in restitution.  Monahan pleaded guilty in October to one count making a false statements on documents submitted to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Bryan Sanneman, 38, of Mason, pleaded guilty to two counts conspiracy to commit loan fraud and loan fraud.  He was sentenced in February to 12 months and one day in prison and ordered to pay $369,000 in restitution.

Pam Sanneman, 62, of Mason, pleaded guilty to one count misprision of felony for knowledge of a crime and failure to report it.  She was sentenced in February to three years probation, the first six months of which to be served on house arrest.

Christopher Gagnon, 37, of Florence pleaded guilty to loan fraud and was sentenced in February to one day of time served and three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $93,000 in restitution.

Francisca Webster, 46, of Cincinnati, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and was sentenced April 1 to one day of time served and three years of supervised release.

Staff writer Dan Horn contributed to this story

Posted in: Crime, News |

Tags: Tags: bankruptcy, bernard j. kurlemann, bryan sanneman, builder, business, christopher gagnon, cincinnati, conspiracy, crime, eric duke, federal fraud, francisca webster, fraud, kurlemann custom builders, loan fraud, mason, mortgage, ohio, pam sanneman, prison, restitution, straw buyers, terrence monahan, u.s. district court judge timothy s. black

Ryan Widmer was found guilty of murder, a jury determined Tuesday after spending 12 hours deliberating over two days.

Following the verdict, Widmer immediately collapsed on the table, holding his head and sobbing.

• View photos from today’s trial

Sobs could also be heard throughout the courtroom after the verdict was read.

“I did not do this. My life has been ruined. I don’t know why this has gone on for so long. I loved Sarah, I would never hurt her, never,” Widmer told the judge before he was sentenced.

“This has gone on for two and a half years now.  We depleted our money.  This keeps going on and on. Twelve hours after she died and I’m charged … This isn’t right, isn’t right.”

Judge Neal Bronson sentenced Widmer to 15 years to life in prison.  He already served about five months behind bars after the first trial and will get credit for time served

The jury started its deliberations Monday morning after hearing 15 days of testimony.  The verdict was announced at 4:45 p.m. Tuesday.

Before the jurors came out, the courtroom was hushed and silent. An audible gasp from the audience could be heard when the verdict was read.

Gary Widmer, Ryan’s father, and other Widmer family members bowled over, sobbing, after the verdict was read. They were the only ones in the courtroom who didn’t stand for the jury after it was dismissed.

Widmer attorneys Lindsey Gutierrez and Jay Clark hugged a sobbing Gary Widmer tightly after Ryan Widmer was taken into custody.

After the verdict was read, Ruth Ann Steward, Sarah Widmer’s mother, looked straight ahead, chin up, her face stoic. She declined to make a statement.

Widmer supporters appeared stunned.

Widmer supporter Jill Bowman of Maineville struggled to find words.  A registered nurse with 25 years experience in a level one trauma center, Bowman attended the trial after working the night shift.

“I don’t get it, I don’t get it,” she said, before overcome by tears.

Carol Freiberger, a retired nurse who attended the entire retrial, expressed her doubts that the evidence proved Widmer’s guilt “beyond a reasonable doubt.

“I’m very disappointed,” she said. “If anything I expected they’d come back with manslaughter.”

Mollie Mihalik of West Chester, an operating room nurse whose daughter was acquainted with the Widmer family, said, “I can’t believe this travesty has happened.”

The Warren County Prosecutor’s Office released a statement Tuesday night about the verdict.

“The Prosecutor’s Office is pleased the trial over and that justice has been done for Sarah and her family. The jurors who have served on this case should be commended for their willingness to be a part of this process, and their diligence in reviewing the evidence,” Chief Assistant Prosecutor Bruce McGary said.

“Recognition should also go to the dedicated men and women who have been involved in the case from start to finish. The diligent efforts of the Hamilton Township Police and Fire Departments, the Sheriff’s Office and Coroner, Dr. Russell Uptegrove, as well as the Prosecution team, have worked tirelessly to ensure that justice was done.”

Attorneys for Widmer said they were too upset to comment as they left the courthouse.

In 2009, a jury acquitted Widmer of a more serious charge, aggravated murder, which alleged Sarah Widmer’s death was purposely caused, with “prior calculation and design.” The jury convicted him of a murder charge, but Judge Neal Bronson later set aside that conviction because of jury misconduct.

Last year, jurors went 30 hours, believed to be the longest deliberation in Warren County history, before announcing they were hopelessly deadlocked and unable to reach the required unanimous decision on the murder charge.

Widmer was accused of drowning his wife, Sarah, in their Hamilton Township bathtub in 2008.

Janice Morse contributed to this story.

Posted in: News, Widmer Trial |

Tags: Tags: appeal, bathtub murder, conviction, coroner, fraud, genetic, homocide, jeff braley, long qt syndrome, mason, murder, russell uptegrove, ryan widmer, sarah widmer