A judge, a kiss, and $450,000-plus in court work: Cuyahoga County divorce court judge Leslie Ann Celebrezze barred from case pending conflict hearing regarding relationship with receiver Mark Dottore
An Ohio Supreme Court filing has prompted questions about the personal relationship between a judge and a contractor for whom she has approved hundreds of thousands of dollars for work he does in her courtroom.of the Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court has known Mark Dottore most of her life. Dottore has served as a receiver on cases in her courtroom on numerous occasions. He even served as campaign treasurer when she ran successfully for her judgeship in 2008.
Kennedy’s order came as The Marshall Project - Cleveland had been investigating the relationship between Celebrezze and Dottore. Dottore’s company has collected nearly $450,000 in payments since 2017, with additional fees pending since invoices have not been submitted in some cases, Cuyahoga County court records show. Dottore charges between $100 and 400 per hour, depending on the task.
Judge Tonya Jones handled the Jardine divorce case from December 2020 until she recused herself over a conflict in August 2022. She reassigned it to Celebrezze, court records show. Jones appointed Dottore as receiver. She approved one request for Dottore’s fees; Celebrezze has approved nine other requests, court records show.
Brendan Sheehan, the presiding judge of the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, declined to comment about the friendship., a nonpartisan advocacy group dedicated to improving transparency and accountability in government, called the friendship problematic because the judge has a duty to be transparent.
Celebrezze took office in 2009 after voters elected her to replace her father, who had served nearly two decades on the Domestic Relations Court and two years on the Ohio Supreme Court.
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