A Sycamore Township trustee and a developer have sued each other over allegations of bribery and a fake email.
Morelia Group CEO Christopher Hildebrant on April 12 sued Sycamore Township Trustee Tom Weidman claiming the trustee asked for a bribe in return for support on developments.
Weidman two months earlier sued Hildebrant for defamation, accusing Hildebrant of forging an email meant to look like Weidman solicited a bribe. In his suit, Weidman called the allegations "a vicious lie."
Hildebrant, in a response to Weidman's lawsuit, admitted he forged the email. But his attorneys told The Enquirer they stand by the allegations against Weidman.
The controversy has brought political drama to this suburban neighborhood known as the home of Kenwood Towne Centre. The other two commissioners told The Enquirer Weidman's attorney sent them letters asking to preserve documents.
The lawsuits come at a time when arrests and corruption scandals 12 miles to the south in Cincinnati have put a spotlight on the relationship between development and government.
No criminal charges, though, have been filed in the Sycamore Township case.
Both are civil cases that remain pending in two counties, Hildebrant's in Hamilton County and Weidman's in Warren County.
Events stretch back to 2007
The events in the case stretch back more than a decade when, in 2007, Hildebrant identified properties at the corner of Kenwood and Montgomery roads for possible development, according to the lawsuit filed by Hildebrant in Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas.
Hildebrant, in his lawsuit, accused Weidman of wanting a portion of the consulting fees property owners promised Hildebrant to find a buyer for the property. When Hildebrant refused, Weidman prevented Hildebrant from developing the properties, including bringing in a Chick-Fil-A in 2011, according to the lawsuit.
"When Mr. Hildebrant refused to pay the bribes that Weidman demanded, Weidman exacted revenge over a period of many years by using his power as a township trustee to prevent Mr. Hildebrant from conducting any real estate development business in Sycamore Township," Hildebrant said in his lawsuit.
'A vicious lie' and fake email
In his lawsuit, Weidman called the bribery allegation "a vicious lie."
"He has never taken a bribe, which is why he initiated a defamation claim against Mr. Hildebrandt," Weidman's attorney Todd McMurtry said in a statement to The Enquirer.
Weidman contends he opposed the development because two other township trustees, Jim LaBarbara and Tom James, wanted to sell the property to Hildebrant for $10 million, which is $5 million below the appraised value.
"Weidman believes that James, LaBarbara and Hildebrant are each working to remove Weidman from office to eliminate Weidman's objections to the sale," Weidman said in his lawsuit. He accused LaBarbara and James of spreading the false information, which caused "people to question Weidman's reputation, thus bringing him into hatred, contempt, ridicule, shame and disgrace."
LaBarbara and James told The Enquirer they aren't trying to remove Weidman and did not want to sell the property to Hildebrant at a reduced value.
Weidman said Hildebrant went so far as to fake an email in his name to implicate him.
The email was sent Dec. 20, 2011, from a "Thomas Weidman" at "[email protected]" to "[email protected]" and titled "Kenwood Deals."
In the email, attached in an exhibit to Weidman's lawsuit, the sender expressed disappointment for only receiving $95,000 instead of $125,000 for a "taco deal." Other court documents mention this referred to a property where a Taco Bell operated.
"As far as your Chick-Fil-A deal, I told you I would get the deal completed for you in exchange for $75K and my remaining $30K on the Taco deal for a total of $105k," the sender wrote.
The sender asks for an answer by noon that day then signed off, "Thanks, T."
Hildebrant, in a response to Weidman's lawsuit filed, admitted he wrote the email, not Weidman. Hildebrant's attorney, Chad Ziepfel, said Hildebrant faked the email because he was being squeezed by Weidman and another property owner for a "kickback."
"Here's a guy in his late 20s trying to make a mark as a developer, he's trying to avoid paying these guys anything," Ziepfel told The Enquirer. "The email was part of that attempt to avoid paying anything to these people."
Auditor's investigation dropped
The Ohio auditor's office began an investigation into the bribery allegations in 2020 after alerted by James, one of the two township trustees Weidman accuses of trying to oust him.
Hildebrant in January 2020 asked to have coffee with James to discuss the possible development, James told The Enquirer. James, who was elected in November 2019, agreed to the meeting where Hildebrant informed him of the bribery allegations.
"He seemed credible when he told me about this," James said. "I thought this was a criminal problem potentially."
When questioned by the auditor, Hildebrant invoked his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination and declined to cooperate, the auditor's report showed.
The auditor dropped the investigation due to "lack of witness cooperation" and inability to get bank records dating back 10 years.
Weidman has retained McMurtry, the attorney who has represented Covington Catholic student Nick Sandmann in his defamation suits against media outlets.
McMurtry, in a statement, said Weidman cooperated with the auditor's investigation, including volunteering to take a polygraph.
"After an extensive investigation with subpoenas and depositions, the Ohio Auditor closed the case with no finding of wrongdoing by Mr. Weidman," McMurtry said in a statement. "He looks forward to vindicating himself in the courts."
Another of Hildebrant's attorneys, Russell Sayre, said "we stand by what we've written in the complaints."
'It's a bad situation'
The other township trustees are waiting to see how it turns out.
"I don't know who to believe," James said. "If it's true, it's terrible. If it's not, it's terrible in the other direction. It's a bad situation."
LaBarbara and James said they are not trying to get rid of Weidman and didn't want to sell the property to Hildebrant at a discount. The township hasn't decided what to do with the property, which is currently vacant, he said.
"It is nothing like that," LaBarbara told The Enquirer. "When Weidman says we were in bed to sell to Christopher Hildebrant, that is Lala Land. That is total fantasy."
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