CINCINNATI — CORRECTION: This version of the story was updated to reflect the correct charges to which Young pleaded "no contest."

Cincinnati City Council Member Wendell Young was in a Hamilton County courtroom Wednesday morning, accused of violating a judge's order by deleting text messages related to the so-called Gang of Five scandal.

He initially faced a felony charge of tampering with records. However, Special Prosecutor in the case Patrick Hanley agreed to lower the charge to second-degree misdemeanor obstruction of official business.

That charge carries a punishment of up to 90 days in jail and a $750 dollar fine.

Young pleaded no contest to that charge and must pay a $100 fine.

A no contest plea means a defendant allows the court to find them guilty, without actually admitting guilt.

This specific case stemmed from the Gang of Five Lawsuit that surfaced in 2019.

Five city council members admitted to violating Ohio's Open Meetings Act by conducting public business in private texts and e-mails. Those involved included Young, P.G. Sittenfeld, Tamaya Dennard, Greg Landsman and Chris Seelbach.

Judge Ruehlman ordered them not to delete any texts.

However, the prosecuting attorney found that Young did.

"When a public official like Mr. Young uses his personal cell phone to do city business, like the Gang of Five activity, well, those texts on there become the property of Cincinnati," said Hanley.

However, Hanley told WCPO 9News, no one could prove when Young deleted the texts.

"To be completely honest with you, no one could determine or prove they were deleted after Judge Ruehlman entered his order," said Hanley.

So, the plea deal settled it before the case was set to go to trial Dec.6.

"That should speak volumes in the final analysis as to how serious of a matter this really was," said Young's attorney, Scott Croswell III.

Neither City Council nor the Ohio Supreme Court opted to suspend Young from his council seat following his indictment; Young reached his term limit on council and was not able to run for re-election in November.

Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters announced in September 2020 that there won't be any further charges in the Gang of Five case. U.S. attorney and special prosecutor Pat Hanley said the tampering with evidence investigation was closed in a letter to Deters and the Cincinnati city solicitor.

Since that scandal, Dennard was arrested by the FBI for corruption charges and sentenced to 18 months in prison following her guilty plea in 2020.

Sittenfeld will face trial in June 2022 after he became the third council member arrested by the FBI on public corruption charges. Jeff Pastor was the second arrested, but he was not involved in the Gang of Five incident.

CINCINNATI — The City of Cincinnati is turning a new page in its community engagement efforts. Officials are making a more pointed, intensive effort to seek feedback and inform residents about the changes happening in their neighborhoods.

The effort began seven years ago with an ordinance advocated for by then-city council member Kevin Flynn mandating the city improve its efforts to gather input and drive civic engagement among residents. A handful of concerned citizens kept advocating for it until the ordinance was passed back in August.

“I’m thankful to city council for passing it because we need community engagement in every facet of city government,” councilwoman Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney said.

Residents frequently criticize city officials for failing to thoroughly inform them of the changes being made in their neighborhoods, particularly when it comes to development. They also decry city government and developers for virtually excluding residents from decision-making processes. Improving the city’s community engagement could prevent gentrification and alienating locals from the transformations happening in their own backyards.

In response to the city’s outreach, people are making a number of suggestions like improving communication through the city website. They also suggest city officials meet residents where they are at, such as at public events, grocery stores and on public transportation. Other ideas include putting up more signage that alerts residents of neighborhood changes and having more flexible times for public engagement meetings.

“I thought the conversation was really productive,” said Janiah Miller, an Over-The-Rhine resident.

Miller was at one of those engagement meetings last night. She called for young people of color to be hired in city and planning jobs to make community engagement more well-rounded and pro-active.

"[A] lot of these decisions are made by people that don’t look like us and so that also creates apathy," Miller said.

Ashley Cook of the West End also suggested that Cincinnati take inspiration from other cities that have had even more success in their community engagement and development.

“Someone brought up looking at other cities and I think it’s very important, Cook said. “I know Cincinnati is very unique, and I know we have the Tri-state, but I also travel and I also see some great things going on with other cities, and I think we can learn from those as well.”

Future engagement meetings for this will be held in Westwood and over Zoom later this month. More information about the city’s community engagement initiative here.

Monique John covers gentrification for WCPO 9. She is part of our Report For America donor-supported journalism program. Read more about RFA here.

If there are stories about gentrification in the Greater Cincinnati area that you think we should cover, let us know. Send us your tips at moveupcincinnati@wcpo.com.