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 — Two anti-corruption proposals passed handily Tuesday on Cincinnati's primary ballot, each scoring approval by a margin of more than three-to-one.

Brought before voters after a string of corruption scandals at City Hall, both ballot measures -- Issues 1 and 2 -- were procedural and sought to change the ways City Council can deal with a member who has come under indictment, along with installing other ethics requirements of its members.

IN-DEPTH: What exactly are Issue 1 and Issue 2 about?

With all precincts reporting, the unofficial count showed 76.8% of voters approved Issue 1, while 23.3% opposed it. The measure will mean, once indicted, a member can no longer change their pre-designated replacement, should they be suspended. It also allows the city's attorney to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the case on the city's behalf.

Issue 2 took a slightly wider margin at the polls, with 77.4% for and 22.6% against. It also takes a slightly sharper tack by allowing members of City Council to suspend a member brought under indictment, which currently requires a lengthy court process.

The measure also requires council members to undergo ethics training and reiterates Issue 1's provision that a member under indictment cannot change their successor if they are suspended.

Between February 2020 and last month, four sitting members of City Council came under indictment in either county or federal court. Federal agents arrested former member Tamaya Dennard and now-suspended members Jeff Pastor and P.G. Sittenfeld over the course of last year, accusing them of soliciting or taking bribes in exchange for votes or favor on development deals.

A grand jury indicted Councilman Wendell Young last month on felony charges, accusing him of tampering with evidence related to the "Gang of Five" texting scandal of 2018.

Previous reporting by WCPO 9 News reporter Mariel Carbone contributed to this story.