John Raphael, the Democat operative and Columbus City Hall lobbyist who has been twice convicted of federal public corruption charges related to his government work, has reported to a federal medical facility prison after being resentenced to serve an additional six months in July.
It is the second time in six years that Raphael has been incarcerated, this time for his role in a bribery scheme where he took money to steer a multi-million-dollar food vending contract at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. Raphael was a member of the board of the Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority, which owns and operates the convention center, Nationwide Arena, the Hilton Columbus Downtown Hotel and six parking facilities.
Centerplate, a national firm that was bidding for food service contract at the convention center, paid Raphael $144,000 in installments in exchange for secret bid information for the contract and other illegal assistance in steering the contract to them, federal prosecutors say. Raphael’s last payment was in the form of a $40,000 “success fee.”
Within the last several days an online federal inmate lookup page began showing that Raphael, 68, is currently being housed at the Federal Bureau of Prison’s FMC Lexington facility, an “administrative security federal medical center with an adjacent minimum security satellite camp” in Lexington, Kentucky, housing almost 1,300 male and female prisoners.
It was unclear why Raphael reported to a medical facility lockup for inmates who require medical care, or how long the Clintonville resident is expected to remain there. No one from the U.S. Marshal’s office in Columbus, which is responsible for custody, transportaion and housing of federal prisons, could be reached for comment.
In a court filing last year, Raphael’s attorney, Roger Sugarman, listed a series of medical conditions he was being treated for, including high blood pressure and cholesterol, and other conditions.
Watson had given Raphael 45 days to report to prison. Raphael’s release date is listed as February 20, 2024, suggesting by his six-month sentence that he reported to prison in the last few days.
U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson had originally sentenced Raphael to 18 months house arrest and no prison time in August 2021 for his conviction in the bribery scheme with the Franklin County Facilities Authority. But federal prosecutors appealed Watson’s sentence to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals as too lenient for a two-time offender and in comparison to federal guidelines, which called for between 41 and 51 months, and a maximum of 20 years.
Earlier this year, the federal appeals court ordered Watson to resentence Raphael consistent with case law on how to arrive at an appropriate punishment, giving better explanation of how he reached the sentence. The appeals court said Watson’s original pre-sentencing comments were concerning on many levels — particularly his stated familiarity with Raphael and his family.
“It should go without saying that personal connections to the defendant should not be a basis for a shorter sentence,” the appellate court ruling, filed April 5, states. “Leniency for a public official convicted of bribery because the public official shares personal connections with the sentencing judge has the potential to undermine public trust more than the bribery itself.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Columbus hasn’t announced yet if it intends to again appeal Watson’s ruling of six months in prison as inadequate.
In his first conviction, Raphael, then 60, pleaded guilty to one count of extortion by threats, a violation of the federal Hobbs Act. Raphael admitted that he threatened Redflex red light camera officials with the potential loss of Columbus city contracts and influence to persuade them to give money “on behalf of elected officials,” prosecutors said.
Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther, then a city council member, acknowledged then that he asked Raphael to help him secure a donation from Redflex. Ginther had personally called a Redflex official requesting $20,000 for his campaign, The Dispatch has reported.
Court documents said Redflex gave Raphael $20,000 to pass along in October 2011. Raphael then gave the $20,000 to the Ohio Democratic Party, which then made a $21,000 donation to Ginther’s campaign.
wbush@gannett.com
@ReporterBush
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