Judge Charged with Record Tampering
A domestic relations judge in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, has been formally charged with tampering with records, a third-degree felony, according to reports from local media.
The charges stem from an incident where Judge Leslie Ann Celebrezze, 54, allegedly submitted a journal entry on January 19, 2023, that contained false information about her assignment to a specific case.
“Integrity on the bench is not optional. Anything less erodes the foundation of our courts and our justice system,” stated Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley in an official press release.
Investigations revealed that Celebrezze, who served as Administrative Judge at the time, had manually assigned herself to the case in question, contrary to the random assignment she documented in the journal entry.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Cleveland office collaborated with the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office in conducting the investigation that led to the charges.
As a direct consequence of these legal proceedings, Celebrezze has been suspended from her judicial duties immediately following the announcement of the charges.
