Columbus city government is once again under the scrutiny of the Justice Department this week. News outlets reported Thursday afternoon that the FBI is now investigating the sale of Mayor Michael Coleman’s former home on Haddon Road. Early reports indicated that the Coleman himself was under investigation, but the Mayor’s office said Thursday that he is not the subject of the FBI’s inquiry.
According to The Columbus Dispatch, Coleman sold the Haddon Road home to a Chinese woman named Jianhua Li in 2010. In a statement released by the Mayor’s office, Coleman maintained that there was nothing irregular about the sale of the house, nor its high asking price.
“The sale of our home to Mrs. Li was an arms-length and fair transaction with everything aboveboard,” said Coleman in the statement. “Our original asking price for the home was $750,000. This asking price was recommended to us by our independent real estate broker who was very familiar with comparable home sales in the neighborhood. Also, before we sold our home, we put $570,000 of improvements into it to repair and replace fire damage. But we sold the home to Mrs. Li for substantially less, for $520,000. We also know that several other homes in the neighborhood sold for more than ours on a per square foot basis, according to an independent professional appraisal report.”
Coleman also asserted that, “in view of these documented facts, there is no basis for anyone to suggest that we sold our home for more than it was worth or that there was anything inappropriate about the transaction.”
The Justice Department’s interest in Columbus city government came to light last week, when it was revealed that a former executive for Redflex, a red light camera company, pleaded guilty to bribing elected officials in Columbus in return for favorable city contracts. Federal investigators have subpoenaed Coleman and City Council President Andrew Ginther, seeking evidence on the full extent of the bribery scheme.
Both Coleman and Ginther have denied involvement in the Reflex bribe conspiracy.