CUYAHOGA COUNTY, Ohio — Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Judge Leslie Ann Celebrezze, 54, resigned Monday after being charged with tampering with public records, according to The Marshall Project journalists.
She is accused of funneling lucrative divorce cases to her longtime friend, Mark Dottore, and his company, Dottore Cos. LLC, approving nearly $500,000 in fees between 2017 and 2023. Court records show she appointed Dottore or his daughter as receivers in six cases during that time.
Celebrezze, 54, faces one count of Tampering with Records, a Felony 3, for falsely claiming she was randomly assigned to a case she manually assigned herself to on January 19, 2023.
In related matters, on December 9, the Cuyahoga County Council approved a $400,000 settlement for former court employee Georgeanna Semary and after Semary alleged witness intimidation and retaliation for providing billing records to The Marshall Project through a public records request. The county also paid $250,000 for Semary’s legal fees in 2024. Semary had worked for the court for 14 years and was a “top aide” to Celebreeze. She was demoted after she released the records to journalists.
The investigation into Celebrezze was conducted with assistance from the Cleveland FBI and the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office following information discovered by The Marshall Project.
The Celebrezze family is a prominent Italian-American political and legal dynasty from Cleveland, Ohio, with three generations holding offices across federal, state, and local levels in all three branches of government.
