Cleveland real estate developer Arthur Fayne, pictured here at a July 31, 2018 court hearing in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, is on trial in federal court, accused of embezzling some $885,000 from a project to revamp the East Side Market.CLEVELAND, Ohio — Arthur Fayne pocketed $885,000 intended for building the New East Side Market and took it to the casino, where he gambled it away on blackjack and craps, federal prosecutors said Monday.
The market, at East 105th Street and St. Clair, eventually opened in 2018, but without a key component — a health clinic to provide day-to-day medical care to an area of the city that sorely needs it.in a case that went to trial in U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver’s courtroom. Watson said the companies that prosecutors say were ripped off were all eventually paid, and some still work with him. Prosecutors in court filings said the companies only got paid because of a civil lawsuit filed after the fraud was committed.
It had buy-in from Cleveland City Council, which leased the property to NEON for $1 a year and provided tax abatements. Council also approved $500,000 for cost overruns as the project stalled. Cuyahoga County put $750,000 in the project and a state grant added $180,000.