A North Canton man who pleaded guilty to bribing former Summit County Councilwoman Tamela Lee has been sentenced to 2½ years in federal prison.
U.S. District Court Judge Christopher Boyko also sentenced Omar Abdelqader to two years of parole in federal court in Cleveland Friday and ordered him to pay a $5,000 fine and a $600 special assessment.
Abdelqader, 50, pleaded guilty in January to conspiracy to commit honest services mail and wire fraud, honest services mail fraud, Hobbs Act conspiracy, violating the Hobbs Act, obstruction of justice and making false statements to law enforcement.
Abdelqader was affiliated with several convenience stores and other businesses in the Akron area, including the Bi-Rite on Diagonal Road. Authorities say he gave Lee small amounts of cash and goods in exchange for her using her political influence to help his family.
Kirk Migdal, Abdelqader’s attorney, couldn’t be reached Monday.
Abdelrahman Abdelqader of Canton, Omar Abdelqader’s brother, pleaded guilty in January to obstruction of justice and false statements to law enforcement. His sentencing, scheduled for Friday, was delayed and hasn’t yet been rescheduled.
Lee, 58, of Akron, was convicted by a jury in February of six charges: two counts of honest services fraud, which is depriving citizens of “honest services;” two violations of the Hobbs Act, which is the federal bribery law; obstruction of justice; and making false statements to law enforcement.
Lee is scheduled to be sentenced June 28, though the U.S. Attorney’s Office has a conflict with this date and has asked that it be postponed. She faces up to 10 years.
Lee was a Summit County councilwoman from 2011 to 2016 and is the former second-highest-ranking officer in the Summit County Democratic Party.