Steve Dever has been an assistant county prosecutor for 24 years and currently works as chief trial counsel for the Cuyahoga County prosecutor.  Now, he wants to be U.S. Attorney. 

Dever, 50, said that he's interested in the position of U.S. Attorney because he thinks he can bring crime fighting strategies and leadership for improving the quality of life in Northern Ohio. Dever touted his many years of experience in making the case that he's the man for the job.

"I have a proven track record of getting results in the courtroom," Dever said. "Over 200 jury trials, capital murder cases, public corruption cases, economic-crime fraud cases, you name any kind of crime out there and I've probably prosecuted it, other than treason." 

Dever said that these experiences have shaped his philosophy as far as a prosecutor's responsibility when it comes to making allegations against individuals.

"You better be able to prove what you're alleging," Dever said. "You must be vigilant to protect the innocent and at the same time punish the wrongdoer. I have an understanding of what that responsibility is, and that experience and what it takes to put together a quality product." 

Dever also said the bar standard of "reasonable doubt" is rising and that he is mindful of the increase in newspaper stories about wrongful convictions.

"In order for society to have faith in our system of justice, we have to invite scrutiny and inquiry into the way that we do business," Dever said. 

Dever said that he speaks to prosecutor's organizations and lawyers about how to evaluate and study the cases where people have been convicted of crimes they did not commit.

Having spent his entire career on the prosecution side of the law, Dever says that he has never represented a criminal, but doesn't put judgment on those who practice that type of law, but said his view is that it was his responsibility to serve as a prosecutor and only a prosecutor. 

Dever acted as special prosecutor in Mahoning County when Mahoning County Prosecutor Paul Gaines was shot in 1996 in a mob-hit attempt, as well as the prosecution of former Mahoning County Prosecutor Jim Philomena, who eventually went to prison after pleading guilty to racketeering charges in the period from 1989 to 1997 when he was in office. Dever said he was currently serving as special prosecutor in Summit County for the 1999 homicide of Hannah Hill and anticipated trial of Denny Ross for that crime.

"That's only one aspect," Dever said. "What I think that does is it demonstrates my experienced and it also demonstrates my temperament and how I handle my cases and how I evaluate the evidence - get a good read and picture of what's provable and what's not." 

Getting into another aspect, Dever spoke of his work prosecuting public corruption cases, including the corruption trial of former Cleveland Clerk of Courts Benny Bonanno and the embezzlement case involving Frank Gruttadauria.

Dever said that with his lead the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's office not only went after Gruttadauria for embezzlement, but also attempted to assign liability to the brokerage houses that employed Gruttadauria, and said no other prosecutor's office in Ohio has made such an attempt and nationally such attempts are very rare. 

Dever pointed to the economic strains the region is under in saying that leadership is needed to improve the quality of life for the community.

"That's [up to] the first prosecutor to initiate and start a community-based prosecution program in Ohio," Dever said. "It essentially involves, at the neighborhood level, residents being able to identify and help provide strategies for fighting crime in their neighborhoods. It's a technique that, if used correctly, can really help improve quality of life in neighborhoods."

By having neighborhoods involved, Dever said the citizens become satisfied that the system is not purely bureaucratic but has a link from the prosecutor's office down to the street level. 

Dever said that his review of the U.S. Attorney's office in Northern Ohio showed to him that the office is dedicated to efficiency and dedication to meeting the objectives of the Department of Justice, as well as that they can be counted on to put together quality cases and have the resources of the federal government to do so.

"It would be an honor, if they would have me, to be over there working with them," Dever said. "The goal that I would have for that office would be to look to how we could develop strategies at the local, county, state and federal level to improve the region - improve the quality of life in the region." 

Dever thinks this can be accomplished through developing appropriate crime-fighting strategies and using those resources in a way to give the citizens of the community the satisfaction that all these offices are working together to fight criminal activity. Hesaid that especially in a time of  economic tumult, prosecutors have to be vigilant against economic crime and scam artists attempting to take advantage of the stressed times. Dever said that it was especially important to protect the taxpayer's dollar. Dever said that his experience in dealing with brokerage firms and banks helps him understand the effects of economic crime, as well as the "enormity and complexity" of putting those kinds of cases together.

Dever said one of his biggest strengths was organizing and evaluating cases so that they are properly presented. 

"The worst experience anyone can have is to get on a case where you're not going to be able to produce the [necessary] evidence," Dever said.

"You have an ethical, a moral, a legal obligation that if you're going to make an allegation against somebody, you better be able to prove it."

Dever grew up in northern Ohio, received a Bachelor's of Science at the University of Evansville in Indiana and then graduated from Cleveland Marshall College of Law before being hired right out of law school by former Cuyahoga County Prosecutor John T. Corrigan.

Dever has been endorsed for the position by current Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason.