CINCINNATI - A fugitive developer accused of illegally accepting thousands of dollars in city loans and grants to renovate a theater has been arrested in New York, federal authorities said.
LaShawn Pettus-Brown, 27, a former professional basketball player in Japan, was arrested on Friday. He is charged with wire fraud and accused of obtaining money from the city of Cincinnati under false pretenses.
Pettus-Brown had proposed renovating the 90-year-old Empire Theatre in the city's Over-the-Rhine neighborhood and using it for comedy, music and karaoke performances.
In June 2002, city council approved $220,000 in loans and grants for the project. Pettus-Brown disappeared a year ago.
A search warrant for a raid on Pettus-Brown's office stated that nearly $93,000 of the $184,000 that the city paid him was missing. Federal investigators have said Pettus-Brown wrote five bad checks totaling $33,850 to a contractor for work at the theater site.
No details about Pettus-Brown's arrest were available yesterday. A message seeking comment was left with the FBI in Cincinnati.
The FBI said last week that it thought Pettus-Brown was in Los Angeles, trying to get hired by Dennis Rodman's new basketball team, the Long Beach Jam.
Councilman Pat DeWine, a Republican who voted against lending Pettus-Brown the money, doubts the city will get back the money.
My sense is that it's gone
he said. He went through the money and now has no assets.
FBI officials said Saturday that Pettus-Brown would be returned to Cincinnati.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. 17
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