CLEVELAND, Ohio - A Niles car dealer who pleaded guilty in a federal bribery conspiracy case is asking a U.S. District Court judge to impose a sentence at the low end of federal guidelines.

Brian Votino’s public defender filed a sentencing memorandum on Wednesday, ahead of his sentencing hearing scheduled for Oct. 23 before a federal judge.

Votino, 52, was charged in September 2024 alongside former Warren municipal prosecutor Nicholas Graham in a scheme where Graham agreed to help Votino with pending criminal cases in exchange for auto repair work.

Votino pleaded guilty on July 16 to one count of conspiracy. In exchange for his plea, the government intends to move to dismiss the remaining charges of Honest Services Wire Fraud and Hobbs Act Extortion.

The plea agreement included a deduction on Votino's total offense level for accepting responsibility and pleading guilty to his offenses.

The underlying criminal charges against Votino, which led to the alleged bribery, included a fifth-degree felony drug possession charge and a first-degree misdemeanor driving under the influence charge in Warren Municipal Court.

The indictment alleged that Graham reduced Votino’s felony drug charge to a first-degree misdemeanor and the DUI charge to reckless operation of a vehicle.

The sentencing memorandum asks the sentencing judge to consider several factors, including Votino’s conduct while on pretrial release, his mental and physical health conditions, and the origins of most of his criminal history points.

Since Votino’s release on a $20,000 bond on Sept. 24, 2024, his attorney says his client has complied with all conditions of his pretrial release. The memorandum notes that Votino has remained self-employed as the owner of Main Street Auto Brokers in Niles, Ohio, and maintains strong family ties, including contact with his mother and brothers. His attorneys suggest this exemplary conduct demonstrates he would fare well on supervised release.

The sentencing memo attributes five of Votino’s six criminal history points to a difficult period in his life between 2016 and 2019, which coincided with the protracted divorce proceedings. His mother noted that the divorce and separation from his daughters left him "emotionally devastated". A mental health evaluation in October 2024 resulted in diagnoses of post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety, according to the sentencing memo.

In addition to mental health issues, the memo states that Votino sustained a severe physical injury this year. On July 4, 2025, he was assaulted at a party, hit in the head with a baseball bat, and hospitalized for two days with a severe concussion.

His attorney says Votino continues to suffer from partial hearing loss, and his recovery has been slow. His attorney is asking the court to consider these physical and mental health issues when determining his sentence.

Votino’s co-defendant, Nicholas Graham, 52, who was fired as a Warren assistant prosecutor in September 2022, also pleaded guilty to the conspiracy count on Aug. 13. Graham's sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 19.