The criminal trial designed to deprive a Canton businessman of his freedom might also cost State Treasurer Josh Mandel his career.



It will be at least a few weeks before a federal court jury determines if Benjamin Suarez and his sleazy marketing company are guilty of illegally funneling $100,000 each to the campaigns of Mandel and Medina-area U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci.



But First Assistant U.S. District Attorney Carole Rendon was only a few minutes into her opening argument before the facts in the case against Suarez soiled Mandel's reputation so badly it's now unlikely Mandel will ever reach the high political office he so desperately covets.



Rendon made clear in her opening arguments that neither Mandel nor Renacci is on trial in the Stokes Federal Courthouse room of U.S. District Judge Patricia Gaughan. She also suggested that, as of now, there are no plans to charge either in connection with Suarez's alleged crimes.



That good fortune may enable Mandel to get past his Democratic opponent, State Rep. Connie Pillich, in this year's election for treasurer. But in a future, high-profile campaign against a well-funded opponent, Mandel's role in the Suarez case would make him an incredibly easy target.



Just being in the same room with Suarez should leave people with an overwhelming desire to take a shower. For more than 35 years, the federal government and numerous states have complained of and acted against his company's allegedly deceptive sales practices.



And as the government laid out its case in a packed courtroom Wednesday, it became clear Mandel did more than spend time with Suarez. He was Suarez's flunky, an errand boy always willing to please a deep-pocketed master.



Rendon began the trial by telling the jury, "This case is about the power of money." And, she added just seconds later, "the influence it can buy with politicians."



There was no mistaking her reference to the Three Musketeers of Suarez, Mandel and Renacci. Just as there was no mistaking whom Rendon meant when suggesting to the jury that the enormously wealthy Suarez received a level of attention from politicians not afforded to your average Joe and Joanne.



Attention like this:



In the spring of 2011, Suarez's minions emailed Mandel's U.S. Senate campaign a letter they wanted the candidate to send to the California state treasurer threatening a lawsuit from Ohio if officials there didn't back off their investigations of Suarez's business practices.



The proposed letter somehow confused California's attempt to protect its citizens with "prosecutorial abuses" that threatened the jobs of 561 workers employed at Suarez Corporation Industries.



"We must not permit this victimization and attack on Ohio jobs to continue unchecked," said the letter.



Armed with the language the government claims was drafted by Suarez, Mandel merely attached the words to state of Ohio stationery, affixed his signature, and sent it off to California Treasurer Bill Lockyer.



Lockyer and other elected officials in California declined to act on Mandel's two-bit threat. But the Ohio state treasurer got what he wanted anyway.



Within days, the money from Suarez employees began pouring in. Money, the government hopes to prove, that was part of a scheme to violate federal law by having top employees and their spouses at Suarez's company contribute $5,000 each to the campaigns of Mandel and Renacci – with the understanding Suarez would reimburse them.



When The Toledo Blade first reported on this in the summer of 2011, Mandel was asked about the contributions by WKYC-TV (Channel 3) reporter Tom Beres. He responded by totally changing the subject, then bizarrely added, about donors to his campaign, "We always write thank-you notes."



Renacci's role in all this is less complicated. Suarez apparently wanted – and was willing to pay for - congressional help from this insignificant and ineffective two-term lawmaker, who now represents a significant chunk of Cuyahoga County.



When Renacci's campaign returned the $100,000 in contributions from Suarez and his employees nearly two years ago, a campaign spokesman said, "This issue is dead. It's off the table."



Not quite.



The case against Suarez exposes how the political process can go terribly wrong when exposed to sleazy money and crass political opportunism.



And the human toll extracted by this case is laced with tragedy. In August 2012, a top executive at Suarez's company committed suicide the day before he was to appear before a federal grand jury investigating Suarez.



While Mandel and Renacci were hardly the first officeholders to benefit from laundered campaign contributions, Mandel's alleged role in this case goes beyond typical political whoring.



Rendon told the jury Wednesday that on May 13, 2011, around the same time officials on Mandel's failed Senate campaign were getting instructions from Suarez on exact wording of the letter headed to California, Mandel met with Suarez and asked him to raise $100,000 for his Senate campaign.



Suarez got the letter he wanted.



Mandel got the money he needed.



Sometime in the future, both may get what they deserve.

Brent Larkin was The Plain Dealer's editorial director from 1991 until his retirement in 2009.

To reach Brent Larkin: (216) 999-4252