It’s hard to see how the written arguments could be about the same man.

The U.S. attorney’s office says Jimmy Dimora accepted more than 100 bribes and that his  “corrupt reach extended to nearly every aspect of his job and beyond.” He corrupted the commissioner’s office and tried to spread his influence throughout Cuyahoga County, inflicting  “serious harm” to “confidence in the democratic process.”

And, says the government, he’s accepted no responsibility for any of it ,a reason he deserves even greater punishment than the 22 years his one-time compatriot – former Auditor Frank Russo -- is getting.

 But Dimora's attorneys say Cuyahoga County was well served by Jimmy Dimora.  His was a career  “dedicated to helping the citizens … of Cuyahoga County live a better life, have better services and have access to their government officials.”

Dimora’s lawyers presented letters from supporters  portraying a “warm and caring man”  always there for his family.  Their references  to gambling junkets, prostitutes and other benefits used to bribe Dimora were limited primarily to explaining how little those bribes were worth.

They compare Dimora’s case to those of former Ohio congressmen Bob Ney and Jim Traficant, and others. And they maintain a sentence of essentially life in prison is not justified in the case of a 57-year-old man who has chronic back pain, an bum knee, high blood pressure,  an aneurism and perhaps cancer.

Judge Sara Lioi is to sentence Dimora Monday in her Akron courtroom.