Map the Mess: Using social network analysis to uncover hidden connections

Reading all the connections coming out in the coverage of the County investigation gets a mind-numbing after a little while.

A group of us are turning to social network software to draw maps of the relationships. The patterns become more clear with a network map. We can start to connect different people and projects". The Juvenile Justice Center, Ameritrust, Med Mart, to name a few.

Already reliable rumors are staring to illuminate the patterns.

• The rumor (from an elected official) that Russo paid cash for his house in Gates Mills. Zillow estimates the value at about $330,000. 
• The rumor (from a long time observer and participant in the convention center process) that the Convention Center decision making has come down to two people: Joe Roman and Fred Nance. They are having trouble making the decision to recommend Tower City because geometry and costs are getting in the way. (According to another source, the site is simply too small to handle the logistics of a convention center. If the convention center cannot meet national standards for logistics, it will be uncompetitive the day it opens. (The possibility that any decision will be closely examined by federal prosecutors cannot help matters.)

We can also bright to light smaller corruption patterns involving the administrative decision-making in Cleveland and Cuyahoga County.

Here's an example of how network maps can uncover covert networks [1].

You can help. Visit Map the Mess [2] and contribute what you know. Add you voice to the Forums [3]. If you would like to contribute as an author, just fill out the form, and I'll follow up with you. Or, just join the citizens interested in cleaning up the "civic space" we share in Cuyahoga County.