Report: Bernie Moreno closed down local roads to test drive $3.4M imported car

In 2015, Ohio Republican Senate candidate Bernie Moreno used taxpayer dollars to shut down local roads so he could take a joy ride in an Aston Martin car that he purchased for $2.3 million.

Mother Jones’ Abby Vesoulis first reported on the incident last Friday. Video from Cleveland.com shows at least three police cars blocking traffic in the Cleveland suburb of North Olmsted so Moreno could privately use the roads in his luxury Aston Martin Vulcan, which his dealership would later list for $3.4 million. In a separate video from 2016, Moreno admits that he had the vehicle shipped to the United States in parts to avoid Environmental Protection Agency emissions restrictions on foreign vehicle imports. Moreno also japed, “Nobody’s here is from the EPA, right?”

Moreno is now the Republican challenger in Ohio’s U.S. Senate race, where he will face incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) in November. Polling from March suggested a double-digit lead for Brown, but the race is still considered a toss-up due to the state’s recent history of voting for Republicans.

Prior to his recent political career, Moreno owned a chain of car dealerships in the Midwest before he began selling them off in 2019. According to recent candidate filing reports, Moreno’s net worth ranges anywhere from $25.5-105.7 million. In April 2023, Moreno spent $13,120.88 for “event catering” at former President Donald Trump’s Palm Beach, Fla. home in Mar-a-Lago. On the same day, Trump gave Moreno an endorsement on Truth Social. Moreno also made a $100,000 donation to Trump’s Save America Political Action Committee.