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| -Lurid Crime Tales- |
| Name That Party: Ohio's former AG raided campaign cash |
| 2008-12-21 |
| AP can't seem to figure out what party this guy was in: Former Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann used his campaign account to bankroll home repairs and family vacations, according to a newspaper review of state investigative reports. The reports are part of a complaint filed last week with the Ohio Elections Commission by state Inspector General Tom Charles. Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner also filed an elections commission complaint against Dann last week alleging misuse of campaign funds. The Ohio Elections Commission will address both complaints Jan. 22. And state Auditor Mary Taylor plans Monday to release her own investigation into Dann's spending. Dann resigned in May amid a sexual harassment scandal in his office that included his admission that he had an affair with an employee. Dann told The Associated Press on Saturday that he planned to prove to the elections commission that his expenditures were legal. "The allegations that have been made in these complaints are either false or they lack a basis in law," Dann said. "We operated the campaign committee lawfully, and all the expenditures were made with the advice of counsel and were appropriate." Charles' complaint accuses Dann of reporting incomplete, inaccurate and false information about campaign expenditures. Charles used expressions such as "absolutely incredible" and "defies logic" in describing the allegedly improper campaign spending, according to a review of more than 1,000 pages of reports by The Columbus Dispatch. Anthony Gutierrez, a former top Dann aide, said in an interview filed with Charles' report that Dann and his wife misused the campaign fund. "I've never seen people go through money as fast as them two in my life," said Gutierrez, former general services chief in the attorney general's office. But Charles also criticized Gutierrez, saying he attempted to launder campaign fund money. When Dann spent $40,000 on a new security system and new windows for his house, according to Charles, Gutierrez had a contractor add $5,000 to the bill, then had the contractor cut checks to three businesses to which Gutierrez owed money. The complaint also claimed that Dann laundered campaign funds by paying communications director Leo Jennings $3,000 a month for "consulting services," then had Jennings pay the rent and utilities at a condo shared by Dann, Jennings and Gutierrez. Messages seeking comment were left Saturday with Gutierrez and Jennings. A corporation that Dann established to pay for his inauguration and transition gave more than $12,000 to Zesty Dishes, a business owned by his wife, Alyssa Lenhoff Dann, Charles said. The campaign fund also paid for a "family excursion" to a Utah resort and a "spring break vacation" to San Francisco timed with official Dann trips to those places, Charles' complaint said. Dann's attorney, campaign finance attorney Don McTigue, said the complaint was baseless. Dann's spending involved "lawful and appropriate uses of campaign funds," he said turns out, he's a Democrat. Go figure! |
| Posted by:Frank G |