Friday, December 19, 2008

Ohio's Culture of Corruption Update

Ohio's former Attorney General Marc "The Man" Dann is back in the news. Turns out, Dann spent tons of campaign cash on himself and then lied about it on his financial disclosures. I'm pretty sure that's a no-no...even for a Democrat. As Ohio's top cop, Dann was a bust.

The Columbus Dispatch has the highlight:
  • Payments to a supplier of a personal business operated by Dann's wife, Alyssa, that were "converted to the personal use of Alyssa Lenhoff Dann."


  • Air travel and lodging for Dann's immediate family, along with cell phones for his wife and two minor children. Brunner's complaint also listed more than $4,000 in improper cell-phone spending.


  • Regular payments to communications director Leo Jennings III for "consulting services" actually were used for rent and utilities at a Dublin-area condo shared by Dann, Jennings and Anthony Gutierrez, Dann's general services director. Both Jennings and Gutierrez were fired last spring. Payments to campaign treasurer Mary Beth Snyder for "consulting services" actually went for keeping Dann's campaign books.


  • Purchases of snacks, beverages, fast food and incidental items were made almost daily both in the Columbus area and around Youngstown, where Dann resided.


  • Outlays from a separate pool of cash collected from corporations, political action committees and others for Dann's transition also were improper, Charles said.

  • My favorite part of the whole article is when the Dispatch had to write this bit:
    Dann took office in January 2007 after campaigning against the "culture of corruption" in Columbus. He was forced to resign May 14 of this year after his fellow Democrats mounted an impeachment effort and investigators led by Charles conducted an extraordinary raid on the attorney general's office.
    Good times were had by all...