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The sliming of the attorney general's office
Published on Sunday, May 04, 2008
Perhaps you're wondering after reviewing the fallout from the state attorney general's office, two firings of top aides, one resignation, the boss himself admitting a ''romantic relationship'' with an employee: What would an independent investigation have revealed?
Not that all of us haven't learned enough. Still, Marc Dann chose to keep the examination inside his office, handing the job to Ben Espy, a most capable attorney and a former state senator. An earlier version of Dann wouldn't have let such a dodge pass without yelping righteously and furiously.
Remember that Dann, hounding Bob Taft, seemingly rising each morning to shout the name ''Tom Noe,'' rattling Republicans everywhere?
Revisit for a moment the full measure of Dann outrage, his performance as a howling Democratic commando.
When Taft balked at disclosing all gifts and golf outings for which others had paid, Dann, then a state senator, told Dennis Willard and Doug Oplinger of this newspaper: ''Taft, like all governors, lives in a bubble world. He has schedulers [interesting choice of occupation], a highway patrolman assigned to him 24/7, and in-house lawyers to advise him and review his disclosure statements. The idea that this was an oversight is just not believable.''
When details of the Taft story changed concerning the investment scandal at the Bureau of Workers' Compensation, Dann huffed to Dennis Willard: ''We still don't know what he didn't know and when he didn't know it. This is clearly a government that is spinning out of control.''
When looking into the special counsel contracts of the attorney general's office (long before he won the position), Dann explained to Lisa Abraham of this paper: ''I believe in taking care of your friends. I'm not against that [no kidding!], but you can't do it at the expense of the state.''
Most famously, Dann greeted events such as Taft pleading guilty to ethics violations, failing to disclose that others paid for greens fees, dinners, tickets and gifts with his mantra of the day: ''The problem we have is not with golf. We have a culture of corruption.''
Or, at another turn in the story, Dann decried ''a culture of corruption in Columbus that ought to alarm people in every corner of the state.''
Say such things, repeatedly, your own political ambition radiating brightly, and the thought must occur: When I get into office, I've got to be an Eagle Scout, or even better behaved.
That is especially so when you're Marc Dann, and you invite comparisons to Eliot Spitzer, the onetime superhero of attorneys general, avenging evildoers on Wall Street and elsewhere in the corporate world.
What we didn't know!
The knock on Dann the candidate for attorney general was his lack of management experience. Betty Montgomery had run a county prosecutor's office. Jim Petro served as a county commissioner and state auditor. Dann? He operated a tiny law office.
A year and a half into his term, Dann has revealed just how lacking he is. Democrats ridiculed Montgomery for missing a filing deadline. Petro caught flak for his fund-raising tactics. How small these episodes seem now.
Dann hired his pal Anthony Gutierrez to run the maintenance, purchasing and mailroom operations. The Espy report describes no less than a manager out of control, pressuring women in the office for sexual activity, intimidating other workers by flaunting his connections to Dann, even suggesting that his family had mob connections.
Gutierrez mixed drinking with driving state vehicles (getting into wrecks). He owed thousands in back taxes at the time of his hiring. His escapade triggered the investigation. One evening, he brought a younger female colleague to the Dublin condo he shared with Dann and Leo Jennings, the attorney general's communications director. She drank too much, fell asleep and charges that she woke up with her pants unbuttoned and Gutierrez next to her.
Jennings joined Gutierrez in losing his job. The report stated that Jennings ''attempted to impede the investigation by attempting to persuade [assistant attorney general] Jennifer Urban to give false testimony under oath.''
Urban told Dann in a text message: ''I will not lie like Leo wants me to. . . . I love you and Tony and Leo, but not enough to get disbarred.''
How refreshing! Honor and duty in the attorney general's office.
Dann took ''full responsibility'' for the degradation. He apologized to his family. He acknowledged that he should have made arrangements for that drunken female colleague to be sent safely home.
What lingers in a larger sense is a damning conclusion of the report that ''management employees encouraged and tolerated a workplace atmosphere of frequent profanity, extremely casual and improper personal interactions with subordinates and a general lack of professionalism and respect.''
A candidate hardly promises to bring such embarrassment to an office. Dann wanted glory, his tenure as attorney general resulting in favorable notices for Ohio. How far he has fallen.
Three years ago, Dann and Eric Fingerhut stopped by our offices to talk about an alternative budget proposal. The plan was enlightened and balanced in addressing state priorities. Hard to overlook the trajectory of their careers, Fingerhut now chancellor leading a hopeful debate about higher education, Dann reduced to a laughingstock.
Must he go? Put a Republican in his place, and Marc Dann would demand a resignation, rushing past worthy accomplishments. That is the trap he set for himself: Will he be taken seriously?
Douglas is the Beacon Journal editorial page editor. He can be reached at 330-996-3514, or emailed at mdouglas@thebeaconjournal.com.
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