Taft faces reprimand over ethics

COLUMBUS (AP) -- Gov. Bob Taft faces a public reprimand for ethics violations under an agreement his attorney has reached with the state office that monitors lawyers' behavior.
Taft, a Republican who has been an attorney since 1976, pleaded no contest last August to failing to report golf outings and other gifts while in office and was fined $4,000.
Taft would receive a public reprimand for his convictions on those misdemeanor ethics violations under an agreement forged by the governor's private attorney and the Ohio Supreme Court's disciplinary counsel.
Jonathan Coughlan, the disciplinary counsel, filed a complaint in April saying Taft's actions violated Ohio's code of professional conduct for lawyers.
"I admit the violation ... as outlined in this agreement," Taft wrote in an affidavit attached to a copy of the deal obtained Friday by The Blade of Toledo.
The agreement must still be approved by a disciplinary board and the state Supreme Court.
The misdemeanor ethics charges and the professional complaint stemmed from the governor's failure to report gifts worth nearly $6,000 that he received over four years. The case had spiraled off a scandal over state losses from investments in rare coins.
Taft, a great-grandson of President and later Chief Justice William Howard Taft, is the first Ohio governor to be charged with a crime while in office. He never considered resigning, but he forced out several staff members for improperly accepting gifts.
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