Dann faces key test as attorney general

It was bound to happen sooner or later. But this soon? Just three-and-a-half months after being sworn in as Ohio's attorney general, Marc Dann, the Mahoning Valley's latest claim to statewide political fame, is the subject of a news story involving contributions to his campaign.
And while the initial details suggest that the case does not rise to the level of the pay-to-play accusations Dann, a Democrat, successfully leveled against the Republicans last year, it has the potential of snowballing because of the contributors: Manufacturers of video gaming machines that are similar to the slot machines found in casinos.
Dann's predecessor, Jim Petro, a Republican, said the machines, such as Tic Tac Fruit, are gambling devices and, therefore, illegal in Ohio. There are thousands of them all over the state, in stand-alone establishments, bars and private and social clubs.
But a state crackdown last year was suspended when two trial judges disagreed on whether Tic Tac Fruit were games of chance, which are illegal, or of skill. An appeals court is reviewing the case.
However, local law enforcement officials have been confiscating such machines. Last week in Stark County, 145 were taken in by sheriff's deputies and police from the city of Canton and Perry and Jackson townships. The gaming devices were found in five businesses.
There are numerous locations in the Mahoning Valley that have the so-called fruit machines, and while there were some raids last year, things have been quiet since the legal battle was launched.
Given all of this, a listing of political contributors to the attorney general that includes two leading manufacturers of video devices and a lawyer who is fighting to keep them in business in Ohio is a major story.
Press coverage
On April 6, the Columbus Dispatch carried a piece headlined "Promoters of Tic Tac game gave generously to Dann."
Here's the opening paragraph: "Makers of video consoles that resemble slot machines butted heads with former Attorney General Jim Petro over their right to operate in Ohio, but they appear to be cozying up to his successor, Marc Dann."
The Dispatch story said that while Dann has not signaled a departure from Petro's position, two makers of the machines, Pace-O-Matic Inc. of Georgia and Playtronics Games Inc. of Youngstown, put 5,000 each into Dann's inaugural account.
The newspaper added that the lawyer for Ohio Skill Games Inc. of Columbus also contributed 5,000, and that Dann got 5,000 from International Bingo Supply, which shares an address and a chief executive with Ohio Skill Games Inc.
Powerful stuff when you consider that the attorney general is on the frontline of the legal battle.
And while Dann has said that he believes the machines are illegal, his spokesman, Leo Jennings, suggested to The Dispatch that a total ban on the machines in Ohio may not be the attorney general's goal.
Here's what the newspaper wrote: "The donations haven't caused Dann to soften the attorney general office's position on games of chance, said his spokesman, Leo Jennings III. But rather than try to put all of the games out of existence, Dann would support legislation to better define what kinds of games are legal and to regulate them."
Ohioans have spoken
But given that the people of Ohio have made it clear in two statewide votes that they oppose any expansion of gambling, having slot-type machines certainly opens the door to such expansion. That's because there is no way to ensure that a winner does not get paid off in cash.
In an interview with a local television station, Jennings contended that the Columbus Dispatch story had blown the contributions to Dann out of proportion and amounted to much ado about nothing.
About three months ago in this space, the new attorney general was warned that he risked alienating his friends in the press by hiring individuals like Jennings to serve on his staff.
Taking a shot at one of the leading newspapers in the state for a story that Dann himself would had touted had the political tables been turned shows a Mahoning Valley mentality that will be problematic for him.
So, what should the attorney general do? Return the contributions to the manufacturers of the machines and the lawyer who's fighting to make them legal in Ohio.
Dann would be issuing such a demand if a Republican were attorney general.