Attorney general should seek an independent investigation

Given his personal relationship with Anthony Gutierrez, Attorney General Marc Dann must know that an internal probe of the sexual harassment allegations against Gutierrez, his director of general services, will be viewed with suspicion.

After all, it isn’t just Gutierrez who seems to be caught up in the claims by two female employees of the attorney general’s office, Vanessa Stout and Cindy Stankowski. Dann’s name appears in the written complaint filed by Stankowski.

Indeed, Dann announced last week that he is recusing himself from the investigation because he expects to be questioned by his staffer who has been assigned to look into the allegations by the two women.

But the fact remains that Atty. Ben Espy is Dann’s executive assistant, and will be reporting his findings to Dann’s first assistant attorney general, Thomas R. Winters.

Any way you cut it, an internal investigation does not engender confidence or credibility.

The attorney general should move quickly to separate his office from the allegations against Gutierrez, of Liberty, a neighbor of Dann’s. The director of general services has been placed on paid administrative leave. He earns $87,000 a year.

Dann should ask the Office of Inspector General, led by Thomas Charles, to take over the investigation, with the pledge that he and members of his staff will cooperate fully.

Condo mates

Why an independent probe? Because one of incidents alleged by Stankowski in her claim against Gutierrez took place in a condo shared by him, Dann and Leo Jennings III, chief of staff and a friend of the attorney general’s. Jennings has a home in Poland.

According to Stankowski, Gutierrez, who claimed that he was responsible for her and Stout being hired, took her to a couple of bars in downtown Columbus and then to a steakhouse. While they were at the steakhouse, Gutierrez got a call on his cell phone from Dann, who invited his two employees to the condo for pizza.

The attorney general was in the condo when they got there, Stankowski alleges, as was Jessica Utovich, Dann’s scheduler.

Given the underlying suggestions in Stankowski’s written complaint, the need for an independent probe is obvious.

Notwithstanding Jennings’ insistence that the internal investigation will be thorough, it remains that the attorney general has been implicated in a sexual harassment allegation against one of his top staffers. Only an outsider with full access to every relevant document and to every member of the AG’s staff will be able to reassure the public that there is no cover-up.

Indeed, the Columbus Dispatch, which broke the story, reported that there already have been attempts made by the Angela Smedlund, the AG’s equal employment opportunity officer, to settle the matter with the two women.

Jennings contends that such an approach is standard operating procedure. Is it for all government agencies?

That’s another question the state’s inspector general should answer.