AG seeks review of services department policies

YOUNGSTOWN — The attorney general’s office is asking a state agency to conduct “a thorough review of the policies and procedures” of an AG department led by a Liberty Township man at the center of a sexual harassment investigation.

Edgar Simpson, the attorney general office’s chief of policy and administration, wrote a Sunday letter to Jeffrey Westhoven, the Department of Administrative Services’ deputy director, asking for an “outside review” of the attorney general’s general services department.

The request, honored by the DAS, will focus “particularly on the overall management of our vehicle fleet; risk management procedures in the event of an incident; tracking procedures for assigning and maintaining vehicles, and the purchase of vehicles,” Simpson wrote.

The request comes during an internal investigation of Anthony Gutierrez, on paid leave as general services director for Attorney General Marc Dann, a longtime friend and former roommate. Two subordinates accuse Gutierrez of sexually harassing them.

During the investigation, one of the women said Gutierrez told her he was drunk while driving, fell asleep and crashed a state-owned SUV into a guard rail in October.

Read more in Tuesday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com