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Dann accused of plane misuse
The ex-attorney general said he never improperly used state planes.
An inspector general’s report determined ex-Attorney General Marc Dann used state planes to fly to and from his Liberty Township home as well as for “another non-public purpose.”
The allegation is included in a report alleging misuse of state aircraft, falsification of records and inaccurate record keeping by the Ohio Departments of Transportation, Public Safety and Natural Resources.
Most of the report’s attention is on ODOT’s Office of Aviation, which manages a 30-aircraft fleet.
The report, initiated by the inspector general’s office Jan. 24, was released Wednesday.
The inspector general’s office forwarded the information about Dann to a task force it heads. The task force is looking into charges of improper management and operation of the attorney general’s office when the Democrat from Liberty ran the department.
Dann told The Vindicator on Wednesday: “I never used the state plane to commute. I only used state aircraft for state business.”
Dann has a law office in Cleveland and is doing legal work for the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 18.
The report criticized ODOT for not requiring outside state agencies or officials to fill out travel request forms or even require a statement detailing the state business to be done with the aircraft.
That made it “difficult to evaluate whether the state’s fleet of 30 aircraft is being used for legitimate state business,” according to the report.
Yet the report says a review determined Dann improperly used the planes.
The report failed to disclose how the inspector general’s office made that determination. But it stated that inspectors found four errors in the 16 logged flights taken by Dann.
Also, the report accused ODOT of poor or no record keeping.
The report states pilots told inspectors that it wasn’t uncommon for people not on the flight manifest to show up ready to fly.
“This was the case for two flights on which the former attorney general flew with his daughter,” the report states.
The report stated records were changed by ODOT four days after Dann and his daughter flew to Cincinnati for a conference in December.
Records were corrected to show she was on the flight when original documentation didn’t include her.
“Since there was no additional cost to the state, I took my daughter with me on two occasions,” Dann said.
“Being attorney general kept me away from my family a great deal,” he added. “Any chance I had to spend additional time with any of my kids or Alyssa [Lenhoff, his wife], without any addition cost to the state, I took. These were such opportunities. My only regret is not spending more time with my family.”
An internal attorney general’s office report, released May 2, detailed problems with sexual harassment of subordinates, cronyism and an overall unprofessional attitude.
The report led to the firing of two high-level attorney general officials and the forced resignation of another. All were close friends of Dann’s, who resigned under pressure May 14.
Dann admitted he had an affair with a subordinate and was ill-prepared to run the office.
skolnick@vindy.com