Ex-Dann aide files a complaint

The aide accuses his boss of age discrimination and harassment in the office.

COLUMBUS (AP) — An aide in the Ohio attorney general’s office has filed a federal complaint claiming his boss harassed him, used profanity and called him a “dinosaur.”

David Kessler’s claim is not directly related to those filed against former Attorney General Marc Dann and his aides. But Kessler, 49, said the sexual harassment scandal that forced Dann and some of his aides from office substantiates his claims of abusive behavior.

Kessler said Dann’s managers used profane language and called him a “dinosaur.” His Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint accuses boss Paul Scarsella of harassment and age discrimination.

Ted Hart, a spokesman for the attorney general’s office, said that he could not comment on Kessler’s specific complaint, but added that Dann’s successor, Nancy Rogers, is working to improve the office.

“This attorney general has indicated that she has opened the lines of communications for employees, should they have any comments or concerns,” Hart said Saturday. “This complaint, like all complaints, will be taken seriously.”

Kessler investigated crimes against the elderly. He started working with the office in 1999 and left in January of this year. He said that Dann installed his own staff of managers when he took office in January 2007.

The new aides used profanity in the office and were hostile to him because, he said, he was hired during the administration of Betty Montgomery, whom Dann had defeated. Kessler said he was given the option to quit or be fired, so he quit.

Four months later, Dann admitted to an extramarital affair with a staffer and resigned amid allegations of a hostile office that fostered an atmosphere where sexual harassment was permissible.

Two female employees complained that their supervisor, Anthony Gutierrez, had made sexual advances and comments toward them. Their complaints started an investigation that revealed other problems in Dann’s administration.

Kessler said managers, hired by Dann, treated him poorly. He said he has talked with the new staff and told them he would like to return to work.

“I loved working with seniors and other special-needs people who needed the state’s help,” he said. “I’m not going to let Dann and that group of people cloud my vision of what I love to do.”