Gutierrez pleads not guilty

The central figure in the scandal that drove former Attorney General Marc Dann from office last year pleaded not guilty this morning to 10 criminal charges against him, the Columbus Dispatch reports.

Anthony Gutierrez, who was Dann's general-services director, is the first player in the Dann administration to face criminal charges stemming from the Democrat's 17 months in office.

Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien's office accuses Gutierrez of using state computers and time to file phony statements to the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation for his private construction business. Gutierrez also is accused of using Dann's campaign account to cover living expenses at a Dublin-area condo he shared with Dann and the former attorney general's spokesman. Finally, Gutierrez is charged with failing to report income from his construction business and Dann's campaign fund on his financial-disclosure statement.

In a flat but clear voice, Gutierrez pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.

Neither he nor his attorney, Karl Schneider, would comment after the brief appearance in the courtroom of Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Timothy S. Horton.

For details, see Tuesday's Vindicator or Vindy.com.