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Dann’s law license could be in jeopardy
By MARC KOVAC
COLUMBUS
Marc Dann was convicted on two ethics counts in what is the last criminal conviction to come out of the scandal that led to his resignation as attorney general two years ago.
But the fallout from Friday’s criminal proceedings could impact Dann’s law license.
Dann, who operates a small, private law practice in Cleveland, said he would voluntarily report the misdemeanor convictions to the Ohio Supreme Court’s disciplinary counsel.
Dann, a Democrat from Liberty, said he hoped to retain his law license.
“I need to make a living,” he told reporters after being convicted in Franklin County Municipal Court. “... I hope that I’ll be able to make a strong case, through the disciplinary process, that the acts involved in this didn’t involve any ... benefit to me whatsoever from these things. ... None of them involved dishonesty, and none of them involved any kind of theft or any kind of moral turpitude.”
He added, “A trial would have been devastating to my law practice. I’ve now been investigated for longer than I served in office. It was just time to bring this to an end for the benefit of my family and the benefit of the state.”
Dann pleaded guilty to filing a false disclosure form.
He entered an “Alford plea” to providing improper compensation to state employees. The plea means Dann admits there was sufficient evidence to convict him but denies he committed a crime.
He was fined $1,000 and must complete 500 hours of community service over the next two years — one of the most severe penalties Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien and Ohio Ethics Commission Executive Director David Freel said they have seen in this kind of case.
“Really, it’s a sad day for the state and the attorney general’s office,” Freel added. “There are very, very good, talented employees within that office that have suffered because of the actions of the former attorney general.”
The count of improper compensation related to funds paid to two of Dann’s former top administrators in the attorney general’s office — Leo Jennings III, his communications director and political adviser, and Anthony Gutierrez, his general-services director — from his campaign and transition accounts, including more than $24,000 used to pay rent for an apartment in Columbus and a condominium they shared in Dublin.
Gutierrez also received a $5,000 interest-free, undocumented loan from the transition account, according to investigation papers.
Dann said he believed the payments that were made from his campaign and transition accounts were “properly vetted” through legal counsel.
The ethics-disclosure charge stemmed from Dann’s failure to report payments to Gutierrez, and for rent and for a private aircraft trip he took, without personal cost, to a conference.
Dann said he accepted responsibility for his actions but maintained that he didn’t believe all of his conduct in the matter was criminal.
“I should have, as attorney general, exercised much better oversight,” he said, adding, “What I do believe is there was sufficient evidence to convict me, and to be honest with you, I wanted to put this very sad episode in my family’s history behind us so that we can all move on.”
O’Brien said Dann’s guilty pleas end all criminal investigations into the scandal.
He is the fifth person convicted of crimes in the matter. The four others, including Dann’s estranged wife, cooperated with investigators.
As for Dann’s future as an attorney, misdemeanor convictions do not result in automatic discipline against licensed attorneys in the state, said Ohio Supreme Court spokesman Chris Davey.
In an e-mail, he wrote, “Sometimes the underlying conduct that resulted in the conviction may result in discipline against an attorney if there is a finding that the conduct violated the rules of professional conduct. That is a process involving several stages that takes some time.”
Disciplinary hearings, during initial stages, are kept confidential until findings of substantial evidence and probable cause, Davey added.
Dann, attorney general for less than 17 months, resigned May 14, 2008, accused of running an unprofessional office filled with cronyism and inappropriate sexual behavior.
The last statewide elected official convicted of crimes was then-Gov. Bob Taft, a Republican, in August 2005 for six ethics counts.
Dann’s public campaign against Taft propelled him from a state senator to a victory in November 2006 for attorney general against Republican Betty Montgomery, who previously held that position for eight years.
After an investigation, the Ohio Supreme Court publicly reprimanded Taft in December 2006 for the six ethics convictions. Taft’s law license was inactive for four years before the reprimand, and the former governor hasn’t been an attorney since.
Moving forward, Dann said he intends to focus his attention on his law practice.
“Significant resources were expended on this investigation,” Dann said. “As you can see from the types of things that I was ultimately charged with, certainly the expenditures on the investigation were out of proportion to the alleged conduct.”
Contributor: David Skolnick, politics writer