Something in the water

Is there something in the water in this area that makes people continue to elect public officials whose transgressions range from the inept to the criminal?


Let us go back in time and visit a few ghosts of politicians past. Jim Traficant is well known throughout the country, and not in a good way. Infamous, not famous, is what he is. Traficant faced charges of racketeering for accepting bribes while Sheriff of Mahoning County. He defended himself, saying that he accepted the bribes as part of an undercover operation. He was acquitted, but in any other place, those charges would have resulted in a complete retreat from public life. Not here, though, no, the Valley elects those people to Congress.

His career as a Congressman ended only when he was convicted of ten felony counts including bribery, racketeering, and tax evasion. After his expulsion from the House in 2002, he ran as an independent. In spite of the fact that he was in prison, 28,045 people still voted for him! Beam me up, Scottie!

As a local attorney, Marc Dann was reprimanded in 2004 for failure to prepare for handling a 2002 alimony case without proper preparation. He was appointed to the State Senate when Tim Ryan was elected to Congress in 2002. He won election to a full term in 2004.

In 2006, Dann was elected to the position of Attorney General , ironically, in large part due the Coingate scandal of the Taft administration.

After his election, Dann pushed for Capri Cafaro to be appointed to take his place in the State Senate. But it wasn’t because her family had donated over a combined $56,000 to his campaigns. After all, she was an experienced public official……oh, wait, nevermind. Cafaro was a twenty something who had run for Congress twice in two different districts and worked as president of her daddy’s company. By the way, her father pleaded guilty to bribing Jim Traficant to push for legislation to benefit that company.

Dann then tried to make Columbus “just so Trumbull County.” Epic Fail! He started right off the bat by missing a filing deadline for Ohio to join in an appeal of a Medicaid related case. It also soon became evident that Attorney General’s office had become a frat house for Dann’s friends who were now his employees. Amid allegations of sexual harassment against his Communications Director Leo Jennings and another employee/friend Anthony Gutierrez as well as the revelation that he himself was having an extra marital affair, Dann resigned in May, 2008.

He only did so, however, when it became clear that he would be impeached if he did not. In the days before his resignation, he first blamed the problems of his office on his lack of preparation for the job. He also said that his admission and punishment were enough. That might be so in the alternate universe that is Trumbull County, but it isn’t in Columbus.

In addition to the allegations for sexual harassment, a report by the then Ohio Inspector General Thomas P. Charles, cited 25 specific acts of wrongdoing including improperly using money from the state, a transition corporation, and campaign funds.

“Regrettably, Marc Dann used his position as attorney general to indulge himself, his family and his friends,” the report reads. Among the questionable purchases made from Dann’s campaign and transition funds was $12,263.47, paid to a dinnerware sales company owned by his wife. In the end, Dann reached a plea deal where he admitted to one violation of misusing campaign funds and was fined $1000. Recently, the Ohio Bar Association suspended his license for six months as a result of that conviction.

What about the present in Trumbull County? We still have public officials who don’t seem to realize they’re public servants, and we still reward them by reelecting them.

The City of Warren Law Director Greg Hicks rents office space from Robert Crager, a bail bondsman, and says there is no conflict of interest. Apparently, if he says there is none, there is none, right? Meanwhile, charges have not been filed in a case of a man who is reportedly an employee of the bail bondsman. There have also been delays in a hearing of the shutting down of the Sunset Lounge, which is housed in a building owned by another of Cregar’s employees.

We have our State Representative from the 64th District, Tom Letson, who has insisted that he has paid his back taxes, but has not provided any proof of that. As of this writing, a lien is still on his property for those unpaid taxes.

Then there’s Teflon Tim Ryan. Nothing sticks to him. During the time he was a student at Bowling Green State University, Ryan faced three different charges of disorderly conduct. He was actually found guilty of one charge in 1993 for having a fake ID, but the two other charges were dismissed. He worked in Jim Traficant’s office after graduating from Bowling Green. With this resume, he ran successfully for State Senate in 2000. He reportedly told audiences during that campaign that he had a law degree, but he actually obtained that degree sometime later in the year 2000. Ryan was young, handsome, and charming. This seemed to make people blind to the fact that he had a record; and he had never had a real job, something he reportedly bragged about when he was campaigning. Ryan faced an opponent who was intelligent, had more life experience, was a business owner, had actually worked a real job, and had no criminal record. That didn’t seem to make a difference.



In August, now Congressman Ryan was arrested for public intoxication in Virginia. The public was never made aware of this arrest until December 4, after his reelection, when the charges were dismissed. Ryan had refused to take a breathalyzer test, and it is very hard to prove a case of public intoxication without that test. I would think taking a breathalyzer would be a way to show conclusively that one is innocent, preventing an arrest; but Ryan refused.

When the story finally did come out, Ryan kept coming up with different stories: It was after a wedding reception, but the wedding didn’t take place till the next day. He was taking medication for his back, but wait, no he threw his back out, and that’s why he was walking funny. I don’t know about you, but every time I throw my back out, I always take walks at 2AM. My thirteen year old comes up with better excuses than these.

Ryan is talking about running for governor. I don’t think Ohio is ready for another Trumbull County politician Hopefully, they will remember what we’ve given them in the past and not fall for Teflon Tim.

In my last column I wrote that hope would not be found in political parties or candidates. I believe that, however, I do think one of the causes of hopelessness in this county is the corruption and ineptitude of some of our public officials. We need to wake up, realize that we deserve better, and do something about it.