ALSO SEE : Robert Fitrakis (born 1955) / Fitrakis.org archived articles (2000 -2003) 

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2/14/1996   by Bob Fitrakis

Police Officers and Prejudice

Recently, a white suburban woman who refused a lawful request to sign a traffic ticket became a cause celebre when she threw a fit about being groped by the police. Obviously she's never exercised her First Amendment rights at a Klan rally where groping is the order of the day. Her story is news precisely because it is so unlikely. But what about the more common and constant victims of police abuse like Rashad Grayson, his parents and little sister, who are just a few of many African-American citizens currently suing the Columbus police for abuse. 

On August 15, 1993 at nine in the evening, the 13-year-old Rashad was admittedly in front of his house playing with fake nunchakus, a harmless plastic toy with foam-rubber covering. One of Columbus' newest and finest police officers, Samuel Feldman, was out to make perhaps his "first arrest." According to Feldman's deposition on file in Franklin County's Common Pleas Court, he had just finished his probationary "coaching" period. He had already been suspended for 10 days during that probationary period for an "unreported use of force" violation.

Now Feldman was on his own and he knew a criminal when he saw one. Feldman decided to arrest Rashad for "disorderly conduct." Feldman, who admits under oath to having played with real nunchakus himself while a teenager, found Rashad to be "recklessly engaged in some type of turbulent behavior." The white Feldman, "considered Rashad a suspicious person" because he was swinging his toy nunchakus in a "proficient manner." He also assumed that there might already be an unseen "possible victim." Officer Feldman explained his theory of probable cause: the black youth "could have used the nunchakus on this person" who didn't exist.

"Bad boys, bad boys, whatchya gonna do when they come for your toy nunchakus?" Rashad did nothing but comply with the officer's deranged prejudices, but his parents made the mistake of questioning Officer Feldman's actions and attempting to videotape the arrest. By the time it was over, Rashad's mother, who was videotaping, was tackled, his sister was Maced, and his father, Samuel Grayson, was beaten with a police baton. The "suspicious" Rashad was quickly forgotten as up to 30 police officers and a helicopter cordoned off the area and his family was dragged off to jail. The police later returned and arrested Rashad for "disorderly conduct."

Rashad was acquitted of this charge and the prosecutor's office refused to bring charges against his parents. This is a far more common scenario in Columbus, but not as sensational as a black cop arresting a white, middle-class woman.

We live increasingly in a police state as politicians whip up irrational and emotional fears of "bad boys" with black faces. We're convinced we need 100,000 more cops on the street even though per-capita violent crime has declined since the early '70s and is no higher than it was in the early 1930s. The prison industrial complex is involved in promoting a new, dehumanized, all-powerful, all-consuming enemy. And it is disproportionately minorities and the poor that are the victims of overzealous police tactics. A few years ago, a survey showed that two-thirds of Americans didn't think a police officer should have to have a search warrant to enter the home of "a suspected drug dealer." 

If police officers want to be respected, they ought to respect our Constitution and our fundamental human rights. They ought to be required to continue their education, particularly in liberal arts. A decent Social Problems class might help offset their authoritarian mindset that has been documented in study after study. Police, whether they like it or not, are the foot soldiers defending American liberties. But now, with the Cold War over, there appears to be an "enemies gap." With no Soviets to hate, we've turned a lot of that savage aggression inward towards our own citizens. The real lesson of Waco is the eerie similarity between the bomber pilot in Vietnam who said, "We had to destroy the village in order to save it," and the militarist in the law-and-order establishment who argued that they had to kill the kids in order to save them from Koresh.

This helps to explain state Attorney General Betty Montgomery's new "air force." You may have seen the blurb a few weeks ago about Betty copping three 1970s-vintage military copters for the War on Drugs, specifically marijuana, the demon weed. There's never been a more stupid, misguided and unwinnable war than the one against pot. And if the cops took my Social Problems course, they would learn that most addiction and drug abuse is legally prescribed or purchased at the liquor store. If Jesus had rolled one up after the Last Supper, sucked it into his lungs and passed it around to his disciples and proclaimed: "This is the breath of my life, this do in remembrance of me," those copters would be out searching for stills instead of hemp stalks. And Betty Boop would be pledging a zero-tolerance policy against alcohol and soliciting campaign contributions at Three-Reefer Power Luncheons.

Dr. Robert Fitrakis is an associate professor at Columbus State Community College.

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2/16/1996 by Bob Fitrakis

Before the New Hampshire primary--Dole, Buchanan, Voinovich

It's two days before the New Hampshire primary, and Bob Dole looks politically dead. Despite a poll or two that still shows him ahead of Pat Buchanan by a few percentage points, even the staunchest necrophile can't repress the urge to hold old Bob down and drive a mercy stake through his heart.

 As an old axiom goes: When there's no more room in hell, Bob Dole shall walk the Earth. The man's obsessed. Twenty straight years of imbibing that juiced-up presidential-wannabe adrenaline and spewing the pollsters' spin has left an ugly corpse.

 Both Pat Buchanan and Steve Forbes cry, "Let the politically dead bury the dead." Buchanan, make no mistake, sounds like the direct linear descent of that old evangelical Democratic presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan. Yeah, I know, there are echoes of Huey "The Kingfish" Long, the assassinated former governor of Louisiana, tossed in for Southern consumption. But Buchanan will score well in New Hampshire because he has resurrected that old Bryan plea: "Do not crucify the American people on a cross of gold." He represents 1890s populism in its purest form, which is infinitely preferable to the 1880s Social Darwinist rhetoric of Newt Gingrich.

 As a former platform spokesperson for Governor Jerry Brown in 1992, I recognize and cheerfully encourage Buchanan's economic railings against Dole as "Mr. NAFTA," "Mr. GATT" and "Mr. Mexico Bailout." And I'm fearful of his social policies that take us back to the pre-Scopes Monkey Trial era of prejudice and bigotry. Many of Pat's followers are homophobes, believing that sex between consenting adults of the same gender is an abomination. But so's eating pork, according to the Old Testament. I'd have more respect for these people if they gave up gay-bashing and chained themselves instead to the doors of Bob Evans restaurants. And my pot-bellied pig Iggy feels the same way. I've waited my entire adult life for a progressive major party candidate to take on the Fortune 500 and the new robber barons. What do I get? The social reactionary Pat "The Born-Again Populist" Buchanan.

So the Buchanan mob chases Bob Dole around New Hampshire with torches and pitchforks, repeatedly jabbing the senator on his weak economic left side. Meanwhile, Steve Forbes levels media blast after media blast on Dole's capitulation to the Christian Coalition and its Shiite social agenda.

Last Friday, at a "God and Country" rally sponsored by the Christian Coalition in New Hampshire, Buchanan stole the show. He gave Ôem that old-time religion. Our own deficit hawk and political nemesis of mine, John Kasich, bombed, so to speak. One-note Johnny hammered away at balancing the budget, yet clearly was not filled with the spirit as he spoke woodenly of the "Judeo-Christian tradition." Kasich found it hard to keep a straight face while preaching that the Holy Spirit descended onto the founding fathers in Philadelphia in 1787 and wrote the Constitution as a "Christian document." Kind of hard to imagine the Holy Spirit whispering to James Madison, "Count the blacks as three-fifths of a person for purposes of taxation and representation." Kasich spoke zealously of the need to get government out of people's pockets; the divorced Kasich just couldn't work up a sense of righteousness about putting bureaucrats under people's beds to monitor their sex practices. He gathered only faint applause from an audience that looked like rejects from the Rush Limbaugh TV show. As I look into the crystal ball and say the words "Abra cadaver" I see Dole being cremated, I mean creamed, in New Hampshire.

 Where does that leave Governor Voinovich? Off the short list for V.P. Voinovich is a younger version of Dole, and Mayor Lashutka the evil prodigy of a Voinovich-and-Dole cloning experiment gone bad. If you saw Voinovich's shtick during last week's State of the State address you couldn't have missed his incredibly sincere attack on casino gambling as anti-family and anti-jobs. The guv's solution to creating more jobs: build more prisons and bring in a multi-state regional nuclear waste dump. I'd rather take my chances with the Mafia and casino gambling than go along with the guv's radioactive family values.

 Voinovich also pressured Ohio House Republicans to kill the concealed-carry bill last week. This alone may be enough for grassroots gun activists to pull the plug on Bob Dole if he's still on Voinovich's political life-support system by the time the March 19 primary rolls around. The guv gave one of the strangest and most hypocritical reasons for opposing concealed-carry for law-abiding citizens. It seems that under his Republican administration, Attorney General Betty Montgomery has only computerized 80% of Ohio's arrests--leaving 20% of those arrested out of the statewide computer system that does record checks for felons under the federal Brady Bill. So, potentially 20% of the felons could purchase guns. Thus, the rest of us who aren't felons, but law-abiding citizens, can't carry guns to fend off the 20% that potentially can buy guns as felons. Incompetence, be thy name. Or is this another example of the guv doing less--and I mean a lot less--with more?

Bob Fitrakis ran for Congress in the 12th district against John Kasich in 1992.

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2/28/1996 by Bob Fitrakis

Unfun mandates (paying for ADA)

 The Big Guy--the Mayor of Mayors--got a bit testy last week when people in wheelchairs finally called him on the carpet over at City Hall. Greg Lashutka's claim that the Americans with Disabilities Act constitutes an evil "unfunded mandate" is ludicrous. In Lashutka's analysis and rhetoric, any federal law requiring state or local action that isn't paid for with federal funds is an unfunded mandate--even those that advance civil rights or protect the environment.

By the mayor's logic, the Emancipation Proclamation issued by Abe Lincoln would be the mother of all unfunded mandates. Think of the cost to those god-fearin', hard-workin' slave owners. And what about the Civil Rights Act of 1964? How dare the federal government make state and local governments pay to take down those "Colored Only" signs? Maybe the mayor could lead his able-bodied supporters in chanting "End Curb-Cut Oppression Now!"

Lashutka did the right thing by appointing one of the megaphone-toting demonstrators to a city advisory board on disabilities. But this doesn't solve the problem that the mayor's politics presents. Lashutka's endorsement of Newt Gingrich's Contract with America directly threatens the freedom and independence of people with disabilities. The anti-Gingrich protest last week that drew some 400 people, primarily union members and the disabled, got to the crux of the issue. It isn't about balancing the budget; it's about values and power. The Gingrich and Lashutka call to return funding to the states would end the federal mandate that allows disabled people to choose whether or not they wish to live on their own or in a bureaucratic institution. In line with Lashutka and Gingrich's "state's rights" slogan, the Wisconsin state legislature is already cutting Medicaid funding that allows disabled people to live in their own homes and is forcing them into nursing homes. These homes, of course, will be "privatized" and run by wealthy donors who understand the evils of "unfunded mandates."

While the Newtster and the Big Guy spout off about fiscal responsibility, the nursing homes owned by their backers will cost us significantly more tax dollars in the long run. Doubtful, are you? Businessweek pointed out last year that "The State's-Rights-Minded House" under heavy lobbying from baby formula makers, eliminated a rule requiring competitive bidding when states buy infant formula for the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) nutritional program. In 1994, the federal government saved an estimated $1.1 billion through its federal mandate that required competitive bidding. Prior to this regulation, only half the states required competitive bidding. Yes, attack the federal government and bring back the good old days when taxpayers paid $2.10 a can for Enfamil instead of 20 cents.

On Voino-vouchers and homo-necro-zoophiliacs

 The happy-face world of Governor George Voinovich and the Wolfe Family Newsletter editorial board envisions nice, clean, middle-class Christian parents of white kids using our tax dollars in the form of an educational voucher to be redeemed at their choice of a public or private school. Buffy and Jody will use the funds to attend the local Leroy Jenkins or Billy Wasmus Christian Academy. And their parents will happily go to the polls in 1998 and vote for Voinovich for Senate. The guv's current experimental pilot project is based on this scenario. But what will happen when reality sets in? The largest private inner-city school programs will undoubtedly be run by Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam. I'll use my Ph.D. to set up my Anti-Plutocracy School in Columbus--that will include a mandatory year of analyzing the selfish motives of the Wolfe family. Get the picture?

For years, Protestant fundamentalists have claimed that they alone talk to God on his private phone line and God wants them to have their own schools. Unlike the Catholics who set up their own schools in line with the First Amendment--you remember, "Congress should make no law establishing a religion..." --far-right religious fanatics have convinced the guv to mingle church doctrines and state tax dollars.

Still, they shall reap what they sow. The situation in Salt Lake City last week illustrates the problem. Fundamentalists complained that Christian kids were being discriminated against in public schools so Congress passed the federal Equal Access Act that rightly requires that all extracurricular school clubs be treated equally. Fundamentalist Christian clubs and, lo and behold, gay and lesbian support groups, benefited. In our system, one that values fairness and equality, this was predictable even in Salt Lake City. Student groups flourished; that is, until the school board voted to ban all extracurricular clubs. Meanwhile, the Utah State Senate passed a bill prohibiting teachers from condoning "illegal conduct in schools," a thinly veiled attempt to intimidate faculty from sponsoring gay clubs. Hundreds of students staged a walkout and demonstration in defense of the First Amendment and demanding the separation of church and state.

U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) wants a limited ban of "just sexually oriented clubs." This would equally ban those who advocate sex with dead animals of the same gender, Ronald Reagan's old "Just Say No to Sex" clubs and the evangelical right's "True Love Waits" that promotes abstinence and chastity.

If our multi-cultural, heterogeneous society is to succeed, we must be bound by an abiding faith in the Bill of Rights and fundamental fairness to all groups. And those like Pat Robertson, who demand that teachers have the freedom to keep the Bible on their desks, must also concede the right for them to keep a book promoting Satan on their desks. That's why we separate church and state.

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3/6/1996 by Bob Fitrakis

Uneasy ecology (environment and media)

San Francisco--Imagine my surprise while I'm sitting in a workshop called "(Un)covering the Environment" at the Media and Democracy Congress in San Francisco when someone hands a fax to the moderator--Columbus' own Mr. Greenpeace, Harvey Wasserman--about the trash-burning power plant back home.

 Harvey excitedly relayed the tortured tale of the trash-burner and the good news that Michael Long, executive director of the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio, has recommended turning it into a recycling facility. The bad news is that Columbus Mayor Biggus Guyus--a.k.a. The Crazed Anti-Green Cossack--is not happy with the proposal.

 But Mayor Lashutka, even in his Buckeye football days, is usually slow off the line. Remember, he was the last person left in Columbus leading cheers for Battelle's proposed radioactive and toxic waste dump on the banks of the Olentangy River. Battelle had changed its mind and had come up with a more innovative approach to the problem while the mayor was chanting, "Give me a T, give me an O, give me an X..." 

Plus the mayor's got a good reason to be pissed. Long's essentially embracing the proposal of Lashutka's electoral opponent, Bill Moss, who had the good sense to have Wasserman write his environmental policy statements. Lashutka prefers the advice of paid propagandists, like Kay Jones, in today's multi-billion-dollar liars-for-hire PR industry. After William Sanjour of the U.S. EPA publicized that Columbus' trash-burner was spewing the highest amount of deadly dioxin ever recorded, Jones was brought in to put a positive "spin" on the story. What Jones did in Columbus in cooperation with our mayor is simply a small part of a much larger corporate-sponsored and financed anti-environmental backlash. A must-read for anyone concerned about the fate of our little green planet is Toxic Sludge is Good For You!: Lies, Damn Lies and the Public Relations Industry by John Stauber, who also spoke at the environmental workshop, and Sheldon Rampton.

Environmentalism, following the original Earth Day, was nearly next to godliness. Now what was once universally regarded as a noble cause is often portrayed as a sinister conspiracy of tree-worshipping pagans or anti-economic-growth fanatics. All too often the mainstream media buy the simple-minded spins put forth like, "The issue here is jobs vs. the spotted owl." Ecology isn't that easy. Yet where can we go for complex answers?

A recent study shows that 60 percent of the population gets all its news from TV, but who owns TV? The megacorporations Westinghouse, General Electric, Disney, Time-Warner and Rupert Murdoch decide what you see and hear based on their economic self-interest. Environmental panel member Karl Grossman, founder of Enviro-Video, pointed out that 85 percent of the nuclear plants in the world are built and designed by Westinghouse or GE. Are they likely to tell us horror stories about potential nuclear holocaust, like the Cassini Mission, that Grossman related at the conference? A public document published by NASA in June 1995 states that if the Cassini Mission, a satellite to be launched in 1997 that includes a payload of 25 pounds of plutonium, misses its mark during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, "approximately 5 billion of the estimated 7 to 8 billion world population at the time of the swingbys could receive 99 percent or more of the radiation exposure."

Grossman's Enviro-Video Nukes in Space tells of this and other potential nuclear nightmares the corporate media conveniently ignores. For example, Grossman told us the makers of the Academy Award-nominated Apollo 13 made an "artistic decision" to leave out the fact that there were 8.3 pounds of plutonium in that capsule hurtling towards the Earth. In Columbus, the only TV station that plays Grossman's videos is the public access channel, ACTV Cable 21. That's also where Harvey and I co-host our muck-raking show, From the Democratic Left. 

Public access is our electronic soapbox. It is the antidote to commercial corporate programming. It is the only genuine expression of democracy on TV. Perhaps that's why it's currently under fire from Lashutka appointee Maureen Conley, Columbus' City Administrative Services director. Conley is not happy with some of the current programs seen on ACTV. No wonder, it's the only station where she and her boss are routinely criticized and the full, rich reality of Columbus' many voices can be heard, uncensored.

Whether it's coverage of the trash-burner or nukes in space, if we are to be an informed and educated citizenry, we must preserve the last bits of free, unspinnable, non-corporate, non-commercial spaces be they in the alternative press or public access TV. That's what I learned at the Media and Democracy Congress.

3/13/1996

Seeing red (ACTV)

by Bob Fitrakis

Did you ever notice that if you look at Mayor Lashutka quickly from the side he looks a lot like former Soviet premier Brezhnev? When Greg speaks, it's Leonid without the charisma. More importantly, the mayor's policies are that same drab, debilitating 1970s Soviet gray. Hyperbole, you say?

Communism is known for its vehement disdain for free speech; recently so is the Lashutka administration. Last week, Maureen Conley, director of Columbus' Department of Administrative Services, was quoted as saying that "the original intent [of public access TV] doesn't matter." She concedes that the original intent was the exercising of free speech. Maureen, and we presume the mayor, wish to go "forward" into a brave new world where the public's voice is controlled. This wasn't always the case. Just a few short years ago, the mayor made a public service announcement for ACTV, Columbus' public access channel: "...In today's democracy, the television camera is as important as the quill pen was to the founding fathers. ACTV is your TV, it's your soapbox, your stage, your talk show. Make freedom of speech part of your daily life...."

Arbitrary and oppressive administrative fiats are now Lashutka's style. Leonid would be impressed. Conley claims that "currently the cable access channel, according to our cable providers, is one of the lowest-viewed channels on the spectrum." Yet, Warner Cable's PR and marketing departments claim that no such data exist. One would think that Conley, as a former employee of Warner Cable--now charged with negotiating their contract with her current employer, the city--would know this. Or does she have a special relationship with Warner Cable that gives her access to secret information denied the public? More likely, Warner Cable's attitude toward cable access--they could be making money off the channel--colors Conley's opinions now that she oversees ACTV's budget at City Hall.

Anyway, maybe it's just Lashutka reverting back to his glory days when he chaired Citizens for Bork. You remember Bork? Reagan's Supreme Court nominee who argued the doctrine of "original intent"--that the First Amendment only applies to the national government but not the states. And now it appears that it doesn't apply in Lashutka's Columbus.

And what about Lashutka's trash policy? When Michael D. Long, director of the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio, demonstrates that it's far cheaper to let the free market work and bury trash in the Franklin County landfill at $13 a ton, the mayor tells him to shut up and burn it at $32 a ton. Lashutka demands that Congress impose a costly and unwarranted "unfunded mandate" on local governments by enacting "flow control."

Just like Soviet industry, Lashutka insists on a Brezhnev-era "command economy" measure to protect his inefficient, wasteful and polluting trash-burning power plant. And just like Soviet Communism, he's willing to destroy the environment and poison people to promote the bankrupt and backward policies of his regime.

Now, if we can only get the Wolfe family lapdogs on the Dispatch editorial board to denounce Lashutka's communism like they recently denounced Gus Hall, chairperson of the Communist Party USA. But both the mayor and the Dispatch editors conveniently ignore or rewrite history. Whether it's belief in Bork one day or free speech the next, reality is twisted for political expediency.

The Dispatch editors write: "As Hall entered his golden years, a million, perhaps even three million, Cambodians were being murdered by their communist Khmer Rouge countrymen..." implying that there was a world Communist conspiracy. In reality, the U.S. was backing Cambodia's leader Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge killers--they were Henry Kissinger's guys--because they were Chinese Communist allies. The Soviets opposed Pol Pot and supported the Communist invasion to overthrow him. Moreover, the Dispatch turned a blind eye to Communist Chinese human rights abuses and shilled for their Son of Heaven exhibition in Columbus, even after that government ran over unarmed, peaceful and democratic students with tanks in Tianamen Square.

The Dispatch and Lashutka both understand and apologize for Chrysler's need to build Jeeps in Hanoi, Vietnam, where the company can hire virtual slave labor for 40 cents an hour, that will surely lead to the inevitable closing of the Jeep plant in Toledo. Just last year, the Dispatch wrote glowingly of Governor Voinovich's trade mission to Communist China where he personally negotiated sweetheart deals for major political donors, even though Amnesty International cited that country for "human organ harvesting" from political prisoners. But the authoritarian government that presides over more than a billion potential Chinese Wendy burger scarfers can't be all bad.

The Soviet Communists rightly fell because they were undemocratic, bureaucratic and serving the interests of a small elite. Meet the new Columbus communist boss, same as the old Russian boss. Republished @ 3/30/2026 www.fraudbusterbob.com

NO MARCH 20TH: SHOULD BE

Bob Bites Back: Barry Humphries, Campus Partners, and developing “real” communities

3/27/1996

Hemp seeds sprout

by Bob Fitrakis

The Big Chill may be over in Columbus. Things are thawing out and some progressive seeds are being planted. Can the revolution be far behind? Well, if it's the Hemp Revolution, it's on this weekend at the Wexner Center from the same people who brought us the provocative Panama Deception. Since both President Bill and Speaker Newt are admitted former partisans of the hemp plant flower, it would be the perfect bipartisan family outing. The many uses of the hemp plant and the demonization of marijuana are well documented in the film. It's enough to invoke vague and hazy memories of Jack Ford--son of the Republican President Gerald Ford--on the cover of Rolling Stone claiming that the White House was the best place to smoke dope.

The war by Ronald Reagan in the 1980s against hemp--that led to such absurdities as the Smithsonian changing displays to avoid mentioning sacred American documents were printed on hemp paper --was little more than a political ploy to disenfranchise New Left activists from the late '60s and early '70s. But who would've thunk that hemp seeds would be sprouting here in the capital city with The Ohio Industrial Hemp & Medical Use Coalition?

Started by a couple of local college students, the coalition is already in the process of collecting signatures to legalize the industrial and medical use of hemp. If you want to check out this new breed of hempster, stop by their table at the Wexner Center after you participate in the Hemp Revolution experience.

It's the Green Revolution that's driving the hemp revolt. Eventually, there'll be an eruption in local Columbus politics. The recent Central Committee elections in the Franklin County Democratic Party provided a few minor tremors. Two members of the Westerville Social Action group won seats on the party's endorsement body. And there was a virtual war in Clintonville's 18th ward.

The grassroots-oriented and liberal-leaning Clintonville-Beechwold candidate prevailed over an even more progressive Steve Kanner with the Party's candidate coming in a distant third. And the ever-affable and unrepentant liberal Tom Erney won in the 19th ward. There's already talk of forming an official Progressive Caucus (slogan: "We're PC") in the County Party. Such a coalition could force the Dems to go on record on issues like the Hemp Initiative, the nuke dump, recycling, and human rights issues--slave labor in Burma, or political prisoners in China or sweatshops in the maquilladoras in Mexico. Not that the latter will matter much politically unless the caucus can tie it to concerns in Franklin County. Well, it could get interesting. I always say politics doesn't have to be boring or cheesy.

Speaking of non-boring, Bill "a rolling stone gathers no" Moss, running as an Independent for the U.S. Congress 12th District, could ignite a populist spark. And as those Maoists used to say, "One spark can start a prairie fire." Moss's peculiar mix of pro-second amendment rhetoric, environmentalism, and anti-NAFTA and GATT sentiments will draw considerable media attention in a district that's nearly a quarter African-American. Some suggest that this is Bill's version of "The Big Payback" to Cynthia Ruccia, the Democratic candidate for the 12th District, who dropped out as fund-raiser for Bill's mayoral campaign last year. Word had it that Franklin County AFL-CIO leader Bill Dobbins leaned on her to quit the campaign. Dobbins is best known for complaining that "blacks are trying to take over the party here." Which reminds me of the story of the local machinist leader who told me when I was running for Congress in 1992 that the biggest problem facing his workers was that they had lost their right "to call a queer a faggot." Ain't a gay conspiracy moving your jobs overseas, brothers and sisters. And unless labor in Franklin County gets a lot more progressive, they'll be losing elections for another 50 years: "Son, don't tell me how to run elections. I been losin' Democratic elections in Franklin County since 1943."

Republished www.Fraudbusterbob.com

Bob Fitrakis was elected as a Democratic Central Committee member in the 55th ward.

Republished @ 3/30/2026 www.fraudbusterbob.com  

4/03/1996

Nader for President

by Bob Fitrakis

You're in the booth this fall. You scan the names for President: Clinton, Dole, Nader, Buchanan, Perot. For the first time, instead of voting for the mainstream, we may have the choice of the radical left, right and center respectively.

Nader's already on the ballot in California and the Northeast Ohio Greens are pledging to put him on the Ohio ballot as an Independent. Perot is hinting he wants to run, mostly by shouting to anyone who'll listen: "Draft me!" Whether or not Buchanan ends up on the ballot depends on how much Dole dumps on him at the Republican convention in August. Pre-existing right-wing parties with ballot status like the U.S. Taxpayers Party could provide safe haven for the routed Buchanan Brigades and the troops necessary to get him on the ballot and turn out the vote.

If Clinton runs to the center with nothing new to say this campaign season, many progressive Democrats like myself will have little trouble pulling the lever for perhaps the most principled man in American public life--our beloved Ralphie. Sure, we understand that Newt Gingrich recently led the "barbarians to the gate," but his social Darwinism and his George Wallace with a Ph.D schtick seems like a spent political force. If Dole runs as a centrist also, it won't matter that much whether Bill or Bob is the Presidential caretaker. As corporations continue to downsize, rightsize, riff, pink slip and write off U.S. workers, Bill will, no doubt, feel our pain more than Bob. But unless he proposes to do something about it, as Ralph, Pat and Ross surely will, there'll be a proverbial plethora of third party votes.

In mid-February, the Labor Department reported that median wages for fulltime male workers is almost nine percent less than it was in 1979. The New York Times points out that pay for top level corporate executives has "soared to nearly 200 times that of the average worker, compared with only 40 times that of the average worker two decades ago." The arrogance of the corporate elite in the global economy is now well established. Steven Roach, chief economist at Morgan Stanley predicted a "worker backlash" even before Buchanan rode the NAFTA issue to a shocking political upset in the New Hampshire GOP primary. NAFTA now stands as a metaphor for economic despair and anxiety. While it didn't start the trends toward lower wages, NAFTA sure as hell helped accelerate them. It's a manifestation of the greater problem of top-down corporate control and undemocratic dominance over our lives.

On January 1, 1994, when NAFTA--a truly strange and bizarre idea to merge the world's most advanced high-tech economy with a third world country--was implemented, what was then a small trade surplus with Mexico is now a $15 billion a year deficit. Clinton took a bundle of money from the notorious K Street international trading crowd--essentially Dole's donors--to push a conservative multi-national corporate pact that won more Republican than Democratic votes in the House. The President conveniently points to the European economic community as precedent. Yet he fails to mention that the European Common Market was put together over a couple of decades and it includes all first-world developed countries, a freely elected European Parliament as well as continental environmental and worker safety standards.

The NAFTA issue isn't going to go away. A recent poll shows that 55 percent of U.S. citizens now regard NAFTA as a bad deal. In fact, anti-NAFTA sentiment is what's creating the openings for Nader, Perot and Buchanan in presidential politics this year. It is vitally important to understand why each is opposed to the pact that both Clinton and Dole promote.

Loss of the U.S. manufacturing base is why Perot's followers, despite the failure of his Reform Party to gather enough signatures, are motivated and most likely to place his name on the Ohio ballot as an Independent come August. His being a wacky and semi-paranoid billionaire aside, Perot, while on the Board of General Motors, consistently fought to keep auto manufacturing in the United States. Perot upholds the tradition of Henry Ford. Fordism, while not in and of itself progressive, argued that a stable middle-class society can only be achieved by paying stable middle-class wages. Perot is not overly concerned with the human rights abuses or ecological disaster associated with NAFTA.

Nationalist and isolationist voters, prone to Buchanan's appeal, are driven by anti-immigrant hysteria and job loss. This "Fortress America" national front sees not the exploitation of U.S. and Mexican workers and environmental degradation, but hordes of little brown people swarming our territory and taking our jobs. They need to realize that what we call the southwest United States was formerly the northern half of Mexico prior to the Mexican-American War. And the real enemy are those in the corporate boardrooms who are equal opportunity debasers and degraders of workers and the environment. It's not likely that a "Know-Nothing" coalition uniting xenophobe and homophobe is the future of U.S. populism.

Nader, on the other hand, will show real compassion, not only for the nearly one million estimated U.S. workers who have lost their jobs due to NAFTA, but for the even more unfortunate Mexican workers being mercilessly exploited by U.S. corporations in the sweatshops known as the maquilladoras. And he'll also eloquently speak out against the factories spewing toxins that know no border.

--Bob Fitrakis visited the maquilladoras in January 1993 and co-produced a video entitled The Other Side of Free Trade.

4/10/1996

Partners in crime (Campus Partners)

by Bob Fitrakis

Building community begins with the assumption that everyone belongs, nobody is to be excluded. Campus Partners' final plan submitted last week is the opposite: it's about economic and class apartheid; of favoring chain restaurants and corporate anchor stores over independent small businesses.

The plan seeks to build a fortressed community with "gateways," "calming zones," and "defensible street closures." This is arrogance and snobbery. It's an attempt to protect the "right" people and keep the "wrong" people out. This is why the Frumpies on the Campus Partners staff (Formerly Radical Upwardly Mobile Professionals) and their apologists are personalizing their attacks against me. I'm sure they've got dozens of affidavits proving that I soaped myself excessively in the shower in ninth grade, but these attacks don't change the substance of their "master plan" for the campus master race. For those of you who haven't read it, it's available at a few campus area libraries and I've included page references.

Barry Humphries and his Frumpies have decided that they don't like the campus area as it is, so they want to knock it down and bring Disneyland planning to the area. And I don't exaggerate here, they state: "...The remaining 50 percent of the structures in the [High Street] corridor lack significant detail for reuse potential when the cost of renovation or their ability to provide appropriately sized retail floor plates is considered." (15-9) They don't like the businesses in these buildings, and they don't adapt well to suburban strip mall taste and requirements, so they'll be knocked down if they're not accidentally burnt down.

They have three themes. First, in south campus where Papa Joe's conveniently went up in flames, they want shopping and dining. They envision "better quality" restaurants (pg. 15-6), "higher caliber" bars (pg. 15-10), and nifty stores like "The Gap" or "The Limited" (pg. 15-6). Excuse me, if the Gap or the Limited want to come into the area, let them do it with their own resources and not with public welfare checks provided through Campus Partners. Oh yeah, they also think the area needs "larger record stores" (pg. 15-7). This is absurd. The campus area is home to the few remaining independent music stores in Columbus. Any attempt to drive out the likes of Used Kids would be a cultural crime against humanity.

Second, the Partners want "to create an art theme at 15th and High." This will include a new performing arts center on the east side of High, presumably to compliment the already existing Wexner Center and Mershon Auditorium across the street. It's also a good excuse to tear down a bunch of buildings that are being used improperly by the riff-raff in the neighborhood, according to Campus Partners' criteria.

Third, and even more absurd, the Partners are planning an "international" theme for the Lane-High area. Their plan will destroy perhaps the most ethnically diverse neighborhood strip in all of Ohio: name another strip in Ohio that has affordable real Chinese, Indian, Korean, Ethiopian, and Mexican restaurants in such close proximity. Most likely they will remove this actually existing cultural diversity and replace it with the food court at Lane Avenue Shopping Center, or Chi-Chi's.

As Randy Morrison of the Godman Guild pointed out in his comments on the Campus Partners plan, the plan requires massive "displacement" and another plan is needed to "mitigate" this. Campus Partners is undertaking an ethnic and economic cleansing of the university district. This sounds like the preferences of middle-aged, middle-class former students, not the actual students who have different tastes and limited incomes.

The plan is so vile and pernicious that Barry Humphries, the infamous demolition man from the Battelle neighborhood, needed to hire Frumpies to cover the destruction of some of the last remaining culturally diverse "free spaces" from the student movement of the 1960s. Those who built bridges 25 years ago to other ethnic and racial communities are now using their progressive credentials to blow them up. While muttering to themselves that they are still "stardust and golden" they are destroying the campus area in order to save it.

A basic definition of theft is taking something that doesn't belong to you. Campus Partners is planning legally sanctioned criminal activity. Their Disneyesque centralized planning will destroy businesses and private property they deem unworthy. It will eradicate the organically grown culture, flavor, character and mystique of the campus area and replace it with plastic suburban sterility. They now look to the Ohio State Board of Trustees for their blessing--a board whose membership constitutes Ohio's "power elite," essentially the same class of people who deforested Franklin Park, sterilized the North Market and homogenized the Ohio State Fair. But this will be their greatest criminal caper.

It's not too late to stop the insanity. People opposed to this plan need to rise up and use any means necessary to make your voices heard.

4/17/1996

Earth Day economics

by Bob Fitrakis

"Seek and ye shall find," the Good Book tells us. As we approach Earth Day, we should applaud those students who staged a two-day sit-in in front of OSU President Gordon Gee's office to elevate the issue of developing the wetlands at the Firestone estate in the Akron area.

The fabulously wealthy Firestone family, of tire fame, kept the land in pristine condition as a riding retreat. The family's fortune allowed it to preserve some of Ohio's most spectacular remaining wilderness. But, it's not simply the wilderness--that includes century-old white oak and tamarack trees--that makes it unique. It's the five bogs on the property, some of the last in the state, that propelled the students to action.

Those familiar with Ohio history know that the European settlers, in less than two centuries, have filled in 90 percent of the state's original wetlands. Take a look sometime at 19th century maps of Ohio. You may find that your favorite mall or fast-food franchise is sitting on a former swamp site or built over an old creekbed. Early settlers, to say the least, were not as eco-friendly as the Native Americans they were brutally driving out. Neither did the settlers understand the intricate and delicate role of wetlands in our ecosystem. Earth scientists often describe the wetlands as a giant sponge that absorbs excess water from heavy rains. Most agree that the recent devastating Midwestern floods were caused in part by the loss of such a high percentage of original wetlands.

In September 1994, The Ohio State University purchased 1,500 acres of the former Firestone estate for $5 million--a rock-bottom price provided for in Raymond Firestone's will. OSU trustees and President Gee, in the cynical tradition of quick-buck, megaversity land speculation, saw the chance to sell it for $15 million. Amidst allegations that the $5 million to purchase the land was improperly diverted from a university endowment, OSU strangely contracted with the Galbreath Company to sell the land. Those of you into scandals of the rich and famous may recall that the Firestones and the Galbreaths were merged by marriage. Not too long ago, the Firestone heirs were suing their in-laws in one of those nasty "you're fleecing poor senile granny" suits.

The Galbreaths had just the right stuff to sell this hot new piece of property, according to the OSU board of trustees. Don't look for any environmentalists on that board. Any analysis of the social class of the trustees gives new meaning to the tired old Marxist cliche "executive committee of the bourgeoisie." So, when Student Environmental Action Coalition (SEAC) members met with OSU's Firestone working group, chaired by Trustee David Brennan on November 30, 1995, they were given a lesson in Classical Capitalist Economics 101. The students were told the university had one priority and one priority only--maximum economic gain. Some of the students believing that the university served other functions as well, say, educational, inquired as to what they could do to help preserve the wetlands. But there was only one correct answer on the pop quiz, and one university official supplied it, "Find someone with $15 million."

Even more disturbing, the local Bath Township trustees want to designate the land as a natural preserve to be utilized for educational and research purposes. Thus, The Ohio State University, the flagship and pride of Buckeye higher education, finds itself pitted against 10 other Ohio educational institutions that want to use the land as an outdoor lab. This list includes the University of Akron, Kent State University, Oberlin College, John Carroll University, Baldwin-Wallace College, and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, among others.

OSU has gone into maximum spin control mode in order to obfuscate this issue. University officials claim that they have "sought and considered seriously the concerns of residents of the area surrounding the Firestone estate." Moreover, they claim that they are "very sensitive to community and environmental concerns." Yet, rhetoric aside, OSU has steadfastly refused to put any restriction on the land's development. So they kill all the beavers, we get the bucks, buckaroo.

Recently in Ithaca, New York, home of the prestigious Cornell University, Wal-Mart tried to develop a similar wetland site. Only the well-organized outrage of the local citizenry prevented an environmental catastrophe.

OSU Executive Director of Communication Malcolm Baroway authoritatively intoned that it would be wrong for OSU to put restrictions on the land since it was protected by "federal EPA law." Those of you who follow such things know that ever since George Bush allowed Vice President Dan Quayle to run amok with his Council on Competitiveness, federal wetland laws have more loopholes for wealthy developers than does the U.S. tax code. A developer is allowed to swap one wetland for another. Indeed, they're allowed to dig a big hole in the ground, let it fill up with water in some suburban industrial park, call it a wetland, and exchange it for the likes of the bogs on the Firestone estate. Quayle in his genius, pretty much defined any standing water for more than a few days as a wetland. By Quayle's definition, I could swap my basement for the Firestone wetlands and probably get away with it.

SEAC's successful sit-in resulted in an open forum being scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday, at 3 p.m. at the second floor conference theater at the Ohio Union, which President Gee has promised to attend. SEAC has found the courage of its convictions to take on the holy of holies, OSU. And as the Good Book also points out, a basic definition of righteousness is speaking truth to power. May truth prevail this Earth Day.

4/24/1996

Dirty little secrets (Death Row)

by Bob Fitrakis

The death penalty is primarily political. It's about power: who gets killed; and who gets elected prosecutor, judge, attorney general and governor. You may recall our own Dewey Stokes, Franklin County Commissioner, ran pro-death penalty commercials although it is totally unrelated to his office. No doubt Dewey wants to fry all the Hueys and Louies on death row, but what about Attorney General Betty MontgomeryÑ "The Great Expediter"? Betty wants to hide "the dirty little secrets" of Ohio's death row by speeding up the executions. But those of us who are more concerned with justice than expediency, or Ms. Montgomery's political future, need to expose her secrets.

Secret #1. Tony Apanovitch, a small time crook, stands convicted of rape and murder based on circumstantial evidence. Apanovitch is a top priority of the Central Ohio Amnesty International organization. The prosecution withheld crucial evidence that surely would have caused a jury to conclude that there was "reasonable doubt." For example, Apanovitch voluntarily supplied hair, blood and saliva samples to the police. Police investigators recorded that the samples were "not consistent" with the killer. A hair found on the victim did not match hers or Apanovitch's. But the hair was consistent with a serial rapist that had attacked and brutalized six women in the same neighborhood. Also, police investigators confirmed Apanovitch's alibi of his whereabouts the night of the murder, but failed as required under law to inform Apanovitch's lawyer. Moreover, the prosecutor, eager for a win, misinformed the jury about the odds of Apanovitch's semenÑ"type A"Ñbeing found in the victim. It seems the prosecutor failed to mention that the victim was also a "type A" secretor, making the evidence meaningless. Apanovitch has been on death row for 12 years, and is seeking a new trial that would undoubtedly free him.

Secret #2. John G. Spirko Jr. was convicted on circumstantial evidence of murdering Elgin, Ohio's postmaster Betty Jean Mottinger. Unlike the O.J. Simpson case, there was no physical evidence linking Spirko to the death scene. Former Ohio Public Defender Randall Dana stated that public defenders were "...convinced that, for whatever reason, the Postal Department had set about proving this guy did it ÑSpirko did itÑwhen in fact, someone else was guilty." Former investigator Chester "Briss" Craig produced a notarized affidavit dated March 17, 1988 from William Green, a prisoner in the Marion Correctional Institution, swearing that his cellmate, John Willier, confessed in the great detail to the killing of Betty Mottinger. Green's affidavit reads: "When John Willier related this aforesaid account of the kidnapping and killing of the post mistress to me, he was crying and appeared to be in an emotionally overwrought state." Spirko was scheduled to die on January 5, 1995, but received a stay of execution and his case has since been picked up "pro bono" by a prominent Washington, D.C. firm.

Secret #3. There may be at least 14 other Apanovitchs and Spirkos on Ohio's death row. In January 1992, Chester Craig filed a formal complaint with the Ohio Inspector General that reads "Some of our investigators previously assigned to Ohio Public Defender's clients before they were convicted had not met with or conducted any kind of investigation on behalf of these clients...." Craig has personally identified to this writer the names of the following death row inmates who may not have received due process as required by the U.S. Constitution: David Steffen, Ernest Martin, John William Byrd, Michael Bueke, Billie Joe Sowell, Robert Buell, Gregory Esparza, Donald Williams, William A. Zuern, Rhett de Pew, William Wickline Jr., Alfred J. Morales, Martin Rojas, and Jeff Lundgren.

Craig claimed, "...Many of these clients, mostly black, indicated they had never heard the name of the investigator mentioned and that they had never met with such person." Craig concluded that investigators for the Public Defender's Office where he was a supervisor, "were turning in false time reports and were not providing the support services to the attorneys as required." A 1994 report by the Office of Investigative Services substantially supports Craig's allegations. Additionally, Linda Leisure, who worked for one of the investigators, told the Columbus Free Press in January 1995 that she was asked "to falsify time reports and interviews on these murder cases."

Unlike O.J., who with six lawyers and millions of dollars won acquittal, or the Menendez brothers, whose vast fortunes allowed them to skirt the death penalty despite their confessions, Apanovitch and the others who have little money cannot afford simple justice under our system. They can't buy the Dream Team lawyers, expert witnesses and top notch investigators. If O.J. were poor, all an Ohio prosecutor would've had to say to a jury is: "This is undeniably the hair of a black man in this glove." Guilty as charged. And he would've gotten the death penalty for killing an upper-class white woman. If his victim had been another poor black man, maybe he would have gotten four years in prison.

That's why we need to go slow, despite Betty's political ambitions. If she had her way, both Apanovitch and Spirko would be dead by now.

Bob Fitrakis presented an anti-death penalty plank at the 1992 Democratic Platform hearings on behalf of Governor Jerry Brown and, after the plank was disallowed, sued the National Democratic Party and presidential candidate Bill Clinton.

5/01/2002

Smoking gun (Campus Partners)

by Bob Fitrakis

It's the end of the campus as we know it, and I feel slimed.

If you really want to know what Campus Partners is all about, don't buy their hype or PR spin. Instead, read Graydon Hambrick's article, "A New Campus Partnership" in the April 1996 Ohio State Alumni Magazine (OSAM). It reveals the real agenda; it's the smoking gun.

Campus Partners portrays itself as just another non-profit organization seeking to promote community cooperation. In reality, it's a "redevelopment corporation"--they prefer the term "revitalization"--similar to the one that wired the City Center mall deal. As Hambrick puts it, "As such, it is allowed special legal privileges." Indeed.

Recall the City Center development. In 1977 the city of Columbus purchased $26 million in land and leased it to the Capitol South Community Urban Development Corporation, which in turn subleased the land to billionaire mall developer Al Taubman. Before Taubman built the City Center mall, city and state government officials combined to legally declare the downtown area "blighted" and a "slum." Columbus Monthly reported that approximately $80 million more in non-repayable public tax expenditures flowed into the mall's development. When subleasee Taubman began to rake in the dough courtesy of the public's largess, Capitol South owed the city some $67 million. This is an old game. As Robert Goodman illustrates in his book, The Last Entrepreneurs, billionaire developers like Taubman and Max Fisher--yes, they just named the business school after Fisher at OSU--know how to get taxpayers to provide the "risk capital" for major for-profit private development projects.

Both Taubman and Fisher are good friends of fellow billionaire and OSU Trustee Les Wexner. A senior OSU administrator admits that Les Wexner is stirring the pot on the Campus Partners redevelopment. Despite the fact that there was neither a "needs assessment" done nor any need for a performing arts center at 15th and High, Wexner, according to sources, doesn't like the view from the Wexner Center east across High Street.

Hambrick writes that OSU President Gordon Gee "....has 'other commitments' from businesses that he is 'not ready' to speak about, and that Ohio State Trustee Leslie Wexner, head of the Limited clothing empire, has shown an interest in the High Street development." (p. 27, OSAM) No doubt.

In the late '70s in Detroit, Taubman and Fisher managed to talk the bankrupt city into giving them $100 million in prime riverfront land for the development of the Riverfront West luxury condominiums. Next, they had the state legislature pass the infamous "Max Fisher law" that created a 24-year 50 percent tax abatement for the property--twice as long an abatement as any in Michigan history. Then, they used their political connections with the Reagan administration to use the city's federal mass transit money to build a people-mover that runs from the Riverfront West complex, where the wealthy live, to the Renaissance Center, where they work, and the Greektown restaurant strip, where they eat. So, it's now possible to live in luxury and work in Detroit without ever setting foot on a city street. I'm sure that Les' buddies have relayed this "success" story to him.

I have no doubt they're planning a similar carnage in the OSU area. As Hambrick notes, "A special improvement district along the High Street strip will be created under Ohio law." This is the same tactic Wexner used in New Albany. Say goodbye to Stache's, Monkey's Retreat, Used Kids and the like, because the alumni are being promised: "spiffy and modern businesses and galleries, a variety of restaurants, decent housing full of enlightened people...." (p. 27, OSAM)

Hambrick goes so far as to call Gee's and Wexner's New Campus Order a "Garden of Eden." And who are we to argue, since they're planning ". ..art movie houses, a bowling alley, clothing stores run by national merchandisers [read: Leslie Wexner], maybe even sports bars such as they have in the 'burbs." (p. 26, OSAM) Be still my heart!

And Gee just keeps on giving and giving--of course, maybe it's because he recently got that huge raise engineered by Les. Gee admits it'll even be better than the 'burbs because OSU's planning on returning to "a modified in loco parentis." Thus, Papa Gee and Uncle Les will protect students from the harsh realities of campus life. Gee assured the alumni in finest democratic fashion that: "I have no intention to make [student life] boring.... [But] there will be no plebiscite on the fundamental issue of change." That means, to the unenlightened, there won't be a student community vote, we're jamming it down your throat.

In an area bounded on the north by the Glen Echo ravine and Fifth Avenue on the south, stretching from the Olentangy River on the west and the Conrail tracks on the east, they're planning to build their Brave New Campus World.

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5/08/1996  /  by Bob Fitrakis

America needs a raise (labor)

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5/15/1996

Daily distortions (Columbia/HCA healthcare story not in Dispatch)

by Bob Fitrakis

Thomas Jefferson said "Where the press is free, all is safe." But what happens when the only daily newspaper in a large metropolitan area is a monopoly owned by a super-rich family that sees its mission as systematically distorting the news to protect other plutocrats? You get The Daily Distortion.

A recent mega-distortion and an omission illustrate the type of reporting our own Wolfe Family Newsletter is renowned for. On Friday, the Dispatch placed a small blurb on the business page concerning Columbia/HCA Health Care Corps' buying of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Ohio. The Cleveland Plain Dealer rightfully placed it on page one.

Columbia/HCA is a $20 billion company that in less than a decade had merged with over 347 hospitals and 125 outpatient centers and home care services. Its president and CEO, Richard Scott, has previously vowed in the pages of the Dispatch to invade Ohio and "...be across the state in every nook and cranny." Think about it. The Daily Monopoly just buried the unprecedented merger of the country's largest for-profit hospital corporation and Ohio's largest non-profit medical insurer. Of course, this is the same paper that put the Rodney King verdict that led to the L.A. riots on page two and Magic Johnson's AIDS confession in the Sports section.

In a preliminary article, the Plain Dealer noted that the Columbia/HCA deal with Blue Cross was "a move that promises to change the face of health care in Ohio." Somehow, the Dispatch missed that point. On Friday, the Plain Dealer highlighted the outrageous fact that Columbia/HCA plans to pay Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Ohio's top three executives $15.5 million dollars; the Dispatch casually mentioned it. The Plain Dealer reported that "Deep in the government filing made yesterday, Columbia said it had options to buy the remaining 15% of Blue Cross business for $1." The Dispatch failed to note this.

You may be wondering what else they failed to mention. With very little effort, I turned up a variety of information about Columbia/HCA. The best single source is the Cleveland Free Times article of May 6 entitled "Prescription for Profit." Here's a partial list of interesting tidbits you won't read in the Dispatch about the deal:

·      State officials in Florida, the U.S. Attorney's office and the U.S. Justice Department are looking into allegations that executives at one hospital courted by Columbia/HCA undervalued its assets to facilitate the sale in exchange for a big buyout like the one that just occurred in Ohio;

·      Policy holders and consumer advocates are already charging that the $299.5 million purchase price is "too low," and have filed a class-action suit in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas where they're represented by former U.S. Senator Howard Metzenbaum;

·      The Volunteer Trustee Foundation for Research and Education, which represents non-profit hospital boards, has criticized Columbia/HCA's pattern of acquiring non-profit facilities by putting up only "a small amount of money" and buying off the chief executives;

·      Columbia/HCA not only canceled its advertising in the St. Petersburg Times after the paper ran an editorial questioning its business practices, it also ordered that all copies of Florida's second-largest newspaper be removed from the hospital's paper racks;

·      Last year when Columbia announced its first purchase of a Ohio non-profit, the Cleveland-based Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine, the entire Sisters board was removed. Robert Rownd, a former board member, claims that Peter Reibold, the president of the Sisters health system, orchestrated the deal for personal enrichment. Reibold now works for Columbia/HCA.

And the list could go on and on. In essence, you've got the country's greediest medical mega-corporation buying up Ohio's leading non-profit medical insurer by buying off its top executives. Wonder how the Daily Monopoly will report it when Columbia/HCA comes calling next in Columbus?

So, it's not just twisted and distorted daily news that should concern you, but glaring omissions. On May 1, both the Cincinnati Enquirer and the Cleveland Plain Dealer ran articles on the Ohio Community Reinvestment Project's statewide report entitled "Little Interest for the Poor." The study provided an analysis of performance by Ohio banks regarding the yields paid in 1995 on interest on lawyer's trust accounts (IOLTA) that fund access to legal services for low-income Ohioans.

Under Ohio law, banks are required to pay interest on these accounts that are entrusted to attorneys by their clients. Legal codes of ethics prohibit the attorneys from benefiting from such bank accounts.

The report found that Columbus-based Banc One Corp. and the Huntington National Bank were among the worst in the state, paying only 1.5% net yield to benefit Ohio's poorest people. Both banks are among the 20 largest in America. By contrast, Commerce National Bank, a smaller community bank in Worthington, is paying a yield to the poor nearly twice that of its much larger rivals. Star Bank of Cincinnati, with numerous central Ohio offices, offered the best yield of 4.8%. Star Bank turned over an outstanding $382,929 on a balance of $7.9 million to help fund critically needed legal services for poor people.

Bill Faith, a spokesperson for the Ohio Community Reinvestment Project, a statewide coalition of groups pushing banks to meet the credit needs of poor and minority people, stated, "With a few notable exceptions, banks are paying paltry interest on these accounts." Besides Star Bank, Faith also called First National Bank of Ohio, "exemplary."

Now, what we need is a study rating the major newspapers of Ohio. I suspect I know which one distorts and omits the most vitally needed news.

5/22/1996

Taking to the streets (School of Americas)

by Bob Fitrakis

The action was in the streets, and parks, last weekend. In Westerville, 50 or so activists from the Westerville Social Action group and Amnesty International exercised their First Amendment rights by demonstrating in front of Rep. John Kasich's house and then marching down Main Street. They want Mr. Budget-Cutter to wield his ax and topple the notorious School of the Americas (SOA)--School of the Assassins. In Franklin Park, the African-American community and guests celebrated the heritage of Malcolm X, and up on campus at 16th and Waldeck--the original site of Community Festival--Anti-Racist Action (ARA) staged a very successful second annual Anti-Fest.

A common theme ran through these three events: the streets and the parks belong to the people, all the people.

Kasich's house looks like it was built for a Hollywood movie about a wholesome and earnest young politician. That's probably why the Congressman purchased it. So, imagine his surprise--no, he wasn't there as usual--when he hears about an actual group of earnest and wholesome young neighbors of his calling his ethics and morality into question.

One notes Johnny has made a career out of trying to balance the U.S. budget, yet he conveniently continues to ignore the School of the Americas located in Ft. Bening, Georgia. The School recently underwent a $30 million renovation at taxpayers' expense to better house the legions of murderers and assassins it trains. The official purpose of the School is to train Latin American soldiers in combat skills such as counter-insurgency operations, sniper fire, commando tactics and psychological warfare. But, wherever the graduates of the School go, atrocities and torture follow.

General Manuel Noriega is a graduate and so were over 60 Salvadoran officers cited by the 1993 United Nations Truth Commission Report for butchering civilians; two out of three officers cited in the assassination of Archbishop Romero were graduates; three out of five officers cited in the rape and murder of four U.S. churchwomen were alumni; 10 out of 12 officers cited in the El Mozote massacre of over 800 civilians held diplomas from SOA; and 19 of the 26 officers responsible for the slaughter of six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her daughter were educated there.

Alas, U.S. tax dollars at work, training between 700-2000 Latin American assassins a year. Most recently, Julio Roberto Alperez, who ordered the killing of U.S. citizen Michael Devine in Guatemala and Efrim Bamaca, husband of U.S. citizen Jennifer Harbury, calls SOA his alma mater. Harbury reported the last time she saw her husband, he was being blown up with various gases, his body four times its normal size, as he raved unintelligibly. In a recent Dispatch editorial, the paper rightly criticized Clinton for his failure to bring Alperez and other Guatemalan "allies" to justice. Now, if only they would hold their boy John equally responsible for funding the criminals, or at least cover the event like a normal paper. Westerville Social Action is asking citizens to write or call Rep. Kasich and tell him to support House Resolution 2652, a bill proposed by Rep. Joe Kennedy to close the School of the Americas and demand that we spend "Not a Dime for Death Squads."

Many of the activists went from death squad protests to dancing in the streets and parks on Saturday. Talk about a "pro-life" celebration; that's what you got at the Anti-Fest. It was a racist's nightmare with interracial mingling, cavorting and boogeying in front of various people's gods. The event started off with a certain amount of apprehension and fears that the Columbus police riot unit might show up uninvited. OSU President Gordon Gee's office, in his attempt to re-establish in loco parentis ("I'm your daddy") policy, demanded a meeting with ARA organizers. Jim McNamara, ARA leader and local attorney, declined the invitation. "I told him I'm 46 years old, I've got kids who've graduated from OSU. Why do I need to meet with the president's office? This is my neighborhood in the city of Columbus. I'm not a college student," said McNamara.

At the street fest, inevitably, talk turned to the topic of Campus Partners. Seems my penpals in the Glen Echo South Civic Association are sitting down in a neighborly fashion with the dissident Common Grounds Forum group and appear to be working out their traffic problems. Also, University Area Commissioners report that finally, after a year and a half, Campus Partners staffers are seeking real input from the neighborhood. Some small businesspeople originally opposed to the plan appear willing to compromise in exchange for Pearl Alley becoming a real street and some assistance in redeveloping their businesses there.

On the other hand, the Stache's/Monkey's Retreat complex is reportedly scheduled for demolition next year. Yet, if the streets still belong to all the people and the campus community organizes, who knows, pardner?

Bob Fitrakis ran for Congress against John Kasich in 1992.

5/28/1996

"Whiny Dems and Jews" (anti-Semitism)

by Bob Fitrakis

From Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium to Columbus' Riffe Center, anti-Semitism is in vogue. But in the state capital, instead of chastising the bigot, we literally fire the messenger. Ask Devon Rice.

On May 8 at approximately 8:30 a.m., Rice, a messenger with the Legislative Service Commission, was delivering forms to House Speaker Jo Ann Davidson's office on the 14th floor when he heard Ohio House Sergeant-at-Arms Robert Foster loudly proclaim: "The Jews are just like the Democrats, all they do is whine."

After Foster "repeated himself several times," Rice confronted the Statehouse official and said, "Could you do me a favor, next time you make anti-Semitic remarks, could you lower your voice so I don't have to hear you?"

Rice says Foster initially denied that his remarks were anti-Semitic and reluctantly offered a half-hearted apology. Rice then dashed off a letter to Speaker Davidson (R-Reynoldsburg), informing her of the incident and stating: "As a citizen of Ohio, as a human being and as a 'Jew,' I felt compelled to inform the gentleman that I heard him, that I was offended, and that his behavior was intolerable." Foster was sitting at his desk in the reception area at the time the remarks were made.

Rice wrote "I personally do not care what the Sergeant-at-Arms says at home, at a bar, or on the golf course. However, this type of behavior clearly has no place within his official capacity as an employee of the Ohio House of Representatives. His behavior was, aside from being ignorant and offensive, unprofessional."

Speaker Davidson seemed to concur. She ordered an immediate inquiry into the matter. Foster admitted that he had called two specific groups--the ACLU and the Jewish Defense League--"whiners just like the Democrats." Foster denied he ever referred to "Jews" specifically. Nevertheless, Davidson concluded in a letter dated May 15 that Foster's conduct was "entirely inappropriate and should not be condoned in the House of Representatives." Davidson directed Carol S. Norris, the executive secretary of the Ohio House, "to verbally reprimand Mr. Foster for his 'inappropriate' comments." A copy of her letter to Rice was forwarded to the director of the Legislative Service Commission, Robert Shapiro. Within a week, Rice was given his six-month evaluation and told that his services would no longer be needed after the session ended.

Instead of talking to Rice face-to-face, the evaluation from his immediate supervisor Eric Rodriguez and Office Manager Cathy Kamer was simply left on his desk. Rice claims every time he was five minutes late was suddenly highlighted, although no one had ever spoke to him about tardiness before. And, curiously, a vague reference to having "gone above a supervisor on one occasion . . ." appeared.

Rice resigned after the evaluation, rather than finish the session, and he requested an exit interview with Kamer and Shapiro. When he showed up at the appointed time, he found State Trooper Sergeant Moore waiting to escort him out of the building. "It's insane. The trooper threatened me with arrest," Rice offers.

Shapiro acknowledges that he saw Davidson's letter, but refused to give Kamer's or Rodriguez's names when asked who evaluated Rice or whether they had seen Davidson's letter. "I'm not going to help you, you'll have to find out yourself," Shapiro told me. Shapiro has recently been under fire for withholding corporate donation information from the press and the Legislative Service Commission is still recovering from the recent Puerto Rican junket scandal.

Shapiro claims he was unaware of the state trooper incident and suggests "not so convincingly" that Rice's evaluation had nothing to do with the letter. A true professional.

School Board Coup

The Wolfe Family Newsletter writes: "Party politics didn't come into play when the Columbus Board of Education unanimously tapped the Reverend Leon Troy Sr., a Republican, this week to fill a Board vacancy." Oh? The Daily Monopoly had been touting Troy as above the fray. That's the usual B.S.. What was left out of the reporting was the fact that the late Sharlene Morgan was a progressive Democrat and Troy fought against her and sided with the Chamber of Commerce on most key issues.

Recall Superintendent Larry Mixon's on-and-off again "resignation." As Bill Moss stated at the time, "Troy was the Chamber and Dispatch's front man" to silence the progressive anti-tax abatement block on the Board and to get Mixon to stay.

Sources in the Franklin County Democratic Party claim that school board members Loretta Heard and Mary Jo Kilroy were against Troy's appointment in executive session and Karen Schwarzwalder was "up front" about her support. But it was school board President Mark Hatch"described by a Democratic Party staffer as a "weasel","who never came clean and cut a deal behind closed doors."

Hatch has a history of double-dealing and stabbing the local Democratic Party in the back. Remember his vote for the Republican Bob Teater that denied Mary Jo Kilroy the school board presidency a few years back?

As for Kilroy, who rallied her progressive supporters this past campaign by denouncing the Republican agenda, she's got some explaining to do. But, she wasn't in the mood. When asked to explain her public support and vote for Troy, she commented, "I'm not interested in the story." Of course. Can charges of "sellout" be far behind?

Bob Fitrakis ran for Columbus School Board in 1995.

6/05/1996

Copwatch

by Bob Fitrakis

Put a hundred of "Columbus' finest" in riot gear and you can count on a riot--usually a police riot.

The police tactics on Friday, May 17 are simply the last in a long series of police-instigated rioting and misconduct in the campus area. Last Friday, May 31, I spoke with a dozen students and a lizard exercising their First Amendment rights on the northwest corner of 12th and High. Their demonstration posed a simple question: "Is South Campus a student neighborhood or a penal colony!?"

Neither. It's condemned and occupied territory, thanks, in part, to the hysteria whipped up by Campus Partners. All that "neighborhood in decay" rhetoric has been taken to heart by the Columbus Police Department.

Tom Vigarino, one of the first arrested on May 17, reports that he was "tackled from behind by a couple undercover cops" that he never saw and who have failed to identify themselves as officers. As they beat him, he recalls one of them warning, "Motherfucker, don't ever come back to 12th again!" Vigarino, who lives two blocks away on 10th, wonders why he can't walk the streets in his neighborhood. He is charged with "rioting" for allegedly throwing a bottle at the police, a charge he and various witnesses vehemently deny.

Other witnesses report that police officers purposely shoved Shomas Jones, a third-year criminal law major, over a chain-enclosed planter. Jones was attempting to videotape police activity, and as he lay defenseless on the pavement he was repeatedly Maced and his camera smashed. When police returned his tape, the video had been erased. Another triumph for the Columbus police's interpretation of the First Amendment.

The police then beat, Maced and arrested Chris Wisniewski, a fourth-year journalism student, for complaining about Jones' treatment. "I was knocked flat on my ass from behind. We were in back of the police by High Street watching what they were doing on 12th, away from the action, and they just turned on us because Shomas had a camera," recalls Wisniewski.

Wisniewski says he was taken to the Zettler Hardware parking lot near campus and held. When students complained about their treatment, they were met with the flippant comments of officers, including one who encouraged others to "get 'em riled up, so I can Mace 'em again."

Writing in the Lantern on May 24, Eric Sims, a senior majoring in journalism, recounts how he and a friend were accosted while walking to a convenience store on May 17 by police who offered helpful hints like "...What the fuck do you think you're doing? Turn around, NOW!"

"They chased the students down, beating the ones they caught, Macing the others. Students were screaming and almost trampling each other to run back to their houses," wrote Sims.

The students all tell the same story. No problems, no fights, prior to the police invasion. In fact, area residents had complied with earlier police requests to use plastic fencing to contain their guests and even made public announcements over a PA system asking residents to cooperate with police. Only after the police actions were bottles thrown and items set on fire. But, that must be put in the context of the indiscriminate beatings, excessive Macing and random assault with "knee-knockers"--rubber riot bullets--and other anti-riot devices. Throw in the mounted riot police and cop helicopter and you've got the makings for police-state mayhem. But, the students are fighting back.

The demonstrators announced the formation a new and long-overdue organization: Copwatch. They plan to monitor police activity and take legal action to prevent what has now become a long stream of abuses.

Let's recall the most obvious. After Ohio State's last big win at home over Michigan, unlike other universities that enjoy victory celebrations, Columbus cops Maced the hell out of celebrating fans attempting to tear down the goalpost. Last spring, riot police Maced and brutally beat Antioch students for holding a peaceful demonstration at the federal building opposing cuts in student loans. And last fall, police fired tear gas canisters and "knee-knockers" indiscriminately into south campus streets and residences making the air in a four-square block area virtually unbreatheable, and then beat and arrested students fleeing to fresh air.

The seeds of the problem germinated in bad social policy. First, an asinine decision to raise the drinking age. This only makes sense if raising the drinking age means that the students would comply; they won't. College students always drink alcohol. If the drinking age is 18, they drink it in local bars; if it's 21, they drink at house parties. If you close and burn down the bars, they'll drink in their cars and alcohol-related fatalities will rise. In our society, it's a rite of adult passage. The college and the city should be promoting responsible drinking, not police rioting.

What message was being sent when the police department decided to crack down on "drunk walkers" in the campus area a year or so ago? Again, why not crack down on drunk walkers at Christopher's after the Ohio legislature adjourns on any given day? If the police would contact me, I could gladly give them the names of a few senators and representatives I've never seen sober.

Stop the police repression and brutality. Have the police read the Constitution. And if this is what the Columbus Public Safety Department means by a new policy of "community policing," I wonder about their definition.

06/12/1996

Michigan wins again (gay benefits at OSU)

by Bob Fitrakis

Helluva way to kick off Gay Pride Month. For the fourth straight year--and I do mean "straight"--Ohio's Executive Committee of the Bourgeoisie (aka Ohio State University trustees) refused to consider health insurance coverage for the "domestic partners" of graduate assistants.

Domestic partners are couples in committed monogamous long-term relationships attested to by affidavits, who, for legal (read gay and lesbians), philosophical or financial reasons, aren't married.

Students for Domestic Partnerships, however, did not go quietly this time. Yes, Les Wexner and all those incredibly important and pious people on the board could clearly hear the megaphone chants: "Hey, hey, ho, ho, homophobia has got to go!"

The exchange between admitted "queer" advocate and graduate student, T.J. Ghose, and Les Wexner was a classic. The immaculately tailored Wexner was unruffled by the impassioned plea from T.J. But Les did offer to allow T.J. to address the board at the next meeting just before security ushered him out of the building.

Take him up on it, T.J.! But don't concern yourself with the facts. You know that many other universities already offer domestic partner coverage including Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Illinois, Wright State, etc. Or that the coverage would not use university funds, but simply add 49 cents of each paycheck to individual premiums paid for out of the employee's profit. Or even that the school has a non-discriminatory policy that includes sexual orientation that they are clearly violating.

No T.J., you're dealing here with very sophisticated people. Tell 'em that it's been helping Michigan recruit promiscuous football players prone to "shacking up," and that Ohio State will return to the glory of yesteryears if they'd just get on even footing with those devious and perverted Wolverines.

George is my shepherd

While I'm on the subject of important, pious and pompous people, how 'bout our guv? I'm still adjusting to the fact that he proclaimed me and other Ohioans part of his "flock." I've been waking up in the night screaming, but I'm trying to work through it with Hannibal Lecter.

I've been saying a little prayer each night: "George is my shepherd, I shall not want, he leadeth me to the state Lotto terminals, he taketh me to lie down in green radioactive pastures, he tempts me with his privatized liquor stores, he teaches me to take the Lord's name in vain.

"And though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil. For I know it is called the Statehouse and my shepherd has etched the words in stone 'With God All Things Are Possible.' And he shall dwell in this House of hypocrisy all the days of his life."

Machiavelli, who wrote The Prince, the primer on modern power politics, suggested that political leaders should make great public displays of their religious conviction while privately pursuing ruthless amoral political agendas. At least the governor's well-read. Another reason Bob Dole should take our devout shepherd from us and anoint him a VP.

Last thought on Dole: In America we cherish equal rights. Both the living and the undead have the same right to pursue high office. In Dole's case, though, there probably should be law requiring him to wear a cape.

Look Out Bosses!

The Labor Party Advocates became The Labor Party last weekend in Cleveland. They're not running candidates yet, although there were current and former presidential hopefuls in attendance. Ralph Nader was there and signed off on the Green Party's efforts to place his name on the Ohio ballot as an Independent. Jerry Brown was in high spirits as he passionately denounced the "corrupt two-party system." In a chat with the decidedly un-Voinovichy Brown, I learned among other things that the former California guv's Oakland commune now houses some 20 members.

Brown pointed out that two words were missing from Clinton's Democratic Party Platform in 1992, and most likely will be again in '96: "unions" and "justice."

Ironically, just as 1,500 enthusiastic unionists were founding a new Labor Party, the AFL-CIO endorsed President Clinton earlier in the presidential election year than any time in its history. The fact that Mr. NAFTA, Mr. GATT, Mr. Bill is once again the AFL-CIO leadership's darling did not sit well with the delegates.

A large contingent of striking Detroit Free Press and Detroit News newspaper people rocked the hall with their militancy. The Labor Party endorsed a nationwide march on Detroit to support the 2,000 workers well into their 11th month on strike. As a Detroit native, I can't wait.

In anticipation of the coming hot time in the motor city, delegates practiced for the upcoming event by marching on Cleveland City Hall and heckling Cleveland's Democratic mayor, Michael White, after he suggested doing away with Ohio's public employee organizing law.

But the biggest drawback to the new Labor Party is its top-down approach. A skeptical press corps worked up a list of jokes. "What's the difference between the Labor Party and the Catholic Church?" "One's a male-dominated, undemocratic, patriarchal organization and the other is run by the Pope."

Ouch.

6/19/2002

Jackson must go!

by Bob Fitrakis

Columbus Police Chief James G. Jackson should do us all a favor and resign. No, not because of the obviously botched handling of the Columbus Police Commander Walter J. Burns case. We can rest assured that Assistant Safety Director David Sturtz will conduct a fair and thorough investigation. When Sturtz was Ohio's Inspector General, his investigations were beyond reproach and models to be emulated by other public officials.

Jackson should resign because he's failed the citizens of Columbus by creating a police department that charitably could be called the minor league, AAA squad to the L.A. Police Department. Sure, there are minor differences. The LAPD has a reputation for beating and harassing primarily minorities. The more enlightened Columbus police are equal opportunity Macers and muggers.

Columbus Safety Director Thomas W. Rice is admirably trying to prod Jackson into current professional practices such as community policing. But Jackson resists and seems to wax nostalgic for the good old days of the rubber hose and policemen as unaccountable thugs. Let's briefly recall some of Chief Jackson's most notable recent accomplishments: indiscriminate Macing of OSU football fans following the last win against Michigan at home; the beating and Macing of lawfully demonstrating Antioch students; at least three major street clashes since October between Jackson's police and south campus area residents; and continued charges of discrimination from the African-American organization Police Officers for Equal Rights (POER). His inability to control his police force is an embarrassment. Inaction Jackson's tenure has truly been a disaster.

Jackson is partly the product of a flawed system. Columbus, unlike other major cities, lacks any form of civilian review of police. Plus, Jackson does not serve at the pleasure of the safety director or mayor, rather he has civil service protection. This is the worst possible combination of policies. And Jackson has taken advantage of it, and sent a message that the small percentage of rogue and unprofessional cops will be pampered and protected.

At the June 12 University Area Commission (UAC) meeting, the commissioners unanimously endorsed "the community review of police" as part of Campus Partners "Final Final Draft" plan for campus revitalization. One commissioner joked, "If we call for this, should we also ask for witness protection programs to hide us from the police?"

Richard Talbott, a university area developer and commissioner, is a strong proponent of "real community policing like they have in New York.

"What we have in the campus area is the 'Barney wave'... cops still in cruisers roll by at 20 mph and give you the fake smile and the silly purple dinosaur salute," he said.

Talbott describes himself as a "dyed-in-the-wool Republican," but agrees with the other commissioners that the cops are out of control in the south campus area. As another commissioner put it, "They're arrogant. You see them prancing through the bars, chit-chatting with the girls while someone's being mugged around the corner."

Talbott keeps a tear gas canister and a handful of "knee-knockers"-rubber riot bullets-from the most recent police/student clash as a reminder of the problem.

Commissioner Steve Nicol, who manages apartments and lives on 12th Avenue-ground zero of the student ghetto war zone-points out that "the tear gas goes through the walls." Thus, those not battling the police are forced out of their apartments and subjected to the indiscriminate Macing and beating. Both Nicol and Talbott report that they own some 700 feet of orange plastic fencing that they'll deliver to any tenants having a party. Both insist that students have made a sincere effort to check I.D. and keep uninvited guests off private premises. Police demanded this "appearance of order" but still they attack in their riot gear.

Another commissioner, Joe Jackson, a real estate agent, believes that the police are out of line and that the students have become "an easy target." Brad Miller, owner of Maxwell's, echoes this view. The south campus students have been "targeted."

If you talk to the students who live and drink in the area, the first thing that strikes you is how un-radical and un-militant they are. For the most part, they're business majors and accountant wanna-bes who find themselves reluctantly drawn into the fray by circumstances beyond their control.

These students are not the self-proclaimed "vanguard of the revolution." I know, because I was one. Yet, just as in the late '60s and early '70s, the present repressive tactics of Chief Jackson will inevitably lead to rebellion. President Gee and Campus Partners' recent "temperance crusade" has fanned the flames and inadvertently promoted this outdated and unacceptable police conduct. Still, it is the police chief who is ultimately responsible.

That's why Jackson must resign. He has made every cop a criminal and suspect in the eyes of a marginalized community that will only be able to reduce its crime rate if trust and true community policing exist-concepts alien to Jackson.

6/19/1996

FEATURED ARTICLE :  Color it Bold

By Bob Fitrakis and Sally MacPhail

This week may mark a watershed in the history of The Ohio State University as the University Area Commission, Campus Partners for Community Urban Redevelopment, the Columbus Development Commission and the Columbus Historic Resources Commission are all slated to take action on sweeping recommended changes for the neighborhoods around the nation's largest campus. If endorsed by those agencies, the proposal will be sent on to City Council and the OSU board of trustees for action later this summer.

On the table is the alternately bashed and ballyhooed University Neighborhoods Revitalization Plan, a 250-page document drafted by Campus Partners that addresses just about every aspect of off-campus life from trash collection to land use, from drinking and drug abuse to community schools. Critics say that what's really behind the revitalization plan is gentrification and homogenization of a unique multi-ethnic urban community; proponents feel that the plan will encourage reinvestment-financial and philosophical-by present and prospective businesses, residents, students, and the university itself.

An indication of the heated dialogue surrounding this plan is that a Final Draft of the Revitalization Concept was issued April 1, 1996; on June 7, following over 20 hours of meetings in the month of May alone by the University Area Commission, Campus Partners issued a "Final Final Draft" that contains extensive changes.

Among those changes is one that exemplifies the purpose of the plan: "Recommendation 6.1.3: The Ohio State University should demonstrate its commitment to increased homeownership programs by considering the purchase of a residence for the university President within the University District." To relocate the president from Bexley to what critics and residents alike say has become a problem area would be a bold move, and one that drafters of the Campus Partners plan say would show the university's commitment to the area.

"I made this recommendation...that we should specifically mention in the housing area [of the plan] that we immediately begin to work to find President [E. Gordon] Gee a house in the district; that if OSU is really committed to this project then their president would live in the area," explained Marc Conte, a member of the Campus Partners board of trustees who was recently awarded a master's in public policy and management. "I've lived in the area since 1988 when I came here as an undergrad, and I've even seen the decline in those eight years. And...I've seen the university not invest-or disinvest really-much less than they have been."

From de-investment to reinvestment

This theme of re-investment in the neighborhoods surrounding the campus is one that echoes throughout the latest draft of the Campus Partners plan. Statistics compiled by Campus Partners, and recent events in the off-campus area, show alarming evidence that maintaining the status quo is not working:

*A drop from 50 percent to 11 percent homeownership in the last 40 years;

*2,050 units of federally subsidized Section 8 housing, with one neighborhood claiming the highest concentration of such assisted housing in the city and the highest per capita violent crime rate in the city;

*14.2 percent more violent crime than in Columbus as a whole, and 21.6 percent more property crime;

*Three incidents in recent months on 12th Avenue involving police using riot-control tactics against students;

*The unsolved abduction and murder of a freshman in 1994;

*A drop from 49 to 39 percent in the number of students who live on- or off-campus in the 43201 ZIP code;

*A 20-year legacy of ineffective code enforcement and slum landlord exploitation resulting in unsafe, unhealthy living conditions.

While the city is obligated to address municipal problems such as crime and trash pick-up, what's pushing the university into the mix is feedback from its potential customers-parents and students who could choose to attend OSU but are not because the area where most of the students live is now considered unsafe and uninhabitable compared to accommodations offered at other institutions of higher learning. "That's the bottom line to the university," commented Steve Sterrett, community relations director for Campus Partners. Not only are "prospective students and their parents, especially high-ability students, deciding not to attend Ohio State due to a setting that is perceived as disintegrating and unsafe," as the plan states, presently enrolled "students are leaving the area; the area is not attractive to students," Sterrett commented.

In the beginning

Whether compelled by moral or financial reasons, Mayor Greg Lashutka and President Gee announced in September of 1994 a joint commitment to the revitalization of the area known as the University Neighborhoods, the portion of the university district roughly bound on the south by King Avenue, north by Northwood Avenue, west by the alley behind High Street, and east by the Conrail corridor. With an initial outlay of $600,000 from OSU and $187,000 from the city, a dozen or so university trustees, administrators and city officials were named to the Campus Partners board, joined in recent months by two at-large citizens and students Conte and Jennifer Nelson.

The group was led by staff President Barry Humphries, who oversaw the plan through its initial phases before departing last spring as the first "Final Draft" was released, a time that some observers saw as the turning point in the Campus Partners' planning process. What before were some isolated voices of criticism and gloom became a chorus of organized opposition when the University Area Commission got hold of the April 1 draft.

Not only did the UAC launch into a rewrite of the plan with a zeal, but for the first time, some commissioners assert, their efforts were welcomed, not rebuffed. Both Howard Skubovius, UAC president, and Commissioner Tim Wagner asserted that the whole tenor of the Campus Partners' planning process changed after Humphries' March resignation. The non-profit redevelopment corporation became much more receptive to community input, "from going through the motions to moving toward true collaboration," as Skubovius sees it.

"Until recently we never met face-to-face, we basically communicated in writing after public forum," he added. Skubovius recalled that the University Area Commissioners originally offered to serve as unpaid consultants to Campus Partners, but "Humphries never took us up on it."

Commissioner Tim Wagner credited Sterrett for setting the new tone. "Steve's done a marvelous job of redirecting and facilitating dialogue."

Others like real estate developer Richard Talbott are not as critical of Humphries. "We saw the final draft and we didn't like certain things in it. There's nothing like a deadline to stimulate discussion. Most work in any plan is done primarily at the end. We on the commission became much more aggressive after the final draft. We asked for and got face-to-face meetings." "One thing people need to understand is, Campus Partners doesn't replace the university district commission organizations, which area an umbrella organization of organizations. It certainly doesn't replace the UAC as an advisory body to the Columbus city government; it's really primarily a vehicle through which Ohio State can be involved constructively in the neighborhood," Sterrett said.

Eminent domain

Campus Partners may have always intended to be that way, but its original Final Draft didn't always reflect that outlook. Paternalistic language found in the first Final Draft such as "The Concept is intended to receive community support leading to its ultimate adoption by the Columbus City Council and The Ohio State Board of Trustees as the [sic] major policy document relating to decisions for the University District" are now preceded by: "It is intended to provide a vision of what the District can be, and how the community can realize that vision through clear actions. It is not, however, a detailed prescription meant to solve every problem that besets the District." Another change includes the softening of term "blighted properties"-those targeted for removal-now termed "problem properties."

Gone, too, is the implication that Campus Partners will have the power of eminent domain, essentially the public taking of private property. In the introduction to the June 7 Final Final Draft is new language explaining that only the city has the right to exercise and grant the powers of eminent domain. Prior to his departure, Humphries was making a lot of noise about using the power of eminent domain to take out private businesses he felt were unfit for his campus master plan.

One commissioner called Humphries' rhetoric "inexcusable." As Talbott is quick to point out, "We're the only legally recognized body by the city; we're the recommending authority by statute in this area."

The UAC's attitude on eminent domain powers became clear after a May 15 meeting between the University Area Commission and Campus Partners that is spoken of in nearly reverent tones. Participants report that it started at six p.m. and ended somewhere around three in the morning. Call it "Lashutka's revenge" on Gordon Gee over the loss of a sports arena, as some commissioners suggest; whatever the case, it's clear that the city's stance at the May 10 public hearing hosted by the UAC emboldened the commissioners. Steve McClary, representing the City Planning Department, let it be known in no uncertain terms that the city would not be doling out its eminent domain power without "consensus" between the UAC and Campus Partners.

"I think there's a great deal of confusion on the question of eminent domain...First I think there's probably a great number of people that think Campus Partners has the power of eminent domain. At this point, they do not. The mayor has made no decision to support provision of that power to Campus Partners.... All this is to say that I think many people are under the belief that if this plan is approved that the next day, the next week, there may be somebody coming an taking their property and that simply is not the case. A great many provisions of this plan will require endless public meetings....," clarified McClary.

What the Lashutka administration did by its insistence on consensus was to further slow the out-of-control Campus Partners' bulldozing of community groups. "You know, when it finally came down to it, despite all the talk of community input, it was us, the University Area Commission with the University Community Business Association (UCBA), who did virtually all the negotiation with Campus Partners...and that was after the final draft," reflected Skubovius. "There was never the intention of using eminent domain to acquire vast lands, residential housing, and redevelop all that.... What Barry was trying to do up front...was to make sure people understood that he was serious," Sterrett said in defense of his former boss.

Whatever the purpose of the rhetoric, there seems general consensus among critics that the first Final Draft approached "redevelopment" with a "giant bulldozer," as Talbott put it. "We had a lot of that removed, and when we confronted Jim Heid [Campus Partners' San Francisco-based consultant] about demolishing up to 50 percent of the buildings on High Street, he took offense and said it was more like 45 percent. In reality it would have been well over 50 percent of the floor space on High Street," he reflected.

Money matters

Talbott also emphasized that approving the plan in principle is altogether different than approving the equally important implementation. "We've never seen an implementation plan, we'd like to see it," said Talbott. Commissioners privately worry that if the plan is not phased in properly, but instead prioritizes High Street property acquisition, demolition and redevelopment, then the east campus area would follow the "Atlantic City model." As Talbott puts it, "A nice facade with everything rotting in back of it."

The Implementation Plan is the as-yet confidential companion volume to the Revitalization Concept Document. This document will outline the stakeholders in the revitalization project, the projects and their priority, their costs and a timeline, according to Conte. Though exact numbers are not yet forthcoming, OSU is trying to ward off sticker shock by allocating up to $28 million on the various projects over the next five years; $25 million is expected to be invested in certain projects, such as the acquisition of real estate, Sterrett said; $2.5 million is set aside for operating expenses and the remaining half-million is for development of the Campus Collaborative, an academic partnership involving several colleges and academic units at OSU that are charged with creating a model teaching community in the neighborhoods.

"One of the things that is critical to the success of this plan is to look at the university as a model of education," Sterrett explained, adding that "Ohio State is an enormous asset to Columbus; it draws visitors from around the world, it draws students from around the world, and the neighborhood should reflect the quality of the institution."

While OSU has long been recognized for its quality extension and agriculture programs, one of the key parts to the success of the Campus Partners plan is "to help the university understand it is an urban institution and it needs to be looking at urban problems," Sterrett went on to say. "If we're going to play a role [in the community], where better to start than in our own backyard?"

This is the first in a two-part analysis of reaction to the Campus Partners plan for revitalization of the university neighborhoods.

6/26/1996

FEATURED ARTICLE

Welcome to the neighborhood

by Bob Fitrakis and Sally MacPhail

Last week, the University Area Commission, Campus Partners for Community Urban Redevelopment, the Columbus Development Commission and the Columbus Historic Resources Commission all adopted resolutions endorsing the University Neighborhoods Revitalization Plan, a 250-page document drafted by Campus Partners that addresses just about every aspect of off-campus life from trash collection to land use, from drinking and drug abuse to community schools. Intended to encourage reinvestment-financial and philosophical-by present and prospective businesses, residents, students, and the university itself, the plan has been a source of public debate for the last few months. Critics charge that the proposed clean-up will eradicate a unique multi-ethnic urban community.

Around the Ivory Tower It is the sweeping-some might say, overwhelming-way in which Campus Partners is approaching OSU's role off-campus that has had some observers worried. One of the most vocal critics of the former Final Draft was Columbus Alive columnist, Bob Fitrakis, who called it former Campus Partners President Barry Humphries' "mission to make the campus area safe for Max and Erma's....In fact, in the original draft of the master plan revealed in November, yuppification north of campus and ghettoization south of campus were the twin pillars holding up the new campus fortress."

Asked to react to Fitrakis' comments that the plan might result in gentrification that would eradicate the campus counter-culture, Campus Partners' Marc Conte said: "I think he's pretty right. Those are pretty much my sentiments. When [other board members] ask for my opinion on retail, I say we can look at the record stores and see that the independent record stores survive, not the chain stores. People like the independent businesses, they like the uniqueness of the area; that's one of the reason we're shopping here, 'cause there's no other reason. And the other thing is that there's an incredible amount of retail diversity; now just because Target isn't up as the main sign for the area doesn't mean you can't find everything that you find at Target."

Among the major long-term projects for revitalization of the commercial strip along High Street are three theme areas-one at Lane, one at 15th, and one at 10th-that will be the "rooms" through which one progresses. At the north end, a widened and realigned Lane Avenue will mark an "expanded international village," drawing upon the mixed uses and multi-ethnic restaurants in the area. There will be an Arts Gateway at 15th across from the Wexner Center. The last and most controversial component is an entertainment/retail/office/commercial development at High Street where E. 11th and W. 10th would be realigned to meet. Among the chain ventures suggested as possible occupants of the site are Max and Erma's, The Limited, The Gap, and Urban Outfitters.

"All this talk about Max and Erma's by Campus Partners, they really don't understand the market or how to deal with the residents. What's their college-trained manager going to do the first time a member of the rugby team comes in to their upscale restaurant and pisses in a corner? How are they going to handle that? What they don't want to admit is that the bar owners know this area, we know this market and we're professionals," commented Brad Miller, owner of Maxwell's.

Conte, too, is unwilling to give in yet to the notion of High Street as a mall with major retailers anchoring it. "The problem I know we're going to run into when they want to build new structures or new businesses, to build those structures they're going to have to have a national caliber retailer in order to convince the banks that they should get more money for it. ...Wherever that happens, I've really been encouraging that that be our last resort."

"High Street has enormous potential," Campus Partners' community liaison Steve Sterrett said. He maintained, though, that "It's not working well now. Students are spending their discretionary funds elsewhere."

A self-created war zone

Miller, for one, thinks the fault for that lies with the police. "This is the hardest place in the nation to own a bar... It's a war zone. They've dehumanized the students. The police have to realize that the students are not the armies of darkness," he said. Miller argued that the original Campus Partners rhetoric about "a dangerous neighborhood in decline," has added to the south campus woes.

He pointed out that because of the conflict with the police, students are now "paying to get out of this area" and drink at places like Mekka. "It shouldn't have to be that way," Miller said.

The Columbus police take a drubbing in the Campus Partners plan, both for their lack of sensitivity toward students and their failure to follow through with the Park, Walk and Talk program designed to get officers out of their cruisers and onto the sidewalks. Mark Hatch, director of Community Crime Patrol and a member of the Campus Partners board, has already begun meeting with law enforcement and student representatives, according to Sterrett.

Campus Partners is seen by both south campus bar owners and residents as sort of a new temperance movement. At a December meeting of the Undergraduate Student Government Assembly, Humphries lectured students on partying "responsibly." President E. Gordon Gee is quoted in the April issue of the Ohio State Alumni Magazine as saying: "I have no intention to make [student life] boring. . . [but] there will be no plebiscite on the fundamental issue of change." Most of Gee's envisioned "change" has focused from the beginning on downsizing the south campus bar strip.

Gee recently told students lobbying for domestic partnership benefits that change takes time and he used Campus Partners as his analogy. "When I first came here six years ago I knew something had to be done, so every year, six years ago, five years ago, four years ago, I asked for money to do something. I finally got the money...." Gee conceded that critics may correctly view his attack on the south campus bar strip as a return to the principle of in loco parentis, the notion that the university should act as a surrogate parent to students under the age of 21.

Citizenship 101

Certainly, even under the modified Final Final Draft, the university is expected to take a much greater responsibility for its students. It calls for students to be trained for community service, for the university to assess that service, for incentives to be provided to encourage service, and for students to follow the code of conduct anytime they are engaged in a university-related activity, a modified in loco parentis.

Campus Partners' Conte agrees that the university "should definitely be taking a more active role; then how that's done is the question."

One way that the university could begin addressing the problem would start right on campus, with increased expenditures for student activities and health and counseling services. Mindbogglingly, the university spends about 10% of what similar institutions spend on alternative activities for students, according to the Campus Partners plan. As the instructional fee for students has risen, tuition costs have been controlled by keeping the general activity fee-that which pays for non-instructional programming-low. As a result, there is not much that the university provides students to divert them from haunting the High Street bars.

In the meantime, there is not one full-time person working on alcohol abuse on campus, according to Conte. "There's nobody on campus that's trying to coordinate activities to reduce alcohol usage and prevent alcohol abuse, and I think that's why we have all the problems on 12th Avenue because there hasn't been any planning.... This alcohol position was recommended to be funded as part of OSU's budget process, but the last I heard from OSU vice president on Student Affairs [David Williams] was it wasn't going to be funded."

Williams was in Africa last week and could not be reached for comment.

Despite the university's disinvestment, Conte thinks the students need to realize their responsibilities. He is encouraged by planning among off-campus student and year-round residents to meet and orient students new to the neighborhoods. The idea is to be pro-active with students moving off-campus "so you immediately make them partners in that neighborhood..... And the students need to realize that they might be here temporarily, but they're stewards of the university and the university area."

Extending its boundaries

Work by Campus Partners has not been limited to the East Campus neighborhoods. Language in the Final Final Draft is deliberately more inclusive than in earlier drafts in an attempt to extend the university's responsibility to the north and south as well.

"There's still a lot of things missing," UAC's Skubovius cautioned, "particularly in the northern third of the district. A little money could go a long way." But he called the extensively revised document "more acceptable."

In the north campus area, Campus Partners initially worked closely with the Glen Echo South Civic Association. That collaboration spawned an oppositional organization, The Common Ground Forum. The Common Ground folks objected to the original Campus Partners proposal to close and redirect area streets. Joe Demshar, the owner of Top Priority Pizza, emerged as the most vocal critic of the Campus Partners plan.

"It's been mostly quiet up here since Barry Humphries' departure," he stated, although, at a May 22 meeting of the Civic Association, Demshar claimed that Campus Partners' spokesperson Julie Boyland "discredited herself." Boyland presented the Campus Partners perspective on the need for "traffic calming" and the closing of Fourth Street. "It was quite a fiasco," Demshar declared. "Julie attempted to shout down the Common Ground attorney Laura Sharp. She kept yelling: 'Where do you live? What are you doing here?'" while Sharp was presenting the less-intrusive Common Ground proposals calling for stop signs and speed bumps.

Demshar believes that the election of Jim Hubbard, of the Common Ground group, as vice president of the Glen Echo South Civic Association at a June 3 meeting signals the ability of the neighborhood to solve their traffic problems without Campus Partners' intervention. "They have nothing to do with anything up here anymore. We can solve our own problems without their involvement," he said.

The university in drag

Unlike the University Area Commission, Demshar is unwilling to endorse Campus Partners' Final Final Draft. "Who is Campus Partners? It's the university in drag. Why do they deserve the other side of High Street? It's a land grab by the university using a not-for-profit entity as a diversionary tactic to get involved in commercial enterprises," in Demshar's analysis. He asked, "How well managed are they? They bury nuclear waste and cadavers under the Fawcett Center and forgot about it."

Echoing the sentiments of the UAC, Demshar dashed off a list of what he sees as the real needs of north campus: "If Campus Partners, and I mean the university, wants to do something for us, let them fix our streets, improve the lighting, help us get new sidewalks and curbs, bury the utility lines, build green space, clean our streets, improve the landscape-that's what this area needs. Not the Limited!"

" As a student, I'm concerned about the displacement of people and the problems. If the rents go up, everything gets nice, and people can't afford to live here, where are they going to go?" Conte asked, raising the same concerns. "And again, [there's] this feeling that there's this assumption that there is no community here. But it is there and we threaten to destroy what communities we do have."

"I'm torn because I understand the economics of it," he continued, adding, though, "I know I don't agree with everything that's in [the plan], but I know something needs to be done," Conte concluded.

7/03/1996

Family values

by Bob Fitrakis

Hey, did you hear the one about the governor's chief of staff, Paul Mifsud, recently resigning "to spend more time with his family"? Family values, you gotta love those Republicans. I mean, here's this guy at the pinnacle of power practically deciding who gets what contract, grant, tax abatement, etc. and he just walks away because he's a family man. Right! You may have seen a strange little preemptive strike of an article in Saturday's Dispatch where "Daddy Knows Best" Mifsud called upon the Ethics Committee to investigate himself. Why? Read the Dispatch on Sunday and you won't know. But please, please, don't read Sunday's Akron Beacon Journal. It wrecks the whole "family values" spin. Seems Mr. Mifsud's then wife-to-be had some "sweetheart"-type construction-some $220,000 worth-done on her home by "minority" contractor T.J. Banks. Banks, the minority, owns the majority of the company and the Carbone family owns the rest. And, boy, coincidentally, do they get a lot of state contracts. Anyway, it's all in that awful other Sunday paper you absolutely shouldn't read under any circumstance. 'Cause, you know, sometimes a man just likes to walk away from it all and spend some time with the missus and the young'un.

And rumor has it that a former top-level Dispatch executive who was canned may also have had a sweetheart home construction deal with the ubiquitous Mr. Banks, who was building commercially for the Dispatch Printing Company at the time.

Deconstructing Construction

Don't fret, the Big D didn't really go liberal on us in Sunday's front page lead article. Yeah, it sounds like they're apologizing for ineffective Big Government cost overruns on the Statehouse renovation. But that's just a cover.

Their headline is a classic: "A pittance per person makes Capitol stately." They go on to tell us how the $112.7 million restoration-"64 percent higher than the estimate"-is perhaps one of the greatest bargains in modern governmental history. Their lead, "the $29 renovation of the Statehouse is complete." That's $29 times 8.2 million taxpayers.

Now, after such a bargain, it would be uncharitable to bring up the fact that they regularly chastise the Clinton administration for cost overruns on every federal building they could find. Indeed, a recent editorial complained that a building with large cost overruns shouldn't be named after the former President Ronald Reagan since he-of tripling the long-term debt from $800 billion to $2.4 trillion fame-was "a budget-cutter." And Hitler was a peacemaker.

Oh, and the Dispatch forgot to mention they own the property right across the street that zoomed up in value with the renovation. So, it's not really liberalism, just plain old socialism for the rich.

Covert Operations at Rickenbacker?

All evidence points to Columbus' Rickenbacker airport as the site of covert CIA operations during the Yugoslavian civil war. As previously mentioned in this column, admitted "ex-CIA" airline, Southern Air Transport (SAT), moved its hub from Miami, Florida ("ah, the good ol' Bay of Pigs days") to Columbus in 1995. This is the same time that President Clinton secretly authorized the arming of Bosnian Muslims, brought to our attention by Bob Dole and other Republican members of the U.S. Senate as a campaign issue. In January, Southern Air official David Sweet admitted that Southern Air Transport held contracts with the U.S. government related to the Peace Accord signed by Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia in late November in Fairborn, Ohio.

Sweet noted, according to the Dispatch, that one of SAT's "advantages" is its fleet of 15 L-100 Lockheed Hercules planes-a commercial, extended version of the military's C-130 cargo planes. Sweet praised the L-100's ability to land on "unimproved" airstrips. Loaders who worked for Rickenbacker, not SAT, report loading uniform 10,000-pound crates on the L-100s throughout 1995, prior to the Peace Accord.

I can only speculate as to what was in them. Arms for the Bosnian Muslims? No doubt SAT officials, as they're trained, will deny this and claim they should neither be tainted by their CIA ownership from 1960-1973, nor their role in the Iran-Contra scandal. Still, being ex-CIA is a lot like being ex-Mafia. Just ask Columbus' own General Richard Secord, an international arms dealer with long-standing ties to the CIA who leased a C-123 Southern Air Transport plane that was shot down on October 5, 1986 over Nicaragua and made Iran-Contra a household word. Secord last emerged from the spookworld in the early 1990s in Azerbaijan where he had ties to a U.S. oil company, MegaOil, where ex-U.S. armed forces members were paid mercenaries conducting "military training programs."

A UN procurement dispute in 1993 found that both SAT and Evergreen helicopters, another "ex-CIA" proprietary, contained more (ex-)spooks than a Jaycee's haunted house at Halloween.

In November 1993, the Los Angeles Times reported that SAT procured lucrative supply contracts to service U.S. peacekeeping forces in Somalia, including one to fly Israeli mineral water from Mogadishu to outlying towns at $30,000 a day. So, the former Yugoslavia, Somalia, what's the next job? Saudi Arabia? I'd think twice before buying that property near Rickenbacker. Could be a different version of red, white, and boom!

7/10/1996

Tommy takes the town

by Bob Fitrakis

Tommy, George and Greg and Bob Dole would have to be an idiot to pick George Voinovich for vice president. Despite the obligatory fawning articles this past Sunday in both the Cincinnati Enquirer and the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Voinovich-to borrow a phrase from President Reagan-is up to his keister in a scandal. You can bank on it. In fact, you can take Tommy (T.G.) Banks to the bank on this. Remember the name, he'll be a key factor in why Voinovich won't be selected as Dole's running mate. Or, if Dole is more out of it than he seems, why Ohio will have its own version of Whitewater. The governor, with the assistance of the Columbus Dispatch and assorted lawyers and PR flaks, are in the fight of their life to keep Andy Zajac's well-documented Akron Beacon Journal article on contract steering, published a week ago Sunday, from becoming a major scandal. The article is so explosive it would not only deny Voinovich the VP slot he so covets, but also dash his hopes for winning a U.S. Senate seat -if he's passed over by Dole-in 1998.

As mentioned last week, the Governor's Chief of Staff Paul Mifsud suddenly announced his resignation on June 24 to spend more time with his family. In reality, ace reporter Zajac had been dogging Mifsud for months about a strange, sweetheart construction deal with the Banks Carbone Construction Company. Tommy Banks, the minority owner of the company, took out two permits for an estimated $210,000 in construction on the house of one Dr. Kathy Bartunek, future wife of Mr. Mifsud.

Now, Mr. Mifsud and Dr. Bartunek claim that Tommy Banks promised to build a plush-library, office, breakfast nook, etc.-1,200 square feet, two-story home addition as well as a 1,450 square feet, three-car detached garage for only $35,000. Yep, that's right folks, for the remarkable price of $35,000. Now, according to the governor's guy Mifsud, Banks blew it, and overran the construction costs to $109,000. Nobody can explain why Banks' permits totaled $210,000. Mifsud and Bartunek have not produced canceled checks, as of yet, to show that they actually paid Banks anything, let alone the $109,000.

More curiously, after completely blowing the deal with perhaps the second most powerful man in Ohio politics, Banks went on to receive nine of 16 unbid minority contracts from the state of Ohio. A case of ultimate incompetence paying off? Hardly. Coincidence, Banks and Mifsud insist. No other minority contractor received more than three unbid contracts.

When Zajac began asking about Banks' construction job and proof of payment, Mifsud and Bartunek tried to pressure the Beacon Journal management not to publish the story. In fact, Bartunek's attorney, Megan Peters, even sent Zajac a threatening letter claiming the now-wife of the governor's chief of staff was not a public figure. Someone in the guv's office purportedly leaked the letter to a few select journalists in an obvious attempt to intimidate other reporters from jumping on the scandal. Christopher Davey of the Cincinnati Enquirer -a paper that has ignored the scandal -received a copy. Coincidentally, Davey was just hired as a communications spokesperson for Attorney General Betty Montgomery starting this week.

Meanwhile, Mifsud got Alan Johnson of the Dispatch to spin his damage control in a preemptive strike piece against Zajac's piece in the June 29 edition. Zajac's front page article appeared the next day, June 30. Johnson's piece now stands as a pathetic orphan. Essentially, the article informs us that Mifsud had called upon the Ohio Ethics Commission to investigate him and immediately clear him. Notably, the Dispatch failed to print or mention the wire version of Zajac's story the next day.

The Dispatch's attempts to paper over the scandal were soon done in by Tommy Banks. Another Dispatch reporter, John Futty, was hot on Tommy's trail in the local South of Main scandal. So, in one of the most bizarre layout decisions in Dispatch history, Johnson spun Mifsud's prenuptial agreement and no financial interest in the property angle on page two of the Metro section on July 2. Johnson's article refers to Thomas G. Banks of Banks Carbone Construction. Directly underneath Johnson's story is a continuation of Futty's front page article. Futty tells us that the same Mr. Banks, of T.G. Banks Special Projects Division and T.G. Banks & Associates, owes the city more than $12,000 in back taxes and the Bureau of Workers Compensation $131,000 in premiums. Undaunted, Banks copped the Billy Milligan defense with Futty. His evil corporate self headed T.G. Banks & Associates-it had the liens against it; the Good Tommy ran Special Projects and owed no money. And Tommy's good friend Police Chief Jackson had his police department investigating the non-profit South of Main Development Corporation, whose subsequent demise allowed Banks to take over all their construction contracts with the city.

Turns out, Tommy is also civic-minded, giving big bucks to Mayor Greg Lashutka. And the mayor's lovely wife saw fit to represent T.G. in a lawsuit. I'm also not quite sure whether it was the Good or Bad Tommy who brags about having built a garage for John Wolfe. Anyway, it seems Tommy's just one lucky guy. After all, he was awarded a big COSI contract and one of the four people voting on it was the mayor's then-Chief of Staff Bruce Johnson.

Looks like Tommy is going to do for the mayor what he's already doing for the governor.

7/10/1996

FEATURED ARTICLE

Building relationships

by Sally MacPhail and Bob Fitrakis

When the governor's chief of staff announced his resignation June 24, it took many political insiders by surprise. Though Paul Mifsud-whose hard-hitting style had earned him one of the most powerful positions in the Voinovich administration-claimed that he was leaving office to spend more time with his young family, even Republican Senate President Stanley Aronoff expressed shock at the timing of Mifsud's departure, telling the Cleveland Plain Dealer that he had "absolutely no pre-knowledge of this."

But while GOP officials and the governor were hailing Mifsud for his years of work and integrity, questions about Mifsud's involvement with a fledgling Columbus construction company were clouding the pretty picture. A series of stories in the Akron Beacon Journal in the last few weeks has looked at the deal struck between a Columbus builder and Mifsud's then-fiancee for a two-story addition and garage on her Marysville home. The contractor listed in the building permits for the project, Banks Carbone Construction Co., has emerged from relative obscurity in the last few years to become one of the most successful minority-controlled contractors in the state. In just five years, Banks Carbone has been awarded over $3 million in no-bid contracts under the state's Minority Business Enterprise program, according to the Beacon Journal. Banks Carbone has won nine out of 16 large state construction management contracts since 1992, three times more than its closest competition; two of those nine are the $65 million Schottenstein Center arena and the $52.3 million Max Fisher College of Business at Ohio State.

Mifsud himself has since called for the Ohio Ethics Commission to clear him of any wrongdoing in what would appear to be a contract-steering mess.

While Banks Carbone continues to rack up multi-million-dollar projects at the state level, a sister company also controlled by Banks Carbone principal Thomas G. Banks was recently appointed to salvage the troubled South of Main project in Columbus. T. G. Banks Special Projects Division, Inc. was appointed by a receiver to complete the city-funded low-income housing project despite the fact that yet another of Thomas Banks' companies, T.G. Banks & Associates, Inc. has three liens totalling over $130,000 filed against it for unpaid workers compensation premiums and the city's division of income tax has two judgments pending against it for over $12,000. In addition, the state department of taxation has filed a judgment against Thomas Banks for non-payment of $17,996.22 in withholding taxes.

Just why Banks was chosen to complete the South of Main work is still a mystery, as several other contractors, many of them minority-controlled, were hoping to land the job. Muddying the waters is the question of political influence. At the state level, Banks was a major contributor to the Voinovich campaign, always staying within the legal guidelines prohibiting contributions of more than $1,000 by contractors doing business with that state official; but Banks, his wife, brother and two nieces each donated $1,000 to the Voinovich campaign in one day.

Locally, Banks has been an equal opportunity contributor, giving generously to Republican Mayor Greg Lashutka's re-election campaign-over $3,000-and supporting Democratic city council person Les Wright's bid to retain her seat in 1995.

Wright is the chair of the council's housing committee, which oversees funding for the South of Main project.

Banks' ties to the mayor extend beyond campaign support. When a moving company allegedly dropped the Banks piano down the stairs and banged his hot tub in 1995, Banks and his wife hired Lashutka's wife, attorney Catherine Adams, and Keith Shumate of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey to sue the movers. Adams later withdrew the case without prejudice. Also, Ohio Senator Bruce Johnson, then Lashutka's chief of staff, cast a vote for Banks to get a piece of the new COSI construction project.

Banks' generous support of politicians may be surprising considering that the 35-year-old Gahanna resident has come from relative obscurity. Just who is this affable black man that is described by friends and competitors alike as charming? How could his smile and what many have said is a passing knowledge of construction have been parlayed into multi-million-dollar contracts and substantial campaign contributions? How could a 30-year-old relatively lesser light in the Columbus construction business have Police Chief James Jackson, OSU President Gordon Gee, and Mayor Lashutka listed on his 1991 resume as references?

According to the resume on file at the City of Columbus Equal Business Opportunity Commission office, Banks is a graduate of the police academy in Reynoldsburg and the State of Ohio Juvenile College. Banks attended OSU "with a major focus on Business and Criminology." His construction experience was gained while working "as an aide" to William Banks Sr. in a family-owned business, the resume states.

Banks really began to make his mark after 1990, though, when he formed T. G. Banks & Associates, Inc. a Dublin-based corporation that included a wholly owned subsidiary, Pyramid Construction Systems, Inc.; and Target Construction Co. A 1991 resume on file with the city's equal opportunity office also stated that Banks was then president of Banks-Tuller Printing & Design, a company that was dissolved in 1991, according to state records.

Banks also was listed as president of Target in 1991. According to the Secretary of State's office, Target has since been "cancelled" by the state tax department and is now not in good standing with the state.

Banks & Associates was "a quality, minority General Contracting firm holding the State of Ohio MBE [Minority Business Enterprise] Certification. T.G. Banks & Associates has successfully bid and been awarded many minority set-aside projects with The Ohio State University," the resume states. Banks also cites private sector work for Ameriflora 1992 and housing rehabilitation.

"I got the shock of my life. I was working on the grounds crew at Ameriflora and I saw Tommy," commented Banks' brother, Billy Banks. "He told me he built the Fest Haus, the shelter house there. I had no idea he was working in construction. I went to his office to borrow $5 and he had a big picture of himself and George Bush up on the wall. He worked security for him. He knows some powerful Republicans, he was a deputy sheriff," added Billy Banks.

The Franklin County Sheriff's Department confirmed that Banks was a deputy sheriff from February 22, 1987 until September 30, 1987. According to his file at the sheriff's department, Banks was a "parking officer," or meter reader, with the city, then became a deputy sheriff, but was fired in 1987 after a negative job review. Banks filed suit with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission in 1987 claiming that he lost his job because of racial discrimination. In its October 27, 1988 finding the Commission denied the allegations, but settled the suit with an agreement that gave Banks a special commission with the department allowing him to work funeral services only.

Billy Banks said that he was born in Columbus' inner city, "Flytown"; his brother Tommy was born in the north end near Kenny Road. Geographically and politically, the two brothers couldn't be farther apart, according to Billy Banks. "He's [Tommy] there hanging out with all those millionaires, all those big guys with big houses," mused the 17th Street resident.

"He's a pawn for the system," commented a local black entrepreneur who requested not to be identified. "He's just being moved around when people need to get things done."

While not much is known about where Banks acquired the money to begin purchasing Target, Pyramid and the printing company, his star has certainly risen through the three major companies of which he is principal: T.G. Banks & Associates, Banks Carbone Construction, and T.G. Banks Special Projects Division. T. G. Banks & Associates was officially chartered in 1991 with Banks as its sole shareholder, according to the city's Equal Business Opportunity Commission. As of September 1993, the company listed its estimated gross sales annually at $3 to $5 million, up from gross sales in 1992 of $3.5 million. Just what T.G. Banks & Associates reaps now is a mystery, as the EBOC now outsources MBE certification to the Columbus Regional Minority Supplier Development Council. Michael Gordon, executive director of the CRMSDC, told Columbus Alive Tuesday that he could not share the certification files without the prior approval of Gwendolyn Rogers of the city's EBOC.

Among the projects that Banks listed in 1993 as jobs his Banks & Associates had handled were:

·      OSU's Postle Hall in 1990, at a cost of $19,500;

·      Ameriflora Fest Haus (subcontractor for Ruscilli/Smoot); 1991; $285,000;

·      Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority; $10-$11 million;

·      State of Ohio; $8 million;

·      Martin Luther King Center; $25,000.

Dates were not available for the last three jobs.

Banks reported an annual salary in 1993 of $121,000 as chairman of the company.

In 1992, Banks Carbone Construction Company was incorporated, but within a year the company was under investigation by former Inspector General David Sturtz. Sturtz questioned the division of control by the board of directors-Banks and brothers Ross P. and Vincent P. Carbone, according to the Akron Beacon Journal. To qualify for minority contracts, the company is required to be 51 percent minority controlled, a makeup that Sturtz questioned, the Beacon Journal reported. Banks has since laid the matter to rest, saying that he is majority owner, and that the Carbones are investors, the paper said.

In 1993, Banks, his brother Robert, a maintenance supervisor at OSU, his wife Vanessa and nieces Kelli and Jennifer each contributed $1,000 to a Voinovich fund-raiser. Within the next two years, Banks Carbone won management of six major state projects including the OSU buildings, the $54 million Youngstown prison; and the $101 million Columbus headquarters for transportation and public safety departments, according to the Beacon Journal. Supervision of these and other projects will bring in $3.36 million to the Banks Carbone coffers, the paper reported.

On the smaller, but more significant scale, Banks Carbone was the contractor of record for a 1,200-square-foot addition and 1,450-square-foot garage for Kathy Bartunek of Marysville. At the time of the construction, estimated in building permits to cost a total of $210,000, Bartunek was engaged to Paul Mifsud. Despite the listed estimate, Bartunek and T.G. Banks & Associates agreed to a $35,000 contract for the work in September of 1993. Mifsud's attorney claims that Bartunek ended up paying $108,287 for the work. Why the estimate, the contract price, and the payment are all at variance is still unexplained, as is the question of why the checks were allegedly made out to Banks & Associates when Banks Carbone was listed on the building permits as the contractor.

Even more intriguing to Columbus insiders is why any Banks company would have been handed the South of Main job when Banks & Associates has a trail of debt and litigation. The project is a city-funded effort to create 50 low-income housing units on the near east side of Columbus. The project went into default last spring as the city cited poor quality work and nonpayment of subcontractors. The director of the project, Shawn Thompson, has since resigned and the police are investigating the development corporation's finances. Last month, a court appointed Jon Moorehead, former director of Columbus Neighborhood Housing Services, receiver in charge of the project.

Moorehead is not listed in the phone book and could not be reached for comment on why he chose T.G. Banks Special Projects Division to take over the work. The phone number for South of Main Development Corporation has been temporarily disconnected, according to a recording.

Thompson, who said in an interview Monday that she is reluctant to talk, did say that she will "prevail" in a lawsuit she has filed against the city. "The real story is that we were making history, solving homelessness, leveraging funds for the black community, providing jobs, establishing $10 million in assets, and that was stolen. It was destroyed. I don't really feel comfortable talking right now," Thompson said, adding on a startling note, "My general manager, Neville Hudson, was executed; shot in the head."

But Tom Shelby, construction manager with E. L. Walker, who worked on the project with Thompson, insists that there was nothing about the project that would merit the massive police investigation. He was one of the many contractors who he said continued to work in "good faith" even after the city cut off South of Main's funding.

"It's not like the South of Main got a big lump sum of money as the Dispatch portrays. It was a pay-as-you-go. The city would come in and inspect and they would be invoiced by the South of Main, which would pay the contractors," Shelby explained.

Shelby said that Thompson had forewarned the city and KeyBank, which is financing the new construction portion of South of Main, that there was a particular building company that was a problem.

Asked how Banks took over the project, Shelby replied: "He played his cards right. He took care of the right people. Tommy's not even a construction man; he's a broker that takes a cut and hires other construction people."

Banks is known to be particularly close to Police Chief James Jackson, whose division is now investigating South of Main. Billy Banks calls Jackson "my brother's running buddy," and several people remarked that Banks liked to keep a photo of the chief in his office. Banks allegedly frequents the Cavaliers Club on 17th Street between Long and Broad, where Jackson and other well-connected black men reportedly network.

On a yellow scrap of paper in Banks' personnel file at the sheriff's department were scribbled the words: "Call Tommy Banks friend Jackson." Below it read: "Jackson said he would call the sheriff."

7/17/1996

Clap if you believe

by Bob Fitrakis

The rich and powerful still have faith in Tommy Banks

Is this a great country or what? From Les Wright, decked out in her Sunday best at Wednesdays press conference supporting Banks on the near east side, to the Dispatch, which dutifully reported that he paid his debt in a headline. The problem of course is that debt is singular, and Tommy owed plural, multiple mega-debts.

At the press conference, Walter Cates of the Main Street Business Association played the race card. He referred to media coverage of Banks financial problems and his ties to the governor's chief of staff's resignation as an onslaught of stupidity and the type of scrutiny that no white contractor would have to face. Walters is just trying to get some low-income houses built before the tax credits expire at the end of the year. So, his comments must be understood against that predicament. Cates acknowledged that Banks was on the premise, but was not available to speak, probably too choked up by Councilperson Wright's show of solidarity and the anticipated Dispatch coverage.

It seems that Wright and Banks have appeared at press conferences before. The Columbus Call and Post, on October 8, 1992, ran a photo of Les Wright presenting an award to Banks for his $1,000 contribution to a Boy Scout program run by the Columbus Public Schools. Wright called Banks a person committed to doing what is right and giving of himself. Maybe that's why he gave the Boy Scouts a $1,000 check when he currently owes the state of Ohio and the IRS over $200,000. Speaking of stupidity, Walter, most of us journalists don't go around writing $300 checks to Les Wright's election campaign in 1995 or over $2,500 to Greg Lashutka in 1992 -a year the mayor didn't run-when we owed the government a bundle.

The Dispatch, in its zeal to protect Banks and downplay the major state scandal he's involved in, touted how the contractor pays overdue city tax. All $12,000! They forgot about the $131,000 his company owes in state Workers Comp premiums-that Dispatch reporter John Futty had mentioned the week before. They forgot the more than $100,000 to the feds and an additional nearly $18,000 to the state in back taxes.

Yes, indeed, Big D, he paid a debt. Someone ought to tell Tommy-preferably Les-that a person committed to doing what's right would start by paying their taxes.

But, Tommy's lucky to have friends like Les Wright and the Columbus Dispatch. He's even more lucky that the Daily Monopoly chose to ignore the forgery of documents central to the Banks/Paul Mifsud scandal.

Again, just the facts. Banks, former meter reader but now the main self-taught construction man to the rich and famous, took out two Union County building permits totaling $210,000: one for $150,000; another for $60,000. Tommy promised to build a plush two-story addition-including a library, office, breakfast nook, two-and-a-half baths, three bedrooms-and a three-bay freestanding 1,450-square-foot garage for boat and car storage for Dr. Kathy Bartunek. Now Kathy was engaged to Pauly, the guv's main guy. So, while Mr. Banks labored away on the lavish addition and gorgeous garage, Mifsud and Bartunek were married and moved into the abode still under renovation.

Now the facts get a little muddy. Mifsud and Bartunek claim that Tommy promised to build all that wonderful construction for just the bargain basement price of $35,000 and Tommy, being an incompetent idiot, they would have us believe, overran the project by almost three times the amount. Bartunek settled up with Banks by paying him $109,000 or so she says-no canceled checks have been produced to verify.

And poor Mr. Banks, after his purported display of ineptitude to perhaps the state's second most powerful man, Mifsud, is rewarded with nine of 16 unbid state minority construction contracts.

Thus, the man who oversaw the rewriting of the rules on minority set-asides and unbid contracts, Mifsud, may be delivering for the man who most greatly benefited from the rule changes, Banks. Even more strangely, someone snuck back to Union County, when Andy Zajac of the Akron Beacon-Journal began to ask around about the Bartunek home improvement project, and attempted to crudely forge a different price on the permit. The $150,000 permit was changed to a $50,000 permit. (See, this brings the total job to $110,000.) Fortuitously, Tommy told the Cleveland Plain Dealer the number that the permits totaled, within $1,000, before anyone knew that they had been illegally altered.

Maybe someone ought to alter his Minority Business Enterprise file too. He claims $10-11 million worth of work for the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority. Their files say it's only $2.7 million. Well, we could ask Melanie Mitchell, Governor George Voinovich's director of Minority Affairs, about Tommy's luck, skill or problems. But, the only minority in the guv's cabinet has her own problems also not highlighted in the Dispatch. A bit odd that a paper that lives for reporting unsubstantiated allegations that perhaps an unnamed Clinton staffer may have done drugs recently, would miss Melanie's dilemma.

On June 5, Mitchell's house was raided by police as part of an ongoing investigation against a man alleged to be a major cocaine dealer on Columbus' east side. James Branch, identified by her lawyer as a dating partner of Melanie Mitchell, was arrested at his Columbus address after a one-kilogram shipment of cocaine from Los Angeles was intercepted by postal inspectors.

The Ohio Observer reports that Branch frequently resided with Mitchell, mail for Branch was received at her residence and according to police they had an ongoing financial relationship. Perhaps Ms. Mitchell's personal problems kept her from properly overseeing the minority set-aside contracts while she worked for the governor. Mitchell's daughter, Charmal, was arrested on two misdemeanor counts of possession of drug paraphernalia. Ms. Mitchell has not been charged.

Still, one has to wonder how Ms. Mitchell rose to such prominence in the Voinovich administration. After all, in 1992, as the Observer reports, Mitchell, then known as Melanie Mitchell Lackland, was suspended for 30 days from her position as deputy director of the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT). The suspension occurred after it was discovered that she had her daughter, Charmal, and her sister Lori McBride, hired for summer jobs at ODOT.

The governor's judgment must be questioned in these matters. His two key appointments-former chief of staff Mifsud and Minority Affairs Director Mitchell-are the ones who are responsible for the Banks scandal.

7/24/1996

From suffragettes to shills

by Bob Fitrakis

Called at its founding 76 years ago a "Mighty Political Experiment," the League of Women Voters has recently mutated from suffragettes to pro-nuclear shills. Make no mistake, the role of today's League is that of handmaidens and apologists for the male-dominated nuclear waste industry. Grassroots environmental activists have reported being heckled and harassed at environmental meetings by League members.

Last week in Euclid, a resolution against importing nuclear waste into Ohio from five Midwestern states was about to be passed by the Euclid City Council. The resolution was tabled after local League President Dorothy Fike showed up to give her pro-nuclear waste pitch. Painesville Township had previously passed a resolution against the importing of out-of-state nuclear waste. Our governor has volunteered Ohioans to take nuclear waste from Iowa, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Missouri in a grossly misnamed "low-level" radioactive waste facility. Ninety percent of the nuclear waste in the proposed Ohio dumpsite will come from out-of-state, creating the possibility of a "mobile Chernobyl." The Midwest Low-Level Radioactive Waste Commission became greatly concerned after the dually elected officials in Painesville voted their conscience. What to do? Call in the League! Ain't the Justice League of America we're talking about here. Many environmentalists were shocked last year when Marilyn Shearer, president of the League of Women Voters of Ohio, drove down from "the shores of Lake Erie" to "explain why the League of Women Voters" supported the Nuke Dump Bill. If they follow the money trail from the nuclear industry and the pro-nuclear U.S. Department of Energy, the League's "glowing" endorsement of out-of-state nuclear waste makes more sense.

In September 1987 the League's tax-deductible Education Fund created the so-called "Nuclear Waste Education Project." Two months later, the Energy Department awarded the League a $274,287 grant. Not surprisingly, the nature of the League's supposed "non-partisan and non-sectarian" Education Project became singularly partisan and sectarian in nature. The bucks from the feds were supposedly earmarked for "citizen's education on nuclear waste issues." In reality the League used the money to develop a pro-nuke waste dump curriculum that its members present at two-day workshops geared towards "community leaders." In some locations like Nebraska and Southern California, League branches gave up any pretext of non-partisanship and simply took the cash directly from U.S. Ecology, the notoriously Orwellian nuclear waste "management company." The Nebraska League took a $50,000 grant from U.S. Ecology and then had the nerve to proselytize for a nuclear waste dump in Nebraska under the guise of "Citizen Advisory Committees." The Southern California League also took a $30,000 grant for similar purposes. The noble experiment has spawned an ugly mutant.

Uh-oh, Mary Jo!

Whoa! Mary Jo Kilroy on the warpath-I mean, campaign trail-against "Mean Gene" Watts? Political junkies and media types gotta love it. Sort of like my fascination as a child with Big-time Wrestling on Saturdays.

Kilroy used to co-publish the Free Press with me until her "political career" got in the way, so my analysis here is with a certain bias: I'm still pissed. Anyway, here goes. State Senator Ben Espy recruits Kilroy, realizing that if he can't take Senator Watts out in the wake of the "pancaking" scandal, he could be stuck with the "mean one" for a long, long time. So, they pressure the lackluster Jeff Furr out of the race-Espy was not happy that Furr had tossed his hat in the ring, while running against Watts, for Maury Portman's council seat when Portman retired earlier this year-and proceed to round up money commitments. What they envision here is a repeat of the Amy Salerno upset against Rep. Mike Stinziano two years ago. You know: male politician caught up in a scandal is taken by surprise when the female vote is counted on Election Day. A more likely scenario is Kilroy turns out to be Richard Cordray. Watts rigged himself up a fairly Republican Senate district seat and McGreevy, the Independent Republican who filed against him, isn't going to drain off the needed votes. Why? While both Kilroy and McGreevy will harshly attack Watts as a crook for taking an unreported $500 honorarium that led to a "no contest" misdemeanor conviction, McGreevy has his own problems. You heard it here first. Court records verify that McGreevy was recently up on felony theft charges himself. And while those charges were dismissed, the circumstances show that McGreevy shares Watts' poor judgment. McGreevy claims that a local contractor was paid in advance to do a job at one of his buildings, and when the job wasn't completed McGreevy decided to get his money back by seizing some of the contractor's tools from his parked vehicle at a local eatery.

So much for integrity and wise political judgment. Sure is gonna be hard for McGreevy to run as the Independent of High Integrity against the "convicted" Watts when these facts come out. Plus, Watts is the poster boy for both the rabid right and the rich and famous, so he'll have the cash in his campaign coffers. And if the Dispatch has got Mean Gene's back covered on the scandal-and there's no reason to believe they won't-it should be a great show: Big-time Verbal Wrestling. But the early betting line says Gene keeps his title belt. Stay tuned.

7/31/1996

The governor...and the mob?

by Bob Fitrakis

Are they or aren't they investigating Governor Voinovich's administration?

It's become a semantics debate. Voinovich campaign contributions, yes; administration, no.

The July issue of the Ohio Observer originally reported that the FBI was investigating charges of contract steering in the Voinovich administration. Then a week ago Sunday, the Cincinnati Enquirer confirmed this and filled in many details surrounding the preliminary investigation. Then the Cleveland Plain Dealer had the feds denying it. But the Enquirer stood by its story. And well they should, since they had, in newspaper biz parlance, "back-up"-usually meaning "we taped it, you idiots." Plus, the Enquirer had confirmation from multiple sources: two in the FBI and one in the Justice Department.

Yes, there's a very thin line, indeed, between an investigation of Voinovich campaign contributions and his administration. One that could easily be crossed this election year. Ohio Rep. John Boehner, who regularly publishes the ongoing Washington Union Boss Watch, recently alleged "close links" between a labor leader and both the Clintons and organized crime. Shocking, eh? The House Republicans are planning to hold hearings.

I have a few tips of what to look into while they're investigating organized labor, politicians and organized crime. Columbus Alive has learned that the original state investigation file contained allegations linking organized crime to our governor's growing scandal, which is the basis of the federal probe.

Maybe they could ask Voinovich, then mayor of Cleveland, about his presence at the funeral of Teamster Vice-President Bill "Plug" Presser on July 21, 1981. "Plug" was a protege of Jimmy Hoffa and a thrice-convicted labor racketeer. Presser also aided the Nixon White House in compiling the infamous Enemies List and before his death managed to pass his vice-presidency on to his son, Jackie.

Or they could ask what George recalls about the funeral at the Berkowitz-Kumin Memorial Chapel on July 12, 1988 when he gave the eulogy for Jackie Presser. Jackie Presser rose to be Teamster president while simultaneously working for the Mafia and the FBI. Presser's rise from "car thief to a White House dinner guest" is well-documented in James Neff's Mobbed Up. "He was a man who loved his fellow man. He made a difference in my life. I will miss him and pray for him," eulogized Voinovich.

Maybe they could look into the guv's attempt to appoint ex-loan shark and Mafia associate Carmen Parise to Ohio's Turnpike Commission. Certain other members of the commission and their activities bear further scrutiny. By the way, it sure is nice that, despite federal advice that it was unnecessary, the state is expanding the turnpike from three to four lanes east and west. Stuff like that in other states is often linked to contract steering and money laundering, but not in Ohio.

House members and federal investigators could look at where small-time player T.G. Banks, holder of the majority of the state's unbid minority construction management contracts, got the money- big money-to buy Target Construction in 1990. The down-on-its-luck company still held $53 million or so in building contracts, according to the Columbus Dispatch, and had been one of the largest home builders in the United States. One reliable highly placed law-enforcement source alleges that organized crime money out of Youngstown may have been involved in the purchase of Target.

House members and feds could also investigate Paul Mifsud, the governor's recently resigned chief of staff. Immediately after Voinovich's inauguration in 1991, Mifsud took control of three key state departments: Commerce, Development, and Transportation. He was involved in refashioning the bidding process for state construction projects. "That's where the money is," the source said. So, that's where the House and the FBI should look.

Investigators should focus on whether or not Mifsud steered state construction contracts to Voinovich political backers and major donors. They could also look into the role Phil Hamilton, the head of Governor Voinovich's administrative transition team-and lobbyist for the Voinovich family construction company-played as a key connection between Mifsud and T.G. Banks. Allegations have been made that Banks was a minority "front" to funnel contracts to the Carbone Construction Company out of Cleveland. The Carbone family are long-time Voinovich backers.

"Phil Hamilton is the glue that holds it all together," says the law-enforcement source. So, more than circumstantial evidence exists to suggest that systematic contract steering has been going on in the Voinovich administration since its inception. And ties to reputed organized crime figures and money sources should be sought out.

While the nature of such an investigation may sound farfetched to readers, this isn't the first time that governors of the state of Ohio or their administrations have been caught up in questionable activities. A re-reading of a Life magazine article of May 2, 1969, "The Governor...and the Mobster," may provide a certain sense of deja vu. The article exposes how Governor Rhodes used his campaign fund for personal gain, "intervened" to secure loans to pay back cronies, and granted a pardon for mob boss Thomas "Yonnie" Licavoli.

8/07/1996

Out of the frying pan

by Bob Fitrakis

Governor George Voinovich couldn't "stand the heat," so "he got out of the kitchen." The Guv got out of the VP stakes because of the growing contract-steering scandal with links to organized crime figures in Cleveland. One look at Voinovich's FBI file would've had Bob Dole muttering "Bob Dole's not about these type of people." Voinovich would not have been able to withstand the national press scrutiny. His former chief of staff, Paul Mifsud, could've been mentored by Spiro Agnew-same type of construction kick-back problems. The national press wouldn't have muzzled their bloodhounds like the Dispatch is now doing with Bob Ruth. Remember, the Guv's spokesperson, Mike Dawson, called Mafia associate and loan sharker Carmen Parise a "very, very good friend of the Governor." Parise was an associate of James T. (Jack White) Licavoli, reputed organized crime boss. The Guv nominated Parise to the Ohio Turnpike Commission, but he withdrew after the Akron Beacon Journal profiled his past.

The Guv then chose Umberto Fedeli. Fedeli would have you believe that he's a humble civil servant paid $5,000 a year to serve as commission chair where he works 20-30 hours a week and has to put up with nosy reporters. Like the ones at the Plain Dealer who want to know why people getting the construction contracts from the Turnpike Commission are switching their insurance to the Fedeli Group Insurance Company. Fedeli is the sole owner. S.E. Johnson Companies has received $55.4 million worth of turnpike contracts since January 1995, and has wisely switched their insurance to Fedeli. Can you say quid pro quo? Fedeli is refusing to say who else holds turnpike contracts and buys insurance from him. Just another bad unethical appointment by the governor? No! It's how the brothers Voinovich (Paul and George) routinely do business in Ohio.

And "Landfill" Lashutka has followed the governor's lead. Tens of thousands of dollars of illegal and questionable contributions pour into the campaigns of Lashutka and Cindy Lazarus. Then Columbus Service Director Herb Mack signs an illegal $250,000 contract with Mid-American Waste Removal, the source of the illegal funds. Mack resigns. But in June, Lashutka appoints Mack to the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC). Say you're Les Wexner and want your own New Albany interchange for say, $300 million. Guess which is the first body you'd visit to get them on board? Mack's the mayor's man. He knows how the game is played.

The coverage of Ron Poole's soliciting-a-prostitute incident also speaks volumes about central Ohio politics. It's the mayor's guy-not Judge Deborah O'Neill. Contrast the Poole coverage to the Dispatch's blatant attempt to use hearsay and gossip to run O'Neill out of local politics. Better yet, ask yourself why, when the name of Judge Steve Hayes-Woody's boy-appeared on the client list of an exclusive Columbus call girl ring, and he was caught on video pulling into the bordello, was there no call for a hearing on judicial misconduct. Having been on the campaign trail with O'Neill in 1992, her great sin is obvious. She met with the late J.F. Wolfe, who wanted her to take a dive in the race against former Dispatch reporter Judge David Cain. When she refused to drop out of the race and kicked Cain's candied behind, her troubles began with the Wolfe Family Newsletter. The Wolfes immediately had Cain reappointed to an open seat and he never missed a day on the bench. And he brazenly clung to the perks of seniority-check his parking space-despite technically being the newest judge at the time of his appointment. Cain led the charge against O'Neill when she was recently accused of judicial misconduct. There is no level of cover-up and deception the Big D won't stoop to in protecting their good ol' boys.

Meanwhile, the ever-pious governor continues to push his blatantly unconstitutional school voucher program. The Voino-voucher plan, dearly beloved by the Dispatch, includes religious schools, in violation of the First Amendment: "Congress shall make no laws establishing religion...." The ruling by Franklin County Judge Lisa Sadler, a former Voinovich executive assistant, would be laughable if it wasn't so ludicrous and pernicious. Remember, Machiavelli advised the Prince not to take religion seriously, but to be the first one out on high Holy Days to worship.

But hey, the Guv is Carmen Parise's and Umberto Fedeli's "shepherd ... they shall not want." Alas, let me leave you with the words of the governor's "very, very good friend" Parise from a taped threat to Teamster driver Jerry Lee Jones. "The day after this [Teamster] fucking election, you motherfucker, nobody is going to bust your fucking head but me, from here down to your prick.. . . . Every time you turn around, I'll have someone give you a fucking beating. You understand me?" Jones was later assaulted by a co-worker. I understand Parise...and why Voinovich dropped out of the Veep stakes.

8/14/1996

Call him Mace Ventura

by Bob Fitrakis

Channel 4's investigative series "Trouble on 12th Avenue" aired last week. Producer Joel Chow and investigative reporter Rich Skidmore provided viewers with some of the year's most provocative video footage. Despite the standard denials, obfuscations and wild tales told by police officials, their own videotapes tell a different story. Still even more damning is the Internal Affairs paper trail left by the officers accused of "excessive use of force" on May 18.

The series' first segment focused on an incident involving Kevin Lennon. Lieutenant David Wood, who investigated Lennon's complaint against Officer Robert Coffman, wrote in his June 7, 1996 memo to Chief James Jackson that: "When I first viewed the film it appeared that Officer Coffman's strike to the subject's back was improper. After careful review, this investigation [sic] it is obvious that his actions were necessary and proper. I recommend no further action necessary." No surprise.

The police tapes, obtained by Channel 4, clearly show Officer Coffman coming in and punching Lennon as he's being carried away by other cops. You can hear the words "Enough, Bob," from a fellow officer, which brings what appears to be a swipe from Coffman towards the cop advocating professional behavior.

Coffman is not always keen on professionalism. On February 9, 1994, Coffman ran a license tag number for a Sergeant Watkins for "personal use." He was "counseled." Perhaps the police should have spoken with Becky West, who on April 17, 1993, was injured in Coffman's custody. That was ruled an "accidental injury." Or they could have talked with Tony Delpra who filed a complaint for an incident on May 13, 1991 when he was "struck in jaw" by Coffman. This was, of course, "justified." Or they could have talked to three different mothers on two different occasions who charged that Coffman pointed his gun at kids during raids on their homes. And the list goes on.

Officer Michael Stalnaker knees Lennon on the tape. Another of Columbus' finest, he has since 1987 either Maced or had 13 "excessive use of force" complaints. Whether it was an "unfounded" shove against Paul Collier "causing him to hit his head," or the "justified" use of a "flashlight" against Robert Walker, or the "justified" kicking of Tim Hemmert in the stomach, for some reason citizens seem to unfairly single out Stalnaker. With all the "justified" force being used by the officer, it's no wonder it slipped his mind to report he kicked Hemmert. His "written reprimand" was, no doubt, unwarranted. So many unruly citizens, so little time.

The second segment shows that there's always time to take a young lad-in this case, George Sandrock-to "the whipping post." Different officers; same pattern of behavior. Sandrock suffered contusions on his nose and upper left eye and a laceration over his right eye that required stitches. This, for not dispersing quickly enough while on a private porch behind party fencing per police instructions. According to police reports, Sandrock's a real ass-kicker. He stood his ground, cussing out cops, despite "two verbal orders" directed at him by Officer Jimmie Barnes. After Macing Sandrock, in Barnes' version, the youngster attacked his riot shield with his fist and head. Yes, indeed, Sandrock swung his "fist so hard at Officer Barnes that he lost his balance and fell into the riot shield."

Just ask Officer Eric Moore, who attempted "to restrain Mr. Sandrock's arms and legs while he was kicking and swinging his fist at the officers." And Officer Martin Malone also saw Sandrock "resisting." Now, anyone who saw the video saw the officers push Sandrock over the railing, hold him there, and beat the hell out of him. The Allman Brothers classic Whipping Post would have been appropriate background music. But who's going to believe a lying punk like Sandrock when you have three officers like Barnes, Moore and Malone.

Since 1990, six citizens have complained after Barnes Maced them; three persons "accidentally injured" themselves in his custody in the last year and a half.

At least Moore "accidentally shot himself in the leg" and was reprimanded on April 1, 1990. Add to that nine Moore Macings- including Macing a man in Florida while Moore was on vacation. A written reprimand resulted from Moore's Florida adventure. Stir in seven citizen complaints, all very similar, all found to be "unfounded" allegations. These involved "rude and obnoxious behavior," "alleged theft," and forcefully pulling police out of their cars. Toss in seven more force complaints, including pulling Joseph Cook from his car and putting a gun to his head, and three-including Sandrock-"accidentally injured" prisoner complaints in the last three years.

There's still more with Malone: 17 complaints since 1987 for Macing, excessive use of force, and an injured prisoner.

And the third and final segment dealt with Criminal Justice student Shammas Jones who was videotaping the police activity away from the fray and was allegedly attacked by Officer David Dennison. Dennison's attack on Jones was "justified." Just like his 10 Macings since March 1993.

But how do they justify the police officer caught on tape shooting "knee-knockers"-rubber bullets designed to be shot into the ground and bounce up-directly at students and yelling, "There you go, eat that!"

Police investigators admit they came to their conclusions on "justified" Macing and use of force on 12th Avenue by only using the least damaging tape. This is unjustifiable.

CORRECTION

Last week Bob Bites Back mistakenly stated that Judge Deborah O'Neill had met with "the late J.F. Wolfe." The column should have read "the late J.W. Wolfe."

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8/21/1996

Uh oh Umberto

by Bob Fitrakis

Uh oh, Umberto. This is getting all too predictable. Sunday's Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that everybody's favorite suspected minority front company, Banks Carbone Construction, is purchasing liability insurance through the Fedeli Group.

Umberto Fedeli, chair of the Ohio Turnpike Commission, is the sole owner of the Fedeli Group Insurance Company. Now, just 'cause the selling of over-priced insurance as a condition of getting contracts and business is a standard organized crime scheme, we shouldn't jump to conclusions here. You see, that would be "anti-Italian." Just ask Governor George Voinovich, who appointed Fedeli to the Turnpike Commission in 1991.

Recall again that the Guv's original choice, Carmen Parise-a known Mafia associate and loan shark-withdrew from consideration after his shady past was made public. Up stepped Umberto. A former organized crime contract launderer and confidential source previously told Columbus Alive about Fedeli's alleged ties to Youngstown and Cleveland Mafia families in an attempt to dissuade the paper from further reporting on Fedeli. A sporting sort, the source said, "Let me know if you're going to keep reporting on this so I can make book on how long you live."

Anyway, since becoming Turnpike chair in 1992, Fedeli has steadfastly refused to disclose his insurance agency clients who do business with the turnpike, nor will he say how much cash he's raking in from these accounts. Fedeli failed to reveal on his required 1995 financial disclosure statement that both Banks Carbone and Ralph C. Tyler PEPS Inc., an engineering firm, began purchasing his liability insurance just before they got a piece of the turnpike $650 million project to add a lane each way between Youngstown and Toledo.

As previously reported in this column, another turnpike contractor, S.E. Johnson Companies, received a $32 million turnpike construction contract earlier this year. You can guess who they switched their insurance to in July. You're in good hands with Umberto!

More on McGreevy

Poor Mr. McGreevy. He just wants to run as Mr. Clean Government-type against dirty ol' "Mean Gene" Watts and Mary Jo Kilroy. But questions keep popping up about theft charges that Assistant County Prosecutor Dianne Kurilchick dismissed.

Franklin County Court of Common Pleas documents indicate that instead of representing the "people's interest," Kurilchick seemed to act more like McGreevy's personal defense counsel. McGreevy, perhaps believing his own political propaganda, wanted to act as his own counsel. Instead of going in for the easy kill, Kurilchick repeatedly had the trial delayed and then sought "diversion" for McGreevy. The diversion plan is open to first-time felony offenders usually requiring restitution and community service for later expunging of the record.

According to a Common Pleas judge, McGreevy was found "unfit" for the diversion program because of his "attitude." The fearless county prosecutor's office dismissed the felony theft indictment against McGreevy on June 18,1996 so that he can conveniently run his ever-so ethical and clean campaign for state senate.

In dismissing the case, Mike Miller's office cited the following reason: "state believes this is an unauthorized use of property, not theft." McGreevy was miffed that a subcontractor hadn't performed the work he was allegedly paid for, thus Mr. Clean lifted the man's tools from his vehicle at a local eatery. Maybe if McGreevy wins his campaign as an Independent for state senate he can vote to send a public contract to Banks Carbone and they can finish the construction project for him.

Derailing the Mobile Chernobyl

The list of local municipalities passing resolutions in opposition to a multi-state nuclear waste dump in Ohio keeps growing. It's damn near a full-blown movement. So far resolutions have been passed by Cleveland, Cincinnati, Bedford Heights, Brook Park, Woodmere, Brooklyn, Strongsville, Oakwood, and Painesville Township.

Let's see. Cleveland. . . Cincinnati. . . what big city starting with a "C" is missing? Maybe the roll-over-and-play-dead lapdogs on the Columbus City Council are waiting for cues from Mr. "All Environmental Laws Are Unfunded Mandates" Mayor. Yep, maybe "Landfill" Lashutka has a cozy little site in mind in Franklin County for the radioactive waste dump. After all, he's opposed to recycling because there's LOTS of room left in those landfills. And there's all those friendly waste haulers who make illegal donations to Ohio politicians who need work! And maybe Banks Carbone could build the nuke dump, too! And Umberto Fedeli could sell the insurance! That's the ticket.

Oh, I forgot. Nuclear accidents are uninsurable. Sorry, Umberto.

8/27/1996

Polistinks

by Bob Fitrakis

The train keeps a'rolling . . . the Clinton choo-choo . . . all aboard and park your principles in the excess baggage car. "You see, you got to vote for Clinton, 'cause of Newt Gingrich. If ya don't, the Republicans will hurt workin' people and people on welfare," or so they explain on the train to Centristville.

Clinton's visit to Columbus is like an episode of Twilight Zone. He's created a bizarro world of gutless, soulless, and repentant baby boomers. The most vacuous and unprincipled Democratic president elected this century. President NAFTA, President GATT, destroyer of the New Deal.

Now, let me get this right. In 1992 I reluctantly supported Clinton, because if I didn't, terrible things would happen. The Republicans would pass a free-trade agreement sending hundreds and thousands of U.S. jobs to sweatshops in the Third World and polluting the global environment. I voted for the Democrat so the Republicans wouldn't create a police state with 100,000 police added to the streets causing the subsequent erosion of civil liberties based on hypocritical crime hysteria and stereotyping of the poor and minorities. I was supposed to vote for Clinton so the Republicans wouldn't pass a vicious, mean-spirited Welfare Reform Act. So there would be universal health care, less poverty, etc.

Wait a minute. I voted for Clinton and I got Reagan and Bush's GATT and NAFTA policies. I got Richard Nixon's law-and-order agenda. I got Gingrich's welfare reform act. I got 42 million Americans without health care in 1996 instead of 37 million in 1992. I got 15.1% of Americans living in poverty today instead of 14.2% four years ago. With Democrats like this, who needs Republicans?

Fear of Newt has neutered the Democratic Party. Today's so-called Clintonesque "New Democrats" are still to the left of Mussolini, but are definitely to the right of the Eisenhower Republicans and, dare I say, Richard Nixon. The Democratic Party has turned itself into the pre-Ronald Reagan Republican Party and it now celebrates its hollow victory in Chicago.

"Oh my party's bound and gagged and they've tied it to a chair. Won't you please come to Chicago..."

Umberto's inner-belt blues

Can Umberto Fedeli pick 'em, or what? Seems S.E. Johnson Company's having a problem with its paving of Cleveland's inner belt. According to Saturday's Plain Dealer, Johnson's resurfacing of part of Interstate 480 began "to crumble several months after completion." Hope they've got insurance!

As previously noted, S.E. Johnson won $32 million in third-lane construction contracts from the Ohio Turnpike Commission earlier this year. In July, the company switched its liability insurance to the less-than-renowned Fedeli Group. The Fedeli Group is sort of like the Gang of Four, or the Mob of Three, or Horde of Two. The Group's sole owner is Turnpike Commission Chair Umberto Fedeli.

Hopefully, everyone's favorite minority front, Banks Carbone, didn't use S.E. Johnson for the foundation work at the residence of Paul Mifsud, the governor's former chief of staff. You can count on the fact that Banks didn't actually do the work. He's essentially subcontracts. Maybe T.G. can find an actual minority architect or builder to check the pavement and concrete work at Paul's place.

A whiff of Y-Town

Something's rotten in Y-town.

The Youngstown City Health Department received an Ohio Infant Mortality Reduction Initiative Grant from the Ohio Health Department. So far, so good, no smell.

But, the mayor of Y-town can't document or provide proof of service contracts for $40,395 in grant funds. The money was spent and apparently no one was contracted to provide the required Save-the-Babies services. Starting to have a bit of an odd odor.

The Most Honorable Patrick J. Ungaro, mayor of Youngstown, was looking for a little favor from Georgie-boy-perhaps Y-town's all-time favorite guv. Ungaro wanted the governor to look the other way over Youngstown's inability to "provide executed personal service contracts for grant personnel," as referenced in an August 9, 1996 letter to Ungaro from Ohio Department of Health Director Peter Somani. This is the grant equivalent of "no show" or "ghost" employees. Definitely a strong stench, particularly as, in a letter dated June 4, 1996, the guv had agreed that he would "would explore the state's ability to waive recoupment of $40,395" of the missing funds. One wonders why our pro-life governor wouldn't be more vigilant over such funds. But hey, Paul Mifsud-since resigned under a suspicious cloud-was running the show in the governor's office then and I understand he's got more than a few friends in Y-town.

Due to heightened scrutiny in the wake of Mifsud's most untimely departure, the feds are looking very closely at the activities of the Voinovich administration. One federal source suggests that evidence points to the pockets of local Y-town politicals as the best possible recoupment site.

Now sources say a deal has been cut where Mayor Ungaro will look contrite and return the mysteriously missing money.

As the saying goes, "Y-town is mob...I mean, my town."

9/04/1996

FEATURED STORY

The high price of bucking the system

by Bob Fitrakis

All evidence suggests that since the onset of the George Voinovich administration in January 1991, the governor's recently resigned chief of staff, Paul Mifsud, systematically engineered the steering of contracts and public funds to political backers and Voinovich family members.

The firing of Joseph Gilyard on July 22, 1991 by the Voinovich administration was a clear harbinger of the governor's current problems. Gilyard, who had been director of the Office of Criminal Justice Services and a long-time loyal supporter of the state's Republican machine, was canned shortly after he alleged that he was under political pressure to give the governor's brother's company valuable state prison construction contracts.

The firing paved the way for Mifsud, formerly vice president of the Voinovich Cos., to operate with virtually no restraints within the governor's administration. As chief of staff, Mifsud was put in charge of the Ohio Department of Transportation, the Commerce Department and the Development Department, and used that position of power to serve the interests of political backers and personal favorites.

Recent allegations that contracts were steered towards the Banks-Carbone Construction Company may be just the tip of the iceberg. It's an open secret in the local construction and architecture industry that over the last five years most major design and construction management contracts have been awarded in a blatantly partisan manner. Many contractors believe that the state's Department of Administrative Services has repeatedly gone through a charade of soliciting proposals and later interviewing qualified architectural construction management companies for state projects prior to steering the contracts to what appeared to be predetermined winners. According to construction industry insiders, projects that seem to fit this pattern include:

·      Five prison contracts totaling $150 million awarded to Knowlton Construction Company to build or renovate five state prisons, despite the company having little or no previous experience as a prison construction manager.

·      The $80 million Max Fisher Business School, the $85 million Schottenstein Arena at Ohio State, and the $110 million Hilltop Office Complex to the Gilbane Building Company. In all three cases, the Banks-Carbone Construction Company was selected as the minority partner.

·      The $65 million new COSI building to the Ruscilli Construction Company.

·      The $20 million reconstruction of the riot-damaged Lucasville prison to the Sherman R. Smoot Company.

·      Various contracts to the Voinovich Cos. and Voinovich-Sgro to build and renovate jails, including the Franklin County jail.

Following George Voinovich's electoral victory in November 1990, Lieutenant Governor Michael DeWine appointed Gilyard director of the Governor's Office of Criminal Justice Services in January 1991. Gilyard's previous experience included being executive assistant to George Forbes, Cleveland City Council president; chief of staff for Cuyahoga County Commissioner Virgil Brown; court administrator for Chief Justice Thomas Moyer; and director of the Ohio Court of Claims. As director of the Office of Criminal Justice Services, Gilyard's tasks were to coordinate planning and funding for all of Ohio's criminal justice agencies and dispense state funds for area jail construction projects. Over the eight-year period from 1983 to 1991, the Office of Criminal Justice Services awarded some $200 million in jail construction monies.

Within six months of his hiring, Gilyard was disgraced and hounded by several charges-theft in office, lying to the Voinovich administration about his past, and allegations of sexual harassment-that were later all summarily dismissed. Gilyard's termination and public humiliation served as a head on a spike to all who dared cross Mifsud.

Gilyard's tenure turned tenuous immediately after an early "get acquainted" meeting with lobbyist Phil Hamilton, head of the Voinovich transition team and former executive vice president of Voinovich Cos.; and Bennett J. Cooper, Gilyard's predecessor in the administration of Governor James A. Rhodes.

"[Hamilton] had been bugging me and bugging me to come over," Gilyard said in an interview with Columbus Alive. When he walked up to the office at 8 E. Long Street, Gilyard said he noticed a plaque over the door. "In gold leaf it says 'Hamilton and Associates, The Voinovich Cos.' I about passed out."

In fact, Candace Peters, a criminal justice administrator, had warned Hamilton during the 1990 campaign that the Voinovich Cos. was facing a potential conflict-of-interest situation over the building of local jails in Ohio.

Despite the warning, the pressure from Hamilton and his associates was "never-ending," Gilyard insists. For example, he says, at "a reception for all the Voinovich criminal justice people, Hamilton is bothering me again. Cooper's coming over [to his office] every other two, three days. He's calling me. He's going on trips with me," Gilyard recalls.

Both Cooper and Hamilton are on record denying having pressured Gilyard to receive jail construction grants and contracts.

In a memo to DeWine dated February 1, 1991, Gilyard outlined his problems with the initial meeting with Cooper, Hamilton, and his wife, Patricia Hamilton. According to Gilyard, the talk immediately turned to jail construction contracts and Gilyard said he felt he had to excuse himself. Gilyard said he believed the meeting "raised a significant question as to its propriety" since there was a 1987 Attorney General's opinion that jail construction grants were state contracts and candidate George Voinovich had pledged that his brother Paul's company would receive no state contracts.

Patricia Hamilton was soon thereafter appointed the chairperson of State Board of Personnel Review, the board that would later approve Gilyard's ouster as director.

While others mulled the memo, Gilyard's attention was drawn to Sheriff Earl Smith. In late March, early April, Gilyard began investigating allegations of impropriety surrounding Sheriff Smith's Franklin County Drug Enforcement Network (DEN). Gilyard's now-famous April 12, 1991 memo to DeWine basically summarized various allegations of illegal activity by DEN agents. DeWine froze the funding for the program and, Gilyard later claimed, ordered him to "destroy the memo." The DEN missive-together with the February 1 memo-unwittingly set the stage for Gilyard's later dismissal.

At about this time, Sharon Downs, an assistant deputy director of Administrative Services-and wife of John Downs, then-personnel director for Earl Smith and a protege of Voinovich transition director Hamilton-accessed a computer file on Gilyard's personnel history. Prior to accepting his position, Gilyard had interviewed with Secretary of State Bob Taft's office where he talked openly about a 1975 incident at Indian River School, a juvenile detention facility where he was fired from the staff and convicted for hitting a youth. The misdemeanor conviction was later overturned. Despite the fact that Gilyard made no secret of the incident, DeWine claimed that Gilyard had failed to disclose the incident during his background check and subsequently he fired Gilyard in July of 1991, even though he later conceded that he was aware of the 1975 incident when Gilyard was hired.

As Gilyard recalls, he was originally offered the job to protect DeWine because, like Mifsud, he was raised in the hardball political scene in Cleveland. Gilyard said he was told: "You were in Cleveland politics, and Mike's afraid that those guys are going to eat him alive." Gilyard claims that early on, Mifsud surrounded himself with ambitious "young Republicans....We used to call them 'brown shirts' like in Germany." Politically, you couldn't make any mistakes in dealing with Mifsud, according to Gilyard: "Mifsud would cut your throat off."

In June, Smith, angered at Gilyard for freezing his drug task force funds, met with Mifsud about instituting a thaw. Smith gave Mifsud an investigation file on Gilyard. In a two-pronged strategy, Hamilton-who was on Smith's payroll as a $1,000 a month management contractor-met with DeWine and offered to mediate the dispute between Smith and DeWine over task force funding.

In the meantime, pressure from Hamilton and Cooper mounted, Gilyard claims, adding that he felt compelled to approach Mifsud about the Voinovich Cos.' apparent conflict of interest. He said he went early to a Cabinet meeting. "I said 'Paul, you have to do something about this jail stuff....I'm telling him this story and literally...he put his hands over his ears like a little kid. 'I don't want to know, get away from me, stay away from me,' and he ran around the Cabinet table to the other side and turned his back on me."

Around the first of July, Paul Voinovich sent his brother 14 pages of material-including copies of Gilyard's personnel history-with handwritten comments to the effect that there were problems with Gilyard. It was virtually the same package Smith had given Mifsud in June.

Gilyard had confronted Sheriff Smith about the allegations against the DEN agents. While Smith denied them and insisted that he get his funding back, both he and Gilyard have confirmed that, during the conversation, Smith made Gilyard aware of illegal campaign contributions that the trash haulers had made to the 1990 Voinovich campaign.

Gilyard claims Smith "sent a direct threat to the governor" to back off his drug task force, and immediately Smith began to crack down on overloaded garbage trucks in Franklin County. "Now, what actually happened was, when Earl had told me about the illegal campaign contributions, he actually was making trash trucks dump their trash in the city streets of Columbus. There's pictures in the Dispatch. Nobody could understand why. I, of course, knew why, and I'm telling the governor and I'm telling these people why and Mifsud's pooh-poohing me, although he knew better," Gilyard explained.

In what even he describes as an end run to get to the governor the information about the activities of his brother Paul, Hamilton and Mifsud, Gilyard said he arranged a meeting with David B. Bailey, a Cleveland Republican Ward Committeeman and Voinovich confidante for over 30 years; and former Cuyahoga County Republican Party Chair, Robert Hughes.

Hughes, one of the state's most powerful Republicans, had recently formed his own political consulting company. "We met with Hughes in Hughes' basement. It was Hughes, Hughes' wife, Bailey, my wife and myself. Bob took prodigious notes. Five pages of notes on a yellow pad. He agreed to see the governor, and I believe he made a phone call to Columbus that night," recalled Gilyard.

Whether or not the governor got the information is unknown. Hughes died in November of 1991 under mysterious circumstances, the victim of carbon monoxide poisoning.

On July 15, 1991, Gilyard sent another troubling memo to DeWine questioning the propriety of the Voinovich Cos.' lobbying efforts. Within a week, he was suspended and then fired by DeWine, who accused him of withholding information about the 1975 Indian River incident. DeWine also claimed that he hadn't received any memo from Gilyard regarding the Voinovich Cos.' intense lobbying efforts. Earl Smith had in the meantime filed theft-in-office charges against Gilyard.

On August 7, Curt Steiner, chief spokesman for Voinovich, stated that DeWine was aware of the 1975 Indian River incident when he first interviewed Gilyard in December. Late in August, a nearly 1,000-page Ohio Highway Patrol report substantially supported Gilyard's claim that he had sought to repeatedly warn Mifsud of ethical problems.

A little more than a week after Gilyard's departure, the Columbus Dispatch reported that, "Two well-connected Statehouse lobbyists- one with ties with Governor George V. Voinovich's brother and another appointed by Voinovich to a state commission-helped clients land unbid contracts as part of a $350 million state bond issue." Hamilton was the lobbyist for Goldman, Sachs & Co., which, along with Lehman Brothers, received the unbid contracts to handle about $175 million in bond issues on behalf of the Ohio Housing Finance Agency.

On October 3, Franklin County Judge Richard Ferrell dismissed Smith's charges against Gilyard, citing "no probably cause." On October 18, after months denying its existence, DeWine turned over a copy of Gilyard's July 15 memo, claiming that he had recently discovered it in a desk at his second home. DeWine dismissed Gilyard's thoughtful memo as "a goofy, long narrative." The memo remains a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the current contract-steering allegations against Mifsud.

After Hughes' death in November 1991, the Ohio Ethics Commission-with new Voinovich appointees-ruled that it wasn't a conflict of interest for the governor's brother to take state jail construction funds.

One monument to the political machine that steamrolled over Gilyard stands in Franklin County: the renovated Franklin County jail, built in 1970 by Pringle and Pratt. According to former Sheriff Smith, now running again for his old job, the Voinovich Cos. originally did the architectural assessment for the renovation at the Franklin County jail. They were paid $75,000, and received another $18,000 for their estimate that the jail could be renovated for $2 million. The $2 million renovation has turned into an $11 million-plus project.

Smith said that the Voinovich Cos. recently renovated a kitchen at the jail that had already been renovated "down to leveling the floors" in 1990.

"There was no bid from the Voinovich Cos. They said that since the Voinovich Cos. had done the original architectural assessment, that constituted a bid," Smith said.

9/04/1996

More bizarro news

by Bob Fitrakis

More Bizarro Planet News. Headlines: "Clinton signs Newt's welfare bill"; "Kilroy attacks Watts from the Right." No doubt progressive activists and Kilroy coddlers will ignore Mary Jo's severe swerve to the Right, just as they explain away her vote for the Republican Reverend Leon Troy to join the school board. "Politics is the art of compromise," they're fond of quoting. Indeed, what do principles and integrity got to do with it?

Last Thursday, Kilroy attacked her campaign rival, incumbent state Senator Eugene Watts for voting for the so-called "Robin Hood" plan that takes from the wealthy school districts and gives to the poor. Here's the problem. The vote was without a doubt the best one in Watts' career. And Kilroy has publicly argued that the plan wasn't socialistic enough; that it takes more money to educate the less fortunate and poor children. She was right. But that was the old Mary Jo.

The new one shows up with someone dressed as Robin Hood at Barrington Elementary in Upper Arlington and assails Watts. Columbus school board member Kilroy would gradually shift money into the education budget and take from the state's rainy day fund and, without a tax hike, save the ravaged youth of suburbia from the yoke of Watts' egalitarianism. Sounds like "voodoo edunomics," from the Gipper's playbook. I guess that's why they call it politics. Maybe she can explain to her colleagues on the Columbus school board that, hey, "winning isn't everything, it's the only thing."

Speaking of winners, that President Clinton, what a great guy. Loves trains. Sorta like that Tom Cruise character in Risky Business, I suppose. Real mass transit-type guy, you know. After all, his administration supports mass transit the least of all 22 industrial democracies. Clinton loves trains so much he wants Amtrak to be totally self-sufficient by the year 2002. That half-a-cent tax on gas is such a burden. Scott Leonard of the National Association of Railroad Passengers argues that Clinton's policies will destroy Amtrak-already the worst rail system in the western world-within the next five years. Yeah, loves trains, and loves even more, Republican mass transit policy.

His whistle-stop train tour as symbolism was probably suggested by his top adviser, Dick Morris. Morris engineered the transformation of the once-progressive Democratic Party into a Republican-lite beer commercial. Morris resigned recently after his predilection for sucking hooker's toes was revealed first in the Star and then in the New York Times. Morris, a sensitive fellow, reportedly cried in the arms of Sherry Rowlands because he wasn't sure he was giving President Clinton "the right answers to important questions." It's hard to speak and think clearly when you're suffering from Hooker's Foot in Mouth Disease. As for Bill, reportedly, he didn't want to cut Medicaid because he worried "... [he'd] wake up and see a bunch of cripples in wheelchairs chained to my front gate."

Another winner: Worthington-Kilborne High School was rated "#1" in September's Columbus Monthly. While I'm actually a fan and participant in the school's American Radical Politics series, I'm a little worried about the thinking process employed by their highly touted principal, Dr. Diana Lindsay. Last spring, she had a paddy wagon sent to the school to remove a student. Lindsay believes the student, Max Seeman, had the right to stand or not to stand at a school assembly. But, "the genesis" of Max being removed "was the fact that he did not stand initially." When Max refused to be punished for exercising his right not to stand, Lindsay "didn't know what he might do."

"I personally was not in fear, but I did not know what-what he might do," Lindsay explained. After all, there he was, sitting in a lawful manner. So Lindsay had him frisked, arrested, and removed in a paddy wagon. It's that type of thinking that no doubt impressed the staff at Columbus Monthly, at the "best" high school in central Ohio.

The Columbus Dispatch did the community a great service by reprinting Gary Webb's San Jose Mercury News article on the link between the CIA, contras, cocaine and L.A. gangs. If you care at all about American democracy, you'll read the article in Sunday's Insight section and you'll get outraged and active. Now, if the Dispatch has enough faith in Webb's well-researched article that links the U.S. government to the crack cocaine trade in America's urban ghettos- including Cincinnati and Dayton-why are they pushing for a second "former" CIA proprietary airline, Evergreen, to set up at Rickenbacker? We already have admitted former CIA proprietary Southern Air Transport headquartered at Rickenbacker. Why another?

9/16/1996

Who's Farah Majidzadeh?

by Bob Fitrakis

We all know that the Wolfe Family Newsletter, aka The Columbus Dispatch, has other relatives in the industry. There's the staid uncle who secretly reads Hustler, who publishes The Ohio Magazine, the bastard stepchildren who put out This Week, and the flashy niece who flaunts herself over at Today's Columbus Woman.

So, when you see Farah Majidzadeh's splashy cover photo on July's Today's Columbus Woman, you can bet that she's a Wolfe Family fave and politically connected. Her air-brushed, spin-doctored puff piece sent more than one investigative reporter running to their "deep throat" sources and their "top-secret" data banks. The Wolfe spin portrays Ms. Majidzadeh as one of Columbus' leading female entrepreneurs, the head of Resource International, Inc., a Columbus-based engineering and construction-testing firm. Lest we suspect that Farah could be a female Tommy Banks-you know, one of those ersatz affirmative action front owners-Today's Columbus Woman points out that Farah owns 67 percent of the business, while her husband Kamran owns the remaining 33 percent.

What the article doesn't mention is that Resource International is a leading pay-to-play firm in Ohio politics. Between 1990 and 1994, the Majidzadeh family and in-laws gave at least $8,250 to Governor George V. Voinovich's campaign coffers. Like Banks, the Majidzadeh bunch have gotten more than their share of state contracts, and not just in the construction field.

Recall that the Dispatch's best investigative reporter, Bob Ruth, was hot on the trail of Farah's daughter, Marcia, two years ago, when the Big D powers that be muzzled him. Marcia Majidzadeh and her husband owned Nationwide Equipment Enterprises. Ring a bell? The company that allegedly bilked a program to aid the blind out of some $253,900. In March 1993, Nationwide Equipment received a six-month contract from the Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission to operate vending machines at rest stops. Thirty-seven-and-a-half percent of the gross receipts were to go to the state of Ohio to be used to help blind people establish their own food and beverage businesses at state rest stops. Ruth broke the story on July 24, 1994 that state records showed that Nationwide Equipment owed $120,395 in underreported receipts, had bounced $104,588 worth of checks, and had failed to pay the state $28,917 for cleaning bills at the 13 rest stops. On July 30, Ruth reported that the company had failed to "post a performance bond" even though their state contract called for it. And at the same time the state canceled her contract, in her zeal to serve the disabled, Marcia changed the name of her company to Consult-Systems, Inc. and signed a false name on another state Rehabilitation Services Commission contract bid application. Now she was the more waspy-sounding "Marsha May."

But, Marcia had a pretty good explanation. You see, "people often had trouble pronouncing and spelling her real name," particularly when they've been reading it in the paper in relationship to someone allegedly stealing from the blind. Marsha, Marsha, Marsha! Things got so bad that the Department of Aging canceled a contract that she and her husband were scheduled to sign to cater meals to senior citizens at the Ohio State Fair. Let's see, the blind...the elderly...no doubt handicapped children breathed a sigh of relief after that.

Here's the story of a lovely lady, who was building up a business of her own. And then one day when that lady met the governor, she knew that it was much more than a hunch. That if she gave him a lot of money, he could probably help her business out a bunch. Damage control time. Farah and Kamran pulled a George Voinovich and wept openly about their bum son-in-law, Ali Sharifrazi (aka Ali S. Razi), who deceived their daughter and allegedly forged her name. Actual quote: "Majidzadeh's parents fought back tears as they described their surprise..." They were "shocked," shocked, I say! The distraught parents failed to explain how their poor, duped, 30-year-old daughter who had nothing to do with any wrongdoing, not only submitted a bid in the name of Marsha May, but showed up for a "coin-toss ceremony" at the Ohio Division of Purchasing. The coin toss broke a tie between "Marsha May" and another bidder over the state contract.

Poor Marcia; she emerged a double loser. Not only did she lose the toss, but state officials realized that Marsha May was a fraud. Now, we know who Marsha May really is and we know her game. The question remains, who is Farah Majidzadeh and what is her financial relationship, if any, with the disgraced former Chief of Staff Paul Mifsud? Let's toss a coin: heads-it's contract steering, tails-it's just another one of those funny Voinovich coincidences.

9/18/1996

Gutter snipe

by Bob Fitrakis

What the hell is Cynthia Ruccia thinking? Ruccia, running for Congress in the 12th district against John Kasich, held a press conference last week questioning the Congressman's living arrangement with a male aide in Washington. The Dispatch justly portrayed her desperate attempt to "out" Kasich as a descent into the "gutter." What the Dispatch failed to note is that they pioneered such "gutter" politics against Kasich a few years back when they essentially used the same tactics.

If you remember, Johnny-boy was meeting with Hillary Clinton over the health-care issue in the pre-Newtonian days. The Dispatch ran a front page story describing the townhouse that John and his aide lived in and the lovely grilled fish prepared for the First Lady. Hugh DeMoss and I shared a laugh at the time over the Dispatch's all-too-obvious displeasure with Congressman Kasich.

Although I disagree with Congressman Kasich on virtually every public policy issue, I believe his personal relationship with his aide or any other consenting adult is none of our business. Unsubstantiated gossip has nothing to do with political issues. And even if there was an ounce of evidence, what's her point? One would expect more from Ruccia, a Democrat who decries the same tactics and moralizing from the far right.

Last time I wrote about Ruccia in a feature story suggesting the obvious-that the presence of longtime Democrat and former school board member Bill Moss was hurting her campaign-her attorney contacted Columbus Alive.

Her contempt for the First Amendment and her unprincipled attacks on Congressman Kasich should be rejected by the voters. Someone should have steered her away from the Mike Stinziano School of Campaigning.

Betty's boop

Dog ate my homework, computer crashed, copy 1machine broke down. Just when you thought you'd heard all the lame excuses, Ohio's Attorney General Betty Montgomery manages to take incompetence to the highest level. The Plain Dealer reported that Ms. Montgomery missed her deadline in a key court case because her copier broke. The good news is that the case involved Betty and the Guv's attempt to foil Ohio's Open Records Law by having state bureaucrats claim attorney-client privilege. Basically, they were creating a way to keep important or embarrassing information from the public. The Open Records Law is the state equivalent of the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). These post-Watergate, so-called "Sunshine Laws" are indispensable checks on government corruption. We use the FOIA and the Open Records Law a lot at Columbus Alive.

The bad news is that she's our state's attorney. " ...and the line was too long at Kinko's, honest!"

Out of the mouths of babes

It's getting really weird in Worthington. The case of Worthington-Kilbourne student Max Seeman, who was hauled off in a police paddy wagon at the request of Principal Dianna Lindsay, continues to cause consternation. Much to its credit, This Week in Worthington reprinted the transcript of Seeman's disciplinary hearing. The transcript clearly shows that Max was removed for not standing-even though he wasn't required to stand-during a mini-version of a Nuremburg-style senior pride rally.

Well, seems at least one Worthington School Board member understands the difference between a police state and an educational environment. School board member Jim Timko called for an investigation of the incident in a letter to This Week. His authoritarian-worshipping colleagues on the school board immediately passed a resolution of censure and disapproval. They demanded that he not release confidential information, that he not speak on behalf of the board, and that he abide by the first two points or resign.

"They wanted to intimidate me and create the impression that I did something wrong," Timko said. He said that his colleagues get elected and do "whatever the administrators want." Their attitude is "we don't make mistakes in Worthington," he continued.

They accused him of violating confidentiality by responding publicly about the incident. Supposedly, his utterances as an elected official about a hearing purposely opened to the public by the parents of Max Seeman, with Channel 4 in attendance, somehow violated confidentiality.

Key point, Timko did not violate the confidence of the board by responding to a newspaper story. No one told the other educational jackboots on the Worthington board that something has to be a secret first to be considered confidential. Perhaps it was a breach of idiocy. He wasn't dense enough to be on the Worthington school board.

On the plus side, students in Worthington Kilbourne's American Radicalism class requested a discussion on the issue between Dr. Lindsay and Joan Seeman, Max's mother. They must be reading too much Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine and Abe Lincoln.

9/25/1996

Desperate and clueless

by Bob Fitrakis

Another politically bleak week: trade gap widens by 43 percent; credit card delinquencies hit a record high; but violent crime goes down 9 percent. Yet Bill Clinton and Bob Dole continue to run for district attorney instead of president. It's just the real national problems like trade policy and stagnant household income that they're clueless about.

Ask them about drugs and crime, boy, do they have answers. Desperate for political hot-button issues, they bellow: "lock 'em up, beat 'em up, kill 'em quicker, more cops, fewer civil liberties...."

Dole wants to double prison spending-must have been talking to the Brothers Voinovich. I wonder if Paul Mifsud is still working for his campaign? Dole also called for more "drug news." Here's some: 85 percent of drug addiction is legally prescribed. Ask Chief Justice Rehnquist, Betty Ford, Nancy Reagan, Kitty Dukakis, Elvis, etc. In the early '80s, high school kids used to work themselves into such a frenzy at the "Just Say No" clubs that they had to go chug a beer just to cool down afterwards. Clinton wants to spend $700 million for "the largest anti-drug effort in history, "but he won't give the Congressional Black Caucus an answer on whether he backs an investigation into the CIA's (aka Cocaine Importing Agency) involvement with crack trafficking in the inner-cities of the U.S.

An American institution

Speaking of crime, the Pentagon finally released documents showing that U.S. Army training manuals used at the notorious School of the Americas advocated executions, torture, coercion, blackmail, and other God-fearing American tactics against Third World insurgents. Yes, indeed, our U.S. tax dollars at work abroad. We, as a people, are responsible for our drug-running, murdering, and torturing government. Sorry, that's the way democracy works. We are paid to train and "educate" most of the Western Hemisphere's most heinous butchers. Like "Blow Torch" Bob D'Aubuisson who was the leader of El Salvador's right-wing death squads, the Salvadoran soldiers who assassinated six Jesuit priests in 1989, and "our man in Panama" General Manuel Noriega.

Recently, the largest-ever protest occurred at Fort Benning, Georgia, home of the School of the Americas. Four hundred and fifty people-including 300 Catholic nuns-converged on the main gate and called for its closing. Believing "The Truth Cannot Be Silenced," 13 U.S. citizens remain in prison for willfully and openly trespassing at the School in the finest tradition of civil disobedience.

As for President Clinton, the White House recently called the School "a force for good and not evil." Hey, did I tell ya how they pioneered that really thin highly conductive wire that could be inserted in the penile shaft like a catheter and hooked to any portable military field telephone? Just a few cranks of the field telephone and your average Third World non-white Native American-type starts telling you everything you want to know. You usually don't even have to torture him all that long to get information. Must be what the President means by a "force" for good.

Cliff and Jim

Enough bleakness, there's still some heroic Americans fighting the good fight. Cliff Arnebeck, probably the most decent and thoughtful candidate in central Ohio this year, is once again calling for real Congressional campaign finance reform. Arnebeck is Deborah Pryce's Democratic opponent in the 15th district.

Arnebeck, Tom Erney and I are all part of a lawsuit against the state of Ohio with our lead plaintiff, former Republican Congressman Clarence Miller. Our suit argues that it's unfair for the Democratic and Republican parties to draw up the Congressional districts to favor their party's incumbent Congressperson. Take for example, Franklin County: the state legislature created two relatively safe Republican districts by dividing the Columbus voters into two separate districts and attaching overwhelmingly Republican rural counties like Delaware, Licking and Union. If the city of Columbus had been left intact as a Congressional district, we'd actually have a competitive Congressional race this year. In Cleveland, they created a black minority district that votes 84 percent Democratic. And they call it "democracy." We're arguing that a non-partisan body should draw up Congressional districts in a fair and impartial manner. Whoa, is that radical or what?

Worthington School Board member Jim Timko continues his fight against the lock-step majority on the board. Timko refused to bow to community pressure and instead acted on his own conscience. He believes that former Worthington Kilbourne student Max Seeman "didn't do anything wrong" in sitting during a senior pride rally. At least nothing so evil as to require a police paddy wagon to remove Max from the school and his suspension.

"The message it sends is we're going to do everything we can to control your behavior," Timko stated. "You don't understand the Worthington mentality. 'We don't make mistakes.' That's what the school board is saying, and that's wrong."

Timko is consulting with one of the state's leading civil rights attorneys to discuss his options following his September 9th censure by his fellow board members. He admits to being "flabbergasted" after the "junta" voted four to one for censure. And well he should. The Worthington school board is going to have a hell of a time explaining to a judge how they offered a completed resolution of censure and disapproval, and issued a prepared statement on the resolution behind Timko's back. Can you say violation of open meetings law? Can you say violation of Sunshine Laws? Obviously, the paddy wagon came for the wrong people. The board is acting criminally, not Max Seeman.

10/01/1996

Keeping the faith

by Bob Fitrakis

There's a peculiar lawsuit pending in Franklin County: Fox Investigation, Inc. vs. Linda Leisure.

Linda Leisure first met death row inmates during her volunteer work as a prison minister in Ohio. Inspired by President Bush's call for "volunteerism" she worked up the nerve to visit men she feared, yet wanted to help. Not unlike the Susan Sarandon character in Dead Man Walking, she listened to their stories and ministered to their needs.

One of those man's needs, it turned out, involved helping the wife of death-row inmate John Spirko prove that her husband was not guilty. The Spirko case peaked Leisure's interest in investigating murder cases. She felt her talents might be better used in ensuring that justice was being done in individual cases rather than preaching to the condemned. Leisure took a job with Fox Investigation, Inc., a private investigating firm headed by Richard H. Smith, an ex-Columbus police officer and an ex-investigator at the Ohio Public Defender's Office (OPDO). Fox Investigation often did contract work for the OPDO investigating the cases of death row inmates.

Little did Leisure know the reasons why Smith was no longer a cop or state investigator. But she quickly found out why. Soon after going to work at Fox, Leisure claims that Smith "wanted me to falsify time records and interviews on these murder cases." Appalled, she left Fox Investigation, convinced that certain death row inmates were being denied basic "due process" guaranteed them under the Constitution. And even more frightening, that as a result, some innocent American citizen might be executed. This spurred her into action.

On October 25, 1994 Leisure sent a letter to Common Pleas Judge James O'Grady outlining the above allegations against Smith. On November 14, Leisure voluntarily took and passed a polygraph exam substantiating her charges. But it was politics as usual in the Franklin County Courts and nobody took her accusations seriously, as Smith continued to do business.

Fortuitously, Leisure shared the same attorney as Chester "Briss" Craig, former deputy investigator at the OPDO. Craig informed her that he had been Smith's boss at the OPDO and had complained to the Ohio Inspector General with similar concerns. In January 1992, Craig charged "...that some of the investigators were turning in false reports and were not providing the support services to the attorneys as required." Leisure tracked down the state investigative report that essentially verified Craig's allegations.

The report was none too kind to her old boss, Mr. Smith. During his tenure from April 1983 to November 1988 at the OPDO, Smith was fond of referring to black defendants as "niggers" and white ones as "scumbags." These "niggers" and "scumbags" were the very clients Smith was hired to work for and investigate their claims of innocence.

Smith told several of his fellow investigators that he didn't like "working for a nigger," referring to Craig. Smith admitted in the report that he had arranged for police friends to arrest Deputy Director Craig on a drunk driving charge. "I don't consider it a conspiracy at all. I was just going to let the man expose himself," Smith said of Craig.

Speaking of exposing oneself, it turns out that Smith had been forced off the Columbus Police force for doing just that with his most private parts to seven different women, including five minors on October 9, 1981. He had previously been reprimanded many times for various acts of misconduct, including engaging in sex while on duty, and showing up drunk and threatening his ex-wife at her house.

Who was exposing who?

Leisure tried desperately to take the story to the press, with no luck. Depressed and nearly defeated, she picked up a copy of the now-defunct Columbus Free Press, which I edited at the time. She claims God spoke to her and told her that I would publish the story. Who was I to argue with God, particularly when he sends me such a hot story?

Anyway, Leisure's story appeared on the cover of the January 1995 Free Press. Happy ending? Alas, hardly.

Leisure began to receive harassing and threatening phone calls; someone mailed drugs to her house; and Fox Investigation and Richard Smith sued Linda Leisure for $150,000 in damages due to his loss of reputation. Leisure's been unable to hold a steady job and had to re-mortgage her home in order to pay an attorney.

After perusing Mr. Smith's Columbus police files, Leisure's attorney recently wrote to Smith's attorney: "Quite frankly, after review of such file, I believe Mr. Smith would have great difficulty proving to a jury that any action by Miss Leisure caused damage to his reputation." Standard legal principle: one must first have a reputation before it can be damaged.

Leisure was moved by the spirit, driven by her fund.

10/09/1996

Air Crack

by Bob Fitrakis

They're here. Yes, indeed. New evidence published in this week's issue of The Nation directly links Columbus's own Southern Air Transport to the Contra cocaine network reputedly protected by the Central Intelligence Agency.

In December 1985, Robert Perry, now the director of The Nation Institute's Investigative Unit, co-wrote the first news story about Contra drug trafficking for the Associated Press. After the October 5, 1986 crash in Nicaragua of a Southern Air Transport aircraft that was carrying arms to the U.S.-backed Contras, Perry flew to Nicaragua and copied down the entries in the crashed plane's flight logs. The entries made by co-pilot Wallace "Buzz" Sawyer, who, along with two others, died in the crash, indicated that Sawyer flew a Southern Air L-382 from Miami to Barranquilla, Colombia on October 2, 4, and 6, 1985.

In 1986, Wanda Palacio broke with Colombia's Medellin Cartel and became an FBI informant. According to The Nation, Palacio also informed Massachusetts Senator John Kerry that she had witnessed cocaine being loaded onto Southern Air Transport (SAT) planes, an admitted CIA-owned airline from 1960-'73, then under contract to the Pentagon. On September 26, 1986, Senator Kerry hand-delivered an 11-page statement from Palacio to William Weld, then an assistant attorney general at the Justice Department. Palacio asserts that she was with cocaine kingpin Jorge Ochoa at the airport in Barranquilla in '83 as a cocaine shipment was loaded onto a SAT plane, according to The Nation. She claims that Ochoa told her it was "a CIA plane and that he was exchanging guns for drugs."

Palacio claims in early October 1985 she again witnessed Ochoa's aides loading an SAT plane with cocaine. She also confirmed to Kerry staffers that Sawyer was one of the SAT pilots she saw loading cocaine in Barranquilla in early October. SAT officials admitted that Sawyer flew their planes, but steadfastly deny involvement in cocaine smuggling. Not that we would expect them to admit it. On August 7, 1987 in a Senate deposition, Palacio stated that "the FBI stopped working with me all of the sudden because of this Southern Air Transport deal...Justice doesn't want to hear me."

With the CIA-Contra drug connection now national news after the publication of Gary Webb's series in the San Jose Mercury News, and recently reprinted in the Dispatch, questions need to be asked about the use of taxpayer's money to bring the infamous Southern Air Transport to Rickenbacker Air Base. Webb documents how the Contra cocaine network spread crack into the inner cities of Cincinnati and Dayton. Evidence suggests that there was clearly a Colombian cocaine connection in Columbus in the late '80s and early '90s. In 1990, the Franklin County Sheriff's Department under Earl Smith made the single largest drug bust in its history when they confiscated 48 pounds of cocaine from Fernando Solar.

Solar, according to Smith, led the Sheriff's Department to New York and an apartment building where vehicles were being compartmentalized for drug trafficking. They issued a warrant for one Carlos Wagner. Wagner was later detained by U.S. Customs Agents who confiscated half a million dollars from him and allowed him to return to Colombia. He was later arrested in Houston when he re-entered the U.S. Wagner turned out to be a "mule," Smith says, for Colombian drug dealer Rudolphio Trahiellio in San Francisco.

In 1992, the Franklin County Sheriff's Department played a vital role in Trahiello's arrest in cracking one of the largest drug rings in the U.S. Solar, Wagner and Trahiello are reportedly in prison, but Southern Air Transport remains at Rickenbacker Air Base, courtesy of Ohio taxpayer's dollars. Why?

Buck up In the September 4 Columbus Alive, I wrote a news article entitled "The High Price of Bucking the System" about the firing of Voinovich administration official Joe Gilyard. Gilyard, former director of the Office of Criminal Justice Services, repeatedly claimed that Voinovich Company lobbyist Phil Hamilton continually pressured him to illegally release money for Voinovich Company projects. When I asked him why there was so much pressure, Gilyard claimed that "Pauly Voinovich and [the governor's former chief of staff and former Voinovich Companies vice president] Paul Mifsud were in a hurry to repay money to a savings and loan they had busted out."

Gilyard offered no substantiation. But, a Cleveland Plain Dealer article dated September 8, 1994 provides additional insight. Seems Pauly defaulted on a $6.8 million construction loan for a housing project in 1990, just before Gilyard was appointed. The lender was Columbus-based Mid-America Federal Savings & Loan, which later failed and was taken over by the Resolution Trust Company. Dale Bissonette, a former chief financial officer of the Voinovich Company, pleaded guilty to bank fraud in connection with the case. Good thing we got Pauly V building the Franklin County jail for $2 million-oops! forgot the overruns-$9 million. Gilyard was fired; Voinovich is at large in Franklin County. Stop him before he builds again.

10/16/1996

Smoking guns

by Bob Fitrakis

As former Sheriff Earl Smith sees it, "That guy in the other paper missed the whole point....I wasn't obsessed with pornography, we had a health problem, an AIDS epidemic. And when we tried to close the bookstores we ran right into organized crime."

Referring to a recent front-page article in a local weekly, Smith-who is once again facing off against Karnes for the sheriff's post-says he doesn't much care whether people watch triple X videos or read dirty magazines, but he hates the illegal "drugs and prostitution" and money laundering that seem to accompany the porn industry. Of course, the money laundering he loathes isn't by organized crime, but by the campaign manager for now-Sheriff Jim Karnes' 1992 campaign.

Greg Kostelac, a local attorney and then a member of the Ohio Elections Commission, claims for the record that he did nothing illegal. But the courts may decide that question. Kostelac apparently took porn money that can be tied directly to organized crime in Cleveland and gave it to the Franklin County Democratic Party. Here's the rest of the story.

In 1990, then-Sheriff Smith busted an adult bookstore in New Rome. According to Smith, documents seized in the arrest linked local porn czar Mark Wolfe to Ruben Sternum, the mob's guy in Cleveland: Wolfe had sent a $100,000 check to help post bond for Sternum.

Now comes the 1992 elections. Payback time for the big bad Wolfe. In the waning days of the hotly contested Smith-Karnes race, Wolfe, with the aid of his brother Tom and employee Mark Long, reportedly gave money to six trusted acquaintances: Daryl Castle, Herbert Rogers, Cynthia DeSantis, Joanna Demas, Walt Erwin, and William Joyner. On October 26, Long, Castle, and Demas wrote $2,000 checks to the Franklin County Democratic Party; one day later Erwin, Joyner, Rogers and DeSantis also each wrote $2,000 checks to the Party. Clean, freshly scrubbed porn money.

The last-minute influx of the $14,000 into Dem coffers set off a heated battle over the money. Current Democratic Party Chair Denny White was running for county recorder that year and his campaign staffers wanted some of the money; Tom Erney and Rob Lidle lobbied hard for a cut for Denny. But to no avail. The Dems, under the leadership of Fran Ryan, "loaned" the Karnes campaign $8,000 on October 30. Ryan supposedly put the remaining $6,000 into the coordinated campaign effort for all candidates. Kostelac says that $2,200 went into an ad buy at This Week newspapers. The ad was a letter from the Fraternal Order of Police attacking Smith and promoting Karnes.

Kostelac has admitted that the $8,000 loan was used to mass-reproduce copies of Marty Yant's Columbus Alive! article "Tin Star Tyrants." At the time, Kostelac was serving as Yant's attorney in a federal bankruptcy case. On November 23, 1992, after Karnes' narrow victory, the Franklin County Democratic Party paid him $6,000 for "expenses" reportedly for working on the campaigns of White, Linda Evans, Patrick O'Reilly and other Democrats.

The problem is, Kostelac may not have worked on these campaigns. When Linda Evans was asked what Kostelac did for her Clerk of Courts campaign in 1992, she replied, "Nothing." White has also stated that Kostelac did not work for his campaign, but says that Kostelac may have had some "arrangement" with Ryan, who paid him. "I just don't know. It was before my tenure as chair," White said.

However, it's an open secret that White staffers exploded when they found out about Kostelac's expense check. This, in part, may have led to Ryan's hasty resignation as party chair and White's ascension. White says no; other party members say yes.

Smith claims that he asked White about the money laundering and White confirmed it, yet refuses to provide the documents "without a subpoena." White says that Smith called him "over a year-and-a-half ago" and "while I've pledged to cooperate with any government agency investigating the party's activities, I wasn't going to let Earl Smith go fishing in the Democratic Party files."

Wise decision. Seems Smith is out to catch the "big one." And he's got some questions he'd like answered. "Where did the $6,000 go? Was it income for Greg Kostelac? Was it reported to the IRS? Was it given to Marty Yant for writing the story?" Kostelac says no money went to Yant and everything else was perfectly legal.

Well not quite everything. Cindy DeSantis admits to "doing a favor" for her friend Mark Long, who provided $2,000 in "cash" to be laundered to the Democratic Party. Long, now deceased, had worked for Mark Wolfe. Dr. Joanna Demas admits that Mark Wolfe's brother "Tom gave me the majority of the money...maybe I was naive."

And perhaps so was Kostelac, who made the mistake of telling his new running buddy, Terry Casey of Republican Party fame, the naked truth about the porn cash.

10/23/1996

Deja V

by Bob Fitrakis

Who says crime doesn't pay? Not the V Group, the Voinovich group of companies that specializes in building jails. You see, the Guv's younger brother Pauly is at it again. His Cleveland-based architectural construction company may be connected to a man under indictment and investigation for alleged "influence peddling." Seems Vincent Zumpano was indicted on October 3 in Steubenville for allegedly trying to bribe a county commissioner in order to secure a jail construction contract for Pauly's firm. Pauly's company, officially, is "mystified." And those 473 long distance calls from Vincent's place of employment to the Voinovich firm between December 1992 and December 1995, as reported in the Cincinnati Enquirer and Cleveland Plain Dealer don't prove nuthin'. And that's why the Dispatch has the good sense not to write about it, but chose instead to put on Saturday's front page aWashington Post wire story about bad sportsmanship among band leaders in Virginia!

More calls went to former employee and lobbyist for the Voinovich firm and the Governor's original "transition director," Phil Hamilton. Sound familiar? Remember Joe Gilyard and an Alive cover story six weeks ago about the Gilyard-Hamilton relationship? It's the same old story, same old song and dance, my friends. Here's a quick take from Joe, fired by the Guv after he suggested that little brother Pauly may not be on the up-and-up. "This is exactly the type of thing Phil Hamilton wanted me involved in. They used to phone me, fax me, send messages constantly. He wanted me to let the counties know that the V Company had 'the inside track' on jail contracts."

With Governor George's much-coveted senatorial campaign now only two years away, isn't it time to pull a Clinton? You know what I mean. Like when Wild Bill let the state police nab his out-of-control cokehead brother Roger. Think about it, Guv. Time's runnin' out.

V is for Voinovich

Meanwhile, Pauly continues to "hook us up good" here in Franklin County. You see the architectural firm of Voinovich-Sgro went-without any political influence whatsoever-and got themselves an unbid contract of nearly $1 million to design and manage a $2 million, I mean, $8 million-wait, now $11 million-Franklin County jail renovation.

Our illustrious county commissioners-all Republicans, same party as the Guv, wink, wink, nod, nod-approved the unbid contract last May. Good thing that Voinovich-Sgro is only the architect 'cause if it was the construction manager a 1988 state law would have required competitive bidding, which would have saved millions.

So the cost overruns are really the fault of those really bad construction managers, not Voinovich-Sgro. So much wasted taxpayer money, those bastards. Maybe Voinovich-Sgro could begin to phone and fax those evil construction managers, the Voinovich Companies, every day. I suspect they know the number.

Maybe they could build some special luxury condo cells, you know, like those corporations build at sports stadiums. Then, if Voinovich-Sgro turns in The Voinovich Companies for ripping us off, the construction manager company officials would have a place to stay in the style to which they have become accustomed. Is free enterprise great, or what?

Sybil Hall?

Another one of my favorite county officials is Treasurer Bobbie Hall, universally hailed as a financial whiz. That's why I take her so seriously when she touts Bob Dole's tax cut and attacks Bill Clinton as a "big spending liberal." Reminds me of the movie Sybil with Sally Fields. You remember: Sally did that multiple personality schtick. Hall's doing the same thing when she suggests that county property owners don't need a 1 to 2.5 percent discount on our property taxes by pre-paying the bill monthly instead of paying in a lump sum.

Hall recently informed the Dispatch that she looked into the tax-saving program, "but has not seen a need or a benefit to the county's finances." Sybil, Sybil? Let me talk to Bobbie Dole, the tax-cutting gal!

Metcalf's double-dipping

Look for Anthony Celebrezze III to justly blast Franklin County Recorder Richard Metcalf later this week in a commercial on "double-dipping." Campaign insiders say the initial script is something like-use your best deep political voice-"He's been on the public payroll for 45 years. He's making $110,000 a year."

Yes indeed. Seems a loophole in the law allows the former retired judge and public servant to collect some $60,000 to $65,000 a year in from the Public Employee Retirement System (PERS) while bringing in $50,000 or so as our county recorder.

Look for Metcalf to counter with the usual "He's got a well-known name and he's been in office a really, really long time . . ."

Ain't democracy grand?

10/23/1996

FEATURED ARTICLE

Radical rebirth

by Bob Fitrakis

Every 30 years or so, the American Left recreates itself: the Communists and Socialists of the 1930s' "Red Decade" later became the decentralized, radical Students for a Democratic Society and New Left of the 1960s. And it looks like it's the multiculturalism and direct action of Anti-Racist Action (ARA) for the '90s.

The program for the ARA's Third Annual Conference, held last weekend, screamed: "Do Something!" It had a photo of an activist taking a swing at a bloated, pot-bellied, berobed, coneheaded Klansman. Entering the old North High School, where the ARA conference was held, I got the sense that something was indeed happening here. Grizzled veterans of '60s and '70s anti-war and anti-imperialist movements mingled freely with the next New Left. Before the weekend was over, I had attended workshops on racism and fascism, marched and been Maced at-and been cited as the leader of-a demonstration against police brutality. Welcome to activism '90s style.

At the opening of the conference Friday night, the mostly "straight-edge" Generation X participants-wearing "Fuck Racism" T-shirts, the "Mean People Suck" slogan taken to its logical extreme-exuded an aura that made the Weathermen look like the Brady Brunch. But, how much was posing and posturing? This new generation of anti-racist militants has grown up knowing no movement victories. The Civil Rights movement-which brought the end of legalized apartheid in America in 1965-is ancient history. The anti-war struggle is like those war stories that the World War II GIs used to tell their kids and grandkids in the '50s.

This new breed of activists has done battle in the cities, suburbs and small towns of North America against the rising tide of neo-fascists and neo-Nazis ushered in by the rhetoric of the Reagan and Bush eras and the infamous political "wedge issues" of immigrant and welfare-mother bashing, a tide not quelled by the hollow promises of President Clinton's law-and-order-centrist policies.

And this is true not only for the Americans present, but for the large Canadian contingent as well. The dozens of ARA members from Toronto are hardened by their ongoing battle with white supremacists in the Great White North. Toronto is the home of Ernest Zundel, a key player in the international Nazi movement. From his fortress at 206 Carlton, Zundel runs Samisdat Publishing, one of the largest Nazi propaganda operations on the planet. His chief goal is to deny the Holocaust, producing such publications as: "Did Six Million Really Die?" and "The Hitler We Loved And Why."

Canadian courts have dismissed Holocaust denial charges against Zundel, instead characterizing his work as concerning "ethnic conflict between Germans and Jews." Yeah, and those death camp ovens were used for making bagels. Zundel's racist skinhead ("bonehead") followers revere him as a hero and chant, "Six million more!"

But like the conference cover photo depicts, when government action fails in Canada, this new breed of anti-fascist activist is willing to use other means: Zundel's property was recently torched. Shedding light on the rise of the American Religious Right on the conference's opening night was an old friend of mine from Detroit, Russ Bellant. His new book, The Religious Right in Michigan Politics, is the first to investigate and document the origins and objectives of the popular group the Promise Keepers (PK). Many are familiar with former University of Colorado football coach Bill McCartney's original 1990 vision: to fill a stadium with Christian men willing to "reclaim" authority from their wives, capitalizing on the male backlash against the women's movement and the gender-bashing so prominent now on talk radio.

As Bellant explained, the vast majority of men of various denominations that attend these PK rallies come with good and sincere intentions. I know, my older brother Nick and my younger brother Dave, both plagued by marital problems, now call themselves Promise Keepers. Bellant pointed out how McCartney, while serving as assistant football coach at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, "encountered and was deeply influenced by the Word of God (WOG) Community." WOG, according to Bellant, practices a "shepherding/discipleship" form of worship that requires total submission to a person called "the head." He calls Promise Keepers' views fundamentally "anti-democratic" and potentially "totalitarian" in nature.

"The use of sophisticated lighting and sound in a stadium setting, psychologically playing on people's emotions, breaking down the denominational differences, and merging nationalism and religion really echoes the Nazi rallies of the Third Reich," Bellant argued. Bellant demonstrated how virtually all top Christian Right leaders-Pat Robertson of the Christian Coalition, D. James Kennedy of Coral Ridge Ministry, and Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ-have signed on to the Promise Keepers. The "family values" rhetoric and homophobia are part of a larger "cultural revolution" the PKs hope to bring about. Robertson, Kennedy and Bright, along with James Dodson-the author of Promise Keepers Manifesto, Seven Promises of a Promise Keeper-are all members of the super-secretive radical right Council for National Policy (CNP), according to Bellant.

"The Council for National Policy is not an organization most of you have heard of. Unlike the Christian Coalition, the Council wants to keep itself secret. The Council was created by business and political leaders who were also leaders in the John Birch Society. Its membership includes former Indiana Ku Klux Klan leader Richard Shoff, Jerry Falwell, TV censor Don Wildman, anti-ERA activist Phyllis Schlafly, a handful of pro-apartheid activists and registered agents for the old South African regime, and leaders of the Unification (Moonies) Church," detailed Bellant.

The CNP members represent the political elite of the radical right and essentially they plan and fund the major projects of the American Right, in Bellant's analysis. The big bucks come from Jeff Coors and family members of Coors Brewing Company, Linda Bean of L.L. Bean, and Richard DeVos Jr. of Amway and Texas oilman Nelson Bunker Hunt.

"While they appeal to black members, their real agenda is to destroy affirmative action, and they have links to white supremacist ideology," Bellant concluded.

Surviving a radical demo

Activists attended Saturday sessions such as "Leonard Peltier/Political Prisoners"; "Black-Jewish Relations"; "Lesbian and Gay Oppression"; and the essential "Surviving Radical Demos" to name a few. Having attended, participated, organized and covered literally hundreds of protests and demonstrations in my life, I thought I knew how to survive a radical demo in the mid-'90s. To err is human...

I was asked to bring my portable PA system to the conference at 6 p.m. Saturday for the "Copwatch Rally & March." No big deal, just another case of journalistic participant-observer in the alternative press. Soon I was wondering who was organizing the event. When I arrived at the kickoff point at Arcadia and High, security guru Chris "The Anarchist" handed me a mike and asked me to speak. "About what?" I queried. "You know, about why we're marching." Luckily I was saved by a Columbus Copwatch member who politely asked the gathering horde of Klan and Nazi fighters "to remember that your actions will have repercussions on us in this community." Virtually all got the message: Give peace a chance tonight.

I briefly addressed the assembled. Having a Ph.D in political science, I knew to announce the intent of the march to the estimated 10 percent that were no doubt undercover cops: "We intend this march to be a lawful demonstration, to protest police brutality and walk the streets of America without fear of the police..." I said more about the Antioch students being beaten at the Federal Building, and the TV4 footage showing the brutalization of students on 12th Avenue, but my main mission had been accomplished: protecting myself from "inciting a riot" charges. Wise move.

A small contingent of anarchists from the "Love and Rage" group unfurled a red-and-black flag. Banners were held with slogans reading "No Police Brutality" and "No Nazis, No Killer Cops, No Fascist USA, Anti-Racist Action." Appropriate slogans for the 20-something generation whose educational benefits have been cut while government prison spending has been quadrupled.

Other marchers lit torches-lawful, but virtually unheard of in Columbus-creating an eerie and disturbing mood. These weren't drunken freshmen frat boys reveling in a football victory frenzy. We crossed High Street and more than a hundred people began marching south.

Police squad cars with lights flashing immediately began to "escort" the marchers. They persisted, despite our insistence that we knew our way to 12th Avenue. And as a police helicopter began to hover overhead, I heard an unfamiliar chant: "Aim high, pigs in the sky!"

Just before Blake, in front of the Radio Shack and 24-hour video store, shit happened. Stuck hauling the PA system, I heard a scuffle and turned to see a weird scene. My mind at first rejected it: there was a female police officer without riot gear, attempting to arrest a male marcher. He had his hands raised out to his sides and she was screaming and pulling on his arm. Someone was pulling on his other arm, a literal tug-of-war. Someone in the crowd was yelling "Fuck the pigs!" Seems one Jason Robert Maffettone, 27, of Hoboken, New Jersey had stepped off the curb in Columbus, "jaywalkers gulch." Omigod.

Officer Julie Appenzeller, sworn to serve and protect the people of Columbus from all jaywalkers, foreign and domestic, was just doing her job. Startled and disbelieving male officers stood by their gal as the crowd and I shouted "No police brutality! Let him go!" The infamous "Have Mace-will spray you" Columbus cops drew their black cans. When you're chanting into a mike, you can't always pay attention when someone's aiming at your big round head. Just my luck. I met up with Officer Generic Cop, 6'1" with black hair and a mustache, who of course finished first at the police academy in Mace target shooting. I didn't actually see the Mace; I felt it when it drenched my eyes. For 10 to 15 seconds I was really mad. This asshole clearly hadn't read the U.S. Constitution, nor Columbus police procedure on Macing. He'd flunk my American Guv class. Moot point as my eyes began to burn, lungs sear, and nose clog up. Still, chanting into a mike on a sidewalk does not constitute menacing a police officer.

Let's see, five minutes into an anti-police brutality march and I've been Maced. Go figure. I pride myself on never getting Maced. I hadn't been Maced since the day after the Klan killed civil rights marchers in Greensboro, North Carolina. My mind raced. When was that? 1979? '80? Anyway, it was probably tear gas. Or was it pepper gas at Kent State in '78?

Deja vu all over again. I was on my knees choking and crawling, my Columbus tax dollars at work again. Being the brave journalist that I am, I thought I'd best crawl into the video store to wash out my eyes. Luckily my alternative press fame had preceded me. The clerk greeted me with a cheery: "Hi Bob!" The Earl Smith-Jim Karnes debate over porno shops aside, it seems the only restroom was in the Triple X adult section of the store. Half-blinded but still able to make out the images of assorted sex toys, I made my way to the counter. "Bathroom," I pleaded. The clerk had seen it all before. "Honest, I've got Mace in my eyes. It's not a Pee Wee Herman thing." He advised, "Just ride it out. The water will only make it worse." A voice of authority.

Outside, things had calmed down and I found myself at the end of the march. Fortunately, one young ARA activist was carrying a squirt tube of Bausch and Lomb sensitive eye contact lens cleaner. "It'll work, dude. Like, I sprayed myself with some Mace and tested it." It was like a miracle. No Columbus activist should leave home without it.

Freed of the speaker system, now safely stashed at an ARA safe house on High Street thanks to Chris "The Anarchist," I moved to the front of the march. There I met 30 or so police in riot gear, and reporters from the Columbus Dispatch, TV4 and 10.

I had a new goal. Keep from getting Maced again. Tensions mounted as the marchers, now swelled to nearly 300, found themselves pinned against a construction fence in the middle of the campus. Would the police attack? Undoubtedly, they were wondering the same about us. Instead of confronting the police, we found an opening at the Wexner Center and snaked through the campus. Thank God for secular humanist bastions of liberalism. One lone campus police car escorted us several blocks back to High Street. We figured the campus cops were unlikely to Mace us, but they might order us to do a big group hug.

The moment of truth. Should we walk down 12th Avenue? What the hell, it's still America, why not? The march ended almost without incident as we re-emerged at 15th and High and gathered in the open space in front of the Wexner Center.

Just before the end of the march, a lone police commander joined the marchers. The word went out that he was looking for Fitrakis. No doubt, I thought, to congratulate me for my fine work in averting a riot. Wrong again. The first tip off was when he wouldn't shake my hand. And then his first words stung like the Mace: "I'm Commander Marcum. Why are you writing those lies about me?"

How the hell was I to know he'd been reassigned from supervisor of Police Intelligence to riot patrol at OSU? And anyway, those tips about his family's links to gambling in last week's Alive were from my most reliable law enforcement sources. I asked him what the real story was, but he wouldn't tell me. "Your paper's printing lies." Later that night the police reported that no Mace was used on the demonstrators.

The next day's Dispatch reported that I "led" the rally. I didn't mean to, but as my old marching buddy Mark Stansbery explained it, "There really was no leadership. And after Bob got Maced, he was really pissed."

The ARA doesn't really have leaders. It's a new movement of leaderless resistance to police brutality and the prison industrial complex.

The Dispatch also reported the post-Macing chant as: "Police brutality, we're sick and...tired of it." Insert "fuckin'" where the ellipse is. That's the mood of these young ARA activists. America is incubating a whole new generation of hard-core fascist-fighters that are sick and tired. "And tired of being sick and tired." They're not the Promise Keepers, but they are the product of America's broken promises and dreams.

10/30/1996

The odor of Oddi

by Bob Fitrakis

What do Gary Hart, Bob Packwood, Thomas Ferguson and Franklin County Clerk of Courts Jesse Oddi have in common? Shouldn't be too hard to figure out.

Next Tuesday, without giving it much thought, Franklin County voters are likely to go to the polls and "Retain Jesse Oddi" for Franklin County Clerk of Courts. Maybe the cry should be to restrain Oddi.

I recently talked with employees from the Clerk of Court's office, who all march in parades for Jesse, raise money for his campaign, and have Oddi bumper stickers on their autos. The public image these employees present is that of adoring their boss; in reality, they say they're terrified of losing their jobs if they don't.

Oddi is portrayed as one of the most despicable public servants imaginable-but not by the competition, by his own employees who say he's a shakedown artist. Employees claim that their supervisors routinely record how many spaghetti fund-raiser dinner tickets they sell for Oddi or whether the Oddi bumper stickers are on their cars. One employee claims that a supervisor "kept asking me for donations. She said 'What about your job? You ought to worry about your job.'"

Donna Born, a former supervisor now on medical leave from the Clerk's office, admits that she "forced them to buy these tickets."

"Yes, my division had 12 people," she explains. "We would sell 150-200 tickets at $25 apiece. The employees knew that they had to buy or sell a set amount of tickets. I also forced them to march in parades. We would pass around sign-up sheets on county time and they had to give me a reason if they couldn't march."

It is illegal for public employees to engage in partisan political activities while on the government payroll. But according to Oddi's employees, that may be the least of his sins. Born and others claim they routinely cover for Oddi as he engages in repeated liaisons with female staff members, who are reportedly rewarded with job advancement in exchange for granting sexual favors.

"I covered for him," Born said. "I'd have to tell his wife Elaine that it was me calling his house [instead of another woman] to report that the alarms went off downtown; it wasn't true," she said. Oddi-who displays a fondness for open-collared shirts, gold chains and who supposedly had a plaque in his office that read "Italian Stallion"-has cultivated a close personal relationship with one particular supervisor, according to Born and several other employees. Born claims that some employees who have been there "about six years" are making far more money than long-term employees who aren't as friendly with Oddi.

As Born explains, "Jesse is a real touchy-feely-type guy. He likes to pat your butt and kiss you, to massage your shoulders and rub your body." One female employee stated that Oddi would "come and massage my shoulders and run his fingers through my hair." Another female employee was more blunt: "I knew if I went over and gave Jesse a [sexual favor] he'd give me a raise."

All employees told tales of catching Oddi with his hands either "up her skirt" or "down her blouse." When pressed for details, employees point to Oddi's suite at the Great Southern Hotel as a key place for female employees to negotiate a raise after a dinner at Chutney's.

Jacqueline Bracken, Oddi's election opponent, has tried desperately to expose Oddi's sleaziness and corruption. Oddi's employees tell a similar tale. Employees report that eight Clerk of Courts employees went to the Dispatch almost four years ago, right before Oddi's appointment, with similar allegations and documentation. The Big D did nothing, they said. Not surprising; while seemingly obsessed with Judge Deborah O'Neill's alleged sexual escapades, the big boys at the Daily Monopoly ignore Oddi's odor as they search for the holy grail of journalism, the truth about O'Neill's "panties."

Indeed, on Saturday, in another apparent attempt to run Judge O'Neill out of office, the Dispatch put her photo on page one with a story claiming she'd done something wrong by allowing blacks into a jury pool. The Dispatch's O'Neill fetish kicked the possible Jerry Hessler "mistrial" story to page two, sans photo.

The accounts of Oddi's misdeeds don't stop here. One long-time law-enforcement source calls Oddi the "county's premier fixer." All employees questioned by Alive report that documents are routinely "backdated" in Oddi's office, and that Oddi can make legal files "completely disappear." Think about it: Jesse Oddi, Clerk of Courts, is the man in charge of all the court documents in Franklin County. Bracken says it's not easy to run against somebody who has the open reputation for being able to make a drunk-driving charge, for instance, disappear. Two employees claim that the system is designed not only to destroy the physical file but the corresponding microfilm as well.

If Jesse Oddi is elected Clerk of Courts in Franklin County, citizens here owe Palmer McNeal an apology. McNeal, a former county auditor run out of office by the Wolfe Family Newsletter for a minor misuse of his county credit card, is a mere peon compared to the "Italian Stallion." Ferguson and Packwood-pikers. Gary Hart-bush-league lecher.

All hail Jesse Oddi. The little stud that could.

10/23/1996

NEWS BITES

Campaign questions

by Bob Fitrakis

What really happened in the 1992 sheriff's election in Franklin County? This question is currently being probed by the Ohio Elections Commission. On Monday, the Commission found insufficient evidence to investigate money-laundering allegations against Sheriff Jim Karnes, former Franklin County Democratic Party Chair Fran Ryan, and the Franklin County Democratic Party. The commission will investigate allegations against Karnes' 1992 campaign manager and former Elections Commission member, Greg Kostelac, and has suspended him as an investigator for the commission.

New information obtained by Columbus Alive sheds more light on the Kostelac investigation. Kostelac admits that he personally delivered $14,000 in checks made out to the Franklin County Democratic Party to Ryan on October 26 and 27, 1992. He acknowledges that Mark Wolfe, Franklin County kingpin in the adult entertainment industry, arranged for seven contributors to give $2,000 apiece.

An audiotape of a conversation between former Franklin County Republican Party Executive Director Terry Casey-now a private political consultant and associate of Kostelac-and a member of the Smith campaign crew reveals that there was a falling-out between Karnes and Kostelac immediately following the election. "Greg's no fan of Karnes," Casey informed the Smith campaign earlier this year, and there was "...no deal with Karnes" and Mark Wolfe. The campaign donations solicited from Wolfe by Kostelac were "motivated by wanting to screw Earl.... Karnes [was] kind of oblivious" to Greg's deal, according to Casey.

Casey lobbied hard to keep Kostelac from being investigated: "...he's not a dumb guy, [it's] very, very important to keep Greg out of it." In Casey's analysis, then-Party Chair Ryan "didn't have a clue" on how the 1992 Franklin County campaigns were going. "[She]...didn't think Karnes had a chance. [She thought] Farlow could beat Miller," Casey said. The latter is reference to the race for county prosecutor between Bev Farlow and successful incumbent Michael Miller.

Casey implies that Kostelac was forced in desperation to go to the pornography industry because of poor political decisions on the part of Ryan.

In her defense, Ryan says: "Everyone knows how hard I worked to get out the sample ballot and the election tabloid. And if I did something wrong, why would I list every donation from Greg right down to the dollar; and why would I have left that file in the Democratic Party headquarters if I had something to hide?"

Ryan insists "that Greg approached me. It was my understanding that he wanted to work for the party. After all, he wanted my job." After Ryan's resignation, Kostelac applied to chair the Franklin County Democrats and was not selected. Later, he applied to be chair of the Ohio Democratic Party, also unsuccessfully.

Casey also said that Kostelac went so far as to "whet Wolfe's appetite" with a nasty, negative "TV script" about Smith to entice the donations. Casey refers to "Karnes' stupidity," as Kostelac circumvented his candidate's wishes and cut a deal directly with Ryan.

Ryan is on record stating that Kostelac asked her for a loan and she told him: "...if he raised money for the party, then I would give him a loan." The problem is that Ryan's statement just doesn't add up unless Kostelac was trying to launder money. Kostelac raised $14,000; he gives it to Ryan; she loans him $8,000, which the Karnes campaign pays back. That equals $22,000 for Fran and $0 for the Karnes campaign. The question remains, why didn't Kostelac simply put the $14,000 into the Karnes campaign?

Alive has learned that other factors played into Kostelac's decision as well. Kostelac was having financial problems at the time he took the money from the porn industry. An invoice dated November 18, 1992 from Kostelac to Ryan refers to an "oral agreement" between the two that would result in Kostelac being paid $6,000 if three conditions were met. First, Kostelac must raise the money to pay himself; second, Karnes must win the election; and third, the Karnes campaign had to pay back the $8,000 loan to the Franklin County Democratic Party.

According to Sheriff Karnes, his campaign paid Kostelac nothing. "I kept asking him 'What do I owe you?' and he kept saying 'You don't,'" Karnes recalls. Party insiders and Karnes campaign workers report that at the post-election victory party at La Scala Restaurant, Kostelac took possession of the Karnes campaign cash box instead of turning it over to the treasurer, reportedly to "settle up with Fran." Sources report that this was the beginning of a falling-out between Karnes and Kostelac. Highly placed Karnes campaign sources and Franklin County staffers all report that the final break between Karnes and Kostelac came after Kostelac asked the Karnes campaign committee for a personal loan.

Sources in the Karnes campaign report around "five hundred dollars in bounced checks" from Kostelac. Alive has also learned that Kostelac bounced checks to various political campaigns and organizations. Check #1412 for $100 from Greg Kostelac and Associates dated October 25, 1993 to the Franklin County Democratic Party was returned for "insufficient funds."

Tapes released by the Smith campaign indicate that at least two of the contributors lined up by Mark Wolfe may have gotten some or all of their campaign money from other individuals, possibly in violation of campaign law. One of the individual contributors who was given part of the $14,000 from Wolfe, Dr. Joanna Demas, states that "...It's possible that he [Tom Wolfe, Mark Wolfe's brother] gave me a majority of the money. But I made that donation because I believed in what I was doing. Now, maybe I was naive in not asking why is this made out to the Democratic Party and not to Jim Karnes."

Cynthia DeSantis, a local hairdresser, was tapped while staying at Tom Wolfe's house in Los Angeles. DeSantis, who also was one of the $2,000 contributors, states that she was "doing a favor for my best friend." That friend was identified as Mark Long, an employee of Mark Wolfe. DeSantis says that, "I believe it was cash."

11/06/1996

Eight days a week

by Bob Fitrakis

How many hours are in a month? Don't ask the police chief's son, Officer Jason Jackson. Law-enforcement sources say that Jason's figures just don't add up for the "special duty" police security he coordinated for the South of Main project. You remember the South of Main project? Chief Jackson's good buddy Tommy Banks "rescued" the project from the evil clutches of the non-profit South of Main Development Corporation headed by the dreaded Shawn Thompson. Or so the spin goes.

The real battle was over who would control the housing assets in the future: a non-profit or a for-profit entity. Say $10 million is put into "low-income" housing stock, primarily public funds. How long does it have to serve "low-income" residents? What happens after 10 years when the property is worth some $30 million? Who owns it then?

The non-profit South of Main was taken out of the picture when it was squeezed by certain bankers and city officials. Thompson was inflexible when it came to understanding the needs of very powerful people. She insisted that the low-income housing assets belonged to the community through a non-profit organization. The Columbus Police Intelligence Unit entered the fray, apparently siding with mysterious "for-profit" persons-whoever they may be. A raid by the Columbus Police effectively killed the South of Main Development Corporation. So far, no criminal charges have ever been brought against the South of Main, although it was widely alleged that they were mismanaging their finances.

Anyway, hear the one about Tommy and the Chief wanting to go into business together? Something to do with housing. Since Banks took over the South of Main project, sources say it looks as though over $100,000 in security has been provided by Special Duty Columbus Police. And Officer Jason Jackson has worked hard coordinating those assignments. In one month, police worked so diligently that they billed for 200 hours more than exist in an actual month.

Oops! Inquiring minds want to know whether he was a victim of the late, great "new math" movement, or protecting his dad's future housing assets. Who's mismanaging finances now?

Lucky dog

Speaking of mismanagement, former Police Intelligence Supervisor-now reassigned-Commander Curtis Marcum handled the South of Main raid for the Chief. Maybe he should've raided his brother-in-law Tony Lombardi's place. Who knows what he would've turned up. Perhaps Lombardi's reported card-playing buddy Franklin County Prosecutor Michael Miller. According to a police intelligence report, Miller allegedly likes an occasional high-stakes game of cards upstairs at The Refectory. You know, the same type of game that got retired Police Sergeant Mt. Vernon Johnson killed. And who better to spin stories with over a friendly game of poker than Lombardi? Lord knows Lombardi's reportedly got some tales to tell.

Like the little matter of being a suspect in two murders, according to police intelligence files. James D. Colliver, Lombardi's partner in the car dealership Contemporary Cars, met an untimely demise. Redrum! 187! So did Frank Yassanoff soon after he filed charges in 1970 against Lombardi for allegedly falsifying auto titles. Hopefully, Lombardi has better luck at picking cards than business partners. Just like Bojangles' dog, they got a tendency to "up and die" on him.

On the topic of luck, Lombardi's had pretty good luck in the Franklin County Courts. A grand theft charge was dismissed in June 1975 and a charge of passing bad checks was dismissed in November of the same year, according to a police intelligence report. Sure, there was the little run of bad luck in May 1983 when Lombardi pled guilty to two charges of passing bad checks, but what the hell. It could've been worse. After all, the prosecutor dismissed 10 other counts pending against Tony.

More bad news in March 1984 when he was convicted of gambling, yet "luck was a lady" that year and he got a one-year suspended sentence. There's probably a really good reason why the prosecutor's office dropped a unauthorized use of dealer's plates charge against Lombardi in 1984. And the little matter of the allegations concerning kickbacks to a Bureau of Motor Vehicles employee during that period were never substantiated.

So, this Chief Jackson thing is really just a witch-hunt and Commander Marcum is being a scapegoat just because he has a lucky dog of a brother-in-law. And anyone who says otherwise, or anything about any of Marcum's family members being in Mt. Vernon Johnson's bookie book, is just an unlucky liar.

Burns me up

Did you hear the rumor about a really lucky police commander formerly in Internal Affairs-recently reassigned-who just happens to be holding a very valuable electronic Rolodex? Now suppose the names of some very powerful people-law enforcement leaders, politicians, judges-who frequented high-priced prostitutes were in that Rolodex? No, it's not the Heidi Fleiss scandal, it's a Cowtown Caper. One Anthony D. Mennucci ran a high-priced call girl ring in Columbus and his Rolodex, once securely in police custody, has disappeared.

The key question in the Chief Jackson investigation remains: "Why did the chief go so easy on former Internal Affairs Commander Burns?" This investigation ain't about "racism," it's about who runs the prostitution and gambling rackets in Columbus. Bet on it.

11/13/1996

The redder the better

by Bob Fitrakis

First, the good news. Both Dennis Kucinich and Ted Strickland won their Congressional races. Make no mistake about it, these are victories by progressive Democrats against reactionary Newtonian Republicans.

Kucinich and Strickland were vilified by their right-wing opponents as "liberals," "Communist-sympathizers," or "godless." In Northeast Ohio's 10th Congressional district, Governor George Voinovich stopped in personally to denounce "the 1930s-style populism" of Kucinich. His opponent, Republican Representative Martin Hoke, portrayed Kucinich's concern for working people and support for unionism as coming out of the "Communist Manifesto."

Also, Hoke repeatedly red-baited Kucinich by alluding to some mysterious plot and unpaid "consulting" by Communist Party official Rick Nagin. Hoke's retro-'50s hokeyness and McCarthyist smear tactics didn't work. Kucinich proudly boasted of his "100 percent labor voting record" as an Ohio state senator, and reiterated his commitment to the environment and keeping a multi-state radioactive waste dump out of Ohio.

Strickland, an ordained Methodist minister, was attacked by his opponent as a godless secular humanist liberal. Among Strickland's alleged un-Christian activity is his admitted "first priority" to provide health care insurance for 10 million U.S. children who now lack coverage. Strickland also rightly pointed out that his opponent, Republican Frank Cremeans, voted both to raise taxes on the working poor by eliminating the Earned Income Tax Credit and favored allowing millionaires to move offshore to avoid taxes.

The Strickland and Cremeans races were perhaps the two most vicious Congressional races in the U.S. The choice was clear-cut: Gingrich or progressivism. The progressives won both, despite being outspent by at least 3-1.

Now the bad news. In three other key races, all involving freshman Republican representatives, the Democrats lost. In two of the races-Representative Steve Chabot of Cincinnati vs. Mark Longabaugh and Representative Steve LaTourette of Madison vs. Thomas Coyne, Jr.-much more moderate Democratic challengers were relatively easily dispatched. Both Longabaugh and Coyne refused to engage in the knockdown, drag-out reactionary-versus-progressive campaigning that brought victory to Kucinich and Strickland.

Styling themselves more as Clintonesque "New Democrats," the candidates were soundly rejected by the voters, thus proving the old axiom: given a choice between a real Republican and near-Republican they'll choose the real thing every time.

In the third race, State Senator Robert Burch narrowly lost to Representative Bob Ney. Burch declined to cloak himself as a New Democrat and made direct overtures to the Perot supporters. If Burch had been given money from the Democratic Party Congressional Campaign Committee or the AFL-CIO he would have won. Burch's district was initially rated one of the 10 most winnable by a Democrat in the nation.

Instead, a couple hundred thousand dollars was wasted on Cynthia Ruccia's pathetic and futile New Democrat, gone-a-gay-baitin' campaign against Representative John Kasich. Her bizarre Congresswoman wannabe slamming-the-prison-cell door commercial was not only truly twisted beyond belief, but played to Kasich's strength.

Anyway, perhaps the even more pathetic Franklin County Democratic Party can get off their "Republican-lite" binge and field some progressive candidates for a change.

Of course, there's always the problem a la Mary Jo Kilroy that the party might field a progressive who then feels immediately obligated to run as a centrist.

Acts 2:45

Speaking of red-baiting, I had the pleasure of spending election night on WCBE doing political commentary with Ms. Republican Right-to-Life Janet Folger. Janet, with her lightning-quick mind, honed through countless hours of Rush Limbaugh agi-prop told the listeners that I was a "communist" because I believed in the "redistribution of wealth." There's nothing worse than a self-righteous Right-to-Life Christian who's not familiar with the Good Book. Having spent my youth as a fire-breathing, proselytizing evangelical Christian, let me simply refer Ms. Folger to Acts, 2:45:

"Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to everyone as he had need." And to the Sermon on the Mount, Christ's comments to Nicodemus, virtually every prophet in the Old Testament, etc., etc.

Inquiring minds

Speaking of religious matters, the Franklin County Democrats need to convene a political inquisition. Franklin County Chairperson Denny White and his top advisers should be figuratively put on the rack and grilled on the following races: Why was Republican Probate Judge Lawrence Belskis allowed-with that ethnic name-to run unopposed? Why did you put up your best political name, Tony Celebrezze III, against Richard Metcalf, who has been elected to public office in Franklin County since the Eisenhower administration? Why didn't Celebrezze run against the eminently odorous and highly beatable Jesse Oddi, who had never won election in Franklin County? Why didn't Beverly Farlow get more funds? And, are you now, or have you ever been, a member of the Republican Party?

11/20/1996

With friends like these...

by Bob Fitrakis

Vincent Carbone, or was it Vito, called Tommy Banks an "exquisite gentleman" when asked about Tommy's controversial building project with the Governor's former Chief of Staff Paul Mifsud. This is understandable since the Carbone family and Banks are in the construction business together.

What is equally clear is that Mayor Greg Lashutka's investigation of Police Chief James Jackson will involve his self-proclaimed "cousin" Tommy, and here's why. In the spring of 1995 or thereabouts, Tommy allegedly was facing possible rape charges involving an incident at his newly built home in Gahanna. Law-enforcement sources say that Banks invited a teenager working at his property into his big new house for a tour, and it turned ugly. Allegedly, Tommy sexually assaulted the teenager, at least that's what she told her employers and others. Sources report that Tommy "stuck real close" to Chief Jackson during this period. Reportedly, pressure was put on the victim, as well as insinuation that nothing would come of her complaint. Maybe that's why the alleged victim never filed a formal charge.

Hard to believe? Not hardly, if you know Tommy's track record. For example, while Columbus Alive was investigating the above incident, another report turned up on Banks. The Gahanna Police Department filed an Ohio Uniform Incident Report on April 29, 1996. The report, #96-00916, contains allegations from a Gahanna resident who claimed that Tommy Banks stalked her for over two months from February 15 to April 28, 1996. The victim, according to the report, stated that Banks "continually harassed and threatened" her. Allegedly, the married Banks repeatedly asked her out and harassed her by phone. He appeared at her place of employment and "damaged her vehicle when she tried to leave," according to the report. Banks, the file notes, "threatened to harm her or her family."

And then it gets even more interesting. The victim stated "that Mr. Banks had told her he has connections with the Mafia and is extremely wealthy and powerful; and that if she refuses him he'll have her killed." The complainant told police that she simply wanted to document the threats in case Banks took the action, the report states.

This is typical Banks, according to those who have worked with him. Upper Arlington architect Dennis Green, currently involved in a civil suit with Banks, has stated under oath that Banks threatened him as well. "Tommy Banks was flashing around a Teamster ring, it looked like a Masonic ring, saying he didn't think I'd show for the meeting and he might have to have some of the boys from Cleveland 'pick me up,'" Green said.

A former Banks employee who worked with Tommy at his Huntington office, which features double-paned glass and where visitors have to be buzzed in, told Alive that Tommy's office manager and close personal friend Nancy Rogers, who keeps many of Tommy's business secrets, "...could never leave here because they'd find her at the bottom of the river."

"He [Banks] always carries a gun," the employee stated, "As a joke he likes to take it halfway out of the holster and threaten to shoot you."

Some sense of humor; no wonder the Chief likes to run with him. Banks, a former employee of the Franklin County Sheriff's Department, was fired by Sheriff Earl Smith. As part of a legal settlement, Banks is still allowed to play cop on "special duty" directing funeral traffic. Smith recalls that the settlement limits Banks to carrying his gun while on-duty only. The Gahanna Police report lists Banks as a "Franklin County Sheriff's Officer-Reserve." It also lists Banks' pager number. When I paged Banks for comment, he left a brief message on my answering machine. A call from his lawyer, Ritchey Hollenbaugh, soon followed. Banks' paid counsel demanded to know how I got Tommy's pager number. When I told him about Tommy's "menacing by stalking" file, Hollenbaugh pleaded ignorance. But still, he wanted to know "Why are you hounding my client?"

Seems Hollenbaugh regards my columns and the news stories in the Columbus Alive as inappropriate, particularly a recent one that dared point out that Banks's construction application to The Ohio State University for the $75 million Schottenstein arena management job contained two obvious factual errors. One, Tommy had neither the bachelor's degree he claimed to have been awarded-by OSU-in business administration; and two, he doesn't really have the OSU master's degree in engineering he listed. But Ritchey was able to clarify that for me. "It's not a misrepresentation, it's a mistake. Misrepresentation would be a falsification. A mistake is inadvertent, like a typo," he explained.

Now I understand. I have Tommy all wrong. He's made a few mistakes. And so has the Chief for allegedly protecting him. Inadvertently. I should have known, with my double Ph.D's in Astrophysics and Brain Surgery. Oops! Typo. And I really appreciate Ritchey's parting counsel, or was it a threat? "Be careful out there," he said.

Fitrakis has a Ph.D. in Political Science. Honest.

11/27/1996

FEATURED ARTICLE

12th Avenue freezeout

by Bob Fitrakis

 An age-old question on government abuse asks: "Who watches the watchers?" In Columbus, the answer is easy, it's Copwatch.

Active and visible in the OSU campus area since the May 17, 1996 confrontation between Columbus police officers and 12th Avenue partiers, their slogan is "Refuse to be Abused"; their logo depicts an eyeball for the "O" in the word Cop. A pamphlet they've handed out every weekend this fall states: "We have cameras. We have lawyers. We have people who can be seen, and people who can't. We are watching cops right now in the OSU area."

And all of it's true.

Like many seemingly subversive and radical ideas and innovations, the Copwatch concept originated in Berkeley. It is a direct linear descendant of perhaps America's most well-known militant Copwatchers-the Oakland-based Black Panther Party and the Berkeley-based student liberation movement that brought us the student Free Speech Movement and clashed with the police over Peoples Park in the '60s.

Like its Bay-Area predecessors, Copwatch was first organized in February 1990 on the south side of Berkeley in response to "police brutality," according to Berkeley's Copwatch handbook. The ongoing struggle between the University of California at Berkeley administration and campus-area residents over the removal of the Peoples Cafe from Peoples Park once again brought "people together out of a mutual understanding that this violence, which is targeted at the poor, street people, people of color, activists and hippies is a direct result of pressure from the university, many Telegraph Avenue merchants and landlords to gentrify the area," the handbook explains.

In its initial manifesto proclaiming "Who is Copwatch?" the organization asserted: "We have come to feel that the very people who are supposed to safeguard our persons and property have actually come to represent a major threat to us." They weren't alone and their idea began to spread across the country.

In 1994, the Minneapolis Anti-Racist Action chapter, an organization whose national headquarters is in Columbus's north campus area, started its own version of Copwatch. One of the Minneapolis founders, Justine-Copwatchers are generally reluctant to use their full name for fear of police harassment-conceded that "Our philosophy is a little different than Berkeley's.

"We have more of a critique of the state, and what the police work to do, to uphold racist laws and a class-based society and suppress the poor," she explained. Unlike Berkeley, the Minneapolis Copwatch focuses mainly on the downtown areas where they claim that African-American youth are routinely harassed on Friday and Saturday nights. Justine said that, "Curfews are strictly enforced on black youth and we didn't see that being done in other areas, so it provided us with a way to have a greater public presence" by monitoring the police.

The instructions in the Minneapolis Copwatch handbook call for much more aggressive action than Berkeley's. Their teams of four "intervenors" are told that, "It's your job to find out what's going on, be a witness, and prevent false arrest and harassment." The more Gandi-ist Berkeley chapter says, "Treat everyone you come in contact with in a friendly and polite manner"; the Minnesota chapter advises, "Don't get into philosophical debates with pigs, it's pointless." The Minneapolis Copwatch literature proclaims: "We don't talk to cops!" They instruct their members: "They are our oppressors and you are committed to fighting oppression." They define one of the notetaker's tasks in the handbook as recording "Stupid or fucked-up quotes from the cops."

Despite their more militant tactics and rhetoric, Justine said that only four Copwatch members have been arrested in its two years of existence, all misdemeanors involving interference with official police business.

On the other hand, the fledgling and much less confrontational Columbus Copwatch had four of its members arrested in a two-week period between October 13 and 27, and are adding a different element, the lawsuit. Attorney Jim McNamara said he plans to file suit on Wednesday, November 27 in the Franklin County Common Pleas Court against the city of Columbus and Columbus Police Officer David J. Dennison and, as yet, unnamed John and Jane Doe officers. The suit, filed on behalf of plaintiffs Shammas Jones, Chris Wisniewski, and Walter Leake alleges "assault and battery," "false arrest," and "malicious prosecution" against the officers and the city.

The lawsuit stems from the Columbus Police Department's actions in the south campus area on the evening of May 17, 1996. It also led to the founding of Copwatch in Columbus. Jones, then a third-year Criminology student, stood behind the police and videotaped them as they charged down 12th Avenue firing tear gas and wooden bullets and making random arrests.

The reason for the confrontation between a couple hundred police and throng of 12th Avenue party-goers remains a mystery. The lawsuit states: "This large police presence was not in response to any emergency situation or civil disobedience. Rather, it was a pre-planned action." McNamara claims that testimony in the Shammas Jones criminal trial-where a jury unanimously acquitted of all criminal charges-demonstrated that the police planned the confrontation with the partiers "up to 10 days earlier."

McNamara contends that Jones merely "observed, videotaped, and then turned to walk away" when "he was attacked from behind by the police, Maced in the face, knocked to the ground, pushed and struck violently and repeatedly." The suit alleges that the police attacked Jones "because he had videotaped improper police actions." Jones asserts that the portion of his tape that showed the police misconduct was erased while in police custody.

"I don't have any knowledge of that," said Commander Steven Gammil, the CPD officer in charge of the situation on the OSU campus the night Jones, Wisniewski and Leake was arrested.

So outraged was Jones by the police action he refused an offer by the city of Columbus to dismiss all criminal charges against him, including disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, if he signed an agreement promising not to sue the city and the officers.

Co-plaintiff Chris Wisniewski, a member of Anti-Racist Action (ARA), was shocked by the police assault on Jones, an African-American, and "paused and made a critical comment on the police action," according to McNamara. Wisniewski, the suit claims, was also "attacked from behind" and arrested.

Co-plaintiff Leake was Maced "in a police show of force to clear the area quickly," says the suit. Neither Wisniewski nor Leake were charged with criminal conduct. "Look, there's three steps here. First, the police hurt you physically if you attempt to witness their actions. Then they arrest you, and finally, they charge you if you happen to catch them on videotape," McNamara asserts.

Within a week, ARA activists aware of the Copwatch in Minneapolis, took to the streets. On May 31, a dozen Copwatchers demonstrated on the corner of 12th and High with a banner asking a simple question: "Is South Campus a Student Neighborhood or a Penal Colony!?" Diverting from the Minneapolis model, Columbus Copwatchers emphasize not only non-confrontational observing of south campus police activity, but educating area residents of their Constitutional rights. Every weekend night on campus they hand out literature containing "Practical tips in dealing with the police." One tip advises, "Do not 'bad mouth' the police or run away, even if you believe what is happening is unreasonable."

The summer months weren't much of a test as to the police's receptiveness to the Copwatch tactics. News coverage on NBC4 showing police brutality, with video depicting an officer repeatedly punching an arrested student, helped create a friendly environment for Copwatch activity.

Autumn quarter at OSU became the real challenge. It started well enough with Shammas Jones being acquitted on September 23. But then things got ugly. After OSU's victory over Notre Dame, police provided little or no law enforcement as a small but determined group of celebrators vandalized and overturned cars on 12th Avenue. Public sympathy for south campus residents quickly vanished. With great fanfare, OSU President Gordon Gee disposed of due process and suspended several students suspected of taking part in the vandalism, which occurred off-campus and not under the university's jurisdiction.

Copwatch members claimed that the Columbus Police Department let the vandalism get out of control to punish 12th Avenue residents critical of their May 17 actions and to manipulate public opinion. It worked. With elected officials and the public at large decrying student vandalism, the police were virtually given carte blanche to control the south campus area.

Liquor control agents posing as store clerks and pizza delivery men invaded the south campus area to crack down on underage drinking. They routinely enter area residences that host weekend parties, checking I.D.'s, making arrests and confiscating kegs. And the mainstream media began to report routinely the number of campus arrests each weekend along with the Buckeye football score. OSU student Anthony Tarantino commented that the police "are taking away all our freedoms. They're watching us all the time. It's like we live in a police state." Another student, Donald Cox, said "The cops are screwing everything up. We need gas masks to party. It sucks."

The emboldened police immediately cracked down on Copwatchers. On October 13, a Copwatch member was arrested for videotaping police arrests. The tape he shot clearly shows that he was complying with police orders. Columbus Alive viewed a video provided by McNamara that shows the police ordering the Copwatch videographer to the sidewalk, a safe distance away from the arrest. The police later push the videographer into a crowd of students and arrest him after he asks them if they want to "get macho for the camera."

"What Copwatch was doing is perfectly legal," argues McNamara.

On October 19, Copwatch organized a rally, in conjunction with ARA's national convention, of some 300 people to march against police brutality in the south campus area. Police squad cars followed the peaceful demonstration and waded into the crowd at Blake Avenue and High Street to arrest a marcher for walking in the street. In making the arrest, they Maced several demonstrators, including this Columbus Alive reporter. Police later denied using Mace to the media.

Copwatch members and police clashed again on October 27. Both Josh Klein and Ann Pussel were arrested while peacefully videotaping an arrest near 12th and High. And fellow watcher Patricia Sikora was ticketed when she followed the police cruiser to the Franklin County jail to bail them out. Columbus Alive obtained a tape of the incident that is strikingly at odds with the police arrest report submitted by Lieutenant Rich Mann. In Mann's report, "Mr. Klein then walked right up to the officer's face, pushing his camcorder into their faces. He was again ordered to leave the area. Mr. Klein then walked to the sidewalk taunting and crying at officers."

The tape tells a different tale. Officers indeed ordered Klein a safe distance away to the sidewalk. At that point, a male companion of the man being arrested says to the Copwatchers, "That's fucked up. It takes a whole precinct to arrest him." Police officers, clearly not in any danger with their man arrested and in the cruiser, take offense to the companion's remark and walk up to the camera. When they put their hands on Klein, he says "Don't touch me. Don't touch me." In Mann's version-not substantiated by the tape-Klein says "I don't have to leave. Don't you fucking touch me." Upon arrest, fearing that his tape would meet the same fate as that of Shammas Jones, Klein passed his camera off to Ann Pussel, who was immediately arrested for interfering with police business.

McNamara vows to produce, in addition to the tape, at least three eyewitnesses who support Copwatch's version. On October 31, the U.S. Justice Department announced an investigation of evidence of patterned discrimination by Columbus Police officers giving Copwatch members some hope that their arrests have not been in vain.

Doug Browell, chief labor attorney for the city of Columbus, commented Tuesday, "We don't try our cases in the press. So I really have no comment on [the investigation.] What I can say is that the city is cooperating with the investigation as much as possible."

Ron Zeller, owner of the south campus restaurant Street Scene and self-professed "Copwatch Watcher," has strong opinions on Copwatch tactics. "Copwatch serves some good purposes, but they've overstepped their bounds a little bit." While he supports the police and criticizes the Copwatchers for interfering, he concedes that the crux of the problem is the government's policy that tries "to legislate moral and social problems." He said that out of the 29 altercations he's had at Street Scene, 27 involved non-college students. "Just today I had a 28-year-old who wanted to throw a beer bottle at the TV set because the Buckeyes lost to Michigan. He's not a student. There's too much Section 8 housing in the area. Too much density in the 12th Avenue area and that's the landlord's fault, not the students." He frankly admits that he believes there's "discriminatory enforcement of the liquor laws in the campus area."

In anticipation of an OSU victory over Michigan, 400 riot police moved into the south campus area last weekend. No major confrontations or arrests of Copwatch members were reported.

Now comes the winter of Copwatch's discontent and litigation. It's not quite as exciting as Huey Newton brandishing a gun and a copy of the Constitution and facing down the Oakland Police in the 1960s, but it may be as equally important in our current climate of rough-'em-up police tactics and prison-building that the police know that they're accountable to the communities they're sworn to protect and serve.

11/27/1996

Our buddy

by Bob Fitrakis

While most people in Ohio were suffering from scarlet and gray fever last Saturday, 1,000 mourners from all over the state marched in Cincinnati to honor the memory of homeless activist Buddy Gray.

Buddy was the co-founder of the Drop-In Center homeless shelter in Cincinnati. But he was more than that. Buddy was no mere advocate, who sold his people out for 30 pieces of silver from the town's elite.

Back in 1991, when Governor George "I am your shepherd" Voinovich got a politically motivated inspiration to abolish General Assistance (G.A.) and wage war on the poor in the name of Christian virtue, Buddy brought a dozen people from the Drop-In Center to a Statehouse protest. Buddy and his mostly homeless co-conspirators posted an eviction notice at the governor's office, moved his furniture into the hall, and sat down.

The state police were not amused. They took the brunt of their frustration out on Buddy, I suspect because he looked like an aging hippie. They stuck fingers up his nose, they choked him, they beat him, kicked him and twisted his neck by pulling on his ponytail.

When I photographed the assault on Buddy and told the police to quit brutalizing him, they obliged by choking me. In the last speech I heard Buddy give, he predicted that the governor's vicious cuts and documented lies that "able-bodied men" were the ones being cut off of G.A. would come back to haunt our society. Buddy foresaw that it wasn't simply the money, but the medical benefits that went to the homeless-many of them under visible stress and some de-institutionalized mental patients-that would lead to social disruption.

On November 15, 1996, Buddy was shot to death in his office at the Drop-In Center by a homeless man with a history of behavioral problems. Just the sort that was kicked to the curb by our pious governor.

Buddy looked and acted like an Old Testament prophet. He knew that you could not serve two masters: either you stood with the poor and oppressed, or you bowed to the wishes of the rich and powerful. Buddy died unbowed, unbent, and an unrepentant advocate for "the least of his brethren."

Family affair

Well, well. The Sunday Dispatch almost broke a story on the mayoral investigation of the Columbus Police Department. Their coverage had been so careful it bordered on conspiracy. There's plenty more for the Daily Monopoly to dig up if they suddenly decide to give a damn. The Big D seems to have figured out the Chief Jackson/Commander Burns prostitution connection, now let's try once again to teach the old dog a new trick.

Sit. Roll over. Speak. Say the name "Commander Curtis Marcum." Good dog! More than a few officers have seen the thousand-or-so-page report on the murder of retired police Sergeant Mt. Vernon Johnson. James Moss, also a retired police sergeant and the director of Police Officers for Equal Rights, commented on my radio show Sunday that he has been to Washington D.C. three times in the last year to inform the Justice Department of patterns of discrimination in Columbus and the peculiar circumstances surrounding Johnson's death. Moss, who claims to have read the investigative report, says former Supervisor in the Police Intelligence Bureau Commander Marcum and several members of his family were involved in the sordid tragedy of Mt. Vernon's murder.

A law-enforcement source confirms Moss's allegation. Reportedly, the story goes like this: Commander Marcum's mother kept the kitchen at Mt. Vernon's high-stakes west side gambling house. She also was in Mt. Vernon's gambling book well over 200 times in less than two years. Curt's sister gambled there as well.

But, still more curious, are questions surrounding Curt's younger brother, a regular player and loser in Mt. Vernon's game that should have made him a prime suspect, yet he was never questioned. Law-enforcement sources allege that he was a cocaine user and small-time drug dealer who used to sell drugs from a house in the 2400 block of Indianola. The investigation team knows that there's no way in hell that Curt was unaware of Mt. Vernon's gambling operation and suspect that Commander Marcum was using his position in the Police Intelligence Bureau to protect his family.

12/03/1996

Reefer madness: the sequel

by Bob Fitrakis

Attorney General Betty Montgomery vows to close the "loophole" that allows doctors to prescribe marijuana in Ohio; the governor's spokesperson claims "it was snuck into the bill" unbeknownst to the Guv; and Franklin County Judge Dale Crawford asks, "How did it get there?" It's called democracy and the legislative process.

O.K., so Voinovich, Montgomery and Crawford are all incompetent public officials incapable of either following publicly debated legislation or reading a newspaper.

That's the only logical conclusion one can draw after reading last Wednesday's Dispatch article, "State smokin' over pot loophole," and last Thursday's "Lawmakers hid rule in plain sight."

"Hid?" Hogwash. Poppycock. Twenty-mule-team dung droppings. Dispatch writer Catherine Candisky's lead in Wednesday's article is curious. "Ohio lawmakers quietly legalized the medical use of marijuana last summer . . . ," scribed she. Evidently, she doesn't read her own paper. On March 25, 1996, the Big D's Dennis Fiely penned an excellent and informative piece, "Forbidden Medicine." The balanced and non-hysterical article is well worth rereading. Or, in Voinovich's, Montgomery's and Crawford's cases, a first reading. Had that clueless collage read the story in the first place, they might have seen the following:

"Senate Bill 2, one of Ohio's crime bills, recognizes the medical use of marijuana as an 'affirmative defense' when an offender has a prior written recommendation from a doctor." Or that, "The law, which will go into effect July 1, seems to lend 'some credence to the idea that a doctor is on safe ground to make the recommendation'..."

Either our outraged trio was too busy thinking up new ways to throw AIDS and cancer patients into prison for using marijuana to relieve their suffering; or perhaps the three simply smoked something that impaired their memory.

The Dispatch articles are reminiscent of the heyday of the Hearst papers' "yellow journalism." William Randolph Hearst-"Citizen Hearst"-pioneered mass-hysteria reporting at the turn of the century. Hearst papers demanded prohibitions against alcohol, cigarettes, public dancing and popular music. The anti-Hispanic bigot had both a financial and ideological stake in his campaign against hemp and "marijuana," both legal products in the U.S. before Hearst's crusade. The hemp plant, the world's premier renewable source of high-quality paper products, was in direct competition with poor-quality, highly acidic wood pulp paper that Hearst had a huge financial interest in promoting. He owned timberland, paper mills, and produced wood pulp paper products with DuPont.

Although you couldn't get high off the low THC content in industrial hemp, this didn't deter Hearst papers from first linking hemp to "marijuana" and next to "dope" associated with narcotics. Ignoring the Spanish word for hemp, can~amo, Hearst equated hemp with "marijuana" or "Mary Jane," a slang word for pot.

Inflamed by the Mexican revolution, Hearst's papers' anti-Hispanic rhetoric led to the fist local ordinance against marijuana in 1914 in El Paso, Texas. There, a City Council composed of primarily drunken cowboys outlawed marijuana because of fear of violent Mexicans.

His reporters popularized the term "marijuana" especially after the Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa seized 800,000 acres of prime timberland that Hearst owned in Mexico in 1916 and gave it to the Mexican peasants. The Mexican peasants and most of the rest of the world preferred hemp products for paper, clothing, rope and fuel.

Thus Hearst, through his newspapers, systematically demonized the use of both hemp products and the medical use of marijuana for his personal gain. Hearst's Herald-Tribune enthusiastically promoted Mussolini's crusade against pot in the 1920s with such headlines as "Mussolini leads way in crushing dope."

By 1937, industrial hemp, a product grown and advocated by both Washington and Jefferson, was now illegal and the dreaded marijuana was a Schedule One narcotic-with "no therapeutic" use- alongside heroin. By contrast, both cocaine and morphine, an opium-derivative, are Schedule Two narcotics and can be prescribed by doctors.

Kenny Schweickart, spokesperson for the Ohio Industrial Hemp and Medical Use Coalition, said, "The only reason why the Dispatch recently wrote that marijuana has no recognized therapeutic benefits is because it is currently listed as a Schedule One narcotic, not because it's actually true. Read Dennis Fiely's earlier coverage."

In 1988, Drug Enforcement Agency Law Judge Francis Young, after an extensive hearing, ruled that marijuana was one of the safest and most therapeutic substances known to humankind. His ruling rescheduled marijuana as a Schedule Two narcotic, but was overruled.

Marijuana, the Forbidden Medicine, a Yale University Press book, lists marijuana as medicine for not only AIDS and cancer patients but for those with chronic pain, epilepsy, glaucoma, insomnia, labor pains, menstrual cramps, migraine headaches, mood disorders, multiple sclerosis, nausea, paraplegia and quadriplegia.

Ohio's "affirmative defense," despite the Dispatch's claim, does not "legalize" marijuana. It does, however, make it virtually impossible to prosecute any pot-smoker with a written prescription from a recognized physician.

Now, if the Dispatch would just quit doing its Hearst imitation and George, Betty and Dale would quit watching that Reefer Madness video, then we could alleviate some real human suffering.

12/11/1996

Guilt by location

by Bob Fitrakis

Prior to the Chief James Jackson controversy, I can count on my middle finger the number of times I’ve supported Mayor Greg Lashutka in a political battle. The only other time concerned the building of Tuttle Mall in Columbus. Since I detest malls and that whole culture, I half-heartedly sided with the mayor’s position that a mall and its tax revenue would benefit the city more than the suburbs. Yet, on the Chief Jackson issue, I enthusiastically endorse the mayor’s inquiry. Hell, I believe the Big Guy’s showing some guts and character for the first time in his political career.

Now that an obscene gesture has been turned into a peace or victory sign, let me say that I think the mayor is ill-advised in his vilification of Gwendolyn Rogers, the head of Columbus’s Equal Business Opportunity Office. Lashutka’s voice has been joined by city council member Jennette Bradley, a fellow Republican who must live in a glass house. Bradley, who was quoted in Tuesday’s Columbus Dispatch as calling for a thorough investigation of Rogers’ office, must be forgetting the cloud of disgrace under which she left the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority. The Dispatch extensively reported mismangement and waste at CMHA while she was executive director of the agency.

As strongly as I believe the Jackson investigation is not racially motivated, I believe just as strongly that the media campaign against Rogers—led by the Dispatch—is racist. The Columbus Dispatch, I contend, is punishing Rogers because she refused to play the role of Good House Negress. During the last three weeks, Professor Vincene Verdun, an African-American law professor at OSU, has been questioning the legality of Mayor Lashutka "waiving" the Title 39 statute that set goals for the city purchasing goods and services from minority- and female-owned businesses.

Rogers has been doing her job in questioning how the mayor received sole power to waive a statute, particularly since she drafted the original statute that had the term "joint" power in the ordinance language. Simply put, the City Council and the mayor may be acting illegally.

Not surprisingly, no front-page stories appeared in the Dispatch on this dispute, unlike Rogers’ trip to Hawaii. The Dispatch’s coverage of Rogers’ trip amounts to guilt by location. The trip was to Hawaii, it must be illegal!

Make no mistake, Rogers is being McNeal-ed. This is a time-honored Dispatch technique, perfected first in the Soviet Union by another daily monopoly, Pravda. Associated in central Ohio with the Dispatch’s campaign against Palmer McNeal, being McNeal-ed means you’re tried and condemned by the multi-millionaire Wolfe family, their editorial lapdogs and their executioners masquerading as "objective journalists."

Let’s analyze the initial hatchet job that appeared as the lead story in the Metro section last Wednesday, December 4. Reporter Barbara Carmen’s third paragraph reads, "‘Aloha,’ Rogers said when the phone rang." The Dispatch editorialists make this seem equivalent to Rogers saying, "I kidnapped and murdered the Lindbergh baby."

The article tells us that the 10th anniversary Conference on Counseling and Treating People of Color, "according to the registration brochure...is for administrators, social workers, physicians, nurses, dentists, health and mental health workers, and other professionals." This insinuates, of course, that Rogers had no business being there. Let’s see. Rogers easily falls into the categories of "administrators" and "other professionals."

To really appreciate Carmen’s character assassination of Rogers, you’ve got to go to the seventh paragraph. Here, the article says: "Rogers’ office is responsible for developing programs that help small companies sell goods such as backhoes, computer software, construction contracts and cleaning services to the City." The last, obviously, isn’t a "good," it’s a "service," a term that Carmen must avoid at all cost.

Now, to understand what the Disgrace is doing, let me rewrite the paragraph for you as if it concerned a lackey politician that the Dispatch wished to protect: "Rogers’ office is responsible for developing programs that help small companies sell goods and services such as medical supplies, computer software for health care providers, mental health service contracts, and diversity training programs to the City." Ever heard of the city Health Department? Rogers is responsible for making sure that diversified small businesses have an opportunity to sell goods and services to that department, a fact intentionally ignored by the Dispatch in its quest to publicly spank Rogers. "Backhoes," indeed.

By Friday, the Rogers story had jumped to the front page—signaling that the Dispatch was organizing a public print media lynching. Council President John P. Kennedy in the second paragraph blusters, "This is not good stewardship of taxpayer dollars." Oh? Kennedy’s never had to account in the Dispatch pages for what he might know about legislation that benefited those close to him. What about T & R Properties, John? (see Columbus Alive November 13, page four) Was that good stewardship?

Mayor Lashutka should know better than to open a two-front war in the black community. Particularly against an administrator whose main offense seems to be being "too uppity."

12/25/1996

Nosedive

by Bob Fitrakis

Looks like Assistant City Attorney Glenn Redick-the man charged with the task of taking on Police Chief James Jackson and ferreting out police corruption-took a dive in the mayor's prosecution. Either the fix was in, or Redick was sleepwalking during the hearings. As one veteran reporter covering the hearings commented, "The rug is getting thicker and thicker as they sweep the dirt under it."

A scenario floating from various sources goes like this: about two weeks ago, attitudes began to change in the Jackson probe. As a precursor to this, Columbus City Council members John Kennedy, Les Wright and Michael Coleman had pressured the mayor's investigation team to wrap up quickly. Rumors abounded that a deal was being struck between the mayor and Council members. The Chief and his backers were battling back with embarrassing information they had in their possession. Did they really want the Chief under oath testifying about everything he knew concerning escort services? The public exposure of the Arthur Shapiro murder file finally cemented the deal. The Chief, who, after all, was protecting some of the most important political and business movers and shakers in Columbus, was to get a slap on the wrist. And it will be business as usual in systematically and institutionally corrupt Cowtown.

This takes us to Arthur Shapiro. Let's rehash that story. Local attorney and everyone's favorite creative accountant, Shapiro, was gunned down in what was considered a mob hit the day before he was to testify to federal authorities concerning problems he was having with the IRS in 1985. A partner at Schwartz, Shapiro, Kelm & Warren, Shapiro's clients included The Limited, and he was at the time being investigated for his dealings with Berry L. Kessler, an accountant later convicted of helping Shapiro avoid paying income tax. Kessler is serving time in Florida for hiring a hitman to kill a business partner. He also was suspected of having a hand in the Shapiro slaying.

Because Shapiro worked for The Limited, Elizabeth Laupp of the Organized Crime Bureau did linkage analysis that pointed out in a June 6, 1991 memo the obvious connections between The Limited's Les Wexner, former City Council President Jerry Hammond and current City Councilwoman Les Wright. Wexner helped fund Hammond's now-defunct Major Chord nightclub in the Short North, and Wright served as vice president of the company that owned it. Shapiro reportedly worked on a land deal that paved the way for Wexner's vast New Albany Company development, and Hammond's and later Wright's votes on Council helped facilitate that development.

Attorney James Balthaser took over some of Shapiro's most interesting work at Schwartz, Kelm, Warren & Rubenstein. Balthaser is now at Thompson, Hine and Flory, where he is a law partner with the Chief's lawyer, Bill Wilkinson. Wilkinson and Balthaser both happen to work for the firm that's the primary legal counsel for the mighty Banks Carbone Construction Company, recently listed in Business First as Greater Columbus's leading minority-owned firm with sales nearly equal to the second- and third-ranked firms combined. A miraculous success story for high school graduate T.G. Banks, the Chief's close buddy. They share a lot of things, like an interest in the steel industry. The Chief, we recall, is a steel magnate; he runs Interstate Steel from his home on Bryden Road. We know from the Ohio Department of Taxation that he's the president, secretary and treasurer of Interstate. But less well known is that Banks was listed as the owner of the company when it was incorporated in 1992. In most cities, a police chief operating a steel business with no steelyard in a residential neighborhood might raise eyebrows. Not here.

Anyway, Wilkinson looked like a heavyweight champ against the lackluster punching-bag Redick. And the Chief can soon go back to protecting and serving. After all, he's done such a fine job. It was the Chief who insisted that Ted Oshodi be our Civilian Crime Prevention Coordinator although he was rated last among half a dozen candidates and was investigated last year for allegedly repeatedly raping his daughter from 1986-'88. While the charges weren't brought to a grand jury for criminal prosecution since the daughter reported them years later and only had a polygraph to back her up, they still were open for a police Internal Affairs investigation that doesn't have to meet "a beyond a reasonable doubt" standard. When Oshodi was ordered to take a polygraph on these charges, an August 11, 1995 memo from Officer Cathy Collins of the polygraph unit complained about an order she received "per chain of command ... not to ask any questions of Ted Oshodi ... prior to his hire date" of December 6, 1994. Interestingly, the alleged rapes took place prior to his hire date. And, the order reportedly came directly from the top. Eventually, Collins won out and she concluded the following: "that Mr. Oshodi was NOT TRUTHFUL when answering" four questions about sexually abusing his daughter. She also determined that the daughter was "truthful" on all four questions.

Redick forgot to ask the Chief about the bizarre restrictions he supposedly placed on Oshodi's polygraph test. Also, Redick did not call Sharlynn English, the Chief's very close friend and admitted former employee of "Dulcet" Escort Services; nor English's good friend, next-door neighbor and close companion to Commander Walter Burns, Carol Huffman; nor Gail Richey, who observed the Chief's relationship with English in the late '80s. English's sworn deposition reveals that the Chief visited her regularly two to three times a week for six to nine months at 5318 Karl Road for nooners. Right next door, at 5328, Richey was receiving then-Lieutenant Walter Burns, whose alleged involvement with the prostitution ring spurred the Jackson investigation.

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01/08/1997

FEATURED ARTICLE

Police cruisin'

by Bob Fitrakis

 Equally as important as the evidence entered in the recently concluded investigation of Columbus Police Chief James G. Jackson may be the evidence not submitted to the Civil Service Commission and public scrutiny. A Sunday Columbus Dispatch headline on the front page of the Metro section has already informed central Ohio that the: "'Girlfriend angle' in Jackson case failed to hold up." The story quotes Jackson's attorney, William C. Wilkinson, at some length: "They've inquired, pried into every aspect of his professional, personal and financial affairs for more than three decades. In the oil business, they'd call it a dry hole."

But information recently obtained by Columbus Alive and a careful reading of the official proceedings suggest the hole may not be as dry as Wilkinson or the Dispatch would have the public believe. While the Dispatch claims in editorials that mayoral investigators appeared to be bogged down in minutiae, one could conclude that the investigators found that the chief seemed to be involved in an ever-expanding web of possible corruption and questionable relationships. For example, the under-oath deposition of Jackson's alleged girlfriend and self-confessed escort, Charlynn Marie English, offers some provocative insights into Jackson. According to English's sworn statement, she met Jackson as soon as she moved to Columbus in 1979. "I met him through a person by the name of Patty Walker. I met him at a party at the Wyandotte North Apartments." English said she used to party regularly with police officers Ellis Jennings, Robert Locke, Tony Mason, Jeffrey Blackwell and others, especially between 1980-86.

The fifth and final charge against Jackson contained two allegations that Jackson failed to remove Officers Mason and Blackwell from the investigatory Internal Affairs Bureau despite their questionable records within the Columbus Police Division. Both were reassigned during the Jackson probe.

English admitted to having a "intimate relationship" with Chief Jackson, a deputy chief who was married at the time, while living in a duplex at 5318 Karl Road. Her pet name for Jackson was "Chiefy." She estimates that the relationship lasted "approximately six to nine months" and that she saw Jackson "probably two ... three times a week." She claims that he visited her "at times in uniform and at times in plain clothes," and that Jackson drove a "city car."

Assistant Safety Director David Sturtz, in a sworn deposition, stated that Chief Jackson's version was at odds with English's: "His sworn testimony was that he had seen this lady on two occasions. One on a week night and one on a Saturday sometime during 1988."

When asked who knew of her relationship with Jackson, English listed Officers Locke, Jennings, Donald Cady, and Kris Wehe as well as Gail Ritchie, her next-door neighbor and friend, among others. In a sworn interview, Ritchie also listed the same officers as having knowledge of Jackson's intimate relationship with English. English told Ritchie that the officers "would tease her" about her relationship with Jackson and drive by and try to "catch" Deputy Chief Jackson at her house. English told investigators that she had told Officer Wehe about her relationship with Jackson and that Wehe had seen Jackson "come in and out of my house."

In a sworn interview, retired SWAT Officer Kris Wehe confirmed English's deposition. Wehe went on to say that he was a close friend of Charlynn English and had discussed her sexual relationship with Jackson. "She's made comments about the size of his equipment, comments like that-I guess she wouldn't really know if she wasn't having sex with him," Wehe confided.

Gail Ritchie's sworn testimony was not admitted as evidence in Jackson's hearing before the Civil Service Commission, but clearly corroborates English's deposition.

Ritchie's relationship with English goes back nearly 30 years to the eighth grade: "Actually, we both went to Rosemont School for Girls for one year and that's how I met her. She continued on and I stayed there for one year." In 1982, the former schoolmates met again when the then-Charlynn Eveland was going through a divorce and needed a place to stay. Ritchie arranged for her to stay in the other half of the duplex. Ritchie categorized herself as a close friend and witnessed the comings and goings of then-Deputy Chief Jackson.

English testified under oath that a few years later she worked for the Dulcet Escort Services. Ritchie said that "I knew when she was my neighbor at that time she had friends that worked for an escort service." English insists that Jackson never paid for sex with her, but did once give her $100 as a friend.

"Well, Charlynn always denied it to me and I just thought it was strange that she had all these escort friends but she wouldn't be a part of it. Charlynn and I are very different so she would hide some of her ways from me," Ritchie said. At the same time English was seeing Jackson, Carol Huffman, living in another duplex next to English's abode, was then seeing a Lieutenant Walter Burns, according to sworn testimony. Burns, like Jackson, would visit his female friend in a police car during the day. At night, Burns would use his personal car, according to English and Ritchie. Ritchie estimated that Burns parked his police cruiser in the driveway "three days a week ... over that two-year span," in 1982-'83. She said that in the "summer or spring" of 1982 that English had a relationship with Jackson: "He would come over to the house and hide the car in the garage. They would have sex, then he would leave."

Sturtz admitted that the investigation team began to speculate about the possibility that Walter Burns knew that Deputy Chief Jackson was visiting Carol Huffman's neighbor, Charlynn. A decade later, during the Menucci prostitution ring investigation, three of the seven prostitutes initially identified now-Commander Burns as a client. In later re-interviews, the prostitutes recanted and changed their stories.

The now-famous "dry hole" centers around the fact that no one can prove that Jackson-who by all accounts parked his unmarked police car in English's garage-ever noticed Burns' police cruiser in the driveway next door during his lunchtime rendezvous. Sturtz, in his deposition, drew other conclusions: "Same location. You could jump from me to you to be from this driveway to the other driveway. It is not like they are separated. It is right there."

English also admitted that she had contacted then-Deputy Chief Jackson for protection in June of 1988 after receiving threatening phone calls regarding her role as a material witness in the murder of a reputed Mansfield prostitute, Marjorie Coffey. English recalled a Deputy John Sears was assigned to help protect her, as were other officers.

Jackson, while on duty, drove English to Mansfield in June of 1988, according to testimony. Additionally, English claimed to have visited Jackson at his current Bryden Road residence twice, the last time being in the summer of 1995.

Sturtz stated under oath that he became suspicious of the English-Jackson relationship when, "Charlynn, in April of 1995, came to the Chief's residence and was asking or wanting him maybe to do something about a police officer [who was giving her husband, bail bondsman Michael English, a hard time]. At the same time, she was on Crimestoppers, Channel 6, as a person who was a suspect in the stealing of a $25,000 check."

English admitted to having socialized with Police Sergeant Jeff Blackwell-who was reassigned during the Jackson investigation. English claims she talked to Blackwell in October after a clandestine meeting with Assistant Safety Director Sturtz and Commander James Dean, both members of the mayoral investigation team, on Tuesday, September 10 at Applebee's on Brice Road. A former law enforcement official informed Columbus Alive of the "secret" meeting right after it occurred. English told the two investigators that the Chief was worried back in 1988 about how his relationship with English might affect his "career."

On Friday, October 11, testimony reveals that English called Commander Dean and told him that he and Sturtz were being followed. English identified Blackwell as the individual who told her that Sturtz and Dean were being spied on.

Also not entered as evidence were the sworn statements of Chief Jackson's ex-wife Sandra Butler. Butler was married to Jackson from March 1978 to April 1987. Butler began dating Jackson in May of 1975 and was witness on at least one occasion to an intense argument that Jackson was having with a former wife. She said her relationship with Jackson turned violent a year or so later, when they broke up prior to their marriage.

Jackson became "angry because that person [an ex-boyfriend] had been there and he swung at me and just grazed my face a little and hit the wall," she stated. Additionally, she claimed that the Chief was violent with her "only three" times later when she moved to his Bryden Road residence. Once when she came home late from shopping she described the following scene: "I got home and he was in the mud room and the light was off and when I came in the back door, he grabbed me and was choking me asking me where I had been.... I lost my breath and I guess I went out a little bit because he was tapping me on the face trying to revive me."

Butler said she "ran away" from Jackson three times "because he hit me." "[If] I said the wrong thing I got popped," she said. She confessed that she attempted suicide by mixing a combination of "#10 Valiums and ... a big glass of bourbon." When Butler and Jackson separated in 1987, she moved to Franklin Avenue.

In his sworn interview, Wehe recalled being dispatched to Butler's residence in 1988. "I went up there and she answered the door and she was crying. She'd been smacked around, she said that the Chief did it and she was afraid of him.... I called my supervisor and that's the last I heard of it."

Butler's statements touch on the relationship between controversial minority contractor T.G. Banks and Jackson. Banks is the focus of several separate investigations into whether or not he benefited from possible contract steering by the governor's former chief of staff, Paul Mifsud. Banks apparently performed extraordinarily inexpensive renovations for Mifsud's then-fiancee and subsequently was awarded several million dollars in state construction management contracts.

Butler commented in her deposition "...it just amazed me when I found out Jim was socializing with him [Banks] all of the time."

One of the things that the investigation focused on was showing favoritism to friends like Columbus Division of Police Civilian Crime Coordinator Ted Oshodi. Rumors were rife that the Chief did favors for his close buddies, like the time Banks was worried about a possible sexual assault allegation being filed against him. The Jackson investigation team was looking into allegations that the Chief exerted influence to protect Banks when the mayor's investigation was cut short at the insistence of City Council members. Columbus Alive has learned that, prompted by the mayor's investigation into Jackson, a 22-year-old female filed a sexual assault charge against Banks on November 29, 1996. She alleges that Banks assaulted her in 1991 at Banks' former residence on Sugar Maple Court. The matter remains under investigation as Jackson returns to head the division of police.

Moreover, Assistant City Attorney Glen Redick did not see fit to bring documents into evidence showing possible favoritism by Jackson to his friend Oshodi. Rated last of six candidates for the Crime Coordinator position, Oshodi's hiring was personally secured by Jackson, even though Oshodi's daughter emerged with claims that he had repeatedly raped her in the late 1980s. County prosecutors refused to seek indictment of Oshodi on criminal charges because events were so far in the past that no physical evidence remained and prosecutors cannot use a polygraph in a criminal case. But this legal stipulation for criminal prosecution is not applicable in the police division's standards of conduct.

In an October 10,1995 memo, Lieutenant Joseph Pettis reported to Chief Jackson that Oshodi's polygraph test had read "not truthful" to four questions regarding oral and vaginal sex with his daughter, and that her test had read "truthful" to the same four questions. Pettis recommended to Jackson that "Ted Oshodi be charged with violation of 'Rule of Conduct #1.l5 A-5,"-that "Division Personnel are to be truthful at all times."

A handwritten note on a copy of Oshodi's personnel information card from Commander Gerald Perrigo to Deputy Chief Kern noted: "Discussed with Chief Jackson on 10-12-95. He says if info when Oshodi was employed here was presented to Grand Jury and they refused to indict, we cannot charge him. Left for you to decide. My opinion is not sustained-no further action."

01/15/1997

Anybody here seen my old friend Martin?

by Bob Fitrakis

Since this issue comes out on the actual birthday of Martin Luther King Jr.-perhaps America's greatest citizen-let us reflect on his legacy, and how it plays out today in Columbus politics.

When I was eight and nine years old, I recall watching TV with my family and being sickened at the sight of King and his followers being beaten and hosed and bitten by police dogs in the deep South. But I also understood that that same racism existed in my working class neighborhood in Detroit. In the mid-'60s in Detroit, there was the notorious "Big Four"-four large, white officers to a cruiser keeping blacks, through beating and intimidation, out of my neighborhood and locked up in the Smith Projects a mile or so away. It was no secret; people including my parents knew about it yet said nothing.

Then it all changed. The Detroit riot of '67, prior to L.A. in '92, the granddaddy of all the modern urban riots. Forty-two people died. King had warned us about this and counseled peace. He told us that, "A riot is the voice of the unheard." As always, he was right. The year of my 12th birthday, I witnessed that riot firsthand. After dropping my brother off at camp in Port Huron, our family van exited I-94 and swung on to East Davidson in Detroit the Sunday morning the riots erupted. At first I thought church must have just let out because of the large black crowds on the street corner. To this day, I still vividly recall two men throwing a shopping cart through a plate-glass window of an inner-city grocery store. My father yelled for us to get down, that it was a riot-he had lived through the Detroit riot of '43-but I had to watch the rage unfolding.

A white racist shot Martin Luther King Jr. to death the next spring. They called school off at Harding Junior High in Detroit. We white students walked home, and the blacks headed for the project. With King dead, it felt as if we had lost our last, and only, hope for interracial peace. We white kids mourned the loss of King because we knew the injustices so long inflicted by the police on the black community could only lead to more violence.

His loss also meant that I would be soon leaving Detroit-to this day "my city"-as my parents fled to Redford Township and blue-collar suburbia. My dad was soon let go at O. Keller Tool & Die and became a "garbage man." Even now I remind myself that the day Martin Luther King Jr. died he was not fighting racial injustice solely, but economic injustice as well. He was in Memphis supporting sanitation workers; people like my father. King opposed all forms of oppression-social, economic and racist as well. That's why he worked with democratic socialists like the late Michael Harrington, my mentor, and Norman Thomas.

With King's death, some of us turned to more radical and revolutionary solutions. In the mid-'70s, I supported the League of Revolutionary Black Workers and one of its co-founders, Kenny Cockrell. Cockrell and the Detroit Alliance for a Rational Economy (DARE) were the lone activist electoral organization fighting the ravages of Reaganomics in the early '80s.

Cockrell was usually the lone voice and vote on the Detroit Common Council against the tax abatement rage sweeping the country. I still remember our "Tax Max and his Pal Al" campaign. How could I not? The Max in question is Max Fisher. Yes, Ohio State named its business school after him. And Al is Albert Taubman, who built the City Center Mall. Referred to as the "Max Fisher Law," they got a state law passed so that they only had to pay 50 percent of their property taxes over 24 years.

I think about it often since I now see the same policies that helped ravage and destroy Detroit eagerly embraced by the Columbus political leadership. The same political leadership you'll never see marching against police brutality, the Klan, Ameriflora or protesting tax abatements. But, they'll all be out marching from City Hall to Vets Memorial this Monday, King's official holiday.

So, one day a year, the black and white power brokers move to the front of the line to walk the walk and talk the talk of King. Then, the other 364 days of the year they dismantle the city's program to aid minority and female businesses; spend their time thinking of new and creative ways to make Les Wexner richer; let the Chamber of Commerce control the Columbus school board; and look the other way when the police brutalize citizens.

I think I'll honor King this year by sending a check to the Police Officers for Equal Rights, a black police officers' association that has emerged as the "conscience of the criminal justice system," and protesting at Lazarus against its policy of buying garments from sweatshops.

Martin will understand why I'm skipping the march.

01/22/1997

NEWSBEEFS

The old boys statehouse press club?

Bob Fitrakis

Does OLCA stand for the Ohio Legislative Correspondents Association or the Obsequious Lapdogs Covering their Asses?

Alternative press reporter Irv Oslin believes it's the latter. Oslin charged that the OLCA "conspired to eliminate a category of membership that happened to include me." The five-member OLCA executive board-that includes four members from major daily newspapers-recently voted to eliminate the associate membership category in its constitution. In a letter dated January 13, the OLCA rejected Oslin's 1997-98 application, citing a "unanimous" vote of the board. The OLCA also turned down the application of former Guardian investigative reporter Michael Weber, Dan Crawford of Business First and a reporter for the Small Business News.

Oslin explained that these exclusions "would have a chilling effect on small, independent newspapers," and "would create a caste system in which alternative journalists might be considered untouchables." Membership in the OLCA has its perks, including a mailbox in the Statehouse press room, services of two government-subsidized press room clerks, and permanent House and Senate floor privileges.

"After reviewing the OLCA Constitution and by-laws as well as Senate and House rules, we are of the firm opinion that OLCA was created and continues to exist as an Association of individuals based in Columbus representing daily newspapers, radio, television, news and information services who regularly cover the General Assembly/or state government," OCLA's letter stated.

The OLCA's president, Alan Johnson, writes for the Columbus Dispatch-the only daily newspaper in the capital city. The Dispatch, with eight members in the OLCA, is the largest single newspaper contingent. Oslin wrote primarily for the Columbus Guardian which folded last month, but his weekly Statehouse column still runs regularly in five other Ohio weekly and monthly news publications. Oslin's column "Statehouse Follies" frequently poked fun at Governor Voinovich and various state legislators. Oslin's often insightful and usually irreverent reporting in the tradition of award-winning syndicated columnist Molly Ivins used legislator's foibles as journalistic fodder.

It probably didn't help Oslin's chances for renewal that he wrote a scathing column on a Johnson puff piece promoting a Bob Dole/George Voinovich presidential ticket. Oslin called Johnson's supposed news piece, "one of the most disgusting displays of blatant toadying I've ever witnessed." He added, "If I were Dole, I'd check my butt for warts." Oslin believes that the elimination of the associate membership and his ouster is, in part, payback from Johnson for the column.

The OLCA executive board disagrees, insisting that the elimination of associate memberships is merely a routine constitutional and bylaw cleanup measure and not politically motivated.

"It had nothing to do with columns, it had nothing to do with personalities," Johnson said. He added that associate members still have access and rights.

In a response to the board's decision, Oslin wrote a letter to his former fellow OLCA members that stated: "Executive Board members claim that I would still have access regardless of my membership status. This is true. But I would not have equal access. In reality, I would have to jump through hoops to enjoy the same privileges you do. And I would be delegated to second-class citizenship in the eyes of the people I cover."

Bill McMeekin, editor of Business First, said, "We are appealing the OLCA decision and are taking appropriate steps.... We've been a member since our inception in 1984 and we meet the Ohio Revised Code definition of a general circulation newspaper."

When asked whether membership in the OLCA was important to a reporter, McMeekin replied: "It's important to Dan [Crawford]. He believes he needs the benefits of OLCA, he needs that type of access to do his best job, and I intend to support him."

Ironically, the preamble to the OLCA Constitution proclaims that the association exists, "...in order to secure for its members their full rights as representatives of a free press in a free society...." And, Article one, Section two concerning "active" membership does not have a single reference to "daily" newspapers. However, frequent references to "a daily newspaper" and "a Columbus daily newspaper" appear in the bylaws of the OLCA. A fundamental principle of parliamentary procedure in constitutional law holds that constitutions are supreme over bylaws, Oslin pointed out. Oslin offered that there may be another reason why the Statehouse journalists are going after one of their own. "It may be that the access and amenities provided to them are at the whim of the legislators they cover," he said. "An independent reporter, particularly one prone to saying 'mush' when he has a mouthful, might jeopardize such a cozy arrangement," Oslin opined.

Attorney Keith Yeazel is representing Oslin in his battle with the OLCA. Yeazel said "throwing Mr. Oslin out is censorship in another form." He pointed out that the OLCA is supported by more than $15,000 in public taxpayer money annually, yet operates like a private club. "They're funded by state money. They can't simply decide who's in and who's out." Yeazel also questioned why a half-dozen or so OLCA members do not write for or belong to daily news organizations. In a forthcoming column in Columbus's Hoot -a humor newspaper founded by Oslin-Oslin writes about his plight and ends: "Outraged? If so, call OLCA President Alan Johnson at (614) 461-5232 and give him hell."

with additional reporting by Cary Jordan

Last of the big spenders

The case involving the governor's brother and the Jefferson County jail project just got a little stranger last week-but you won't find any mention of it in Columbus' daily paper. The Akron Beacon Journal reported in a story last Friday that Jefferson County Prosecutor Stephen Stern last week released a phone bill allegedly showing that Vincent Zumpano, a Steubenville-area man indicted for attempting to bribe a county commissioner into awarding a construction management contract to Paul Voinovich's firm, called Voinovich in 1994 from a phone at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas.

Zumpano allegedly attempted to bribe a Jefferson County commissioner to award the construction management contract for the county jail to Voinovich's firm. Paul Voinovich is the brother of Governor George V. Voinovich. Stern already has filed records showing hundreds of calls between offices where Zumpano worked and Voinovich's company and unlisted home phone.

"Stern said he didn't know whether the Las Vegas phone call means anything special, but that he found it interesting," the Beacon Journal reported. Also to be filed under the What-Does-it-All-Mean category: "The record also shows that Zumpano tended to tip badly in the hotel restaurants, and extremely well in the hotel bar."

Air wars

Air guitars at 20 paces, deploy your synthesizers along the high ground and scramble your drums. It's an air raid!

The rock wars are on in Columbus radio and central Ohio listeners are caught in the cross-fire because-far from being non-combatants-they are the prize, at least those listeners who are men. And boys. Between the ages of 12 and 45.

Since Christmas, the airwaves around central Ohio have crackled with change as broadcasting giant Jacor makes its move to squash its competition in rock radio. Having acquired veteran album-rocker WLVQ-FM (Q-FM 96), the media giant opened the New Year with aggressive moves on every front, with the intention of burying WBZX-FM (The Blitz) and WWCD-FM (CD 101).

In 1996, there were three commercial FM rock station in Columbus: Q-FM 96, The Blitz and CD 101. In 1997 there are five, three of whom are avoiding competition with one another in order to achieve rock supremacy for Jacor, the company which owns them. Jacor purchased the Arrow stations (WAHC-FM and WAKS-FM) late in the year and immediately junked their classic-rock formats in favor of country, which some observers saw as a move to simply drive old listeners away. Within a month, WAHC (107.1) had become The Big Wazoo (WAZU) and was broadcasting hard rock for teenage boys. Almost simultaneously, Jacor-owned WLLD-FM (98.9) dropped its country format and its call letters in favor of alternative rock as Channel Z (WZAZ-FM). The battle was on, as Q-FM 96 continued to program mainstream rock for men in the 18-34-year-old age group, The Big Wazoo siphoned off listeners from the 12-24 year-old segment-where The Blitz had been giving WLVQ a lot of trouble-and Channel Z went after the 25-34 year olds, traditionally CD 101 listeners. Theoretically, anyone who wanted to listen to-or buy advertising on-a rock station in Columbus was going to have to deal with someone from Jacor.

Radio's hardest-fought battlefield is usually the morning-drive hours of 6:00 to 10:00, where Q-FM's "Wags & Elliot" have held sway among rock listeners for some time, competing for top honors among all Columbus morning shows with WNCI's The Morning Zoo, WTVN's Bob Conners and WSNY's "Sunny in the Morning with Dino and Stacy." A sure sign that the rock war would be bitterly fought was the acquisition of Howard Stern's syndicated morning show by The Blitz in December. Clearly, the management at WBZX knew a preemptive strategic strike was the best way for a small competitor to hold its own against the coming Jacor juggernaut. The Dennis Rodman-like ubiquity of Stern in the media will help The Blitz compete, not only with Wags & Elliot, but also with The Zoo. It was a radio version of Pearl Harbor.

Does any of this bode well for rock listeners? The theory is that competition is good for the customer because it makes the competitors more aggressive, but the electronic media do not always use innovation as a competitive tool. With a five-way race underway, there is almost no room for error, so programmers may rely on safe, tried-and-true musical selections to maintain their audiences. They may play not to lose, rather than to win-and that could mean more repetition than competition.

01/29/1997

Can you spell Die-oxin?

by Bob Fitrakis

You'd think if a story was page one, top of the Dispatch Metro section like last Thursday's "Agency to study dioxin levels in blood," that it would contain breaking news.

Not so, say environmental activists Theresa Mills and John Thomas with Neighbors Protecting Our Environment. Mills called it "deja vu." Thomas charges that the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) hadn't changed its position, despite citizens' complaints, since its original written proposal in January 1995. Both suspect that the Dispatch article is signaling that the ATSDR has stopped listening to concerned citizens. And this could be dangerous for every central Ohio resident. Here's why-Die-oxin!

Listed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the deadliest manmade substance, bar none, Dioxin 2,3,7,8, was an active ingredient in Agent Orange. When Columbus built its now infamous and defunct trash-burning power plant, it inadvertently created perhaps the world's foremost dioxin generator. Here's how. Ohio's own Babcock & Wilcox Engineering firm-also renowned for its work on the Three Mile Island nuclear plant-originally designed the plant to burn coal. Coal-burning, unlike gas, proved virtually impossible to regulate with any consistency. The plant did not allow for the separation of trash. Toxic dioxin resulted from the incomplete burning of materials containing chlorine as plastics and other unseparated trash clogged the plant's burners. A 1992 test recorded dioxin emission levels at a staggering 17,892 nanograms-nearly 600 times the U.S. EPA maximum standard.

People in Columbus learned of these potentially lethal dioxin doses only after U.S. EPA Policy Analyst William Sanjour leaked the test results. But neighbors of the trash plant had long suspected that they were being harmed by the foul-smelling emissions. Anecdotal evidence suggested a cancer cluster surrounding the plant. Mills, Thomas and the Park Ridge Area Residents Take Action (PARTA) were instrumental in the grassroots movement to shut the plant down. Yet, they knew that when the plant closed in 1994, only half the battle was won.

Responding to a request by area residents, the ATSDR proposed a study in January 1995 that would be limited to checking the blood levels of 75 people; Mills found this unacceptable. At a June 8, 1995 meeting with ATSDR and Ohio EPA officials, she suggested a larger study involving "trash plant workers, state prison guards, county prison guards," and others who worked literally at ground zero of the dioxin fallout zone. The ATSDR appeared at that meeting to be under the sway of the Ohio EPA, known among activists as "Every Polluters Advocate." After listening to Dr. Paul Connett, one of the country's foremost experts on dioxin, who strongly suggested that more dioxin had dropped on Columbus than was found in the dioxin-plagued and evacuated Times Beach, Missouri, Mills offered the ATSDR the following provocative list of statistics taken from the book The Truth About Where You Live:

Out of 3,073 counties in the U.S., Franklin County ranks: eighth in workplace toxins: illegal occupational exposure; 15th in annual excess deaths from lung cancers; 20th in water quality: sewage outflow; 31st in air quality: urban-suspected carcinogen emissions; 32nd in hazardous wastes: treatment, storage, and disposal facilities; 32nd in annual excess deaths from heart disease; 33rd in air quality: urban hazardous chemical emissions; 44th in annual female excess deaths from breast cancer.

Mills made the point in a July 4, 1995 letter that city, county and state officials had consistently advocated policies that made central Ohio a toxic cesspool, and denied the dangers of dioxin. During the early stages of the dioxin debate, the Big D went so far as to report Mayor Lashutka's and Assistant Health Director Mike Pompelli's spin that dioxin was "an alleged toxin." Pompelli also suggested that time and money spent addressing the dioxin and trash-burner problem were taking away from real health concerns such as "dog bites."

Why then, was a two-year-old study proposal front-page news? Thomas says that the story is a clear signal from the feds that "they've stopped listening to citizens" and have sided with central Ohio's notorious anti-green politicians. Mills suspects that the old study is being hyped as a result of the pending class-action lawsuit by trash plant-area residents against the city who believe that their illnesses are caused or exacerbated by trash plant emissions. So far, the city has claimed "sovereign immunity"-that means they were just doing their job when they were burning unseparated trash at erratic temperatures without any stack scrubbers, and poisoning us. Under the doctrine of sovereign immunity, the city, unlike a private business, can't be sued without its permission. Currently, plaintiffs are suing in federal court under "property damages," but Mills says the case may be kicked back to a state court.

While dioxin has proven to be one of the most potent carcinogenics studied, U.S. EPA assessments suggest that a whole range of health problems are triggered at a significantly lower dose. Immune deficiencies, reproductive problems, endometriosis, respiratory illnesses can be a result of minute exposure to dioxin. By siding with city and state officials, the ATSDR is simply repeating the same old story-Columbus' dioxin cover-up will continue.

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02/05/1997

NEWS BRIEFS :  Sheir bites back

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MISSING FEBRUARY 12 ARTICLES

02/19/1997

Three reichs and you're out

Bob Fitrakis

 Whether it's in January around Martin Luther King Jr. Day or February during Black History Month, Columbus' yearly visit from hate-mongering white supremacists was once again counter-protested by the weather. From subzero wind chills to Alberta Clippers the last few years, it's almost enough to make one believe in divine intervention.

Harold "Ray" Redfearin, leader of Ohio's wing of the white terrorist Aryan Nations organization, is busy trying to unite all of the state's white supremacist groups under the umbrella of the misnamed Christian Identity theology. Redfearin's using the so-called Church of the Good Shepherd in New Vienna, Ohio to spew his theology of hate. Christian Identity code phrases include the old canard that "the Jews are the spawn of Satan" and that blacks are "pre-Adamic," as in Adam and Eve, "mudpeople"-thus, not human.

About 40 white supremacists, including Redfearin and Troy Murphy, an imperial wizard of an Indiana Klan group, rallied at the Statehouse last Sunday. As usual, state, county and local police provided tough and overzealous security for the white supremacists. At 12:30 p.m., counter-demonstrators began gathering at the corner of Broad and High. Hundreds of Anti-Racist Action (ARA) activists, primarily from the midwest and east coast, swelled the ranks of the anti-Nazi protesters. The campus-area Food Not Bombs organization offered up vegetarian chili to the gathering throng. Barry Edney of the Ordinary People's Movement, who had organized the most noticeable African-American contingent, was whipping up the crowd until he strayed into some Nation of Islam rhetoric.

Police officers appear to have perfected their infamous counter-demonstrator harassment techniques. Crowd them together, make them pass through an X-ray gate, run metal detectors over them, search and frisk them before they can exercise their First Amendment right to heckle the Klan. Make no mistake about it, law enforcement officials have created a deliberate policy, under the guise of security, where only two metal-detecting gates are used to impede the rights of counter-demonstrators.

The police obsession with Nazi and Klan First Amendment rights is reaching new levels of absurdity as is their disciplined practices of harassing counter-demonstrators. After waiting some 40 minutes just to get into the area, this writer was immediately thrown out by the Columbus S.W.A.T. team, reportedly under the supervision of Commander Curtis Marcum. My alleged offense was crossing over an imaginary line by a sign that said "EXIT." Despite repeatedly identifying myself as a journalist for Columbus Alive the entire S.W.A.T. unit guarding the exit seemed to take pleasure in ejecting me. Perhaps it was the articles I've written exposing the gambling practices of the Marcum family at the gambling house run by the murdered ex-police officer Mt. Vernon Johnson that made me such a dangerous suspect. Having taken an imaginary step across the arbitrary invisible line, known only unto God and the S.W.A.T. team, I was immediately grabbed in a pressure hold on my wrist and told "You must exit." No, they weren't arresting me, they were evicting me. This must be the S.W.A.T. team's new training to "protect and serve." Just before the exit, two apparent undercover officers, one male and one female in a fur coat-as always, sticking out like the proverbial sore thumb-were checking in with a Franklin County Sheriff's officer. The woman turned to chime in: "Get him out of here! He's always causing trouble!" The Sheriff's deputy joined in: "Him again! Get him out of here!" So much for my First Amendment rights.

I re-entered after more police hassles and a less-than-friendly extra testicle squeeze during my re-frisking, just in time to see a burly biker being confronted by ARA activists. "That's an SS insignia on your jacket, you Nazi scum!" At first the biker tried to deny it, but fled quickly after someone kicked him in the butt. He was allowed to go out the entrance. Where was the S.W.A.T. team when you needed them?

As I approached the fence to take my first photo of the racist clan, I realized they were leaving. Less than an hour into their rally their vituperative diatribe was over. Perhaps they had counted too much on the spirits of Mussolini and Hitler rising from the pit of hell to inspire them. Or maybe they were scared off by a frightful vision of themselves strung up on a meathook in a public square or blowing their brains out in a godawful bunker. The eternal post-WW II debate continued. What do you do with a nascent Nazi movement? "We tried ignoring them in Germany in the '20s and '30s," argued Jim McNamara, local ARA spokesperson. "This gives our organization an opportunity to educate people. We had a lot of energy out there. I was proud of the spirit of our activists. We stopped the Nazis from recruiting and we got to recruit, communicate with our fellow citizens and leaflet a lot of neighborhoods in the name of interracial unity. I'd call that a success," McNamara concluded.

02/26/1997

The Pryce is wrong

by Bob Fitrakis

 How would you expect your U.S. Representative to honor International Human Rights Day? If you're Deborah Pryce, you head to Burma and suck up to perhaps the most reprehensible and repressive military dictatorship on earth.

Dispatch darling Debbie, Republican representative from our own 15th district in central Ohio, joined Tom Delay (R-TX), Bill Paxton (R-NY), and Dennis Hastert (R-IL) on a "private" trip to Burma between December 8 and 12 of last year. At the invitation of the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) Vice-Chairman and Deputy Chief of Defense Services General Maung Aye, Pryce visited with SLORC leaders as their tanks and armed personnel carriers filled the streets of Rangoon and Burmese cities to crush pro-democracy demonstrations.

Pryce reportedly dined at the well-known butcher Maung Aye's home and toured the country via SLORC aircraft. Just the previous month, the U.S. State Department issued a statement that it was "outraged" by attacks on Nobel Peace laureate and head of the pro-democracy movement, Aung San Suu Kyi by "thugs wielding chains and knives and equipped with walkie-talkies." The U.S. State Department's 1996 Annual Report on Human Rights equates Burma and Iraq for both practicing "...repression and systematic violation of human rights," and says SLORC "terrorizes and silences" those who speak against it. SLORC has been condemned by the U.S. Congress, the UN Human Rights Commission, the European Parliament and Amnesty International.

According to the Free Burma Coalition, Pryce toured Mandalay Palace, where thousands of local citizens were forced into slave labor as part of a 1995 "beautification project." It proved a great photo op for our Debbie when her group was featured in the SLORC propaganda newspaper New Light of Myanmar. The Coalition also claims that Debbie and her guy-pals didn't meet with a single leader of the besieged National League for Democracy (NLP) party, which officially won the 1990 elections before being squashed by SLORC.

The U.S. Congressional reps also toured a controversial gas pipeline being built by the military dictatorship and oil companies Unocal and Total. Debbie's now busy promoting Unocal's bogus claim that there's "no forced labor" on the oil pipeline. The pipeline project has been repeatedly cited as the site of some of Burma's worst human rights violations. The pipeline area runs through the homeland of the Karen, Mon, and Tavoy ethic nationalities. Thousands of these tribespeople have been tortured, raped, murdered and forced to clear forests for the SLORC troops.

Speaking of junk on her junket, Burma is the world's largest heroin supplier. Just before Pryce's trip, Assistant Secretary of State Robert Gelbard stated, "Before Burma's military took over in 1962, Burma played a relatively minor role in the global drug trade. But by the 1980s, it had emerged as the world's largest producer of opium and heroin. SLORC is protecting the drug trade and flaunting its defiance of international concern."

Pryce will no doubt claim that "constructive engagement" with Burma justifies her visit. Desmond Tutu, Archbishop of South Africa, disagrees: "International pressure can change the situation in Burma. Tough sanctions, not constructive engagement, finally brought the release of Nelson Mandela and the dawn of a new era in my country."

Who would've thunk it? Our own Little Debbie, fan of the jackboot! If you're not, contact the Ohio Free Burma Coalition at 262-1208.

It can happen here

You shouldn't be shocked that a couple of neo-Nazi yahoos from Colville, Washington were shooting at state troopers in Wilmington, Ohio. Floyd Cochran, a former high-ranking Aryan Nation official, currently an Anti-Racist activist, has been warning about the exportation of white supremacist terrorists into southeast Ohio and Pennsylvania for the last four years.

White supremacist Mark Thomas, tied to the Midwest Bank Bandits and the Aryan Republican Army, is only four hours from Wilmington in Ulysses, Pennsylvania. Thomas has also worked for the Posse Comitatus and Larry Wayne's National Alliance. And Tony Gamble, Cincinnati-based Klan leader, admitted in sworn testimony that the Aryan Nation's Christian Identity Church in New Vienna, Ohio, some 10 miles from Wilmington, helped him with recruiting.

Be afraid, be very afraid. What you're witnessing is the convergence of neo-Nazi and Klan groups under the pseudo-theology of so-called "Christian Identity." Here in Ohio, we're in the crossfire. To our north in Michigan you have the racist Resistance Records, fueling neo-Nazi "boneheads." A year ago Christmas, they were able to turn out 500 of these thugs for a gathering in Cleveland. In rural West Virginia we have William Pierce, author of the infamous Turner Diaries, Tim McVeigh's favorite book. It's a blueprint for fermenting a race war, by blowing up federal buildings with fertilizer bombs and hanging every white woman who's ever "race-mixed." In Pittsburgh, Edmund Foster's Klan now has an Adolph Hitler Free Corps. With both the Aryan Nation and Klan embracing Christian Identity theology, Hitler is literally worshipped as a Biblical prophet.

Remember, the Oklahoma City bombing occurred approximately 12 hours after the execution of admitted white supremacist and cop-killer Richard Snell. The white supremacist terrorists teach teenagers that it's okay to kill cops, blacks and Jews and anyone else who disagrees with their blasphemy. As long as the neo-Nazis are allowed to safely set up a compound in New Vienna, expect more visits from the likes of the crazy Kehoe brothers.

03/05/2002

The Aryan Nation's Buckeye Battle Cry

by Bob Fitrakis

What the hell’s happening in Ohio? The Kehoe brothers, Chevie and Cheyne, white supremacists, shoot it out with state troopers in Wilmington, Ohio; Aryan Nations, the American Nazi party, Klansmen, racist skinheads and Christian Identity hate preachers converge at the Capitol; and Peter Langan, leader of the Midwest Bank Bandits and the Aryan Republican Army, is busted living on the south side of Columbus--here in the heart of it all.

White supremacists who’ve long dreamed of their "own private Idaho"--where Aryan Nations founder Richard Butler established his 20-acre compound in rural Hayden Lake in the early ’70s--now have their sights set on Ohio.

Floyd Cochran, former high-ranking Aryan Nations official turned anti-racist activist, repeatedly warned that Ohio, especially the southeast portion, is a prime target of white supremacists. "Just last fall I spoke in Athens, Ohio before a feminist group and I warned them of the growing danger in Ohio. The organizer told me that I should quit frightening people, that she lives in Ohio and I don’t know what I’m talking about," recalled Cochran.

Unfortunately, Cochran knows all too well the dangers of Aryan Nations. He lives in Pennsylvania, close to Mark Thomas’ farm outside Macungie. Thomas, who was indicted on January 30 as a co-conspirator in the Midwest Bank Bandit robberies, is a key link between American white supremacists organizations. Thomas has served as national leader of the violent anti-government Posse Comitatus, as "Imperial Chaplain" of the Invisible Empire Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, as a Christian Identity preacher, and until his recent indictment, currently the Aryan Nations’ leader in Pennsylvania. During the 1990s, Thomas attracted scores of skinheads and assorted white supremacists to rallies and weekly "Bible Studies" at his Macungie compound. Thomas’ tactics revolve around creating a united front of racists and anti-Semites. What we saw in Columbus three weeks ago at the Statehouse is the type of coalition Thomas craved.

It should come as no shock that the Kehoe brothers from Colville, Washington, a short distance from Butler’s Hayden Lake compound, shot it out with state troopers in Wilmington. They were, no doubt, in the area for the gathering of the racist tribes. Just 10 miles from Wilmington is New Vienna, where Ohio racists are dreaming of a white revolution and building for that day. Anthony "Tony" Wayne Gamble, Imperial Wizard of the Knight Riders of the KKK, testified back in June of 1995 in a case concerning the tearing down of the Klan cross in Cincinnati. He revealed how his Ross, Ohio-based Klan members worked with Aryan Nation supporters at the Christian Identity House of the Good Shepherd’s church in New Vienna. This is where the Klan’s Cincinnati Christmas cross was built in 1994.

This Klan/Nazi merger under the guise of white supremacist Christian Identity theology is pivotal to understanding the current racial violence in Ohio. As Klanwatch reported in March 1995, the more violent white supremacist group Aryan Nations staged an alarming comeback in 1994. In 1993, Aryan Nations was in only three states. Aided by money provided by the Midwest Bank Bandits, the Idaho-based group swept into 15 new states in 1994, including Ohio, and ended up in 30 states by 1995. Aryan Nations had declined dramatically after its peak in 1983-84, after its offshoot, the Order, killed a state trooper, an Aryan Nation member, and Jewish talk show host Alan Berg. The Order, like the Midwest Bank Bandits, specialized in armed robberies to finance the racist revolution.

With the rise of the Aryan Nations in 1994, so rose militia and states’ rights organizations in the aftermath of the 1992 Ruby Ridge, Idaho shoot-out between the FBI and the white separatist Randy Weaver; and the destruction of the Waco, Texas Branch Davidian complex in 1993. Ohio saw the dramatic rise of the Ohio Unorganized Militia. Michael Hill, chaplain in the Militia and an organizer of Ohio’s One Supreme Court, a common-law court that meets regularly in Columbus, was shot to death during a traffic stop on June 28, 1995 in Muskingum County. The Columbus Dispatch reported that Michael Hill’s widow, Arlene, held a memorial service for her slain husband on Sunday, June 30, 1995. It casually mentioned that Colorado preacher Pete Peters and North Carolinian Nord Davis "are scheduled to speak." What it failed to mention was that Peters is one of America’s more influential and active Christian Identity propagandists and theologians. His sermons are based on the militant Christian Identity and anti-Semitic beliefs that Jews pose a satanic threat to American civilization, that black and other people of color are subhuman and that homosexuals should be executed.

In Michael Barkham’s book, Religion and the Racist Right, he discusses Peters’ Remnant Resolves--a statement of political principles concerning Identity believers. Peters holds that God’s law is "binding...on all men, regardless of their political persuasion or personal beliefs." Thus, "the role of civil authority is to administer God’s law." The logic of this belief is that secular humanist civil authorities, whether cops or judges, don’t have to be obeyed. God’s law, of course, is known only to the likes of Michael Hill, Pete Peters, Tony Gamble, Richard Butler, Mark Thomas and their racist ilk.

Nord Davis, the other speaker mentioned by the Dispatch, is a well-known North Carolina white supremacist who organized a trip to Jordan during the Gulf War to support Saddam Hussein. After all, it’s standard Christian Identity doctrine that the Zionist Jews, the spawn of Satan, are spiraling history toward Armageddon. The presence of preeminent racists like Davis and Peters at Hill’s memorial established all-too-clear links between the Ohio Unorganized Militia and the white supremacist movement.

The anti-government sentiments of the militia movement make it a prime recruiting ground for white supremacists. A May 1995 Newsweek article reported that federal investigators of the Oklahoma City bombing were "looking closely at a white supremacist group headed by Robert Millar in Elohim City, Oklahoma."

Following the Oklahoma City bombing, the militia movement came under intense government scrutiny. The media revealed that both suspects, Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, had attended militia meetings in Michigan. Federal prosecutors charged that McVeigh’s motivation in the bombing was his intense hatred of the federal government for its destruction of the Branch Davidian complex. Moreover, media reports claimed that McVeigh’s favorite book is the notorious Turner Diaries, written by former American Nazi Party leader William Pierce, the founder of the National Alliance. The Diaries, billed by the neo-Nazi National Alliance as a "handbook for white victory," is a primer for race war masquerading as a violent fantasy novel.

Written in 1978, the Turner Diaries proved an inspiration to the Order. "Today has been the day of the rope--a grim and bloody day but an unavoidable one.... But the night is filled with silent horrors from tens of thousands of lampposts, power poles, and trees throughout this vast metropolitan area, the grisly forms hang.... There are many thousands of hanging female corpses like that in the city tonight, all wearing identical placards around their necks. They are the white women who are married to or living with blacks, with Jews, or with other non-white males," Pierce wrote.

Pierce, like Thomas, lives in a state bordering Ohio, near the community of Millpoint, West Virginia. The Church of the Creator (COTC), one of the most vicious American racist organizations, sold its property in North Carolina to Pierce in September 1992. The COTC operated openly on High Street in the Ohio State campus area during the late ’80s and early 1990s. Under the leadership of Joey Hagar, neo-Nazi skinheads terrorized the campus community culminating in the murder of a black woman. Their cry was "Rahowa!" (RAcial HOly WAr). That incident, and intense pressure of anti-racist activists caused the demise of the local organization.

The climate for racist recruiting is ripe. As Floyd Cochran likes to point out, David Duke’s 1990 political agenda is now virtually mainstream Republicanism: destroy affirmative action because it’s taking white guys’ jobs away, keep those dirty spics out of California, kick those promiscuous black welfare mothers off public assistance, stop Big Government regulations, build more prisons, and gut education. In the economic transition from an urban industrial to a high-tech, post-industrial suburban society, lawmakers decided to use ordinary people as the shock absorbers on the rough ride to the 21st century. To many at the bottom, trickle-down looks like trickle-on economics. An industrial state like Ohio is an easy place to find displaced factory workers and small farmers desperately wanting someone to blame for their problems. These disgruntled white men are more than willing to listen to Rush Limbaugh or even the Klan, who basically offer the same scapegoats: blacks, gays, Big Government conspiracies, liberals, feminists and immigrants.

A 1995 Klanwatch Intelligence Report listed the following hate groups as active in Ohio: the International Ku Klux Klan in Sandusky, Knight Riders in Ross, Knights of the KKK in Columbus, Northern Knights and Aryan Nations in Dayton, Aryan Racial Loyalist Party and White Christian Guard in Euclid, National Alliance in Parma, the G.A. Kleve Propaganda Ministry in Maple Heights.

The racist targeting of Ohio has spawned a homegrown anti-racist response. Anti-Racist Action (ARA), perhaps the fastest growing anti-racist organization in the nation, is headquartered in the north campus area in Columbus. ARA spokesperson and co-founder Jim McNamara has long argued that government officials are making a big mistake by pushing the "just ignore them" line. Ex-Aryan Nation official Cochran agrees, advising ARA members to protest their presence so it’s harder for them to recruit.

"It’s true that the number of real, live American Nazis is small right now, but don’t tell us to just ignore them. Don’t tell us they’re just a joke. Tell it to the friends of Eric Freeman, the 11-year-old white kid killed by his older brothers David and Brian, under the inspiration of Mark Thomas. Tell it to the families who lost loved ones in the Oklahoma City bombing. Tell it to the cops that were just shot at by the Kehoe brothers. I hate to say ‘we told you so’ but they’re not a joke. They’re for real and they kill," said McNamara.

The Detroit-based Resistance Records is part of the racist movement using rock music with a hate message to recruit young people. A Resistance Records music festival in Cleveland in 1995 drew some 500 racist "boneheads." ARA, comprised mostly of college students, makes it a point to bring its message of racial harmony to challenge the hate spewed at the racist concerts. An alliance of ARA activists, Barry Edney’s Ordinary People’s Movement and Cornell McCleary’s Coalition of Concerned Black Citizens, in conjunction with the local NAACP, may have come up with the best tactic to combat racists. Their ‘outing’ of Klan members in 1995, by taking busloads of people to the homes of known white supremacists, appears to have shaken the racists up in Ohio. This action, despite being widely denounced by Columbus’ power structure and the mainstream media, made a lasting impact on Klan leader Tony Gamble. Under oath, Gamble said "There’s seven Ron Lee’s" in his KKK organization: "These people don’t want their name to be shown on TV because if anti-protesters found out where they lived, they would bring busloads of people and picket up and down in front of their nice homes. They have good jobs. They don’t want to lose their jobs," Gamble explained.

Ignore them, Mayor Lashutka and Governor Voinovich say, and they’ll go away. In reality, they’ll go to the churches, the high schools, the campuses and preach their doctrine of hate. And just like the governor invites the importation of radioactive waste and toxic chemicals from all over the nation, so will the toxic Nazi slime continue to ooze in from Idaho, Washington, Pennsylvania, Michigan, West Virginia and elsewhere.

03/12/1997

Retro viruses

by Bob Fitrakis

Speaking of lingering illnesses, sick things continue to happen over at the Franklin County Clerk of Court’s office. The odor of the Jesse Oddi regime is as rank as ever. Calls from terrified and tormented female employees continue to the Columbus Alive. Reports of blatant intimidation, at least one death threat from a high-ranking staff member to a former lover, and an assault in the parking garage on an employee have all been duly noted.

Oddi’s chief concern at this point is covering up the fact that his chief deputy and close friend, Kenny Griffith, allegedly twice impregnated a staff member; both are married to other people. A sealed paternity agreement has failed to cover up the most widely known secret in the Courthouse. The second most widely known secret is the Clerk’s office’s inability to collect forfeited bonds from a certain bond company. Have the feds thought about using the RICO racketeering laws yet to clean up the stench?

While we’re on the subject of organized crime, the governor’s disgraced former chief of staff, Paul Mifsud, is back in business. He still hasn’t adequately explained how he and his lovely wife paid everyone’s favorite minority contractor, Tommy Banks, for those additions to their Marysville home. The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that Mifsud is now working as a consultant to Governor Voinovich’s U.S. Senate campaign (suggested slogan: "We gotta Senator you can’t refuse") and was recently hired as a consultant by Ohioans for Affordable Energy, a front for utility giants Ohio Edison and Centerior Energy Corporation to fight electric utility deregulation.

Large industrial users are pushing for deregulation and more competition, so it’s not surprising that Mifsud would line up with the forces favoring political favoritism and government-enforced monopolies. Mifsud knows a lot about favoritism. He’s still being investigated for what one prominent state treasury official calls "the most blatant misuse of power I have ever seen" in the awarding of state bonds. Maybe if Governor Voinovich is elected to the Senate, he can ask the feds to use the RICO laws to investigate Mifsud.

O.K., I’ve got a better idea for a slogan for the Guv’s Senate campaign: "Why not the worst?" Sure, it’s a bit exaggerated, but let’s look at the facts. Under the Voinovich administration, Ohio has dropped to 41st in state funding of higher education; just last week, stats were released showing that Ohio was seventh in the production of toxic pollution generated by medical waste incinerators; and we were fourth in the number of active anti-government militia groups. So, if we use this pro-ignorance, pro-pollution, pro-terrorist index, add in the governor’s jail- and prison-building spree and plans to build a six-state radioactive waste site in Ohio, it’s hard to imagine any governor with a worse legacy. Sure, you could dredge up the Rhodes legacy, or go out of state and argue for Spiro Agnew or Huey Long, but I’m telling you, their numbers don’t stand up to our George. And I’m not even including the Guv’s stellar stats on most alleged mobsters appointed to the Turnpike Commission.

But Mifsud’s comeback pales in comparison to Chief Jackson’s attempt to rehabilitate Commander Walter Burns. Bringing Burns back as head of Internal Affairs is an affront to every citizen and every police officer in Columbus. Burns took control of the evidence in the Menucci prostitution case, logged it in, but never inventoried it, and while in his custody, virtually all of it disappeared. The FOP is right in fighting against such flagrant corruption in a commander. To facilitate the FOP’s battle against the Jackson-Burns cabal, we’re asking officers who have information concerning Jackson and Burns to "drop a dime" on the duo: call the Alive at 221-2449.

Campus Partners, a.k.a. "Partners in Crime," are at it again. Campus Partners’ President Terry Fogler outlined last week why several city blocks near 11th Avenue and High Street must be leveled and rebuilt. Fogler wants to use the city’s "eminent domain" power to take private property and businesses in order to build new private property and businesses. The U.S. Constitution calls for the taking of private property only for "public use." I doubt a new Limited store, courtesy of OSU Board of Trustees President Les Wexner, or a Max and Erma’s, qualifies as "public use." Historically, it’s meant roads, airports and parks. The city’s plutocrats, as usual, talk all the time about the virtues of capitalism and a free market, but they want to use public money to get in on the natural process of gentrification occurring in the Short North and south campus area. An architect who worked with Les Wexner says this is all driven by the mogul’s desire for "a master plan" for everything: New Albany, Easton, the Riverfront and the campus area.

Finally, make sure you read Lamar Hunt’s interview in the March 7 Business First. It could be a new record for a sports franchise owner’s Modell-ing of a city. The Crew’s only been in town a year and he’s already hinting that they’ll leave unless we pass a three-year sales tax for a arena/stadium complex. If we don’t build the billionaire owner of the Crew a custom 30,000-seat soccer stadium, he’s taking his ball and going home, or to wherever he can browbeat suckers into forking over their cash for his profits. "If it doesn’t pass, clearly we’ll need to look at some different direction as to what path it can go. I don’t think the Ohio State alternative is a reasonable one, though," Hunt told Business First. See ya!

03/19/1997

FEATURED STORY

Burma shave

by Bob Fitrakis

 U.S. Representative Deborah Pryce (R-15th District) is distancing herself from corporate interests that may have financed a trip for herself and three other federal legislators to Burma. The Clinton administration is considering sanctions against the oppressive regime that rules the country because of human rights abuses and the recent overthrow of the democratic government and imprisonment of Aung San Suu Kyi, the former leader and a Nobel Prize winner.

The trip for Pryce and fellow Republican Representatives Tom DeLay of Texas, Bill Paxon of New York, and Dennis Hastert of Illinois, was financed by the Asia Pacific Exchange Foundation, a tax-exempt Washington group; the delegation, two aides, and Delay’s and Pryce’s spouses stayed at a government hotel. While the legislator maintains that she had no idea the organization that financed the trip was in any way linked to Unocal, which since 1995 has been heavily invested in offshore gas production and is building a $1.2 billion pipeline in Burma, at least one of the delegation, Rep. Hastert, told the Associated Press last week that he flew over and viewed the pipeline. Pryce has said that she did not participate in that excursion.

Pryce maintained Monday after a meeting of the Columbus Rotary Club where she spoke about civility in public life that she had no idea her trip to Burma would become so controversial. "I don’t know who’s criticizing [the trip to Burma] because it was an incidental stop on a larger trip to Asia. Most of our time was spent in China. But we worked at length on some of the civil rights problems over there, and worked at length on the drug trafficking up in the Golden Triangle, and learned a lot about that."

Pryce pointed to her record of voting for legislation requiring President Clinton to ban further U.S. investment in Burma if the regime moved against Aung San Suu Kyi or intensified its repression. "The legislation clearly states that there will be no U.S. assistance to the government of Burma until substantial progress has been made in improving basic human rights and implementing a democratic government. I stand by that vote today. If Unocal or any other group was attempting to lobby me to change my opinion by taking me on that trip—they failed," the congresswoman wrote in a March 17 press release faxed to Columbus Alive in response to several questions.

But Pryce’s office never issued a press release prior to the trip announcing her plans, nor did it issue one afterward detailing her efforts to address human rights problems in Burma. And though she is firm in her claim that, "The purpose of our meeting with the [State Law and Order Restoration Council] leaders in Burma was to pressure them into releasing Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the pro-democracy movement," this statement conflicts with information give to the AP. "The group didn’t meet with opposition leaders, [Asia Pacific Exchange Foundation President Richard G.] Quick said, because the lawmakers expressed no interest. At about the same time, Representative John Porter (R-Ill.), was denied a visa when he sought a visit to explore human rights issues."

Quick thinking

A Columbus Alive column in the February 26 issue broke the news locally about Pryce’s trip to Burma, and scolded her for insensitivity to the human rights of the Burmese people. Pryce responded in a letter to the editor in the next issue claiming that she was "....part of a group that traveled to Burma to verify allegations of human rights abuses, investigate heroine[sic] trade through the Golden Triangle and learn about Sino-Burmese relations."

In a page six AP wire story in Sunday’s Columbus Dispatch, she repeated the claim about "looking into alleged human rights abuses" and the drug trade, but added a fuzzy new wrinkle. She also went, the Dispatch reported, to "...try to improve the process used when American families adopt Chinese babies."

Although never accused of it, Pryce went out of her way in her letter to the Alive to deny that it was a "luxury trip." Pryce, while supposedly investigating human rights, went to Burma as a private citizen with her husband and gave the State Department "no advance notice of the trip," according to the AP.

As originally reported in Alive, the trip was paid for by the Asia Pacific Exchange Foundation, an organization that Counterpunch magazine describes as "a shady outfit run by a former Vietnam vet named Richard Quick, funded by the private sector and sympathetic to despotic Asian regimes, especially Burma, China and Singapore."

Quick refused to tell the AP where it got its money, but Unocal acknowledged that it was among the foundation’s sponsors. Unocal spokesman Barry Lane declined to say how much money the company has paid the group, but the AP pointed out, "By donating to Quick’s foundation, Unocal could claim a tax deduction for underwriting a congressional fact-finding trip to its pipeline, in effect using a taxpayer subsidy to lobby against U.S. policy."

Alive pointed out that both Representative Hastert and DeLay receive substantial campaign contributions from Unocal.

As trip planner Quick told the AP: "Itineraries for trips are set to meet the interests of the lawmakers and their aides. If that coincides with the interests of one of the contributors, so be it."

The January 18, 1997 issue of The Economist stated, "Arguably, there’s only one project that really matters to the military junta that runs the country. That is the pipeline being built by two oil companies, Unocal of California and Total of France." The Economist estimates that the project "accounts for about a third of all foreign investment committed" in Burma. When completed, the pipeline will increase the junta’s export earnings by 25 percent; the ruling military dictatorship calls it Yadana, "treasure."

SLORC takes over

Burma’s military took power in 1962, and formed the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) in 1988 in order to smash the burgeoning pro-democracy movement. Thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators were massacred in the process. After international pressure, elections were held in 1990. The democratic opposition led by Aung San Suu Kyi received 82 percent of the vote, yet SLORC refused to turn over the government. Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest, and most of the legitimately elected officials were imprisoned.

In 1991, Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Despite repeated condemnations by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and Amnesty International, Suu Kyi remained under house arrest until 1995. Amnesty International, which monitors and provides information on political oppression, reported in October 1993 that SLORC was using forced labor to beautify "Myanmar"—their new name for Burma—for the tourist trade. All citizens were required to work six months of the year for SLORC "...ill from malnutrition and malaria. They received no medical treatment, but instead are forced to continue working until they collapse and are abandoned by the side of the road," the report said.

The Burmese economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the military. As one U.S. official put it, "Any money they obtain from foreign sources they pour straight into the army." Consequently, company after company pulled out of Burma in protest. In 1994, Levi Strauss and Company left Burma and announced that: "...under current circumstances, it is not possible to do business in Burma without directly supporting the military government and its pervasive violation of human rights." Other companies that have pulled out of Burma are Liz Claiborne and Eddie Bauer, which has a huge distribution center in Columbus.

An international human rights campaign won the release of Aung San Suu Kyi in 1995. One of the key spokespersons in the campaign against Burma is Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa: "International pressure can change the situation in Burma. Tough sanctions, not constructive engagement, finally brought the release of Nelson Mandela and the dawn of a new era in my country."

But, in late May 1996, SLORC was cracking down again on the pro-democracy movement. Amnesty International cited the arrests of over 300 National League for Democracy (NLD) Members of Parliament-elect and pro-democracy activists. Two died in custody, one in June and one in August, according to Amnesty.

Pryce’s response

A local human rights activist wrote Pryce after the crackdown asking her to take a stand. In her response dated July 1, 1996, instead of mentioning the recent crackdown, Pryce wrote: "According to an Amnesty International report released in October 1995 the SLORC has released over 2,000 political prisoners since 1992, but arrests have also continued."

Pryce also outlined her strategy, "These limited sanctions and limited engagement strategy appear to have contributed to the release of Aung Sann [sic] Suu Kyi and other political prisoners." She did concede that "SLORC continues to violate human rights through abuse, impressment and forced labor." Pryce’s solution to the vicious human rights violations in Burma: "I will continue to monitor events as they unfold in Burma."

On September 17, 1996, the eve of SLORC’s seventh anniversary in power, the U.S. Congress voted sanctions against the military dictatorship. The Cohen-Feinstein amendment—section 569 of the Foreign Operations and Appropriations Act—passed despite intense lobbying against it by Unocal and its corporate partners. The Cohen-Feinstein amendment, which Pryce voted for and proudly cites, is a compromise to the mandatory sanctions demanded by Senators Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York, that allows the U.S. President to prohibit only new U.S. business investments in Burma if SLORC physically harms, re-arrests, or exiles Aung San Suu Kyi.

Dr. Sein Win, Prime Minister of the exiled National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma, dubbed the bill a modest "first step." Burma’s pro-democracy forces and international human rights activists advocate sanctions. On September 27, 200 NLD loyalists marched to Shwe Dagon pagoda after being turned away from Suu Kyi’s University Avenue dwelling. Riot police and SLORC soldiers violently attacked the NLD activists.

The next day, the SLORC-controlled New Light of Myanmar newspaper, accused the U.S. Burma mission of aiding and orchestrating NLD activities. On September 29, SLORC added Australia and various European nations as Suu Kyi’s "foreign masters." SLORC claimed the NLD and the U.S. government "intended to incite riots and upheaval in the entire country." Hundreds of pro-democracy activists were arrested and the U.S. government slapped a visa ban on members of SLORC in retaliation. On September 30, President Clinton signed the Cohen-Feinstein amendment into law.

On November 9, SLORC thugs, wielding chains and knives and equipped with walkie-talkies, attacked and beat Aung San Suu Kyi. The U.S. government issued a statement saying that it was "outraged" and on November 14, called for dialogue between SLORC and the democratic opposition.

In the November 21 issue of the Far Eastern Economic Review, Robert S. Gelbard, the U.S.’s Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, reported that: "Since the formation of SLORC in 1988, opium production in Burma has doubled. And the nature of the drug trade has changed in an unmistakable way: Burma’s most important narco-traffickers are no longer holed up in jungle hideaways. They are buying real estate in Rangoon and Mandelay, investing in Burma’s economy, and openly courting military officials." The U.S. government estimates that 60 percent of the heroin in the United States originates from Burma.

 Celebrating International Human Rights Day

Within this heated atmosphere, Pryce planned her junket to Burma. Her delegation arrived in the country on December 8 and left on December 13, although a Pryce aide would later tell human rights activists that she was only in the country for a day. Perhaps it seemed like a day, as Pryce and her cohorts were wined and dined by SLORC. As detailed in Burma Alert, Vol. 8, No. 1, on December 9, General Maung Aye, SLORC vice chairman, deputy commander-in-chief of Defense Services, and commander-in-chief of the army, hosted a dinner for Pryce and the delegation. The same day, SLORC suspended classes at the universities and other educational institutions in Yangon.

December 10 was International Human Rights Day. On December 11, Pryce’s delegation flew to Mandelay in a government aircraft and was welcomed by chairman of the Mandelay Division Law and Order Restoration Council and Central Commander Ye Myint, according to Burma Alert. They visited Myanan Sangway palace, newly restored by slave labor, and lunched with Major General Myint. Pryce reportedly then shopped for souvenirs while SLORC leaders sent in troops to break up peaceful demonstrations in Mandelay that same day.

On December 12, Pryce and delegates flew on government aircraft to Rangoon and toured the Myanmar Gems Museum with high-ranking SLORC officials. Also that day, they flew to Kengtung and observed the official destruction of an opium field by military personnel. The delegates also found time for a brief stop at a local market. Meanwhile, SLORC officials took time from their busy entertainment schedule to send 10 or so tanks into central Yangon to crush pro-democracy demonstrations, according to Burma Alert.

According to Burma Alert, on December 13, the Pryce delegation visited the controversial Yadana natural gas project pipeline and met with Managing Director L. Morris of Texaco Exploration Myanmar, Inc. (a subsidiary of Texaco). That night they were whisked back to the Strand Hotel for a dinner hosted by Ministry for Energy U Khin Maung Thein. While Pryce dined with SLORC officials, Suu Kyi’s house remained barricaded and she was unable to leave.

The Burma pipeline runs through the homeland of the Karen, Mon, and Tavoy ethnic nationalities. Human rights groups claim that thousands of these groups have been tortured, raped and murdered by SLORC troops, and forced to clear forests. The U.S., the U.N and human rights groups all insist that there is forced labor being used to build the pipeline. The AP reported: "At the sites he was shown, Hastert said, he saw no evidence of abuses. Instead, well-paid villagers were operating heavy equipment. ‘It was a good insight for me,’ he said."

Discrepancies

Pryce maintains that she was not part of the fly-by detailed in Burma Alert, and she commented Monday that she was concerned about the Asia Pacific Exchange Foundation being linked to Unocal. "That [link] came to light after I returned. It’s very disturbing that a 501(C)3 organization, a non-profit who represents itself as aboveboard, could possibly be a lobbying arm for one of the contributors," she said. She added, however, "That really didn’t have any effect on me because I didn’t make that part of the trip...to see the building of the, I guess it’s a gas pipeline or something. I wasn’t even on that part of the trip, so I’m not certain. But if that’s the case [that the Foundation is a lobbying arm of Unocal] then they need their tax-exempt status revoked, if that’s what’s going on."

Pryce’s whirlwind tour of Burma, where she failed to meet with a single pro-democracy representative and reportedly dined with SLORC generals, was not originally linked to promoting human rights.

In late January, local Free Burma Coalition activists met with Pryce aide Tim Day. Notes of their meeting record that Day informed them that it was a "privilege to be allowed to go there [Burma]" and that the purpose of Pryce’s trip was the "drug problem." Day also stated that there was "not much discussion regarding human rights and democracy." Although, he added, "human rights is a big concern for Pryce."

It also proved a great photo opportunity. Pryce and her delegation were prominently featured in SLORC’s propaganda, the New Light of Myanmar. What better way to celebrate International Human Rights Day?

--Also contributing were John Hay, Cary Jordan, and Sally MacPhail

 ====================================================================

03/26/1997  by Bob Fitrakis

It's education, stupid

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04/02/1997

News Bites

Speaker pro temper

State Representative William G. Batchelder, R-Medina, the Speaker Pro Tempore of the Ohio House, is a member of the little-known and highly secretive far-right Council for National Policy (CNP), according to author and investigative reporter Russ Bellant. Bellant says that "The CNP is attempting to create a concentration of power to rival and eventually eclipse traditional centers of power in the U.S."

Newsweek reported that the CNP’s first executive director, Louisiana State Representative Woody Jenkins, told Council members, "I predict that one day before the end of this century, the Council will be so influential that no president, regardless of party or philosophy, will be able to ignore us or our concerns or shut us out of the highest levels of government."

Batchelder, who narrowly lost a bid to be Speaker of the Ohio House, bears close scrutiny in Bellant’s opinion. Chip Berlet, of Political Research Associates, agrees. Berlet points out that the CNP includes "a former Ku Klux Klan leader and others who champion segregationist policies." Berlet concedes that these charges may seem "shocking," yet can be easily verified. He describes the beliefs of the CNP members as "not only traditionally conservative, but also [ascribes to them] nativism, xenophobia, theories of racial superiority, sexism, homophobia, authoritarianism, militarism, reaction, and in some cases, outright neo-fascism."

A quick check of Batchelder’s recent political activities in the last year or so showed that he praised Cleveland Mayor Michael White as "a very courageous guy" after White attacked public employees’ unions. He also sponsored legislation that the Audubon Society deemed anti-environmental. And, Batchelder re-wrote the Ohio banking laws so that they were pro-banking and not in the best interest of Ohio consumers, according to consumer advocates.

Harvey Wasserman, senior nuclear adviser for Greenpeace, recalled that, after a pro-environmental commentary he did on WCBE, Batchelder wrote and accused him of being "in the fever swamps of the far left."

"What I remember about the tone of the letter," Wasserman added, "was all the nasty name-calling."

Bellant, the author of The Religious Right in Michigan Politics (1996); The Coors Connection (1988); and Old Nazis, The New Right, and the Republican Party (1991), monitors ultra-right political organizations. Bellant says the "membership of the Council comprises the elite of the radical right in America" and that "many Council members would prefer that their participation not be made public."

During the Iran-Contra scandal, the State Times of Baton Rouge reported that Oliver North was a CNP member and quoted the CNP’s Norman Blackwell, "The policy [of CNP] is that we don’t discuss who attends the meetings or what is said. The Council for National Policy is a tax-exempt 501(c)3 membership organization." Bellant says individuals pay $2,000 per year to be members of the CNP. For $5,000, one can become a member of the Council’s board of governors, which elects the executive committee of the CNP.

Some of the more well-known board members of the CNP include: the Rev. Jerry Falwell, the leader of the now-defunct Moral Majority; Phyllis Schlafly, a leading anti-feminist; the Rev. Pat Robertson, right-wing TV evangelist; and Joseph Coors, whose family finances an interlocking network of ultra-conservative and far-right institutions. In 1983, the CNP bestowed their Thomas Jefferson Award to Senator Jesse Helms.

The lesser-known members of the CNP, like Batchelder, perhaps give better insight into the organization’s politics:

- Richard Shoff, a former Ku Klux Klan leader in Indiana.

- John McGoff, a supporter of the former apartheid South African government.

- David Noebel, author of Rhythm, Riots and Revolution, a ’60s book that attempted to show that folk music was a Communist plot.

- R.J. Rushdoony, the theological leader of America’s "Christian Reconstruction" movement that advocates that Christian fundamentalists take "dominion" over America, abolish democracy, and institute Old Testament law. "Homosexuals ...adulterers, blasphemers, astrologers, and others will be executed," as well as disobedient children.

- Reed Larson, head of the anti-union National Right to Work Committee.

- Don Wildmon, TV censorship activist and accused anti-Semite.

Bellant specializes in the difficult task of tracking the historical roots of far-right groups. In his last book he noted: "The Council’s creation was inspired by business and political leaders who are also leaders of the John Birch Society." This, in Bellant’s analysis, is an important factor since it places the CNP, not within the boundaries of mainstream democratic conservative thought or traditional Republican Party ideals, but within the anti-democratic nativist tradition in American politics. The John Birch Society, for example, saw President Dwight Eisenhower as part of the international Communist conspiracy.

The Birch Society and the CNP have been intertwined since the Council’s inception in 1981 when Tim LaHaye, a Moral Majority leader, received backing from Texas billionaire Nelson Bunker Hunt, a member of the Birch Society’s National Council. By 1984, both John Birch Society Chairman A. Clifford Baker and Executive Council member William Cies were CNP members. According to Bellant, "Five board members of Western Goals, essentially a JBS intelligence-gathering operation, joined the CNP as well." It was later revealed during the Iran-Contra scandal that Western Goals was used to funnel aid to the right-wing Contra guerrillas.

In 1982, Tom Ellis succeeded LaHaye as CNP president. Ellis was a director of the Pioneer Fund, a foundation that finances efforts to prove that African-Americans are genetically inferior to whites. Recipients of Pioneer Grants have included eugenicists William Shockley, Arthur Jensen and Roger Pearson. Pearson is on record advocating that "inferior races" should be "exterminated."

The John Birch Society, founded in 1958, was initially identified by scholars as a racist and anti-Semitic organization. The JBS spent much of its time in the ’60s organizing against Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement. They accused King and civil rights activists of being Communist-controlled.

While the Birchers are regarded as extremists, both Bellant and Berlet warn that the CNPers like Batchelder are accepted as mainstream Republican Party leaders despite the company they keep.

--Bob Fitrakis

04/09/1997

Just vote no!

by Bob Fitrakis

I saw the worst minds in Columbus naked, hysterical, blinded. "News flash from CD101, the Velvet Underground just announced a single reunion concert in Paris. Sources close to the station believe if we’d only built an arena, they would have held it here in Columbus...."

To the shills at CD101: you’re so pathetic, you just don’t get it.

It’s called "Arena Envy." It’s in the Diagnostical and Statistical Manual of Mental Illnesses-Revised (DSM-R). It’s a behavioral illness that primarily affects 20-something white males and multi-millionaires. They think life would be really great if they just had a big arena. I mean, a Big Arena, perhaps swollen to include a stadium. Most of the city’s problems are reduced to not having another new, even larger, arena than the Schottenstein/Value City edifice.

It causes hysterical blindness so they can’t read pertinent news publications like Business First, which wrote on February 28: "A survey of local and national experts conclude that Columbus’ ability to attract enough events to support two arenas is doubtful. Bruce Schilling, a sports marketing consultant and former VP of a Philadelphia arena management firm, states: ‘If two arenas are competing that close--it doesn’t matter what the size of the market is--I can’t see it working out without being subsidized.’"

Speaking of subsidies, these 20-somethings are in the guru-like clutches of OSU President Gordon Gee, probably the single most subsidized man in central Ohio. If the 20-somethings weren’t suffering from Arena Envy, they’d realize that Gee--the pro-arena drum major--probably pays less sales tax than anyone in the state. His house is provided by The Ohio State University, as are his cars, food, utilities, and most other worldly needs. Except for the closet full of bowties, it’s hard to imagine what he pays sales tax on.

Also, being so desperate for a huge arena causes one to be easy prey for perverts and blackmailers. Some are so unhinged that even the promise of a one-year-old soccer team leaving Columbus causes them to cough up a quarter billion dollars that would be better spent on 12-step programs or remedial math education. If they took that remedial course, they’d discover how the numbers on their really humongous arena/stadium complex are cooked. As they lurch around in a zombie-like trance, they mumble, "We have to build the arena because the good corporations gave us $56 million already. We can’t waste it."

They’d see that most of the so-called $56 million in private sector donations is dubious at best; at least $51 million dollars of it is questionable. The pro-arena Work Group Report dated December 14, 1995 originally included on page 106 $500,000 in naming rights. Thus, when they sold the naming rights to Bank One, it was not a private donation. It was the selling of a public asset already included in the arena/stadium revenue stream. Bank One isn’t donating a dime, it’s buying advertising and public relations.

And, in February when it was decided not to build 750 public parking spaces at the arena site, backers essentially privatized parking that resulted in the Nationwide garage reaping the rewards. So, Nationwide’s donation of parking fees to the arena/stadium complex is simply kicking back a percentage of their windfall profits.

Still, this "Arena Envy" crew is used to paying $99.95 for vacu-jacks and five bucks a minute to Big Busty Babes in Moldavia. Moldavian women are said to like big arena guys.

Also, the obsessive-compulsive nature of the disease causes one to overlook the blatant hypocrisy in personal relationships. Hence, the hypocritical whining of the Columbus Dispatch that is, on the one hand, strongly urging the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision declaring Ohio’s public school financing unconstitutional because of the tax burden it will place on the people, while on the other hand, demanding that Columbus taxpayers subsidize billionaire Lamar Hunt’s and the Wolfe family’s sports fetish.

Sometimes the sickness in its advanced stages manifests itself in delusional flights of altruism. "Arena Envy" sufferers wander the streets touting how the arena and stadium will provide much-needed "jobs" and how much this is going to "help the black community." Not even the harshest dose of reality therapy can shock them back to the real world. Analyzing the way teams blackmail cities, Tim Crother wrote in Newsweek that a city "...is going to shell out millions in civic resources that would be better spent on schools, cops or real job creation."

The low-skilled jobs selling peanuts and popcorn and taking tickets are hardly the stuff of social mobility. Indeed, Columbus already leads the nation in these types of low-paying McWorld service jobs. Let’s face it, it’s likely the only thing black in the hockey arena will be the puck, and perhaps a few African-Americans hired to clean the latrines.

Tough love is called for to save these 20-something white males--even though it’ll make them howl in agony. Vote no on Issue One.

04/16/1997 NOTHING

04/23/1997

Hunt's big score

by Bob Fitrakis

Billionaire Lamar Hunt and the multi-millionaire John Wolfe are "hookin’ it up for us, good" here in Columbus. A Dispatch editorial called Hunt’s much-touted agreement to manage the downtown arena/stadium complex a "superb deal." They’re right, of course--it’s an unbelievable unbid sweetheart of a deal for Wolfe’s business partner in the sports biz.

By now, I’m sure you’ve heard the story--or better put, fairy tale--about what a great and magnanimous man our Mr. Hunt is. After all, "he’s putting up $75 million dollars of his own money" for the arena/stadium complex.

Pardon?

Using the pro-arena guy’s own numbers--that is, using both the Deloitte Touche Economic Impact Report and the Work Group Study, published in December 1995--the five percent ticket surcharge on the arena/stadium complex projected over 25 years comes out to $74,626,052.

Shocking coincidence. The ticket surcharge rounds to $75 million over 25 years, the exact amount Lamar has "pledged" over the same period. I’ll pledge $100 million and be even a greater guy if you raise the ticket surcharge to six percent! What a guy, this Lamar! He gives back the ticket surcharge paid by the fans and calls it a personal contribution.

Let me tell you about the couple thousand dollars I donated to Columbus Public Schools last year. I sent it in with my property tax form. At least mine was my own money. Lamar collects others people’s money and calls it a contribution. How do you think he got those billion dollars anyway?

Not that Lamar’s cheap, he’s really cheap. His Hunt Sports Group will put up an estimated $2,629,460 for an unbid management contract with the Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority, and he will make--using their figures--$358,556,175 over 25 years.

You got it, folks. Put in less than $3 million of private money, make nearly $360 million off a "public" facility. What a deal. All we gotta do is build him his public arena for his hockey team and his custom-tailored soccer stadium for his soccer team. By building a "public arena," as opposed to private, Hunt doesn’t have to pay an estimated $2 million in property tax a year to the Columbus Public Schools.

Oh, we forgot to calculate the profit he’ll make on the hockey tickets since the $360 million is from "other events." Also, we could throw in TV rights, league distribution revenue and merchandising fees for his and Wolfe’s NHL hockey franchise. Hunt’s annual revenue from the tickets, media and NHL dollars is estimated to be $26,044,000. Now, again, using their numbers, let’s multiply it by 25 years and add four percent for inflation. That’s $651,360,440. A lotta money, you say. But well worth it, since the soccer stadium alone is estimated to add around nine full-time permanent jobs to the local economy. Hunt knows the score and he knows how to score, particularly with an easy mark like the Columbus pro-arena guys.

No wonder Whalers owner Peter Karmanos Jr. says he’d sign the same deal tomorrow and bring his NHL team to town if you’d let him. Who the hell wouldn’t? Did I tell ya I’d be willing to put up $125 million myself if you raised the ticket surcharge to seven percent? Think of the logic of this. The chief tenant of both the public arena and the customized public soccer stadium is going to "manage the facility" and cut a tough deal with himself.

They could have easily bid this contract to other sports and entertainment management groups. On May 25 and 26 of 1995 the pro-arena guys at the Franklin County Convention Authority met with sports management officials from Ogden Corporation in Anaheim, California. On June 22, 1995, they discussed with Ogden corporate representatives the possibility of putting up money in exchange for managing the arena/stadium facilities. On July 6, 1995, they met with the SMG sports managers to discuss operating the arena. On September 7, 1995, they met with Leisure Management, Inc., an arena and stadium developer, operator and consulting group.

Surely it must’ve occurred to the Franklin County Convention Authority people, public officials entrusted with tax dollars, that they could competitively bid the project and make a lot of money for Franklin County taxpayers.

But no, it must’ve slipped their mind. They prefer Soviet-style corporate socialism where a whole bunch of poor and working people are taxed and are supposed to feel privileged that our money will go to make the billionaire Lamar Hunt and his wealthy Wolfe buddy richer.

Don’t buy the hype. And I do mean big time Dispatch-peddling, million-and-a-half-dollar TV and radio propaganda ad hype to sell you the arena/soccer stadium complex.

It’s not a great deal. It’s a scam of the highest order. It’s a rip-off of the first degree. It’s the rich boys hookin’ up and wirin’ a sweetheart deal. They’re on the hunt; your wallet’s their prey.

NEWS BITES

04/23/1997

Hong Kong connection

The thread that binds The Limited

The Columbus Dispatch’s reprinting of a New York Times news brief on April 1, 1997, reporting accusations of The Limited smuggling Chinese garments into the United States under Hong Kong labels, may be part of a much older and larger story. It’s a story about Les Wexner’s Limited empire more familiar to readers of the Philadelphia Inquirer or New York Times than Dispatch devotees. Central Ohioans are more familiar with the Wexner mythology: a billionaire philanthropist who started The Limited some 34 years ago with $5,000 borrowed from an aunt. They are less likely to know about The Limited’s questionable business practices.

In a New York Times Magazine article dated June 8, 1986, Wexner was deemed "An ebullient cheerleader, an introspective loner--part visionary, part buccaneer ...." The article called Wexner a "rag-trade revolutionary" and noted he "seldom loses." The buccaneering aspect of Wexner’s business practices were emphasized. The ability of The Limited to quickly copy or "knock off" more expensive cutting-edge designer fashions and mass-market them to today’s suburban mall culture is legendary. In so doing, Wexner, according to the New York Times Magazine, has "created his own global manufacturing and distribution network."

In 1985, according to the Times, 200 million garments were processed in the Columbus distribution center--"three for every American female between the ages of 15 and 55." These almost exclusively foreign-manufactured garments are produced in places like outland China, where laborers earn as little as a dollar a day.

In 1978, The Limited borrowed heavily to buy Mast Industries, a contract manufacturer and importer. At the time, Mast had ". . . interests in a dozen factories in Asia and long-standing relationships with 190 others around the world. It also coordinates global transport," reported the Times. "Mast is The Limited’s trump card," a president of a competing chain told the Times, "It’s light years ahead in terms of getting things done in the Far East."

Mast employees specialize in the rapid transportation of garments from China, Korea and Hong Kong. They greased the wheels that allowed The Limited to fly an average of three merchandise-filled 747’s a week into the United States by the mid-’80’s. The imported garments were moved by Limited-owned tractor-trailers operated by Walsh Trucking, a New Jersey-based company. From east and west coast ports, Limited trucks raced to their Columbus distribution center.

Walsh Trucking Co. was incorporated in the state of New Jersey in May 1973 and has had a controversial business history. In August 1984, for example, a federal jury ordered Walsh Trucking to pay $39.6 million to a smaller competitor that had filed suit claiming that its business in New York City’s garment district was being sabotaged by Walsh. International Distribution Centers, Inc. convinced the jury that Walsh deliberately set out in November 1982 to destroy International’s apparel trucking routes between the garment district and Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, and Allentown, Pennsylvania.

In 1988, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Walsh was charged with making "illegal pay-offs to reported mob figures and officials of Teamster Local 560, which had been under judicial control in an effort to rid it from mob influence." In a two-count federal indictment, a Walsh Trucking executive was charged with making "at least 79 monthly payments ranging from $1,500 to $3,000" to buy a sweetheart labor contract from Local 560.

The indictment, unsealed on May 16, 1988 in New Jersey, named as unindicted co-conspirators convicted Genovese crime family boss Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno, alleged crime family captain Matthew "Matty the Horse" Ianniello and three former officials of Local 560--the Provenzano brothers, Anthony, Nunzio and Salvatore. The Provenzanos, alleged mobsters, have been convicted on various charges in the past.

U.S. Attorney Samuel A. Alitio Jr. told the Associated Press that the indictment was "‘extremely important’ because it illustrated alleged mob infiltration of legitimate business and how reputed mob influence could give a company the ‘jump’ on its competitors."

Highly placed law-enforcement sources have told the Alive that information about The Limited’s business ties to Walsh Trucking was included in the controversial Shapiro homicide file that Columbus Police Chief James Jackson ordered destroyed. Arthur Shapiro, a prominent Columbus attorney, was killed in a mob-style murder in 1985. Shapiro was reportedly working on land dealings for Wexner’s New Albany community when he was murdered. Columbus’ Civil Service Commission specifically found Jackson’s destruction of the file improper. Jackson argued that he destroyed the Shapiro file because it contained bizarre and half-baked theories implicating prominent people and businesses that would have exposed the city to possibly billions of dollars in damages if the document was ever made public. Police sources contend that Jackson’s opinion of the Shapiro file is ludicrous, and that the file was probably destroyed because it contained embarrassing and all-too-real business connections between Walsh Trucking and The Limited.

Whether it’s smuggling in Asia or business relations with alleged mob trucking companies, central Ohioans know very little about the inner workings of The Limited empire that stands in their backyard.

--Bob Fitrakis

NOTHING ON APRIL 30

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05/07/1997 by Bob Fitrakis

FEATURED ARTICLE :  The gatekeepers ;  Striking it rich in the bail bond business

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05/07/1997  by Bob Fitrakis

Skimming and scamming

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05/13/1997

BOB BITES BACK: DEAD LINK

05/13/1997

NEWS BITES

Will the Circle be broken?

City employee questions fund-raising tactics

Will Schoonover, an employee at the Franklin County Engineer’s Office, wants to know if there’s a "double standard" in Franklin County concerning the prosecution of Republican County officials. And he’s left an interesting paper trail in pursuing that question.

Schoonover, a self-described "lifelong Republican" and 12-and-a-half-year law enforcement officer, who’d been both a former city police officer and deputy sheriff, spent three years as a detective investigating everything from "homicides to bad checks."

On March 12, 1996, Schoonover wrote Attorney General Betty J. Montgomery regarding allegations that Franklin County Engineer John Circle engaged in "questionable and unlawful conduct." Schoonover wrote: "For years John Circle solicited political donations from his classified employees and integrated the procedure into the actual hiring process. This activity ceased only when former State Auditor Thomas Ferguson became the subject of a criminal investigation."

Since 1974, Ohio Revised Code Section 124.57 states, in part: "...nor shall any person solicit directly or indirectly, orally or by letter, or be in any manner concerned in soliciting any such assessment, contribution, or payment from any officer or employee in the classified service of the State and the several counties, cities, or city school districts..."

Schoonover said that when he was hired as a classified employee in 1989, he was "handed an authorization form for payroll deduction" that he was asked to sign. The deduction authorized a 1.5 percent "kickback of my pay each payday" to John Circle’s campaign fund, according to him.

He recalled in his letter to Montgomery, "I was told that if I had a problem with signing the form that I’d better talk to my supervisor about it. It seemed clear to me that if I didn’t sign it might have a negative impact on my employment. I was well aware that I had a 120-day probationary period to complete during which I could be terminated for no reason at all." Schoonover also enclosed copies of 1994-95 solicitations from the John Circle Committee, William L. Curlis, Treasurer.

Schoonover hoped that Attorney General Montgomery, a Republican, would show the same investigative zeal against a fellow party member as former Attorney General Lee Fisher, a Democrat, displayed against fellow Democrat and State Auditor Thomas Ferguson. Ferguson retired in January 1995 after 20 years as auditor. On March 4 of that year, he pleaded "no contest" to nine counts of soliciting his employees for campaign contributions.

A month later, William M. Connelly, Montgomery’s constituent liaison, informed Schoonover that "The issues raised in your letter may be appropriately addressed by County officials." Connelly noted that the Attorney General’s office "has the authority to enforce consumer protection statutes, Ohio’s Patient Abuse and Neglect law, Medicaid fraud, environmental protection laws, and several other specific sections of the Ohio Revised Code." Surprisingly, he told Schoonover, "The issues you have raised are not within the Attorney General’s enforcement authority."

Following Connelly’s advice, Schoonover wrote Franklin County Sheriff Jim Karnes on April 18, 1996 "requesting that you commence an investigation of the activities of John Circle..." He added: "The time has come for him to answer for his unlawful and unethical conduct." Not quite, the paper trail indicates.

By June 3, 1996, Schoonover had turned to the state again. In a letter to Sandra Drabik, director of the Ohio Department of Administrative Services [DAS], he wrote "I believe that the Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney may not pursue the prosecution of this matter as he should." Schoonover requested a "special counsel." On July 18, 1996, Deborah Archie, chief legal counsel for the Ohio DAS, declined involvement since it was under investigation by the Franklin County Sheriff and "not timely."

In a second letter to Sheriff Karnes on September 2, 1996, Schoonover noted that he’d talked to Lieutenant Doug McLoughlin on August 28 and found the conversation "disturbing to say the least."

"...in speaking with Lieutenant McLoughlin I am led to believe that the investigation was far from thorough. Further, I get the strong impression that the investigation was undertaken with no real intent of prosecution," wrote Schoonover.

He informed Karnes: "I asked Lieutenant McLoughlin about his findings and he would only say, ‘There isn’t much there,’ and that he found only ‘a few instances where coercion was used.’"

"This matter smells of political scheming," Schoonover surmised. In a letter written the same day to Michael Miller, then-Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney, Schoonover requested that Miller "disqualify your office and participation...in the prosecution of any and all matters concerning...John Circle."

Schoonover noted that Miller’s office had previously "defended John Circle both in the Court of Common Pleas and before the State Personnel Board of Review when he was charged with violating Ohio Laws and Administrative Rules." But, perhaps more important for Schoonover was the fact that "your [Miller’s] son Tony had been working for John Circle this summer," and that "the investigating officer, Lieutenant McLoughlin indicated from the start of this investigation that he has doubts as to your office prosecuting this matter."

Schoonover asserted that, "the State had no problem prosecuting former Auditor Ferguson for the same violations of Ohio law that Mr. Circle is guilty of. I will not stand by and allow politics to make a mockery of the law."

Miller replied on September 9, contradicting the letters from Montgomery’s and Drabik’s state offices: "You state, quite correctly, that the office of the Attorney General and/or the Director of the Department of Administrative Services have concurrent jurisdiction with this office."

While Miller pledged to "fully cooperate" if the "Attorney General of Ohio or the Director of the Administrative Services does investigate this matter," still Schoonover was less than convinced as he noted that Miller’s letterhead contained the name William L. Curlis, executive administrator, the same Curlis who acts as campaign treasurer for Circle, and virtually ever other elected Republican in Franklin County.

With Miller’s concession that the state Department of Administrative Services had equal authority, Schoonover turned again to Drabik on September 23. He once again reiterated the charges in a letter and hopefully concluded: "I await word from you as how you intend to proceed in this matter...."

Nearly two months later, he still awaited Drabik’s reply as his letter remained unanswered, and he mailed another missive. "This inaction is inexcusable," he wrote. "An additional and probably the major reason the Franklin County Prosecutor cannot prosecute this case is the fact that John Circle’s Campaign Committee Treasurer is William L. Curlis. ...Mr. Curlis himself could be in legal trouble and subject to prosecution. This case must go forward and prosecutions must be pursued," Schoonover pleaded.

On December 9, he turned again to Betty Montgomery’s office for justice. In 1996, under pressure from Schoonover’s letter-writing campaign, Circle sent letters to the spouses of classified employees to solicit donations. On January 14, 1997, William A. Klatt, first assistant Attorney General, responded, "We have carefully reviewed your complaint, the report of the Franklin County Prosecutor, and the conclusions of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department. As a result, we have concluded that there is insufficient evidence to warrant expending valuable state resources on further investigation...."

On March 11, 1997, Schoonover wrote newly elected Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney Ron O’Brien requesting a special counsel and pointing out the role of O’Brien’s office’s Executive Administrator Curlis in the alleged "unlawful solicitations." O’Brien responded on March 21 that he concurred with Klatt’s letter, and had concluded that there was "insufficient evidence" to appoint a special prosecutor. "Thus an appointment of a special prosecutor as you have requested, will not be sought," O’Brien wrote.

And the Circle goes unbroken, by and by.

--Bob Fitrakis

05/21/1997

The Y-town Expresser

Makeway when Youngstown politics takes over

by Bob Fitrakis

Irony, anyone? Let’s see, last July 3, nine people were killed in an explosion at a Scottown, Ohio fireworks store operating under a "variance." So, instead of making it more difficult to obtain such fireworks, state Representative John Carey, R-Wellston, legalizes them.

And, per usual in Ohio politics, much more is afoot than meets the eye. This appears to be a Youngstown Express bill, brought to you by the same people who brought you vending and trash removal. (Hint, hint. Never have I had so much trouble getting business people opposed to the bill to talk on the record. Their muttered "No comments" usually included a decidedly profanity-punctuated, off-the-record reference to winding up at the bottom of a river, or in one case, a specific lake in the Youngstown area.)

House Bill 6, under the shroud of "safety," is less about regulating safety than about squeezing the little guy out of the fireworks industry. Did I mention vending and waste hauling? The bill would raise the license fee for fireworks manufacturing from $1,500 to $2,750, the second highest in the nation. Moreover, there’s been a moratorium on manufacturer’s and wholesale fireworks licenses in Ohio since 1987 making the B.J. Alan Company of Youngstown very happy indeed. It’s always easier when you can get politicians to muscle out your competition.

Section 3743.65B is the key to the whole charade. It legalizes Class C fireworks. Are Class C fireworks dangerous? Naw. Misuse will only lead to ear damage, blindness and lost fingers and toes. And since there’s very little drinking on the Fourth of July, there’s nothing to worry about.

The few remaining operators who survived the ’87 moratorium brazenly advertised on billboards, radio and television that they had fireworks for sale throughout the state, even though the use of fireworks in Ohio is illegal and they could only sell for out-of-state use.

The question remains: Why are politicians rewarding essentially the same people who ran these "loophole" operations with a brand spanking new monopoly? In order to craft this new monopoly, the B.J. Alan Company has utilized the services of former state Senator and ex-Ohio Democratic Party Boss Harry Meshel. Meshel will use his political skills to guide the fireworks bill through the Senate, according to several sources. Two industry sources and one Republican staffer all said they heard Meshel and Bruce Zoldan of the Alan Company plotting to eliminate a rival fireworks manufacturer, Larry Lomaz of Midwest Fireworks in Deerfield, Ohio. All report similar comments that go like this: "If we can’t get ’em on the square footage, we’ll get them on the non-violent felon clause."

Curiously, a House staffer noted that the original bill contained language without any explanation that no showroom should be more than 5,000 square feet. "This would’ve eliminated one of the Alan Company’s chief rivals," which has an 11,000-square-foot showroom, the staffer said. Another small manufacturer called the state fire marshal complaining about the legalization of fireworks. "Twenty minutes later, I get a call from Zoldan, a private citizen I haven’t talked to in years, saying ‘I hear you don’t like the bill,’" the unhappy manufacturer explained.

When I called the state fire marshal for comment on Monday, he wasn’t in, but I was referred to Bill Deets, the public information guru at the Department of Commerce which oversees the fire marshal. I asked why the fire marshal is not coming out against the legalization of fireworks. Deets replied, "The fire marshal and the Department of Commerce are disinterested parties with no official position," on the legalization of fireworks. He continued, "The issue of legalization is a political one that’s up to the legislature. We’ll enforce whatever the legislature puts into effect, even though we believe fireworks are inherently dangerous." Deets also acknowledged that Senator Meshel was involved in crafting the legislation with the Commerce Department.

Another call to the Republican staffer: "Hey, was the Commerce Department involved at all in the fireworks bill?" Answer: "It was the Commerce Department that crammed this thing down our throat. Don’t use my name!"

Finally, I got a fireworks manufacturer to go on the record. Mike Beyer of the Comet Company. "Class C fireworks is generally pretty safe stuff if used correctly. The problem is, a lot of times people aren’t sober or kids are using it, which leads to trouble."

"Any other problems, Mike?" I queried.

"Well, a lot of this stuff is imported from China, and once in a while they mislabel Class B fireworks as Class C ‘consumer’ fireworks. I’ve got three cases of Thunder Kings in my shop right now. They’re mislabeled; definitely Class B. And before them, I had something called Flower and Thunder. Another mislabeled exhibitor fireworks. Some of it’s real nasty. Most of it’s all right."

Sounds a lot like Ohio politics. Most of it’s all right. Some of it’s real nasty. And it don’t get any nastier than the Y-Town Express. Did I mention vending and trash hauling?

05/28/1997

NEWS BRIEFS

Anybody but Columbia

Local community, religious and labor activists are organizing to oppose the for-profit Columbia/HCA’s takeover of the non-profit Doctors Hospital ("Doctors"). Cathy Levine, spokesperson for the local Coalition for Community Health Care, said her organization is demanding that the Doctors board of trustees "provide us with disclosure of the letter of intent between them and Columbia/HCA, as well as the operating agreement, evaluations and all other transaction documents."

This is required under House Bill 242, that Governor Voinovich signed into law on May 7, 1997. According to Robert Kuttner, writing in the St. Petersburg Times, Columbia/HCA has a track record of coming into communities with "stunning speed and often negotiat[ing] binding letters of intent with the Boards of non-profit hospitals before communities could consider whether the local hospital should be sold."

Columbia is renowned as the biggest and most aggressive for-profit hospital chain in North America. By the end of 1996, it was the nation’s 10th largest employer with 240,000 employees, growing from four hospitals in 1989 to 340 by 1996. Levine and the Coalition regard Doctors as a "public asset"; they argue that the community must be involved in any decisions concerning its future operations. In a statement of concern, they contend that, "Arguments for confidentiality in business deals don’t belong here. Our tax dollars and donations have gone to support non-profit hospitals for years. We are owners and investors and we must safeguard our interest."

A May 11 New York Times article reported: "From San Diego to Providence, communities weary of Columbia’s hardball tactics have recently resisted its attempt to buy local hospitals." According to the Times article, Columbia’s business practices include "...in-your-face-marketing...hospital takeovers, cost-cutting and layoffs, volume purchasing, complex pricing strategies and large monetary incentives for managers that meet financial targets."

"One former administrator who works for a not-for-profit hospital said a training process that is taking six months at his current employer had to be done in as little as two weeks at Columbia," stated the Times.

Critics accuse Columbia of buying non-profit hospital assets cheaply without assurances that it will continue to provide the same level of services to the poor and uninsured. As Kuttner explained, "...in a purely for-profit enterprise or system, there’s no place for uncompensated care, unprofitable admissions, research, education or public health activities--all chronic money losers from a strictly business viewpoint."

A key question posed by the Coalition is whether the deal will be good for the greater Columbus community. Specifically, will Columbia’s competitive business practices jeopardize other public and non-profit hospitals in the community? In short, "Will we be worse off with this deal?" The Times article led with a story of Columbia’s Palms West Hospital placing a billboard 100 yards from another medical center saying "Why Stop Here?" and advertising their own nearby location.

The Coalition insists that the public "must receive full value for the public assets being sold." They’re demanding an "independent, objective expert" to evaluate Doctors’ assets. They also want to know if there were other competitive bids, including local non-profits. Reportedly, Doctors mailed its fund-raising Development Foundation members "Talking Points" on the Columbia takeover. In it, it failed to mention a serious bid by the Ohio Health Corporation, the holding company for Grant/Riverside.

Recently, the attorney generals of California and Michigan rejected Columbia hospital takeovers in San Diego and Lansing. Here in Ohio, the Ohio Department of Insurance challenged Columbia’s agreement to take over the assets of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Ohio, the state’s largest insurer with yearly revenues of $2 billion. Columbia had crafted a deal that would have allowed them to purchase 85 percent of the Blue’s assets for $299.5 million, with an option to buy the remaining 15 percent at $1. Legally structured to avoid the appearance of a conversion, the original Columbia-Blue Cross deal would have eliminated any payout obligation to either policy holders or a charitable foundation. Moreover, under the proposed acquisition, Columbia pledged to pay three top executives of Blue Cross more than $15 million in severance payments masquerading as consulting fees and agreements not to compete. Millions more would have gone to the Blue’s outside attorney for a consulting fee and a covenant not to compete.

Ohio Attorney General Betty Montgomery is quoted in the St. Petersburg Times as saying, "Fifteen-million dollars in severance packages for three officials of an organization founded as a charity and operated to help the sick and the needy strikes me as both inappropriate and excessive."

The Coalition--which includes the Ohio AFL-CIO, AFSCME Ohio Council 8, District 1199-SEIU, the National Association of Social Workers (Ohio chapter), the Ohio Council of Churches, the Ohio Primary Care Association, Universal Health Care Action Network of Ohio, and the Democratic Socialists of Central Ohio--is asking for public hearings in each Doctors Hospital as soon as possible and prior to the sale.

Columbia markets itself with claims that it provides lower-cost, high-quality health care. A New York Times computer analysis demonstrated that the medium price paid by Columbia patients is 8 percent higher than the industry’s norm. There is no conclusive evidence that Columbia provides better care than other hospitals. But, they were fined $25,000 in nearby Indianapolis for understaffing a neo-natal intensive care unit. An Indiana investigative report found technicians, without proper supervision, handling complex assignments like inserting feeding tubes in premature infants. And the newborns were attended as infrequently as every three hours.

The Coalition’s efforts in Columbus are being mirrored across the nation. As the New York Times noted: "In many communities, groups have rallied against hospital takeovers by Columbia, sometimes under the slogan of ‘ABC,’ or ‘anyone but Columbia.’"

--Bob Fitrakis

06/04/1997

Leisure time

Death-row inmates rot while defamation claim fought

by Bob Fitrakis

Those of you concerned with whether or not the state of Ohio will fry an innocent person in "Old Sparky" should pay attention to an obscure civil case soon to come to trial in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, Fox Investigations v. Linda Leisure #95-CV-8854.

I wrote of Linda Leisure’s plight in a column called "Keeping the Faith" in the October 2, 1996 Columbus Alive. Fox Investigations is a private investigation firm headed by Richard H. Smith, an ex-Columbus police officer and an ex-investigator for the Ohio Public Defender’s Office (OPDO). Leisure, a former employee of Fox, sent a letter to Common Pleas Judge James O’Grady on October 25, 1994 alleging that Smith wanted her "to falsify time records and interviews on these murder cases." Leisure worried that death-row inmates were being denied "due process." Her actions resulted in a Free Press investigative report on the OPDO that I wrote in January 1995 alleging that various irregularities occurred in death row cases when Smith worked there.

Fox Investigations is suing Leisure for $150,000 in damages due to "loss of reputation." Smith is represented by his son-in-law, attorney Steve Edwards. Leisure is now without an attorney and is representing herself.

A legal axiom states that in order to sue for "loss of reputation" you first must have a good reputation to lose. This seems a mighty long stretch for Smith. His Internal Affairs file sheds new light on the highly publicized circumstances under which he left the Columbus Police Department in October 1981. An investigative summary of Internal Affairs Bureau case #81-149 regarding "misconduct on the part of Richard Smith" noted: "On October 9, 1981, and during the next five working days, seven (7) female victims were interviewed and they identified Officer Smith as the person who exposed himself to them on October 9, 1981." In police report #061278, a 17-year-old female alleges that a suspect she later identified as Smith stated, "Look what I have." The report states: "Suspect was sitting in his vehicle with his pants unzipped and his penis out playing with it."

Another 17-year-old was walking her seven-year-old sister and eight-year-old female cousin to Schiller Park, when a suspect in a green car later identified as Smith graphically asked her for oral sex and appeared to be "masturbating in his car." A 30-year-old woman was pushing her infant daughter in a stroller when a suspect later identified as Smith, according to police report #061281, "stated ‘Nice ass’ and began masturbating." A 23-year-old woman claims in police report #061684 that a suspect later identified as Smith "had his pants pulled down below his buttocks exposing himself."

According to an Internal Affairs memo, on October 10, 1981, Smith admitted himself to Upham Hall, Ohio State University Hospital. These October 9 allegations against Smith, coupled with previous reprimands for various acts of misconduct including engaging in sex while on duty, ended his career as a police officer.

But he bounced back, and was hired at the Ohio Public Defender’s Office in April of 1983. Smith’s career as an investigator for the OPDO was rocky to say the least. Chester "Briss" Craig, a former deputy investigator and Smith’s boss, charged that Smith and other investigators "were turning in false reports and were not providing the support services to the attorneys as required." The state Highway Patrol amassed over 1,800 pages in its investigation report concerning Craig’s charges. Fellow employees alleged that Smith usually referred to black defendants he worked for as "niggers" and white ones as "scumbags." Smith reportedly told several of his fellow workers that he didn’t like "working for a nigger" in reference to Craig.

Craig informed Ohio’s Inspector General that Smith and other investigators "had not met with or conducted any kind of investigation on behalf of these [death-row] clients...many of these clients, mostly black, indicated they had never heard the name of the investigator mentioned and that they never met with such person." Craig provided the Free Press a list of 15 death-row inmates who may have been denied due process due to negligence by their investigators. Amidst the growing scandal at the OPDO, Smith left voluntarily on a disability claim.

Then he emerged again with Fox Investigations and not so surprisingly, the same charges arose anew. On November 14, 1994, Leisure voluntarily underwent a polygraph examination. A copy of the exam reads, "Did Richard Smith ask you to inflate your mitigation bill on the Brian E. Long case?" "Yes." "Did Mr. Smith ask you to alter summaries on the Brian E. Long case?" "Yes." Examiner M.D. Ketter concluded, "No deception indicated."

In a written comment dated June 2, Edwards said: "...the bills submitted to the Court were based on bills submitted to it by Linda Leisure in her own handwriting. If my client’s bills were inflated then it was because Linda Leisure submitted inflated and false bills to my client. This matter does not involve any representation of death row inmates.... My client has an excellent reputation as an investigator. The charges by Miss Leisure that go to his honesty and competency as an investigator are completely unfounded."

For her efforts to establish justice, Leisure is being sued by Smith for damage to his reputation. Absurd. It makes about as much sense as Paula Jones’ claim that she wants her good name cleared after she made the incident public although a trooper has testified under oath that she offered to "be the Governor’s girlfriend," and her sister said she smelled dollars from the beginning.

06/11/1997

NEWS BITES

Burma battle continues

The Burma issue appears to be boiling over in southern California as the country’s chief corporate investor held its annual shareholders meeting. On Monday, June 2 at 9 a.m., over a hundred human rights demonstrators protested at Unocal’s Hartley Center in Brea, California against Unocal’s controversial oil pipeline project in Burma.

Free Burma and rain forest activists, concerned shareholders, members of the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers (OCAW) Union, as well as indigenous people from Burma, confronted Unocal officials over their business dealings with Burma’s brutal military junta, known as the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). Some demonstrators dressed as rain forest animals to call attention to the wildlife being destroyed by the pipeline; others as pigs to satirize Unocal’s corporate behavior. A fierce pipeline dragon danced to the sound of traditional Burmese gongs and drums.

Inside the shareholders meeting, the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, the University of Washington and the Methodist Board of Pensions proposed a resolution calling upon Unocal to inform shareholders of the costs of boycotts, lobbying and litigation brought on by its business in Burma. "I question not only the financial costs but the impact of the more serious moral costs which in time will negatively affect the company’s future through lawsuits and international disrespect," stated Maryknoll Father Joe La Mar.

Another resolution asked that Unocal investigate allegations that its Burmese business partners, the state-owned Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), is laundering drug money from the heroin trade. The Paris-based Geopolitical Drug Watch has identified MOGE as the "main channel for laundering revenues of heroin produced and exported under the control of the Burmese Army."

Unocal has come under increasing pressure to withdraw from Burma. On April 22, President Clinton implemented sanctions banning new U.S. investment in Burma. Two lawsuits are pending in federal court on behalf of victims of human rights abuses related to Unocal’s pipeline venture.

On May 6, Columbus’ local Amnesty International Group #87 hosted Steve Fesler, who observed first-hand the human rights abuses during his two year stay as a teacher in a Burmese refugee camp on the border of Thailand. The mostly young refugees that Fesler taught were easy targets for the Burmese Army and their allies. "There’s just too much money to be made in Burma through the pipeline and raping the rain forest. They’re destroying perhaps the last teak forest in the world and selling it at 27 cents a board foot. The people who don’t flee into the Thai refugee camps are used as slave labor by SLORC for the pipeline. If they resist, they’re beaten and killed," Fesler reported. "Since I left, one of villages I stayed in was destroyed by the SLORC and two people killed," an emotional Fesler explained.

U.S. Representative Deborah Pryce, who came under fire for visiting Burma as SLORC’s guest last December on Human Rights Day, voted to support the sanctions. While Fesler applauds that move, he points out that the sanctions deal only with "new investments" and "if Unocal gets the pipeline built for SLORC, so much cash will flow in it’s hard to imagine how the junta will ever be driven from power."

--Bob Fitrakis

06/11/1997

NEWS BITES

Rally 'round the mountain

Twenty or so demonstrators rallied at the federal building on Sunday "to show their outrage at the forced relocation of indigenous people" from Big Mountain in Arizona.

Mark Stansbery, of the Community Organizing Center, stated that: "Once again, treaties have been broken and indigenous people are being forcibly evicted from their traditional lands." Protesters held signs that exclaimed, "Stop the Centuries of Cultural Genocide," and "Peabody Coal Out of Big Mountain" and passed out fliers. The protesters moved to the downtown Arts Festival to hand out fliers. The demonstration is a precursor to a National Day of Action in Washington, D.C. scheduled for Monday, June 16, and a response to a call by the Dineh, or Navajo as the Spanish conquistadors called them, for local support groups.

In the 1860s, Kit Carson started a campaign to remove the Dineh from their ancestral lands in order to open it to white settlers. In the winter of 1864, the starving and freezing Dineh surrendered to Carson’s forces. The Dineh were force-marched 300 miles across the desert and interned at Ft. Sumner in New Mexico. Known as "The Long Walk" in Dineh lore, many died along the trail. Some historians report that Hitler based his concentration camps on descriptions of the Dineh internment camp.

The Dineh were eventually returned to their ancestral land that includes Big Mountain. The Hopi people live in an adjoining reservation. In 1882, the Dineh reservation was enlarged to completely surround the Hopi land.

The current dispute stems from the discovery of large and rich coal, oil and uranium deposits buried beneath the surface of Dineh territory. In 1962 the Commissioner of Indian Affairs approved an exploration lease for over 75,000 acres of Dineh tribal land. This is now the home of Peabody Coal Company’s profitable Kayenta mine.

A split developed between Dineh and Hopi people over preserving or leasing the ancestral land. In 1972, the U.S. government declared land in dispute between the Hopi and Dineh a "joint use area." This only made matters worse. So, the U.S. government stepped in and began to forcibly remove both the Dineh and the Hopi from the joint use area. The government set March 31, 1997 as the final deadline to have all the indigenous people "relocated" from Big Mountain. Although the deadline has passed, a handful of indigenous resisters has refused to leave what they regard as "sacred land." The resisters charge that the current Dineh and Hopi tribal councils are "hand-picked" by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs over the objections of traditional spiritual leaders and tribal elders.

"What you have here is a small band of resisters fighting corporate greed and living in poverty during an ongoing war for self-determination; it’s a land grab by the U.S. government," said Stansbery. The Native American Indian Center in Columbus supports the Big Mountain resisters with shipments of food and clothing.

The Big Mountain support group is holding its first fundraiser Thursday, June 13 at the Sugar Shack on Fourth Street. For more information, call 424-9074.

--Bob Fitrakis

06/18/1997

Guv re-grounded

by Bob Fitrakis

What's up with the Guv and airplanes? First there was the problem when our U.S. Senator wannabe had to curse out some air traffic control-type who wouldn't let him skedaddle out of town because Air Force One and President Clinton were coming in for a landing.

Now, the Guv had some mysterious, but conveniently timed, airplane "engine trouble" that kept him from testifying before a House Subcommittee on Health and Environment in Washington. Gosh darnit!

On April 16, 1997, Governor Voinovich testified before the House Government Reform and Oversight Subcommittee on National Economic Growth, Natural Resources and Regulatory Affairs regarding the U.S. EPA's proposed ozone and particle matter revisions. The Guv gave his usual pre-programmed jukebox spiel claiming that the newly proposed environmental standards would endanger a substantial number of jobs. Then, Congressmen Waxman and Sanders pressured Voinovich to be more specific about which jobs would be lost and where. Basically, he had no answer to their questions. In sum, our George got a pretty good battering over his "environmental standards kill jobs" rhetoric.

While this exchange was left out of Jonathan Riskind's Dispatch Washington Bureau coverage of the subcommittee hearing, he did include the following: "... The Governor came under fire from Northeastern lawmakers who said that Ohio and other Midwestern states are sending massive amounts of pollution their way because of the way air streams flow." No doubt that's why scientists from upstate New York fought to close down Columbus' infamous trash-burning power plant while Voinovich sided with Mayor Lashutka and battled to keep it open.

The Guv was due back in Washington to testify before a Commerce subcommittee on the same matter in a hearing scheduled on May 1. All seemed well into the late evening of April 30, then the next morning, the "airplane jinx" thing reared its ugly head. No fakin'! It was engine trouble, and his dog ate the plane keys.

Luckily, this did not stop the governor from faxing basically the same testimony he'd given on April 16 to the subcommittee. It appears little time or effort had been spent to update the Governor's remarks or to refute those nasty environmentalists in Congress.

With the Governor's track record of bad luck with planes, far be it for me to suggest that he was blowing off the subcommittee because he hadn't done his homework.

Curiously, the Guv's public schedule on May 1 shows a 1 p.m. speech to the Juvenile Crime Summit in Columbus at the Adam's Mark Hotel. If we consider the timing and the logistics involved, the subcommittee met at 9:30 a.m. in Washington, members of the subcommittee would have given opening statements followed by the governor's testimony, that would have been unlikely to finish before 10:30 a.m. Now, let's factor in subcommittee questions and travel back to the airport, and it's improbable that he would have made it back for a one o'clock speech.

All of this raises some interesting questions: Did the governor blow off a Congressional subcommittee? Did he plan to testify and flee town before a second battering? Did he cuss out his plane's mechanic or kick the aircraft? Just what was the "trouble" with the governor's plane? Inquiring minds want to know.

Lighten up, Leland

A recent exchange of letters between the Rev. Gary Witte and Ohio Democratic Party Chair, David Leland, sheds some light on "New Democratic Party" thinking. Witte, an Amnesty International activist, charged in a June 4 letter that the Democratic Party's new game is: "How to out-Republican the Republicans at the expense of any scruples or values."

Witte took offense to an Ohio Democratic Party (ODP) press release dated May 30 in which Leland states, "Betty Montgomery's misjudgments have cost the taxpayers millions of dollars. Now, this recent era may let a convicted murderer avoid the death penalty. Montgomery pledged to be Ôtough on crime,' but her actions rarely meet her rhetoric." Leland also attacked Montgomery again for paying "$4.1 million to Lucasville prisoners."

Leland's Nixonesque law-and-order diatribes seem to suggest that Lucasville prisoners-those who didn't riot, and were brutalized and killed by their fellow inmates-or their families, deserve no compensation for their suffering.

Leland responded to Witte in a June 6 letter saying that, "The Democratic Party has always prided itself on being the party of inclusion. Some Democrats believe in the death penalty while others do not. The issue I addressed was not the death penalty but just one example of Betty Montgomery's string of blunders."

In the brave new world of New Democratic politics, Republican politicians that show an ounce of compassion, decency or moderation are scorned as Dem leaders like Leland shout from the sideline, "Faster, Pussycat, Kill! Kill!"

06/18/1997

NEWS BITES

Religious unity urged by former NAACP leader

Last Monday night at Muhammad's Mosque #43, an overflow crowd in a steamy room may have witnessed a historic moment in the black liberation struggle. Columbus' chapter of the Million Man March presented Minister Benjamin (Chavis) Muhammad speaking on "Muslim/Christian Unity."

Those looking to stereotype the Nation of Islam as race-baiters, anti-Semitic or separatist would find nothing in Minister Muhammad's speech to support that claim. As Muhammad pointed out at the start of his speech: "In my 49 years I've worked with all of the black organizations: the SCLC, NAACP, CORE, I've been a pan-Africanist, a nationalist, and an integrationist. That just makes me a better Muslim."

Muhammad's conversion to the Nation of Islam on February 23 of this year shocked many American civil rights activists. Coming after the amazing success of the Million Man March on Washington in 1995 in which Chavis served as the chief organizer, his emergence as a "special assistant" to the Nation's leader, Minister Louis Farrakhan, may signal a new message from the increasingly influential organization. A test of their influence in the black community may come next October 16 which has been proclaimed "A Day of Atonement and Absence" by Farrakhan.

Minister Muhammad urged the crowd to focus not on "division" but "on what brings us together." He preached that the black community has been "too tolerant of injustice in our community, and we wait for someone to come and lead a campaign for us.

"Why do black people wait for someone else to fight for our freedom, for our justice, for our children? That's our responsibility! The call of the Million Man March was for self-responsibility. Our own self-responsibility and self-empowerment." The March was a success because it was "God-centered."

Minister Muhammad specifically called for unity among "Christians, Muslims, and Hebrews." He challenged those present to "work at being Christ-like." What brings people together, according to Muhammad, is being "righteous...doing that which we know is correct." He relayed the story of a recent visit to Houston where Nation of Islam members joined with black and Latino community activists from Kennedy Heights demonstrating against Chevron. Chevron and Gulf had polluted the subdivision some 25 to 30 years earlier, and now cases of lupus, leukemia and cancer are now all too common.

Muhammad praised Farrakhan for his recent "rapper's summit" where a peace treaty was negotiated at the Nation's leader's house in Chicago between the East and West Coast rappers. Muhammad said that Minister Farrakhan was able to convince many of the rappers to change their lyrics to uplift the black community rather than to denigrate it.

Muhammad claimed that if Martin Luther King Jr. were alive today, "he would have spoken at the Million Man March." He went further and insisted that King would also be a member of the Nation of Islam.

Muhammad concluded that the focus of his "revival tour" is to "raise up a new generation of freedom fighters, and justice seekers."

--Bob Fitrakis

06/25/1997 MISSING

07/02/1997

NEWS BITES

Racism charged by former Cellular worker

Against the backdrop of President Clinton's recent call for racial reconciliation and dialogue, Gregory S. Boatwright is waging his own local campaign for what he calls "racial justice."

Boatwright and his attorney, Christopher King, have been busy at outdoor festivals passing out fliers asking: "Do you really know your cellular carrier?" and alleging racism against the billion-dollar corporation AirTouch Cellular, formerly known as Cellular One.

In April 1996, Cellular One fired Boatwright from his job as an accounts receivable operator agent. Soon after, Boatwright filed racial discrimination charges with both the Ohio Civil Rights Commission and in federal court. The documents produced by the lawsuit offer insights into the enormous challenge facing President Clinton and corporate America.

Boatwright kept a journal during his sojourn at Cellular One. On November 9, 1995, his journal noted the first racial conflict. David Fields, Boatwright's supervisor, spoke with him regarding a T-shirt Boatwright was wearing that read, "Before there was any history, there was black history." Boatwright wrote: "I asked him what was wrong with it, he stated that it was racist and that I was not to wear that, or my others. The T-shirts in question were "Jesus was a black man" ...a black T-shirt of Malcolm X, a T-shirt that had "Black King" on it, David Fields said they were offensive, besides everyone knows that Jesus was white."

Boatwright states that he asked Fields for something in writing on a dress policy since other people were wearing T-shirts "promoting alcohol and tobacco products" as well as "off-sexual humor" that he found offensive. "David Fields told me he didn't have to show me anything, that I was to do as he said," Boatwright recorded.

Within a few days, Fields' concern had turned from T-shirts to books. On November 13, Boatwright wrote Fields "...said that someone brought it to his attention that the books on my desk offended them. ...It was some 'Black power bullshit.'" Boatwright pointed out that other employees were allowed to have books on their desks and that the three books in question were not that controversial. Two of them were recently published special editions by noted author Richard Wright, Native Son and Black Boy. The other contained speeches by Malcolm X. Again, Boatwright said he asked for written policy on reading material and that Fields refused and referred him to his boss, David Drake.

Boatwright recorded: "I stated 'first my shirts, now my books, what next.'" Things went from bad to worse. On December 3, Boatwright left an urgent message for Fields reporting that he would miss work the next day because his mother was possibly suffering a second stroke. According to the journal, Fields stated, "I didn't listen to it because I didn't think it was important. ...Do you know how many urgent messages I get a day?"

Boatwright requested a transfer from Fields' supervision. But Beth Fisher, senior vice president for customer operations, intervened and challenged Fields to promote Boatwright in recognition of his excellent job performance. Boatwright and Fields were supposed to meet and review various instructional tapes on management techniques by December 27. It never happened, yet on December 18, Fields filed a "Blue-Ribbon Club" nomination form on Boatwright's behalf citing his "...positive attitude, enthusiasm and willingness to help our customers..."

On January 15, 1996, Fisher informed Boatwright that he had "been selected to be a member of the Red Carpet Club." The letter ended, "Congratulations on a job well done, and keep up the good work!" This perception of Boatwright's work would quickly change because of a customer call at 8:30 a.m. that same day. Boatwright documented both in his journal and on a company computer that an "angry ... white male" customer demanded his cellular phone service be restored. When Boatwright requested a past-due payment to restore the service, "the customer then stated, 'I don't have time to argue with a nigger, so turn my fucking service back on!'"

Boatwright turned to Drake for guidance on the issue. Drake said to run his credit and if it comes back good, "apologize for his service being interrupted and restore" it. When Boatwright complained that the customer called him a "nigger," Drake explained that the customer did not call him "a nigger," that Boatwright "just happened to be on the phone" when the customer said "nigger."

Drake "stated that I was too concerned about the wrong things ... the only thing I should be concerned about was the money. That I was beginning to be a problem," Boatwright wrote.

Boatwright's chances for promotion apparently diminished after an exchange with Fields' boss Drake on January 19. "Drake came through the department yelling 'You Yankees are so damn fickle.' He kept repeating this all day..." he wrote. Boatwright documented that he spoke with Drake in private and that Drake informed him that "...He was from the south, you know Dixie. And that down south he [Drake] had a reputation for being a rebel."

Boatwright's monthly review on January 30 did not go well: "David Fields started off by yelling that I didn't know what I was doing, 'When are you going to start doing your job?'" On February 18, Beth Wilson, in human resources, informed Boatwright that there'd been a request by his supervisors to "terminate" him. Boatwright again requested a transfer.

On February 26, Boatwright again met with Fisher and told her that since she had challenged Fields to promote him "I had had more run-ins than usual." He also told her about the "nigger" incident. "Fisher stated that there were stupid people in the world and it wasn't Cellular One's place to change them," he recalled.

On April 3, Boatwright and Wilson had a meeting scheduled to discuss his third request to leave his department. Instead, Wilson fired him for supposedly "threatening" Fields. Prior to his termination, Boatwright was sent to Dr. Willy Glover, an African- American psychologist, as part of Cellular One's employee assistance program. "It was almost like they didn't know what to do with him so they sent him to counseling," Glover recalled.

"I diagnosed [Boatwright] with adjustment disorder and occupational problems. I felt racism was operating in the workplace," Glover stated. The Ohio Civil Rights Commission concurred. In a letter dated February 10, 1997, the Commission, after investigating Boatwright's charges, found that he hadn't threatened his supervisor; that AirTouch Cellular had not "followed their progressive disciplinary policy"; that the company had conducted a "reference" and "criminal" check on Boatwright after his termination; that AirTouch had "failed to take any remedial action" after Boatwright complained of discrimination; and that Boatwright "was disciplined after reporting an incident of discrimination." On February 20, the Commission "determined that it is probable that New Par dba AirTouch Cellular fka Cellular One has engaged in unlawful discrimination practices."

After the Commission's finding, AirTouch stated: "...The company does not tolerate discrimination and will investigate any complaints of discrimination to the fullest." The Commission noted that AirTouch Cellular refused to let its managers meet with state investigators. John Stephen, attorney for the company, wrote in a letter that "AirTouch Cellular did not discriminate against" Boatwright.

"We at AirTouch Cellular have systems in place that allow employees the proper forum to voice their concerns over any problems," said Sally Victor, spokesperson for AirTouch Cellular. The proper forum for this discussion is the court of law. We're looking forward to the hearing and we're confident we'll prevail."

Meanwhile, as the case is being litigated, Boatwright, a 12-year veteran of the U.S. military and a participant in Operation Desert Storm, passes out his "Just Say No to Racism" fliers and tells anyone who will listen that he was never called a "nigger" while overseas fighting the enemy. That name's been used only by an AirTouch customer—"with the full acquiescence and approval of AirTouch," he says.

—Bob Fitrakis

07/02/2002

Chief Jackson in the limelight

by Bob Fitrakis

Police Chief James "Stonewall" Jackson was at it again last Wednesday. He appeared before the Columbus Metropolitan Club at the downtown Athletic Club facility. I gave him a 9.5 in verbal spin-control gymnastics.

First, he softened the judges up with preliminary stories concerning his "Jim Crow" experiences during the late 1950s in the south. Jackson then joked about being "labeled a liberal" in the 1960s as a young Columbus police officer because he fought against racial discrimination in the Columbus Police Department. Cleverly, he failed to mention that the U.S. Justice Department—at the insistence of the African-American organization Police Officers for Equal Rights—is currently investigating his department about allegations of police brutality and discrimination against blacks. But, he was just warming up the crowd for his best mental gymnastics.

In Jackson's routine, when he became chief in 1990, the vice bureau was a den of drunkards, which may or may not be true. So, he appointed the right, honorable Commander Walter Burns to straighten out the problem. Burns, in Jackson's fantasy, was a man that the chief "depended" upon. A "valued" individual who "made people do what they were supposed to." Indeed.

Say there was a high-priced female escort operation run by a Mr. Menucci. You could count on Burns showing up, taking charge of the scene—you know, a black book, a red book, an electronic Rolodex, videos containing the names and images of Columbus' most powerful and prestigious, and assorted other accruements of the world's oldest profession—and failing to inventory the evidence. The Menucci report remains a must-read and a lasting testament, alongside the mayor's investigative report, to Burns' corruption or incompetence.

Thousands of pages of sworn testimony were deftly tossed aside by our chief as he did a double back-flip and proclaimed: "There was never any indication that Burns ever did anything wrong." A quick gloss over the death of retired Police Sergeant Mt. Vernon Johnson and his notorious protected gambling house on the west side, won high marks from media-savvy spinmeisters in the room.

You see, Jackson was simply the hardest working chief in the cop biz; he should be given kudos because he gave "special attention" to 13 allegations of misconduct brought against Burns because of his mishandling of the Menucci investigation. Deputy Chief Kerns had sustained seven of allegations against Burns. The chief dismissed six of those, sustained only one and then slapped Burns ever so slightly on the wrist.

Thus, when Jackson was called on the carpet by Mayor Lashutka and Safety Director Rice for his inexcusable and deplorable handling of the Burns case, he was under the impression that they were calling him over to "apologize" to him. Imagine the scene: "We're so sorry, James. You have an absolute right to pardon any police officer covering up criminal sexual activity among the rich and famous. Please forgive us."

Jackson simply "didn't know what it was all about." The fact that everyone else in town did still seems to elude the chief. "Some things said about me were very demoralizing," said Jackson. Yeah, but virtually all seem to have been true.

Jackson pointed to Ohio Supreme Court Justice Craig Wright as his savior. Wright read the Jackson file and testified before the Civil Service Commission that the chief did nothing wrong in the Burns affair. As a former safety director, Wright said he understood Jackson was just doing his duty. Wright and Jackson are a natural duo. After all, Wright's tenure on the Supreme Court is best known for his brutal assault on the physically smaller Justice, Andy Douglas, fracturing his rib.

But Jackson saved perhaps his most audacious move for the end. His absurd justification for destroying a public record, the Shapiro murder file, ranks as one of the great verbal tumbles of all time. The chief was really doing the city of Columbus a great favor since the Shapiro file contained "allegations against substantial and prominent people." The chief read it and "ordered it destroyed." We can all sleep better at night knowing that "substantial and prominent people" were protected from real facts in the file.

The chief, after being found guilty on two of the five counts against him and being suspended, "stuck his landing" and proclaimed, "I did nothing wrong" and "I am one of the cleanest people in city government."

As we go to press, the chief is working on a new routine wherein he does a triple somersault and sues the city for being "wronged." Don't give him a dime. He owes us all an apology.

...and in the headlights

Director of Public Safety Thomas W. Rice forwarded to the mayor on Tuesday the final Mayoral Investigative Report of the Columbus Division of Police. The investigation in its initial phase led to a Civil Service Commission hearing regarding Chief Jackson's conduct where they sustained two of five charges. Included in the report, which weighed in at more than 200 pages, are new allegations and some surprising proposals that include a civilian review panel to monitor police activity. Also included was a list of "concerns" that have been forwarded to either the Division of Police or an external agency for further actions and a list of the players involved, whose conduct caused additional "concerns."

A listing of concerns identified that were forwarded for further action:

• Allegations about the relationship of Chief Jackson and a juvenile and photos were forwarded to the vice squad for further investigation.

• Information about the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) using federal funds to hire special-duty officers for security was forwarded to a U.S. Housing and Urban Development auditor.

• Information from intelligence summaries and other police sources indicating that the late Division of Police Sergeant Mount Vernon Johnson's gambling operation had re-opened at another location in the city was forwarded to the vice section by the mayoral investigative team.

"Justifiable concerns" about the conduct and actions of some Division of Police employees, both uniform and non-uniform:

Chief James G. Jackson

• June 1991—Chief Jackson ordered the destruction of an official Intelligence Bureau document titled "The Shapiro Homicide Investigation: Analysis and Hypothesis." The Civil Service Commission found Jackson guilty of this charge and issued a five-day suspension. Other official police records are also missing.

• April 1995—Narcotics Bureau Commander Nick Panzera obstructed a federal drug case and a complaint was received. Chief Jackson failed to ensure the complaint was properly filed and investigated. This allowed for the existing complaint to be hidden and not made part of the official record.

Deputy Chief Gary J. Thatcher

• April 1995—Thatcher received a complaint that Narcotics Bureau Commander Nick Panzera had obstructed a federal drug case. Thatcher violated Division policy by not properly processing the complaint and forwarding the information to Internal Affairs for inclusion in the statistical record of complaints and filing. "This allowed the existence complaint to be hidden and not made part of the official record."

Commander Walter J. Burns

• Some 90 written investigative summaries prepared by the investigators in the case given to Commander Burns at his direction disappeared and are still missing.

Commander Curtis K. Marcum

• March 1995—Marcum had knowledge of a gambling operation being conducted by retired Division of Police Sergeant Mount Vernon Johnson at a residence on the west side of Columbus. Marcum was the commander of the Intelligence Bureau at the time and was responsible for identifying and investigating possible gambling violations. He took no action to determine the legality or scope of the operation prior to the death of Johnson.

Commander Nick Panzera

• April 1995—While Narcotics Bureau Commander, Panzera interfered with and hampered a drug investigation being conducted by the Hilliard Police Department and U.S. Customs Agency. It was learned that Panzera actually owned the rental property at which the suspect in the investigation lived. Before the investigation could be completed, Panzera told the residents they were evicted, thus thwarting the successful arrest of the suspect.

Recommendations

• That steps be taken by Chief Jackson to cause the reconstruction of the "Shapiro Homicide Investigation: Analysis and Hypothesis" report and that it be placed in file at the Intelligence Bureau and shared with the homicide bureau detectives assigned to the Shapiro murder investigation.

• That steps be taken to cause the reconstruction of the Elite Escort prostitution investigation and that it be placed in file in the proper location(s).

• That Chief Jackson conduct a review of Panzera's assignment in the narcotics division relative to his job responsibilities and the potential conflict of interest regarding his ownership of rental property subject to civil forfeiture.

07/09/1997

Hail to the Chief

Report on Jackson investigation offers more questions than answers

by Bob Fitrakis

Chief James Jackson got off with only a slap on the wrist last December before the Civil Service Commission, but new details in the final report of the mayoral investigation of the Columbus Division of Police released Tuesday, July 1 seem to vindicate Mayor Gregory Lashutka and Director of Public Safety Thomas Rice. Jackson is currently on a crusade to clear his name, claiming he won since he was only found guilty of the five misconduct charges against him. The chief wants money from the city of Columbus and an apology from the investigators

The 211-page final report fills in the details and seems to documents that Jackson benefited greatly from City Council pressure that accelerated the hearing before the Civil Service Commission. Columbus Alive has previously reported many of the more shocking allegations and facts in the report; still, the final version is well worth reading since it points to only two logical conclusions: either top police officials are grossly incompetent or they're consciously protecting gambling and prostitution operations in the city. The question must be asked: Are certain politicians and prominent businesspeople protecting Chief Jackson to hide their own questionable conduct?

 Poker face

Jackson addressed the Columbus Metropolitan Club on June 25 and proclaimed: "I did nothing wrong." He also stated, "I am one of the cleanest, if not the cleanest official in city government." While Chief Jackson strains to portray himself as Mr. Clean, an overabundance of facts suggests that a couple of his favorite commanders, Curtis Marcum and Walter Burns, were stinking up police headquarters. And, if Jackson believes he did nothing wrong, it's equally true that he did very little right in his handling of their shenanigans.

What follows is a chronology of events and the facts related to them from the final report in an effort to explore Jackson's actions.

On March 19, 1995, Thomas "Big Tom" Harris Jr. shot and killed retired Columbus Police Sergeant Mt. Vernon Johnson at a gambling house Johnson ran with a partner, Jack Darway, at 768 Racine Avenue on Columbus' west side. Within 24 hours, Harris had surrendered to police and admitted that he'd killed Johnson for the four or five thousand dollars the retired cop carried in his pocket to keep the card games going.

A few hours after the murder, homicide detective Michael Millay interviewed Johnson's widow, Margaret Ann. She told Millay that Commander Marcum, in charge of Columbus' Police Intelligence Bureau, "played cards with Mount," and that "Mount kept a book of who owed him money."

Police quickly learned that Johnson's gambling operation began on June 4, 1993, and that it was a "first class" enterprise with two professional-style poker tables and a large exhaust fan to suck cigarette and cigar smoke out of the basement. Decked out with lounge chairs and two twin beds where tired gamblers could snooze over the long weekend, it was paradise for card players fond of games like "Hold 'em" and "Omaha."

Typically the game started at 6:30 on Friday night and lasted through Monday morning. Police estimated that the Racine address turned more than a quarter of a million dollars in profit a year. One source told investigators that she'd "seen people lose over thousand dollars in a night." When players went broke, Johnson took checks, according to the source, and deposited them in a bank account. He bragged about suing people in court who didn't pay their debts.

The next day, Commander Herbert Pennington met with Deputy Chief Gary Thatcher and informed him that Johnson's ledger was in police custody. Thatcher and Pennington then told Jackson, who, according to Pennington, agreed to the investigation of the names in the book, but offered no "specific instructions."

Three days later on March 23, Marcum was informed that his name had come up in relation to Johnson's gambling house. Marcum dashed off a "Letter of Information to Chief Jackson" that very day. Marcum denied ever playing cards at Johnson's place and noted, "nothing could be further from the truth." The Intelligence Commander did admit that he had "hearsay" evidence about Johnson's operation. After all, his mother "cooked food and pies for him [Johnson] from time to time."

Later, in a sympathetic piece in The Other Paper, Marcum reiterated how he was so busy gathering police intelligence information on illegal activities, that he didn't have time to check out the allegations against Johnson and the woman reportedly running the kitchen at the gambling house, Millie Marcum.

In the letter to Jackson, repeated in The Other Paper, Marcum claimed that, "I didn't know the address where they played." Some suspect that the commander of the Intelligence Bureau, whose responsibilities include gathering information concerning illegal gambling operations and initiating investigations of them, may not have been doing his job because his old friend Johnson and his family were involved. Marcum also admitted in his letter that his sister, Lois Johnson, gambled at Racine, and his brother Tommy dealt cards and gambled as well.

A Police Internal Affairs investigation found the name Mt. Vernon Johnson and the Racine address and phone number in Marcum's personal Rolodex in his office. As Marcum explained it, the information was probably in there as a result of his testifying as a character witness in Johnson's criminal trial for gross sexual imposition involving child molestation on January 23, 1995, less than three months prior to Johnson's murder.

May the (police) force be with you

The usual pattern in illegal gambling houses is to move the game every few months to avoid police detection. Johnson operated an unusually long 22 months straight, presumably without police detection, at Racine Avenue. The police did show up a few times to tell the 15-20 gamblers inside that their cars were parked illegally. Both gamblers and neighbors report that the constant presence of the Marcum family caused those in the know to believe they were "protected" by the police. As one gambler put it: "It was the perfect game in town, with Millie [Marcum], Tommy [Marcum], and Lois [Johnson] in the game, nothing was going to happen to anyone." Gamblers told police that Johnson routinely bragged about his "connections" downtown.

On March 24, 1995 the Internal Affairs Bureau began an investigation into whether or not police officers participated in Johnson's illegal gambling operation. That investigation took a new twist when agent-in-charge Dave Hanna of the local FBI office called Deputy Chief Anthony Lanata and informed him that they had gotten an anonymous caller stating: "Commander Curtis Marcum and Commander Walter Burns regularly frequented and played cards at Mt. Vernon Johnson's gambling establishment." The caller also claimed that Commander Burns, when he was the Vice Bureau commander, had a history of refusing to allow officers to investigate gambling complaints.

Lanata put the information in writing and forwarded it to Jackson. When asked why he put it in writing when testifying for the Civil Service Commission, Lanata stated: "Because it occurred to me that if I went back verbally to Chief Jackson, my past experience had been that he always defended Commander Burns no matter what and I could be pressured not to reduce it to writing."

The Internal Affairs investigation quickly turned away from possible police involvement in Johnson's gambling operation to new allegations surrounding Commander Burns' tenure in the Vice Bureau, his alleged mishandling of information and supposed impeding of vice investigations.

The shift in the investigation from Johnson's gambling operation to Burns' activities resulted, according to the mayor's investigation team, in "the allegations of police involvement in Johnson's gambling operation ... never fully" being investigated. Chief Jackson, the mayor's final investigation report notes, "took no steps to cause either of the allegations addressed in Lanata's letter to be investigated." Deputy Chief Thatcher "also failed to take action to have the matter properly investigated" and Commander Pennington "failed to communicated information on criminal activity to appropriate units within the Division of Police, even though inquiries were made by Vice Bureau Commander Tilton."

Tilton contacted Pennington on three occasions inquiring about Johnson's gambling book. He was informed that there was "nothing of substance" in it. The final report notes: "The only 'investigation' of this has been the phone calls made by homicide detectives to names that appeared in a ledger book." Essentially, the "investigation" concluded that there was no police officer involvement in the illegal gambling activities—despite the presence of Marcum family members. The final report also states that evidence suggests that the players involved in the Johnson game are still operating in the city. Homicide detectives allowed Johnson's wife to remove the gambling furniture and paraphernalia from the Racine Avenue house "within days" of the murder.

Escort evidence eliminated

It was Sergeant Robert Mulcahy's job to investigate the charges against Commander Burns. On Wednesday, July 14, 1995, Mulcahy noticed several signs that someone had entered his Internal Affairs Bureau office, Room #319. Mulcahy's office contained records, investigative notes and other materials related to the investigation of Commander Burns, specifically his handling of the Vice Bureau investigation of Tony Menucci's escort service. Since access to his office was restricted and someone with access to the police master key #1 would be a likely suspect, key sign-out records were checked.

Commander Burns' wife and Jackson's secretary, Kathleen Wilcox-Burns, had signed out the master key on June 12 at 7:45 a.m. and didn't return it for four hours, more than enough time "to allow taking the key out of headquarters to be copied," the report stated.

From May 17 to July 31, 1995, records show that Burns and his wife popped up 27 times after their work hours in and around the Internal Affairs Bureau and the police mailroom, including Burns' presence at 11:53 p.m. on July 18 on the third floor, and his wife's at 11:39 p.m. in the mailroom.

In Jackson's account, he appointed Burns to the Vice Squad in 1991 because he was a "by the book" officer who could "shape that unit up." Burns inherited an on-going investigation concerning an escort service run by Anthony Menucci. The investigators would later find the following entry in Commander Marcum's daily log dated 6-26-91: "Told by Cmdr Burns that records concerning escort service were turned over to the Chief.... The feeling was that he may have had a friend involved somehow."

On January 27, 1993, the Columbus Vice Squad executed a search warrant at the home of Menucci, reported to be running a high-priced—$250 to $400-a-trick—escort service. Menucci was later convicted by federal authorities on tax evasion charges. Burns arrived unexpectedly at the raid scene, and according to officers present, took charge of the operation. So interested in the Menucci case, Burns helped gather up numerous bags of evidence which he later logged into the evidence room but failed to have inventoried. He also took the unusual step of requesting that the evidence be "secured" in his office for safekeeping where it remained several weeks. Most of the evidence later disappeared; particularly devastating to the case against Menucci was the loss of two client books—one black, one red—and an electronic Rolodex that Burns removed from Menucci's vehicle, although it was not listed in the search warrant.

A few months prior to the Menucci raid, an undercover female officer had applied to work for Menucci's escort service. Her application was taken and she was told to call back at 4 p.m. the same day to see if she was hired. While she was waiting to call back, some unknown individual used a Vice Bureau computer terminal to run her license plate through the Law Enforcement Automatic Data System (LEADS). She didn't get the job; however, the raid turned up her job application with a very emphatic, underlined "No."

Two completely separate Internal Affairs investigations substantiated that property was mishandled and that key evidentiary items in Burns' possession were missing. Detectives Howard Wingard and Amy Phillips both testified that Burns "ordered" them to give all their hand-written summaries on Menucci directly to him and to bypass their supervisor, Sergeant Roger Trigg. Wingard estimated that he turned over between 75 and 100 such summaries. Phillips claimed she turned over five. All of the summaries given to Burns are missing along with Polaroid photos of the search scene, videocassette tapes and the Rolodex.

As names of prominent politicians and judges began to pop up in the press as clients of Menucci, there's little doubt that the entire chain of evidence was being compromised by Burns' actions. Yet, Chief Jackson saw it differently: "There are a number of persons that had, or could have had contact with the evidence that was stored in the property room, or that failed to get back to the property room." The chief found "insufficient evidence to prove that Commander Burns concealed or destroyed evidence."

Moreover, when Deputy Chief Robert Kern asked that Wingard and Burns be given a polygraph examination to ascertain who was telling the truth on the missing evidence, Jackson ruled, "It is not the intent of the contract that I be permitted to use a polygraph as a fishing expedition. At this time I can only conclude that the property is lost and this investigation is closed."

Stonewall Jackson

This decision by Chief Jackson concerning Burns' conduct turned an Internal Affairs investigation into the mayor's investigation of his management of the Columbus Police Department. In the course of the mayoral investigation, one of the most shocking findings was that Jackson ordered Marcum to destroy a document entitled "Shapiro Homicide Investigation: Analysis and Hypothesis." Marcum told investigators that the document detailed "the overall nature of organized crime in the city of Columbus."

Marcum deemed the study "worthwhile," yet destroyed it on Jackson's order. Initially, Jackson, under oath, could "not recall" telling Marcum "to destroy that document." He later recalled vividly, before the Civil Service Commission, that he destroyed the document in the best interests of the city of Columbus because it contained unsubstantiated allegations against prominent individuals. Although failing to comment on Jackson's initial memory loss, the Commission suspended Jackson for five days after sustaining charges that Jackson improperly destroyed a public document.

The investigation also turned up other interesting findings. Among them, allegations:

• that drug money was being laundered through the South of Main project.

• that Jackson's aide, Sergeant Charles Martin, earned over $46,000 in special duty income from the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority in 1995, and was paid while in his office on duty with the Columbus Police.

• that a death threat was called in to the Columbus police radio room on October 22, 1996 against a witness, Charlynn (Sawyer) English, after she met with investigators and gave information regarding sexual liaisons with Chief Jackson.

• that Commander Nick Panzera interfered with an active narcotics investigation in Hilliard, when, as the landlord, he evicted the suspected drug dealer a day prior to a police raid.

• that Commander Marcum compromised an investigation concerning allegations of illegal gambling at a Police VFW post by assigning an officer who was a member of that post to investigate.

07/16/1997

FEATURED ARTICLE

Prison stripes to pinstripes

In the case of the Lucasville riot, it's hard to tell who's done the most damage

by Bob Fitrakis

As the costs continue to mount from the Easter 1993 Lucasville riot, some are starting to complain that not all the bad guys were wearing prison stripes—a few may have been in pinstripe suits.

As a special prosecutor for the trials of George Skatzes and Jason Robb, both Lucasville inmates convicted of aggravated murder in the slaying of Corrections Officer Robert Vallandingham during the riot, Dan Hogan convinced two juries to sentence the men to death. These career-building cases paid off handsomely for Hogan. He earned nearly $100,000 in extra income while at the same time working full-time as an assistant Franklin County Prosecutor.

Hogan's success in holding down the two jobs no doubt aided his election a year later to the position of Franklin County Common Pleas judge. Now, he's having a harder time convincing his colleagues at the courthouse that he wasn't "double-dipping." Court insiders are questioning the system that allowed Hogan to keep his full-time job as county prosecutor while more than doubling his yearly salary in 1995 with his second high-profile job.

A Sunday April 6 Dispatch article itemized the "Costly prosecutions"—state expenses associated with the Lucasville riots—including the two death-penalty cases Hogan prosecuted. Conspicuously missing in the Dispatch itemization was the amount of Hogan's salary. In the Skatzes and Robb cases, the Dispatch provided the amounts paid to defense attorneys, jury members, expert witnesses, private investigators and judges, but not prosecutors. Hogan, endorsed by the Republican party, was also endorsed by the Dispatch in his 1996 non-partisan campaign against Beverly Farlow for judge.

Records from Lynn Alan Grimshaw, Scioto County prosecuting attorney, show that Hogan billed $99,240 in 13 non-consecutive monthly invoices between September 1994 and January 1996 for his work as a Lucasville special prosecutor. By subtracting the August 1995 invoice, when Hogan billed only 2.25 hours and was paid $135, a 12-month or the yearly equivalent of Hogan's salary was $99,105 for working 1,652 hours. A typical work year is 2,080 hours.

At the same time, Franklin County Auditor records indicate that Hogan earned $61,300 as a Franklin County Prosecutor in 1994 in addition to the $21,255 he made in four months off the Lucasville cases. In 1995, Hogan's salary dropped by a third to $41,777 while his Lucasville earnings increased by three-and-a-half times to $73,725. By working simultaneously for Franklin County and as a Lucasville special prosecutor, his yearly salary in '95 was $115,552.

Alive interviewed various judges, prosecutors and court officials about the practice—none who were critical of Judge Hogan would speak on the record—but they were very blunt when anonymity was assured. Court insiders complain that Hogan essentially held two jobs and was "double-dipping." As one put it, "Look, everybody knows that he should've taken a leave of absence and not worked at all [as a county prosecutor] during the trial. But nobody wanted to question the prosecutor trying to put the rioters on death row."

Another claims that Franklin County judges made inquiries to the prosecutor's office when Hogan and fellow prosecutor Doug Stead failed to appear when scheduled for local criminal cases. "We were told that Hogan was working 'off the record.' That means every time a state trooper or FBI investigator [in regards to the Lucasville trials] called him in his office, he had to log out as a Franklin County Prosecutor and log in as a Lucasville prosecutor. We all laughed," one said.

"There were times when they [Stead and Hogan] were supposed to be at the Lucasville trial when they were at the Franklin County Courthouse and times when they were supposed to be in Franklin County when they were working in Lucasville. It was a logistical nightmare, but I'm sure Dan kept detailed records," one prosecutor said.

One skeptical Hogan-watcher said, "Give me a break. He's got hundreds of calls from troopers and investigators. How in the hell is he going to check in and out and not double-dip? There's an easy way to answer this question. Ask the state police for their contact logs and discussions with Hogan concerning witnesses. Not what the witnesses said; they can list them A to Z, and see whether they match up with Hogan's daily logs."

Retired Assistant State Auditor Henry J. Schutte examined Hogan's payroll records at Alive's request. "There's some obvious red flags that I would have looked at when I was an auditor," Schutte noted. Schutte pointed out that in December of '94, during the holiday season, Hogan billed a combined total of 343 hours, or 11 hours a day for 31 straight days. Then, the next December he billed a combined 412 hours that averaged out to over 13.25 hours a day for 31 straight days nonstop.

"If he's claiming 412 hours in a month, he'd better be putting in 412 hours and documenting it, or it's possible theft in office because tax money's involved," Schutte said. "And he can't be doing Lucasville work on Franklin County time."

Doug Stead, a senior Franklin County Prosecutor and also a Lucasville special prosecutor, billed 327.5 hours in December '94, costing taxpayers $19,650. While Stead was included in the December 1994 payroll reports from Grimshaw, he was absent from the remaining 12 billings despite public accounts of payment. Thus, Alive was not able to track his monthly totals.

In February '95, as Hogan put in over 312 hours at a cost of $18,735 on the Robb case, he still managed to bill Franklin County for 19 hours, averaging 12-hour billable days. Many question the effectiveness of one person working so many hours on two jobs.

Hogan could not be reached for comment by presstime, although he and Alive exchanged several phone messages.

Riot negotiator Niki Schwartz, a Cleveland attorney, credited Robb with helping end the riots. Schwartz testified that, "Jason deserves a large portion of the credit for the peaceful resolution of the riot.... I have substantial doubts about his guilt." He was adamant in his testimony that Robb and Skatzes were not getting "fair trials." Robb steadfastly denied that he wanted guard Robert Vallandingham killed. "I knew Bobby Vallandingham. I liked Bobby, we had respect for each other," Robb said.

Schwartz pointed out that Hogan and other prosecutors were being paid more than defense attorneys and had an unfair advantage since they "had the use of the state highway patrol's computerized files," according to the Dispatch.

Another aspect of the riot usually ignored is the documented inhumane conditions at Lucasville in the five years prior to the prisoner uprising. In June 1988, Lucasville inmates filed a human rights complaint with Amnesty International providing detailed accounts of prisoner abuses. Prisoners were kept for up to 11 straight years in "J1 Supermax" cells, constantly monitored and deprived of fresh air and sunshine. Prisoners alleged that sadistic beatings occurred regularly, sometimes resulting in deaths. The use of firehoses were commonplace.

So deplorable were the conditions at Lucasville that human rights activists worldwide monitored the facility. Dennis Brown of the University of Edinburgh wrote a Lucasville inmate in November 1989: "I was shocked and saddened to read in the newspaper here of your situation and the conditions under which you are being contained. How can a country which claims to uphold life and liberty treat its citizens as you are being treated? ...Because of the dreadful way you have and are being treated, the world is learning about Ohio penal industries and the American penal system. The injustices inflicted on you are bringing international shame on your country..."

The conditions were so bad that the usually conservative Correctional Institution Inspection Committee (CIIC) called for a full-scale investigation in 1990. Then-Governor Richard Celeste ordered an investigation by the state Highway Patrol as well, after the CIIC and the FBI looked into allegations that two black prisoners were killed by white guards after touching a white nurse.

The Dispatch recently reported that the 11-day riot leaving 10 persons dead at Lucasville cost the state of Ohio nearly $70 million. Years of whitewashing and overlooking prisoner complaints at Lucasville inevitably led to the Easter riot, tragic loss of life and soaring financial costs to the taxpayers. It remains to be seen whether or not the behavior of those in pinstripes will be scrutinized as carefully as those in prison stripes.

07/16/1997

Be very afraid

Prognosis poor for Doctor's Hospital takeover

by Bob Fitrakis

The shadow of health care colossus Columbia/HCA looms large over the city of Columbus. "Be afraid, be very afraid," harken the health-care activists. Sunday, Dr. David Green spoke—fresh from his battle with the behemoth in Lansing, Michigan—at the Stonewall Community Center. The tale was all too familiar to the assorted Democratic Socialists and Coalition for Community Health Care members present. Columbia/HCA moved into Michigan's capital a year-and-a-half ago and immediately secured an "exclusive" negotiation contract with Michigan Capital Health Care's governing board that runs two non-profit hospitals in Lansing. Per usual, Dr. Green explained, "There was no notice to the public," and Columbia's negotiations were, or so they claimed, "secret" and "privileged."

Sound familiar? It should. Columbia's using the same tactics in Columbus to try to buy Doctor's Hospital. But activists and the Columbus Dispatch in a perceptive editorial on Monday, are both demanding the same thing: "Show us the deal!"

Doctor's Hospital, as a non-profit, benefits enormously from tax exemptions, community charitable contributions and donations. It's a community asset, and the public has the right under Ohio law to know the details of the sale and to have a say in the future direction of Doctor's Hospital.

Trust me. You won't like Columbia's way. Forget it. Don't trust me, just look at the facts. The Wall Street Journal recently quoted former Columbia hospital manager Mark Gardner as follows: "I committed felonies every day." Among Gardner's recent allegations as a manager of three Columbia hospitals are claims that Columbia uses a scorecard and rates each of their 343 hospitals on 12 measures each month, such as volume of surgeries and cutting the cost of supplies—quality is not one of them; that a Columbia hospital limited treatment of the indigent and uninsured and, in one case, discharged without running tests a homeless person who died an hour later on the hospital lawn; and that "Columbia hospitals exist to make money—period."

A study last year of 497 health-care workers at Columbia/Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas found that 73 percent felt the quality of supplies and equipment under Columbia/HCA ownership had "declined." Only 4 percent said it "improved." Moreover, 60 percent reported "potentially dangerous delays in nursing response" due to "understaffing" in the last three months. As Dr. Green pointed out on Sunday, Columbia/HCA is well-known for cutting services and staff: "What they're doing is 'de-skilling' health care. Laying off more-skilled workers for less-skilled. Work done by RNs is now being done by technicians, often with only a few weeks of training. Chores like catheterizations are divided up and often being done by people not trained to do the procedure." Ouch!

Last year, Columbia/HCA's Henrico Doctor's Hospital in Richmond, Virginia laid off 103 workers, mostly RNs, in a reorganization and replaced them with part-timers, nurse technicians and other unlicensed health care workers. In Dr. Green's estimate, "Secret negotiations, rigging the valuation of non-profit assets and cutting service and staff is simply standard business operation for Columbia."

Still, there's hope. In Michigan, an activist Attorney General, Frank Kelly, sued Columbia and stopped the deal. With the Dispatch and the power of the Wolfe family, long-time philanthropic supporters of non-profit hospitals, and community activists already well organized to force an open and fair hearing, Attorney General Betty Montgomery should side with the locals.

Most curious is the deafening silence of City Councilwoman Les Wright. Wright is in the dubious position of being both a Doctor's Hospital board trustee and chair of the City's Health Committee. Wright is wrong if she thinks she can serve two masters and should hasten to assure the public that the best interest of the community—not Columbia, Doctor's or her own pocketbook—will be served. Perhaps the most principled thing would be a resignation from the Doctor's board, especially since Columbia offered millions of dollars in bonuses to executives in their thwarted attempt to purchase Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Ohio earlier this year.

You might want to give Les a call at 645-8580 and tell her what you think. This is what we call "democracy."

Non-profit hospitals have admirably served the Columbus community. They're a tradition worth preserving. The community needs to know, as Columbia casts its long shadow, what will it mean for health care in central Ohio if the nation's largest for-profit hospital chain acquires Doctor's North, Doctor's West and Doctor's Nelsonville? Will the uninsured and indigent still have access to those hospitals? Will the remaining non-profit hospitals be forced to cut back on vital services and free care in order to compete?

Trust that Columbia will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars selling the deal in a slick advertising campaign. Trudy Lieberman of the Consumer Union wrote in last week's issue of The Nation that Columbia's "No slouch when it comes to propaganda." They've spent over $400,000 in Providence, Rhode Island in a similar takeover, including a misleading ad in the Providence Journal-Bulletin that suggested that the merger had already happened. A "shrewd pairing of the two corporate logos in the ad telegraphed to readers that a decision had been made," Lieberman explained.

A full-page ad appeared in last week's Business First in Columbus. Expect more. Much more.

You see, you can afford to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in pursuit of profit when you pick up non-profit assets cheap, cut back on service to the poor, and lay off significant amounts of professional staff. After all, who needs so many doctors at Doctor's Hospital?

07/23/1997

News Briefs

Banks goes a-courtin'

Controversial minority contractor, Thomas G. Banks, arraigned earlier this month in Union County on a first-degree misdemeanor ethics charge, is also involved in two civil cases that may provide additional information on his business practices.

Banks is already under indictment for allegedly furnishing cut-rate remodeling as a political favor at the Marysville home of Dr. Katherine Bartunek, wife of Paul Mifsud, Governor George Voinovich's then-chief of staff. Mifsud faces eight felony and misdemeanor charges in connection with Banks' remodeling project and his alleged attempt to cover up the cost of the project.

Banks' attorney, Ritchey Hollenbaugh, recently characterized the Bartunek/Mifsud project with an "original scope" of "$25,000." Bartunek and Mifsud claimed they paid Banks $110,000 for the job, but could not produce proof of payment. Banks is now accused of providing some $100,000 in free construction and Banks will, no doubt, have to explain to the jury why he took out $210,000 in permits before the Bartunek job began.

During the same time, Banks received over $3 million in unbid state management contracts from the Voinovich administration.

Like Banks' criminal case, the following civil case involves some intriguing building figures. On May 26 of this year, Banks provided a sworn affidavit in the U. S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Ohio in the civil case of Ralph K. Frasier v. Dennis A. Greene. Banks swears that he worked on the Frasier residence at 2433 Brookwood Rd. in Columbus for over three years from August 1993 to December 1996. During this time, Frasier served as the chair of the Ohio Board of Regents, the body that oversees the state universities and public colleges. The time period also overlaps with the 1993-94 Banks project at the Bartunek residence.

Court records and other documents obtained by the Alive indicate that Frasier originally contracted with Greene for $246,000 in remodeling. Later construction changes brought the contract to $279,000. When Greene was removed by Frasier for supposedly "unsatisfactory" work, documents indicate that the project was 90 percent complete and the architectural firm of Moody/Nolan estimated around $25,000 in costs were needed to finish.

This is when Banks stepped in to complete the project. Banks swears "Frasier paid to T.G. Banks and Associates, Inc. a total of $284,848.74 in connection with the construction, remodeling and repair of the Frasier residence." Greene argues that neither Frasier nor Banks has yet produced receipts or checks to verify this number. Frasier, in turn, sued Greene for over half a million dollars to recover the costs and damages associated with Banks' "repair work." Frasier is also claiming in his civil case that Greene "defrauded" him to prevent Greene from discharging his debts under bankruptcy. The success of Frasier's case rests on the credibility of T.G. Banks' testimony, who is supporting Frasier's claim of fraud against Greene.

Greene, of course, feels that Banks' credibility will be determined by the outcome of the ethics charge and wants the civil trial delayed until Banks' criminal trial is concluded. Greene, who is representing himself, appears eager to put Banks on the stand and ask him why it took him three years and $284,000—more than 10 times the amount the architect's estimate—to finish the project. Curiously, no suit was found against the architects, Moody/Nolan, who oversaw Greene's work. Greene contends that Banks' numbers are grossly inflated, and that Banks operated at Frasier's personal discretion with no architectural plan on paper. Greene's legal strategy seems to center on putting Banks on the stand and showing that Frasier essentially got a "sweetheart deal" similar to Mifsud's.

Banks also swears he has been in the construction business for "16 years," a time period when most of his friends and associates remember him as serving as a city meter reader and a deputy sheriff and printer. Banks' brother, Billy Banks, told the Alive last year that he didn't know his brother was a builder until he built the "Fest Haus" at Ameriflora in 1992. Banks also has listed on his resume that he has a bachelor's and master's degree from The Ohio State University. When calls from the Alive to the university showed that no such degrees exist, Banks' attorney characterized the resume remarks as "typographical errors." Banks was awarded the minority construction management contract on both the Schottenstein Arena and the Max Fisher business school building at OSU.

Additionally, Banks is likely to be called as a witness in former South of Main Development Corporation Executive Director Shawn Thompson's civil suit against the City of Columbus scheduled for April 1998. The July issue of the Main Street Business Journal told its readers to: "Mark your calendars . . . the depositions are sure to make for fascinating reading."

"Over at the South of Main homes, T.G. Banks appears to believe that his status as a minority contractor coupled with the desperation of the city to finally get the houses completed qualifies him to use the public purse as his personal checkbook," reads the Journal article.

The Journal reports, "Banks recently stared down the Columbus Development Department in a dispute over an unauthorized $200,000 security bill for private duty Columbus Police hired to protect the project. One of the chief beneficiaries of Banks' political savvy was Jason Jackson, son of Police Chief James Jackson, who collected almost $10,000 for his work as a special duty cop on the project."

Tim Widman, the reporter, told the Alive that he's looking forward to the Thompson civil suit because it's "hard to get a handle on the numbers involved in the South of Main project, the numbers keep jumping." Widman suggests that the only way to get Thompson, Banks and the city to tell the truth is to "put them under oath."

—Bob Fitrakis

NO ARTICLE ON 07/29/2002

08/06/1997

News Briefs

Solid Gold tango

Was that Gene Watts working the room with a lobbyist?

Thomas S. Strussion, Emerald Health lobbyist, is at the center of two recent Ohio Statehouse scandals. In a copyrighted story in the August/September issue of the Political Reporter, Editor Eric J. Brewer reported that "Senator Eugene Watts lets Emerald Health lobbyist Thomas Strussion pick up a $1,400 tab at [an] upscale Columbus men's club, and then refused to leave," sometime in late May or June of this year.

Brewer wrote that: "Solid Gold owner Draden Nay said Senator Watts and his companions purchased drinks and then sat with three beautiful bikini-clad dancers in the club's Champagne Room at a cost of $100 a half-hour for conversation and performances from the dancers."

"Nay said Senator Watts began to throw his weight around and asked the club employee if he 'knew who he was'" at closing time, according to Brewer's account. He also noted that Watts had threatened to file a complaint with the Department of Liquor Control against the nightclub: "Assistant Agent-in-Charge Ronald Lewis confirmed that a complaint had been filed against Solid Gold, but offered no further information about the complaint or the source of the complaint."

Two other reporters from major daily Ohio newspapers told the Alive that Nay confirmed Brewer's story. "In the version he told me, Strussion was holding Watts back because the Senator was pissed that the bar was closing," one reporter said.

When reached for comment, Nay confirmed that an incident similar to the one described in the story happened at the Solid Gold Club, but changed his earlier account.

"Brewer's account suffers from two serious inaccuracies. It was not Eugene Watts doing the posturing, it was a short little dark-haired guy about 5'9". I believe it was Thomas Strussion," Nay explained, "And, I've been touch with Liquor Control. There is no complaint against us."

"To the best of my knowledge Watts wasn't there. Not that he wouldn't have a good time," Nay added. "Strussion, like everyone with a few drinks in them, got in my face and began throwing Watts' name around saying 'Do you know who that man is?' It happens all the time here. But I told him I've got to follow the laws," Nay said.

Another theory floating around the Statehouse is that it wasn't Watts, but a state representative from the Lorain area claiming to be Watts. The investigation into the matter is being conducted by the 12-member Joint Legislative Ethics Committee and the Legislative Inspector General Tom Charles. The committee, chaired by Representative William G. Batchelder, is well-known for down-playing legislative improprieties. While it's possible to get the Internal Affairs report of a police officer once the investigation is over, the state legislature has written a law requiring strict confidentiality and restricting access to the records when legislators are investigated.

The facts of the Solid Gold incident remain cloudy concerning Watts, who has denied he was there, yet everyone involved insists that Strussion was present. And, if Strussion, a lobbyist, did indeed pick up the tab for Watts or any other legislator—including reportedly handing $20 bills to a legislator to stuff down dancers' G-strings—this must be reported by law.

Statehouse sources in both parties readily admit to Watts' fondness for women and drink. More than one relayed the now-legendary story of a naked Watts at a state legislator's conference in New Orleans, beating on doors in a hotel hallway claiming to be celebrating his first divorce. Still, despite Watts' past antics, one Democratic source says, "I just can't believe he would do something this stupid."

This is not Strussion's and Watts' first brush with controversy. When Watts was involved with receiving illegal honorariums in the earlier "pancaking" scandal—taking multiple smaller checks from the same lobbyist so as not to violate ethics laws prohibiting a large amount from one donor—an amended filing by Watts indicated that he had taken a $500 cash gift from Strussion in exchange for a private lecture in his office on the legislative process.

Strussion's name also was linked to the legislature's June 26, 1997 "censure" of Representative Michael A. Fox and his required resignation from all committee leadership posts. In January 1996, according to the House Journal's account of the Fox censure, Rep. Fox flew to Las Vegas, Nevada for an electronics convention. When "weather conditions prohibited" Fox's return to Columbus, Strussion purchased a ticket for him to fly to Scottsdale, Arizona and then to Columbus. Fox stayed in Strussion's Scottsdale residence for two days before returning to Columbus and didn't repay Strussion for the ticket which cost $406 until May 15, 1997 when the legislature was looking into the matter.

Fox was cited for "knowingly" accepting travel and lodging from a lobbyist, a violation of Section 5 of Legislative Code of Ethics. A source involved in the investigation told the Alive that the FBI is investigating whether or not a woman also stayed at Strussion's Scottsdale home. Reportedly, Fox told the investigators that it was an old girlfriend, but local law-enforcement officials report that the FBI wants to know whether the woman in question was an escort supplied by Strussion. "Look, you don't resign your chairmanship over an old girlfriend," the source said.

—Bob Fitrakis

08/13/1997

NEWS BRIEFS

Battle against HCA takeover continues

Following the indictments of three Columbia/HCA executives on July 30, and the forced resignation of Columbia's CEO Richard Scott and President David Vandewater just prior to the indictments, Columbus' Coalition for Community Health Care is calling on the Board of Trustees of Doctor's Hospital to postpone further negotiations with Columbia/HCA until the criminal charges are resolved.

"Columbia stands accused of fraudulently billing Medicare, a taxpayer-funded program designed to provide health care to elderly and disabled Americans," said Coalition spokesperson Cathy Levine. She added: "If these charges are true, do we want Columbia/HCA as a partner in our community?"

In June, Columbia, the nation's largest hospital chain, offered to buy Doctor's Hospitals in Columbus and Nelsonville, Ohio for $115 million. A for-profit corporation, Columbia has a reputation for buying non-profit hospitals that serve the uninsured, poor and indigent and dramatically cutting back on those services.

On July 22, Coalition members met with Doctor's Hospital trustees and Columbia executives and asked for enforceable guarantees that in the event of a sale, the current level of uncompensated care would continue. Levine called Columbia's assurances on the matter "vague." "We are very concerned about the impact the sale would have on the health care of the Columbus community. Assurances can be discussed, but we must be able to trust that those assurances will become legally enforceable promises to provide safe, quality, and accessible health care to all who need the services," stated Coalition member Angela Savino of the Ohio Nurses Association. Coalition member Alvin Hadley of the National Association of Social Workers of Ohio stated, "We wonder if we can trust Columbia/HCA, even if they give us guarantees, in light of these federal charges."

With an estimated 42 million Americans lacking health insurance, the Coalition argues that any sale of a non-profit hospital, which has received public benefits in the form of tax exemptions, charitable donations and other valuable community contributions, must include the public in the decision-making process. "As stakeholders in the hospital, we must have a say in determining whether this sale is good for the community," said Levine.

The same day the Coalition met with Doctor's Trustees, City Councilwoman Les Wright resigned from the Doctor's Hospital board. A Columbus Alive column on July 16 had called for her resignation citing a conflict of interest since she also chairs the City Council's committee dealing with health issues. In past purchases, Columbia has paid substantial bonuses to non-profit board members who generally serve for free.

Wright's resignation was made public in a story in this Saturday's Dispatch, over two weeks after the event. When reached for comment, Levine said she first heard of the resignation in the Dispatch story. Levine pointed out that while the Dispatch editorial board has called for a postponement of the sale of Doctor's to Columbia, there's been virtually no previous local news reporting on the deal in the Dispatch. Columbia's criminal indictments and proposed purchase of Doctor's were covered in the national and business sections only. "I don't understand it. The Columbia story's front page news in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. It's a national story. What our local politicians do is important," Levine commented.

A letter Levine wrote two weeks earlier appeared in Sunday's Dispatch in slightly altered form to reflect Wright's resignation. The original letter read: "When we asked Council President Michael Coleman to address this public health issue, his staff referred us to the Human Services Committee. But Wright's staff has repeatedly referred us to Doctor's Hospital declining either to meet with us or to put this issue on City Council's agenda."

On Monday, Levine sent Wright, who is reportedly out of town, another letter that reads: "In light of your resignation from the Doctor's Hospital Board, I hope that you would consider meeting with representatives of our Coalition to discuss City Council's potential role in creating a public forum for evaluating the sale."

The Coalition—comprised of civic, health care, religious, consumer and labor organizations—wants Doctor's trustees to release details of the proposed sale and hold public hearings before they vote on the sale scheduled for sometime in September.

While City Council has failed to act to ensure public input, the Health Coalition of Central Ohio has scheduled a public forum on the proposed sale at 8:30 a.m. August 27 at the Holiday Inn East. Representatives from Columbia/HCA, The Ohio State University, the Attorney General's office, along with Levine, will speak.

—Bob Fitrakis

08/13/1997

Those crazy Kehoes

Brothers now claim they're not supremacists

by Bob Fitrakis

Those cagey Kehoe brothers, Cheyne and Chevie, are at it again. A recent Dispatch news headline had the boys insisting they weren't "white supremacists." The Big D pretty much took this at face value. What else is new?

The Kehoe Bros. are awaiting trial following their February shoot-out with Ohio state troopers in Wilmington. A nationwide manhunt ended on June 16 when Cheyne turned himself in and squealed that his brother was hiding at a Utah farm. Cheyne faces numerous criminal charges including a 16-count indictment in Ohio stemming from the shoot-out. I suspect his anticipation of sharing the next few years in close quarters with a prison population that is disproportionately black, due to our racist justice system, has Cheyne denying his faith.

Cheyne can run, but he cannot hide from the statement he read when he turned himself in, that clearly confirms his allegiance to white supremacy. "The reason I acted in the manner I did was due to the actions of men like Randy Weaver, Gordon Kahl and Bob Matthews.... The government and law enforcement agencies abused the individual rights of these men," Cheyne stated. Let's examine his unholy trinity one by one.

Weaver, a virulent anti-Semite, believes that the U.S. government is under the control of an international Jewish conspiracy. He frequently visited the Hayden Lake, Idaho compound of the Aryan Nations. There he could discuss his racist conspiracy theories that ZOG—the Zionist Occupational Government—runs the United States.

Weaver became a far-right icon after he was injured and wife and son were killed in a shoot-out with federal agents in August 1992 at Ruby Ridge, Idaho. During the siege, neo-Nazi "boneheads" and Aryan Nations members rallied to support Weaver. Aryan Nations Ambassador at Large Louis Beam co-founded a Weaver support group, Citizens United for Justice.

In 1994, under the slogan, "No More Wacos, No More Weavers," the militia movement exploded nationwide. Its organizational roots are linked to 150 ultra-right-wing leaders who met in Estes Park, Colorado on October 23, 1992 and gave birth to the militia strategy. The event was hosted by Christian Identity Pastor Pete Peters, a white supremacist theologian and hate-monger. Without reporting his racist views, the Dispatch noted that Peters spoke at the memorial of Ohio Unorganized Militia chaplain Michael Hill. Hill was shot in June 1995 by a Frazeyburg police sergeant who claimed the "chaplain" was pointing a gun at him. The Kehoes claim Christian Identity as their religion. The religion preaches that Jews are the spawn of Satan and black are "mudpeople" without souls. No racists here, Cheyne?

In 1983, Gordon Kahl was an active member of the Posse Comitatus, a loosely organized band of Christian Identity anti-government activists. Kahl murdered two federal marshals in North Dakota, and like the Kehoe brothers, became a fugitive. Rather than surrender, Kahl died in a shoot-out with Arkansas law enforcement officers where a local sheriff was also killed. Kahl is considered a martyr by the Posse Comitatus, Aryan Nations and other white supremacists like the Kehoes.

Finally, we come to Matthews, perhaps America's slimiest pond scum. Matthews founded The Order in 1983, a terrorist organization that robbed banks and armored trucks to fund neo-Nazi activities. The Order murdered Jewish talk radio host Alan Berg in June '94. Matthews died in December of that year after a 36-hour fire-fight with law enforcement officers.

I suppose Cheyne's heroes weren't "white supremacists" either, just misunderstood.

 High-tech hate

Last week, Columbus Alive reader James Goldberg, the director of Ohio Parents Against Racism, suggested we check out the World Church of the Creator Ohio web site. We did, and it appears they're back, in high-tech form.

In the late '80s, 15 or so Church of the Creator skinheads terrorized the Ohio State campus area until their leader, Joey Hagar, was packed off to prison for killing a black female. Also, "the Reverend" Matt Hayhow was convicted with another Church member on bank robbery charges. The new high-tech haters warn on their web site: "If you are a Jew, nigger or other non-white and came here just to bother me, you can leave ..."

Again, be sure not to bother these white supremacists at: www.anarchy-online.com/mindslay/wcotc.html. They generously offer their warning in "ebonics" as well.

And since you're already surfing the 'net, please don't harass the Westerville Skinheads, who have their own page at www.geocites.com/Capitol Hill/Lobby/4254/localgroups.html. Once there, you can chat with Mike, Aaron, Dave, Chris and others "who help in the fight against the filthy 'nigger' scum."

And justice

for all

Moving from the destructive to the constructive, retired Police Sergeant James Moss and the Police Officers for Equal Rights are urging all citizens who are victims of police harassment or brutality to contact their office at 253-4005. They'd like to put you in touch with the Justice Department, which is currently investigating the Columbus Police Department. Tip of the week from Sergeant Moss— if the police have stopped you for a traffic violation and they demand to look into your trunk, say as loudly as possible, "I do not waive my Fourth Amendment rights." Then, give them the key to avoid a resisting-arrest charge and tell them that they don't have your permission to open the trunk. Remember, officers swear an oath to uphold the Constitution, not to violate your rights against unreasonable search and seizure.

08/20/1997

NEWS BRIEFS

School board race heats up

10 candidates take out petitions

The scramble for Columbus Public School Board seats may be mostly sorted out by next Saturday.

As of Friday afternoon, 10 candidates had taken out petitions at the Franklin County Board of Elections: Bill Moss, thrice-elected to the board; Kathy Espy, wife of state Senator Ben Espy; Mark Hatch, present school board president; Dave Dobos, current board member; Al Warner, who runs ADW Financial Services; Bill Buckel, frequent board candidate; Reggie Anglen, administrator at Ohio State University; along with Brian McCann, Jana Lee-Harris, and Glen Elder. Loretta Heard, current school board member, has also announced her candidacy and is circulating petitions she obtained, not from the Franklin County Board of Elections, but either from the Secretary of State’s office or any store that sells legal forms. Franklin County Democratic Party Chair Denny White said that local businessman Mark Pfeifer is also circulating petitions.

Moss filed 777 signatures last Tuesday, and is the only candidate so far to file, according to Marlene Wirth at the board of elections. The deadline for filing, Wirth emphasized, is Thursday, August 21, at 4 p.m.

An hour after the filing deadline, the Democratic Party will screen all willing registered Democrat and Independent candidates for the Party’s endorsement. "Thirty days ago, I had no candidates," commented White. "Hatch hadn’t got ahold of me, Heard hadn’t got ahold of me, I hadn’t heard from Moss since the mayoral race and he’d resigned from the Central Committee. So, I encouraged Brian McCann and Mark Pfeifer to take out petitions." Pfeifer is a local businessman with a good political name; McCann ran against Ohio House Speaker JoAnn Davidson last November, but has subsequently moved into the Columbus school district. White even contacted the Chamber of Commerce about putting together a joint slate of candidates but said they weren’t interested.

White’s admission that he encouraged McCann and Pfeifer to circulate petitions does not bode well for incumbent board members Hatch and Heard, who received the Democratic endorsement four years ago. Party insiders report that White was livid over Hatch and Heard’s vote to replace the late Sharlene Morgan, a progressive Democrat, with a well-known Republican, the Reverend Leon Troy. Most board observers interpreted Troy’s selection as an attempt to curry favor with the Columbus Dispatch, which was promoting his candidacy, prior to last year’s successful school levy campaign. White is willing to concede that there were "some concerns in the party" over Troy’s selection.

Heard, who announced her re-election plan just two weeks ago, is considered by many political observers as "damaged goods." Heard’s widely publicized battle to keep her designation as "mentally disabled" and the worker’s compensation checks dependent on that status has not played well publicly. Some Democratic insiders are wondering if Heard will seek the Republican Party endorsement if the Dems turn her down. Heard, in the past, had been jointly endorsed by both parties.

In the 1995 school board election, all four winning candidates and the top six vote-getters had only one thing in common—an endorsement by the two major political parties. The only person in the last three election cycles to win a school board election without a Party endorsement is Bill Moss.

The 71-year-old Reverend Troy, as a board appointee, would have been required by law to run for the two-year term left vacant by Morgan’s death. However, he recently announced his decision not to run. Moss has filed for this two-year term. McCann is circulating petitions for both the two-year term and a usual four-year school board term. He must file for one or the other. The top three vote-getters will win the four-year seats.

Espy is also considering both seats. When reached for comment, she stated that she was "still undecided" whether she was going to file for any seat. "I was approached after the death of Sharlene and I declined then because of my daughters. That’s still a consideration," Espy said.

Many Democratic Party regulars see an endorsed Espy as a lock in the three-person general field, and as the only candidate with a viable shot against Moss for the unexpired term. "I don’t care who the boys in the big house run against me, I’m going to win," declared Moss. "The people in my community have not been heard since I left the board, and there’s been a ground swell of support that put me back into this race. Everyone knows that I’m the only one with the courage to speak truth to power."

Dobos, the only incumbent Republican up for re-election, has political problems like Heard. As the chair of the board’s Finance Committee, he will have to explain to voters why the computer company he owned and operated went bankrupt. Hatch, if he fails to secure the Democratic endorsement, runs the risk of going from school board president to unelected.

—Bob Fitrakis

08/27/1997

Colorblind

School board may end up all- Caucasian

by Bob Fitrakis

Why didn't former Democratic mayoral candidate Bill Moss get the party's endorsement for Columbus school board—a seat that he has won three times in the past?

Moss is presently running for a seat vacated by the Reverend Leon Troy, who is black, that was held initially by the late Sharlene Morgan, who was also black. The Columbus Public School district is a majority "minority" school district with more students of color than white kids. However, only two of the seven current Columbus school board members are non-white and one of them, Troy, is stepping down. Ideally, the board's composition would better reflect the demographics of the mostly inner-city district.

Take Columbus City Council, for example. The city is approximately 28 percent black, and three of the seven Council members are black, including the president, Michael Coleman. So, why did the Franklin County Dems endorse a white suburbanite, Brian McCann, to Troy's seat, instead of Moss?

Up until July 21, 1997, McCann was registered in suburban Jefferson Township. Interestingly, July 21 was also the last date McCann could have switched his registration to Columbus to be legally eligible to run for Columbus School Board.

When asked what he thought of McCann's endorsement, Moss responded: "Who? What's his name? Who's ever heard of him?"

Franklin County Democratic Party Chair Denny White calls McCann a "well-qualified" candidate who is also "a party activist." He admits that he encouraged McCann to run, but it was before he know Moss was a candidate.

Moss has his own explanation for McCann's selection: "He's a suburban carpetbagger brought in by the party chair to please the boys downtown in the Big House. He's nothing but ambition in search of a position. Last year, he was out in the suburbs running for state rep."

The Dems' endorsement sets up the potential scenario of an all-white Columbus school board. If McCann beats Moss—and the party's endorsement is his only chance—you've eliminated a black seat. In the election for the other three open seats, the Dems endorsed board President Mark Hatch, who is white; and Loretta Heard and Reggie Anglen, who are both black. Anglen, a first-time candidate, will be battling against the endorsed Republican and incumbent, David Dobos, in an uphill fight. Heard has been weakened by her fight to have herself declared mentally ill so she can keep receiving her disability checks. Thus, it's not inconceivable, particularly if the Republicans endorse another candidate, that the board could end up lily white.

If Moss was good enough to endorse for mayor in 1995, why is he damaged goods to the Franklin County Dems now? One Democratic Central Committee member put it something like this at Saturday's endorsement meeting: "Well, it wasn't likely that anyone was going to beat Lashutka, anyway." An honest confession that Moss was marked as a "sacrificial lamb" who might bring out a large black vote for the Dems.

Moss has a different version. Sure they had him marked as a sacrificial lamb, but one they also wanted to fleece. After Moss' endorsement for mayor, Democratic Council candidates began showing up in photo ops with the Republican incumbent, Greg Lashutka. And, Moss says, the party's then-Executive Director Rob Lidle "took $3,000 out of my treasury in a eight-day period without authorization."

Moss supplied Columbus Alive with a copy of his statement of expenditures that includes two entries, one dated 3/8/95 and one 3/16/95. Both are checks made out to Robert Lidle for "consulting." Lidle, who served briefly as Moss' campaign manager, says Moss owed him the money. Moss says he "fired Lidle within days of the discovery." Both Lidle and Moss agree that only the campaign treasurer, Bob O'Shaughnessy, had the authority to write checks and Moss insists that only he could authorize expenditures.

Lidle, now a political consultant, claims Moss is just "smearing" him because he lost the party endorsement. Lidle served on the school board screening committee and was one of the four votes in favor of McCann's endorsement.

Moss says he's not afraid of the "White-ocrats." O'Shaughnessy concurs: "I don't think Bill has anything to worry about. He's going to win anyway. People like the way he stirred the pot when he was on school board."

Bob Fitrakis has volunteered on Bill Moss' campaigns in the past and has run on the Democratic Party ticket for elected offices.

09/03/1997

NEWS BRIEFS

Anglen nearly blindsided

Central Ohio politics can be cruel to the visually impaired. First, there was former U.S. Congressman Chalmers P. Wylie making national news when he had the Braille version of Playboy removed from the Library of Congress. Wylie held fast, even when his critics pointed out the pictures weren't in Braille.

Now, we've got the visually impaired Reggie Anglen, an endorsed Democrat for Columbus school board, who had planned to sue the Franklin County Board of Elections. Anglen, who only reads and writes in Braille, was initially tossed off the ballot by the board. The board disqualified Anglen's petition, despite having more than enough valid signatures, because his signature on his voter card did not match that on his petition.

Anglen did not dispute this. "I've got two people who legally sign my name for me. They pay my bills, and sign other legal documents. What shocks me is that when I went in to have my name put on the ballot, they asked me how I wanted it listed. I told them Reggie Anglen. So, they had somebody guide my hands and held me fill out the form listing my name. I'm sure that signature doesn't look like my other signature," he explained.

At an appeal hearing held Tuesday morning, the board reversed its initial ruling and put Anglen's name on the ballot.

A source says that Democratic Party Chair Denny White, initially went to bat for Anglen before the board. White reportedly argued, "What are we going to do when someone comes in here with no hands?"

Prior to the appeal hearing, Anglen said he had been contacted by CNN and various disabilities advocacy groups. Anglen was represented by Ohio Legal Aid and was prepared to file motions in federal court to have his name placed on the ballot.

Anglen holds that local, state and federal law are on his side: "The Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as other federal handicapped acts call for reasonable accommodations. They're being absolutely unreasonable at the board and they're denying my basic civil rights," he said. "It's hard enough to vote when you're visually impaired, now they're making it impossible to run," Anglen commented.

When reached for comment, White pointed out that the election laws were written prior to passage of the ADA, and that election officials tend to be "bureaucratic and tend to follow the letter of the law and not its spirit."

Anglen pointed out that despite his disability, he has a successful career as an administrator at Ohio State University and that he has served on several community boards. He stated, "The only reason I'm running is for the kids. I'm not interested in higher office or being a career politician. I've never been afraid to speak my mind. I've overcome my disability, and I'd like to help others succeed as well."

—Bob Fitrakis

09/10/2002

Raking muck

Time to clean up the filth... again

by Bob Fitrakis

We live in a time of rampant political corruption: from the White House to the Columbus school board. It's similar to the turn of the last century when the U.S. Congress was known as the best politicians' money could buy. The greed and avarice of that era spawned the outraged public to build both the Populist and Progressive movements to clean up the filth. It was also the Golden Age of newspaper "muckrakers." It's the dawn of a new century again, and there's plenty of muck to rake again.

A few people ask me how it feels to know that Paul Mifsud, former chief of staff to Governor George Voinovich, will spend only three days in jail, far less time than I and my cohorts at the Alive spent spell-checking the numerous articles we wrote on him and his partner in crime, T.G. Banks. Of course I feel Mifsud got off much too easy by pleading guilty to two misdemeanor counts, but what else is new? He's powerful, joined at the hip with the governor of Ohio, and has high-priced attorneys. Banks' lawyer's calls to the Alive alone were no doubt costly.

But it ain't over yet. The dirty little secret of Ohio politics is that under the Voinovich administration, contracts seem to be systematically steered to the Guv's friends, family and donors. Now, some will quickly point out that Celeste had similar problems. They miss the bigger picture. Celeste political consultant Dick Austin and the Dem gang's old game of "I can be your friend for a $10,000 consulting fee" can't compare to the businesslike approach of the Voinovich administration.

Where'd Mifsud come from? He was a vice president at the Voinovich Company, the governor's family business run by his brother Paul. In 1991, the first year of the Voinovich reign, Joe Gilyard, director of the Governor's Office of Criminal Justice Services, charged that Voinovich Company executive Frank Fela wanted him to steer jail contracts. Fela, now a vice president at the V Group, is busy explaining away a Jefferson County bribery conviction against a company associate in relation to a jail contract. Oooh.

Good movie title: "Where the V Group goes, corruption follows." With the recent release of State Auditor Jim Petro's report on the Mahoning Valley Sanitary District, detailing $2.7 million in illegal or improperly spent public funds, we don't even have to ask who was involved. As the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported, and per usual the Columbus Dispatch failed to report, "The audit also stated that the V Group was paid $2.6 million by Gilbane as a consultant on the first phase of the project, and, after expenses had a gross profit margin of 80 percent."

Well, nothing wrong, I suppose, with nursing on brother George's huge public breasts. That's what family is for. As we speak, the Voy vonders of the V Group are consulting the hell out of our Franklin County jail. And we should be consulting a special prosecutor.

He stirreth up trouble

Turning to homegrown scandals, Bill Moss is back at it. At last Tuesday's Columbus school board meeting, before he was given the hook by President Mark Hatch, Mr. Bill got to ask some interesting questions. Here's the summary: Why wasn't the new school superintendent at her desk for the start of school? "Is it true that the reason Dr. Smith is not in place in the superintendent's office is that she must stay this month in Beloit [Wisconsin] to retire from there?" How the hell did Dr. Smith hire Gregory Brown as her executive assistant, who chauffeured her around town when he acted as a member of the search committee, for a salary reported at $72,000 when she's not yet the superintendent? All good questions.

And here's another one we all should be asking: What are the attorney fees incurred by the board in its bizarre and pathetic contract negotiations with the Columbus Educational Association (CEA)? I heard $200,000 a few weeks back. Now the union's throwing around the $400,000 figure. Let's see, a lame and lackluster board more concerned with charity jobs for outgoing Superintendent Larry Mixon than reining in their attorney who's getting rich because he has no incentive to negotiate a contract. And there's no superintendent in place to look out for the interests of the children. Sick and sad.

Yet, there is a bit of good news on the corruption front. As a result of the eye-opening mayoral investigation of the Columbus Police Department, HUD inspector Heath Wolfe is looking into Sergeant Charles Martin's "special assignment" salary from the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA). Martin, an aide to Chief James Jackson, took in a reported $46,000 a year in addition to his regular police salary in a "special arrangement." James Moss, the head of Police Officers for Equal Rights, pointed out that the previous officer earned only $10,000 for the same duty and that Martin allegedly worked for CMHA while on duty.

How do public officials get away with this? Where is the outraged public, the rise of a new Progressive movement? People read about it, and say to me, "Oh well. That's the way it is. What can we do? They've always been corrupt. They always will be." Public apathy and helplessness replaces outrage and action. People fear to speak out, exercise their rights. They forget the real lesson of history. Sure, there's always been corruption, but it's up to the people to root it out. As Jefferson said, "The price of liberty is eternal vigilance."

09/17/2002 BAD URLS

9/24/1997

Court jester

by Bob Fitrakis

The stench of corruption continues to seep from the Franklin County Municipal Court, despite Clerk of Court Paul Herbert's frantic efforts to keep things airtight until after the November election. Herbert is up for re-election and wants you to look at all his political propa...ads. The usual "I'm a great guy and humble public servant" b.s.

But here's what you need to ask Herbert when he's out pressing the flesh with his increasingly sweaty palm during the last six weeks of the campaign. Why did one of his service bailiffs have to serve Debra Beckwith aka Debra A. Allen, one of Herbert's deputy clerks, with a court summons on August 14, 1997? Granted, Herbert could cite increased court efficiency, since the bailiff merely had to ride the elevator down to Beckwith's office to serve her. But Herbert will have a harder time explaining away the substance of the civil suit and the accompanying documents. This is so embarrassing, maybe we should keep it quiet in an election year, like the Dispatch would.

Nah.

So, just between you, me and 100,000 readers, Beckwith—who serves at the pleasure of Herbert—is a first shift deputy clerk in the Criminal Traffic Division. She deals with the Municipal Court's criminal cases. Beckwith holds a key position in the court with highly secured computer passwords, since her job is to terminate cases when justice has been served. You know, she makes things go bye-bye, puts them to bed, sets aside court orders and bond forfeitures as directed.

Obviously, someone with such a sensitive and important job should not suffer even the "appearance of impropriety." Wrong! Bail bondsman Marvin Napier claims, in a civil suit, that Beckwith aka Allen borrowed $1,800 on January 22, 1996 from him. Now, we've got an ethical dilemma.

First lesson of Ethics 101: no court employee who oversees bond forfeitures shall borrow money from bail bondsmen who do business with the court. Now repeat, class: "conflict of interest."

Napier's suit provides a copy of a signed note wherein Beckwith promised to pay "$100 a month" to him "starting February 1, 1996." A source familiar with the transaction said the loan was reportedly "to get Beckwith's house out of foreclosure." Huh, I never thought of that. I usually get my loans from a bank.

Bondsman Napier's suit seeks $1,740 from Clerk Beckwith claiming she only paid him $60.

But it gets more interesting. After falling behind $400 in payments, Beckwith goes back to Napier on May 21 of '96 and borrows $1,800 at 10 percent interest to bail out one Dean A. Lewis. Why, you ask, would this man lend money to someone who appears to be a deadbeat on a previous loan? Let's theorize. Could it have something to do with the fact that this person is a court employee, who, with an accidental stroke of the keyboard, could save Napier thousands in bond forfeitures is heavily in debt to him? It gets worse.

Napier claimed that Beckwith agreed to pay 10 percent, or $200 of Dean's $2,000 bond cost up-front, and that she intentionally wrote him a rubber check. For our convenience—and Beckwith and Herbert's embarrassment—Napier provides copy of Beckwith's check number 413 dated June 20 (yes, that's nearly a full month postdated) for $200 and stamped "Returned for Non-sufficient Funds." But hey, what's a little alleged check-kiting among allegedly criminal court employees and bondsmen?

Second lesson of Ethics 101: don't bounce checks during unethical transactions (see lesson #1).

I can only wonder why Beckwith was willing to go further in hock to Napier and kite a check for Dean A. Lewis. Lewis was charged on May 18 with a second-degree felony charge of attempted rape. On June 7, Lewis' felony was dismissed in Municipal Court pending possible future indictment by a Franklin County grand jury.

What the hell does that mean? Well, for one, it means that Napier was never really at risk to lose the money he loaned Beckwith. This is a very popular game played by bondsmen in the Franklin County Municipal Court. Memo attached: To all court clerks who are leaking like sieves, give us a call at the Alive and let us know what happened to Mr. Lewis.

But the most interesting question is why is Napier filing the suit in the middle of Herbert's re-election campaign? And, what does Herbert intend to do when he's confronted on the campaign trail by concerned citizens and inquiring minds who want to know why he would tolerate such inappropriate behavior by Beckwith? Is it because Beckwith donated $70 to the Herbert campaign last year—$10 more than she paid Napier back—and quite a sum for someone so financially strapped?

I know, how does this affect me? Who cares? Think of it this way: If a court employee is compromised and controlled by a bondsman, then all sorts of stuff can and does happen. Criminals can post bond knowing full well that they will skip and no one is going to hunt them down. Why? Because bondsmen have no motivation to track down the criminals that flee if the judges and clerks do not force them to pay up when criminals don't show for trial.

Consequently, not only do dangerous criminals go free, but elected officials like judges and clerks of court develop a cozy and corrupt little relationship. We call it the "iron triangle." Bondsmen make money off criminals, they then give some of the profit to the campaigns of judges and clerk of courts, who in turn make it easy for bondsmen to make even more money.

Ethics lesson #3: The beginning of court politics is the end of ethics and death of justice. But hey, did you see that really great Herbert for Clerk of Courts commercial?

09/24/1997

FEATURED ARTICLE

Bounty booty

Taking the law into their own hands—on our behalf

by Bob Fitrakis

The recent murder of an Arizona couple by so-called "bounty hunters" has caused many central Ohio citizens to ask: "Can it happen here?" A Columbus Alive investigation strongly suggests that the answer is "yes."

Last month, as many as seven bounty hunters wearing ski masks broke down the door of a Phoenix home, held young children at gunpoint and killed the couple in a commando-style raid supposedly looking for a bail jumper. The couple's bedroom was riddled with at least 29 bullet holes. It was the wrong house, and police now suspect it may have been a disguised robbery attempt.

If robbery was the motive, the raid was illegal; if they were looking for a bail jumper, the raid was probably legal. Earlier this year in Powell, Ohio, Cleveland bounty hunters from a private company called U.S. Fugitive Recovery Team. Inc. entered a Delaware County house with guns drawn and searched the premises without permission. The men wore dark jackets with "Agent" on the back, refused to identify themselves and to leave when the owner asked them to. They were looking for a $500 skip. The fugitive had never lived in, or been to the residence under siege. The bounty hunters stood to make $100 from the raid.

In the early '80s, the Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote a series of crusading articles with headlines like "Bondsmen surpass police in power" and "Bounty hunters an unsavory lot" that depicted bounty hunter horror stories and pointed out the need for regulating the occupation. During this period, states like Kentucky outlawed bounty hunting and California required out-of-state bondsmen and bounty hunters to secure an arrest warrant from local police. At the time, one of Cleveland's most notorious bounty hunters, James D. Shields, was being sought by federal agents on firearms charges. Shields had spent four years in prison for check forgery before going into the rewarding field of bounty hunting.

In a front page story in 1981, the Plain Dealer told the story of a woman whose door was kicked in by bondsman/bounty hunter Charles C. (Chuck) Brown who wielded a pearl-handled revolver and two sidekicks "touting shotguns." The bounty hunters threatened the woman, her cousin, a niece and three of her children. They were searching for the woman's friend, a female bail jumper wanted on a misdemeanor charge of slapping a store clerk. Waving the revolver, Brown grabbed a babysitter by mistake and dragged her out of the apartment. "I want my money or that bitch," he was reported saying. No charges were filed in the incident because Brown was acting within his legal rights as a bail bondsman/bounty hunter. Brown remains a leading bondsman in Cleveland and also operates an office in Columbus.

Cleveland attorney Terry Gilbert stated at the time that bondsmen "have thugs that go out at night and grab people." Little has changed in Cleveland, although bounty hunters now must register with the county sheriff. And even less has changed in Columbus. Bill Neill, an ex-Franklin County deputy sheriff and former bail bondsman—and by necessity, bounty hunter—claims he brought in 147 fugitives in 1996. "You don't have to bust in someone's door with a gun drawn, but some of them just like doing it that way. Instead of a manhunt, I looked at it like a fishing expedition. You've got to bait them. You can pose as a pizza delivery guy, or arrest them in the morning when they're going to their car. I once told a woman that I was with a taxi company, wanted to deliver a Valentine's gift to her and asked for her address. It worked," Neill noted.

As in Arizona, there is practically no regulation of bounty hunters in Ohio. Amidst the clamor to lock up all criminals, bounty hunters—some ex-felons themselves—are given free rein to hunt down bail jumpers who fail to appear for their court date. Bounty hunters cite an 1873 U.S. Supreme Court ruling they say gives them the right to break into a fugitive's house to make an arrest. Glorified in TV programs like Bounty Hunters that airs locally on Channel 6, aspiring bounty hunters are on the rise. A quick perusal of the Web attests to the free-wheeling and unprofessional nature of the occupation.

At the Bounty Hunters On-Line site, one can learn that, "...a bounty hunter can use any means necessary—including breaking and entering—and they don't need a warrant." At another site for budding bounty hunters, a seven-lesson course can be purchased for $89.95, with "free certification" guaranteed. Despite the fact that bounty hunters abound in Ohio, there were "no registered agents" for Ohio at the Bail Enforcement/Fugitive Recovery Information Center's Agent Directory Web site.

Neill is a member of the National Association of Bail Enforcement Agents. He pointed out that of the dozens of self-proclaimed bounty hunters in central Ohio, he knew of only two others who were members of the Association, and he said that there's probably fewer than 10 members in the state of Ohio.

A private investigator in Ohio must carry $400,000 worth of liability insurance per incident; a bounty hunter can only get $15,000 per, with $1,000 deductible, and that's part of the problem. Many carry no insurance. The police don't have time to follow up on all the warrants issued against fugitives so some bondsmen hire low-lifes to take care of their problems so they don't have to forfeit their bonds.

Ohio law only requires that a bounty hunter have a letter from an authorized bail bondsman to apprehend a specific fugitive. "When I was writing bonds and someone skipped, I'd write a letter authorizing a bounty hunter, I'd give them a photo of the fugitive, a copy of the warrant and the forfeiture letter. I'd put it all in a one-gallon Ziplock Baggie to protect myself from liability," Neill recalled.

In Neill's analysis, many bondsmen simply informally authorize bounty hunters to bring in fugitives. When something outrageous happens like the wrong door kicked in or an innocent person roughed up, the bondsman can claim that the bounty hunter was working as an independent agent.

In Ohio, bail bondsmen are licensed by the state Department of Insurance and their activities monitored by the local elected Clerk of Courts. But bounty hunters are unlicensed and unmonitored. Neill said that almost all bondsmen, out of desperation, end up acting as bounty hunters if they want to stay in business; yet, not all bounty hunters are bondsmen. This makes it easy for former criminals and other unsavory sorts to find employment hunting fugitives. Neill asserts that this is why he left the business.

Neill pointed to the case of Ralph Monroe Munk, a local bounty hunter, who worked with Neill for Marvin Napier's Columbus Bail Bonds. "Marv told me he couldn't find perfect people to be bounty hunters," Neill said. And Munk was far from perfect. Munk had a felony forgery conviction and was also arrested in 1996 for domestic violence. Neill recalled that he and another bondsman, Dougie Alexander, drove to a residence to nab a fugitive. Munk and another man showed up for the same purpose. After apprehending the skip suspect, a Mexican national, Neill and Alexander took him to jail. Munk and his partner also left, but a police report filed on July 26, 1996 indicates that "a bail bondsman" returned to an apartment at 116 N. Waverly "to serve a warrant." The bondsmen encountered the fugitive's brother, who spoke no English, and "took [the] victim's wallet" with $800 in it. When Neill and Alexander were brought in as suspects, the victim indicated that it wasn't them, but the "other" bondsman.

Following the Arizona incident, NBC4 interviewed local bounty hunter Torino E. Hawkins. Napier used Hawkins as a bounty hunter because of his experience as a security guard with City Security. Yet, on November 4, 1995, Phyllis Hogg filed a complaint against Hawkins in Franklin County Municipal Court. Hogg claimed that Hawkins pushed her, hit her, sprayed Mace in her face, and restrained her while working for City Security. He was charged with a first-degree misdemeanor assault. "Hawkins came in crying that he's got warrants out on him, so I put him in touch with my lawyer since it would look really bad for a bounty hunter to be wanted himself," Neill said. Hawkins pleaded guilty to a reduced disorderly conduct charge in June 1996. Hawkins' bounty hunting reportedly got him charged with illegal gun possession in Indiana. Hawkins allegedly borrowed money from Napier to help defend the charges, but, failed to pay the money back, according to civil suit #96-24155 filed by Napier and still pending.

Duane Scott Dobbins is both a local bondsman and bounty hunter under investigation since July by the state Department of Insurance for allegedly falsifying his license application. His local activities are technically monitored by Municipal Clerk of Courts Paul Herbert and Franklin County Common Pleas Clerk of Courts Jesse Oddi. Dobbins was convicted of a felony drug abuse charge in 1985 and was charged with indecent exposure in '86. On the latter charge, he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of disorderly conduct. He also had four domestic violence charges filed against him but was never convicted.

Herbert, up for election this year, is in the middle of the Dobbins controversy. Falsifying state records can be a felony under Ohio law. Dobbins, a former deputy clerk in Franklin County Municipal Court and a former Republican Central Committee member, called in various political favors to pressure Herbert into certifying him to write bonds, according to Neill and others.

On Dobbins' bonding agent application form filed in May 1994, he checked "No" to the question asking, "Have you ever been convicted of, or are you currently charged with, a felony or misdemeanor other than a traffic violation." On the court's application checklist form, question #5 pertaining to Dobbins' criminal record is blacked out. A handwritten note appears at the top of the checklist stating "Not approved" with Herbert's initials and the date "10-1-96." Another note stated "Probationary period 90 days, 2-12-97."

In a notarized statement, Neill said after he learned that Dobbins had a felony conviction, he notified Napier the next day. Within a week, he claimed he notified Herbert's Chief Deputy Mike Pirik and the Ohio Department of Insurance's licensing section. A letter dated July 24, 1997 with the case #ENF2981 from the Department of Insurance substantiates Neill's notification of that agency. The investigation of Dobbins is still underway as is an investigation by the Columbus Police Department into the relationship between Herbert's office and bail bondsmen.

In July, Herbert's opponent, JoAnne St. Clair, in a letter to Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien, called for a "special prosecutor" to investigate "possible felonious acts" involving bond forfeitures.

If the Clerk of Courts or court employees tend to favor one bonding firm over another, it puts increased pressure on the other bondsmen to turn to more aggressive bounty hunting methods. The cozy relationship between bail bondsmen and court employees has been documented in past Alive articles and columns. If the courts and their employees aren't squeaky clean, it becomes even more difficult to rein in the bondsmen and bounty hunters.

In a confidential letter obtained by Alive that was attached to an audit by KPMG of the Clerk of Courts office, dated June 5, 1997, the auditors pointed out that the courts are not in compliance with standard accounting practices. This "causes difficulties in assessing amounts outstanding on cases.... The court needs to adopt a formalized system for all cases," the letter continues.

KPMG noted that money owed to the court by third parties, such as bondsmen, were "informal and not in writing" and they recommended that "in the future, the court formalized any future payment arrangement in writing to help ensure in the collection of such amounts."

Napier is currently suing Deputy Clerk Debra Beckwith for non-repayment of loans totaling nearly $4,000. The actions of three other Herbert-appointed deputy clerks have caused Herbert political embarrassment. On August 22, 1996, former Deputy Clerk Joseph Bahgat was charged with three felonies: burglary, possessing criminal tools, and tampering with evidence after allegedly using his key to break into the Clerk's office and removing a traffic ticket issued against him. Bahgat pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and was given a year's probation.

Raphael Harris is another former deputy clerk in Municipal Court who recently ran afoul of the law. A volunteer at Republican Party headquarters during the 1995 election, Herbert rewarded Harris with a deputy clerk position midway through 1996. Harris didn't last long. By October he was gone under cloudy circumstances. Harris was charged with assault in August 1996 and entered a no-contest plea on October 7, 1996.

What is certain is that prior to his hire, Harris had pleaded guilty to both disorderly conduct and obstruction of official business charges stemming from an October 12, 1994 incident with Columbus Police. According to police, Harris was in a fight with three other men and women and when he was told to stop by Officer Jeff Sagan, he "persisted" and then "would not answer questions." Harris' path from obstructing official business to conducting official court business is not uncommon.

Michael Dove, another clerk, worked in the Criminal and Traffic Division with Harris and Bahgat. He left the Clerk's office at approximately the same time as Harris last fall. On October 26, 1996, Dove was charged with driving with a suspended license, speeding and a felony drug abuse count. Released on his own recognizance, he failed to show for trial and as we go to press, a warrant is out for his arrest.

"Bad ass" bounty hunters; desperate money-driven bondsmen; questionable court employees, some with criminal records; and corrupt elected court officials with a vested interest in the existing system. This is a formula for disaster. It can happen here, but it doesn't have to, if elected officials acknowledge the problem and reform the system.

 ====================================================================

10/08/1997  by Bob Fitrakis

Jailhouse crock : Workers complain about clean-up duty at the new Franklin County Jail

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10/15/1997

NEWS BRIEFS

Jackson sings a familiar tune

There's a certain irony in Chief Jackson's lawsuit against the city of Columbus, Mayor Greg Lashutka and Public Safety Director Thomas Rice, according to retired Police Sergeant and President of Police Officers for Equal Rights (POER) James Moss. "Virtually everything in his complaint, all the things he says Rice and the mayor did to him, is how he's been treating black officers for years," Moss claims.

Chief Jackson's suit, filed last week in federal court, screams racism. He repeatedly charges Mayor Lashutka and Rice with violating both his civil rights and his civil liberties during last year's mayoral investigation of him because of his status as the city's first African-American chief of police. Moss has a federal lawsuit against Chief Jackson, who he claims violated his civil rights in a similar fashion. Moss points out that Jackson—who accuses Rice of issuing an unconstitutional "gag order" against him—issued such an order against the POER president after he spoke on a local radio program.

"The POER has said all along that the mayor's investigation has nothing to do with race," insists Moss, "it's all about corruption."

On Tuesday, one week after Jackson filed suit, the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division came to town to begin its formal investigation into allegations of misconduct against the Columbus Division of Police. The POER initiated and pushed for the investigation. The relationship between Jackson and the POER—the only African-American police officers' association of any prominence—provides an interesting backdrop to the chief's suit.

The POER was created in 1978 "as an alternative response to the historical inability, or refusal of established police fraternal organizations and the Columbus Police Department's poor record of responding to civil rights and other legal mandates regarding minorities, African-American officers and the community."

Initially, the POER was Jackson's biggest booster. It lobbied hard for his successful appointment as chief in 1990 and gave Jackson a recognition and appreciation dinner after he became chief. It stood by the chief when he was accused of soliciting a prostitute early on in his tenure. The POER marched on City Hall and demonstrated at a City Council meeting after the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) attacked Jackson on the matter.

But within a few years, the POER's attitude changed dramatically. At a May 22, 1995 City Council meeting, both Moss and Luther Hunter, regional vice president of the National Black Police Association, accused Jackson of racial discrimination on disciplinary matters. Moss and Hunter complained bitterly about the chief's refusal to allow officers to attend national black police officer's events, while granting that right to FOP officers.

In August 1995, the POER issued a specific list of incidents documenting the disparate treatment of black officers by the chief. In a letter to Rice, Moss complained of "unfair treatment of African-American police officers by Chief Jackson." The FOP disagreed, charging instead that Jackson is "....unfair to everybody regardless of ethnicity." At the time, Rice issued a 143-page report that found "most" of POER's discrimination claims against Jackson "without factual foundations." Jackson explained that Rice's report could come to no other conclusion given his nearly 40 years of fighting for equity for all officers. Jackson claimed that the POER should have checked their facts first.

On March 27, 1996, the POER issued a statement pointing out that Jackson wouldn't release all the records needed to prove their allegations and that the Ohio Supreme Court had recently ordered the police to release the records requested. A July 31, 1996 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) complaint filed by black officer Clyde Haynie raised the specter of cronyism among Jackson's top commanders after his sergeant, also an African-American, was removed in his investigation. "If the Columbus Division of Police is concerned with ethics involving investigations...why has the Columbus Police Department allowed brothers investigate[ing] brothers. Sgt. Massy investigated a complaint involving his brother and Commander Perigee has investigated a complaint involving his brother. Commander Macramé admitted in the Commander Burns investigation that he went out of state with Commander Burns. The Columbus Police Department was not concerned about their friendship," Haynie wrote.

Burns was under investigation for his interceding in the bust of a high-priced escort service run by Anthony Menucci. Burns personally logged the evidence from the raid, but failed to have it inventoried before it was placed in his office and subsequently vanished. Rumors of Menucci being "protected" by Burns ran rampant through the police department.

Jackson, the admitted "old school disciplinarian," overruled a call for demoting Burns after an Internal Affairs investigation and such a recommendation by a fellow commander. Instead Jackson slapped Burns on the wrist by placing a 30-day letter of reprimand in his personnel file.

On October 10, 1996, Mayor Lashutka at Rice's insistence, began an unprecedented mayoral investigation with subpoena power into Jackson's handling of the Burns/Menucci affair. Rice's popularity amongst POER members began to rise and Jackson's plummeted. On October 25, 1996, Rice dismissed Jackson's charge against black female officer Cjarrault Everhart for allegedly failing to be "truthful" in a dispute with a white sergeant. Rice noted that there were no "third-party witnesses."

In a December letter in the Columbus Post, Moss escalated his attack on Jackson, just as Jackson was attempting to rally Columbus' black community to his side, appearing alongside the Reverend Jesse Jackson at a local demonstration against racism. "Prior to this investigation, have you ever seen Chief Jackson at a Reverend Jesse Jackson rally? Have you seen him at any Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast or at any NAACP Freedom Fund Banquet?"

Jackson was found guilty on two of the five charges against him, specifically, failing to render impartial discipline in the Burns matter and destroying a homicide investigation file. The Civil Service Commission gave Jackson a brief suspension. Yet, the battle between Jackson and the POER grew worse. On March 3, 1997, Moss wrote Federal Judge James L. Graham that under Jackson, "acts of racism and retaliation" had gone from "bad to worse." Moss concluded: "The current Chief of Police, in his quest for ever-widening power, thinks racism and discrimination do not exist in the department unless it affects him."

Later that month, Moss termed Jackson's assertion that "there's no one in the City that can claim that they have done as much for minorities as I," as "arrogant, pompous and completely inaccurate...."

On May 29, the Ohio Civil Rights Commission determined that there was probable cause that black Officer Charlie Gordon was unlawfully discriminated against in his removal from the helicopter patrol. In discussing Jackson's suit, Moss points out that "Jackson, despite this order, has yet to reinstate him."

In a July 16 statement, Moss revealed that the "POER is currently working with the United States Department of Justice on the issues of unfair treatment by Chief Jackson against African-Americans." In a letter to Rice dated July 28, Moss spelled out his reasons for going to the Justice Department: "Chief Jackson, with his deeply rooted retaliatory mindset, has not hesitated to punish our members with false accusations and charges without substance.... Jackson has a history of issuing unfair punishment for African-American police officers. There has been no other place to lodge a complaint about the department's 'Kangaroo Justice.'"

This is the history that culminates in Jackson's filing a racial discrimination suit against the city of Columbus while at the same time, the African-American police officer's association finds his claims disingenuous and calls in the Justice Department to investigate the chief.

—Bob Fitrakis

10/15/1997

NEWS BRIEFS

Jail sentencing not a problem

Banks' construction management projects move forward without him

Despite the recent conviction and sentencing of Columbus contractor Thomas G. Banks, at least one of the local projects that includes Banks as part of the construction team is moving ahead, unfazed by the contractor's looming jail term.

An Ohio State official said Monday that the university will make no changes to the construction team it hired for the $93 million Schottenstein Center as well as the $52.3 million Max Fisher College of Business; even though Banks, one of that team's main players, will spend three months in jail for an ethics violation.

Banks, who was sentenced last week alongside Governor Voinovich's former Chief of Staff Paul Mifsud, must also pay a $1,000 fine and do 500 hours of community service after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor ethics violation relating to work his company did on Mifsud's home.

Nevertheless, OSU has no intentions of taking Banks' company off the job. "We hired a construction team, and that construction team is performing without any problems," said OSU Architect Jill Morelli. In fact, Morelli said she wasn't aware that Banks had even been sentenced until contacted by Columbus Alive.

Last year, Alive reported that two construction management proposals submitted to OSU for the Schottenstein project included resumes for Banks that stated he holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from the university. Another form included in one of the proposals said Banks holds an advanced degree in engineering from OSU as well. Neither the alumni affairs office nor the verification department at the OSU Registrar's office has a record of a Thomas Gleason Banks, with Banks' social security number, having been awarded any degrees from the university.

But Morelli said Banks hasn't had a major, hands-on presence at the projects, and she said the university has no qualms about the work being done by the construction team.

"Thomas Banks isn't the specific representative on either of those projects," Morelli said. "You hire the whole team. We didn't hire Thomas Banks the individual, we hired the Gilbane/Banks-Carbone team, and they're performing up to par. So the quick, easy answer is no, we're not anticipating any changes on either of those projects."

Morelli added that OSU's contract with Banks-Carbone stipulates that the university makes payments at the same rate at which the projects progress, meaning that OSU won't be done paying the Gilbane/Banks-Carbone team until the projects are completed.

Construction companies run by Banks were also involved with two other major projects in Columbus: management of construction of the new, $125 million COSI center; and the city's controversial South of Main housing project, costing more than $4.2 million. Officials with COSI, as well as KeyBank, the construction lender that selected T.G. Banks Special Projects Division, Inc. to finish the South of Main project, could not comment on the status of Banks' involvement in light of his sentence by press time.

—Bob Fitrakis

10/15/1997

NEWS BRIEFS

Northwest Area Commission: Gone but not forgotten?

Is there a task force, or isn't there?

That's the elusive question from the front of the civic war that erupted last year between the Northwest Civic Association (NWCA) and the Northwest Area Task Force, over which group would best serve residents on Columbus' northwest side. NWCA members contend the task force is dead—that its membership has all but disappeared, and that it was never able to garner the 500 signatures needed to bump the NWCA from power. Those involved with the task force aren't saying anything, but could be in more hot water, as NWCA officials are now alleging that city taxes may have been used to fund the task force and its activities.

The duel began in August of last year at an open forum where the task force announced its plan to establish an area commission that would have effectively replaced the 27-year-old NWCA as the northwest community's governing board. That forum was heated, to say the least, with droves of NWCA members and others in attendance attacking the task force's motives and questioning the need for an area commission.

The forum was billed as the task force's first meeting, since the city code requires all such meetings to be open to the public and all community organizations. But the following January, a Columbus Alive cover story revealed that NWCA officials had obtained a city file containing minutes from five task force meetings held in May, June and July which were apparently secret gatherings organized by task force chair Eric Ladd. Included in the article was the revelation that Cynthia Rickman, community relations representative for the city Department of Trade and Development, had attended some of those meetings; as well as the admission by former task force co-Chair Carl Fielding that the city had no intention of notifying the NWCA of the task force in order to gain control over zoning for the possible development of the OSU airport. While representatives from the city denied any wrongdoing, the NWCA threatened to sue if and when the task force filed the 500-signature petition that is the first step toward establishing an area commission.

Now, 10 months later, all is quiet.

"No petition has been filed with the city as of yet," said Dick Ritchie, planning manager for the Department of Trade and Development, who the NWCA claims knew of the secret meetings and would be named in the lawsuit. "It's been pretty quiet for a while. Last I heard the task force was still gathering signatures."

Peggy McElroy, president of the NWCA, said the task force's membership has crumbled since the accusations of secret meetings and collusion were made public. Regardless of whether the task force is still working on the petition, the NWCA considers the group defunct. "As far as we're concerned, the task force is dead," McElroy said. "And if they do file, we'll sue."

Dead, but not forgotten. The NWCA is now focusing its attention on a city-funded grant Ladd received last year to start a consumer watchdog agency that McElroy said may have instead been used to fund the task force's activities. In April of last year, Ladd was approved for a $16,410 grant by the Alliance for Cooperative Justice, which was to be used to get Ladd's Consumer Watchdog Organization off the ground. The watchdog organization was aimed at protecting consumers and helping them recover financial losses from telemarketing scams. But McElroy raised several questions about links between the Consumer Watchdog Organization and the Northwest Area Task Force.

Both organizations, according to their respective files with the city, started operating within one month of each other—the watchdog organization in April 1996, and the task force in May of 1996. McElroy also said she found a letter regarding the Consumer Watchdog Organization in the task force's file, even though the two files are kept at different offices, at different locations in the city. That letter was from the Far Northwest Coalition to the Alliance for Cooperative Justice withdrawing its support of the watchdog agency. It was faxed to the city from the Alliance for Cooperative Justice and somehow ended up in the task force's file. "That letter was never found in the [watchdog agency] grant file," McElroy said.

Another question mark for the NWCA, she said, is the fact that the mailing address for the Consumer Watchdog Organization—4900 Reed Road Suite 202—was where the task force held at least one of its clandestine meetings. And the watchdog agency later switched its address to 4856 Sawmill Road Suite 108, the same mailing address found on numerous task force documents. That address was registered under the name of Sheila Forsythe, a member of the task force.

Before receiving the grant, Ladd received a required letter of support from a citizen—Robert Molt—in which Molt introduced himself to Ladd as someone who would benefit from the watchdog agency. But the letter failed to mention that Molt and Ladd had been in business together since 1992, and Molt later took a part-time job with the watchdog agency. Molt, too, was a member of the task force.

If there is a link between the two organizations, McElroy said it could imply that the grant money awarded to Ladd's Consumer Watchdog Organization may also have been linked to the task force. And since that grant was "funded totally by the City of Columbus," according to a letter McElroy received from Franklin County Commissioner Dewey Stokes, NWCA taxpayers could have been funding the very group that was working to oust the organization from power.

When contacted by Alive, Ladd would not comment on the status of the petition, the task force or the grant. McElroy said the NWCA will lodge a formal complaint with Columbus City Council sometime this week that will ask for an investigation into the grant and the task force.

"How do we know what that money went to?" asked McElroy. "The whole thing smells. How could they not be linked? It raises very serious questions as to what that grant money was used for."

—Bob Fitrakis

10/22/1997

Is The Dispatch taking off the gloves?

Coverage of V Group raises important questions

by Bob Fitrakis

Look out, Guv! The Dispatch has taken off its kid gloves.

The first sign of a possible rumble between the Republican-friendly Big D and the Guv popped up in Lee Leonard's October 13 column on the six-month sentence given to Voinovich's former Chief of Staff Paul Mifsud. The normally cautious and thoughtful Leonard zinged the governor with the obvious: "When Inspector General David D. Sturtz began to get too close to possible mischief with Mifsud in the middle, he was replaced by Voinovich." Leonard's column made it clear that he wasn't buying the Guv's two-step spinabout boogie on how the Mifsud thing was a "aberration instead of a symptom."

Yo, Guv. Homie-shepherd dude. Quit frontin'. Here's Straight-Up 101: Mifsud was the executive vice president of the Voinovich Cos., the second-in-command behind your brother, Pauly, at your family business. You hired him to be the second most powerful man in the state, your chief of staff. He did your bidding; he was a crook and got caught. Deal with it.

Next, a perceptive Dispatch editorial ran, suggesting some of the above. Finally, page one of Sunday's Metro section pointed out how State Auditor James Petro's probe of Jefferson County Prosecutor Stephen M. Stern might be "seen as political payback." Indeed. It was.

The Dispatch knows that Stern's investigation of the Voinovich companies, now called The V Group, revealed a similar pattern of questionable business practices at our own incredibly over-budget Franklin County jail. By deposing Pauly, Stern got on the record the trail of political contributions from The V Group into Republican County Commissioners' coffers as well as the more damning fact that The V Group of Ohio incorporated in Florida late last year.

Most V Group watchers are well aware that Florida's bankruptcy laws are more liberal, allowing one to keep more loot. So, many suspect that the plan was for Pauly to transfer assets gained in Ohio from public prison and jail projects to Florida. Then, as George headed off to Washington next year (God forbid), Pauly could leave the busted shell of The V Group in Ohio and spend his remaining days with well-connected friends in the sun.

What the Dispatch revealed on Sunday is the same old game George, Paul and Pauly played on Joe Gilyard, former director of the Office of Criminal Justice Services in 1991. Recall that an anonymous hand-written letter to the office of the governor—later revealed to have been written by Pauly Voinovich—triggered an investigation of Gilyard after he made allegations of contract steering against the Voinovich Cos. Now, as reported in Sunday's Dispatch, another anonymous letter has been sent to Petro—and there have been others making allegations against critics of The V Group. Auditor Petro, aka the Guv's Errand Boy, ought to be ashamed for going after Stern and suppressing his report on possible wrongdoing by The V Group. But I like it. If he wants to be the governor's attack dog against the forces of good, he's slitting his own political throat. With next year's election, he may be committing political suicide.

Readers of this column who can't stand the stench of The V Group should write anonymous letters to Auditor Petro—particularly those who call me regularly from the building industry and have intimate knowledge of alleged wrongdoing by Paul and Pauly—and demand an investigation of all V Group finances. You can reach Petro at 88 E. Broad Street, Columbus, Ohio, 43215. CC me a copy of your anonymous letters and we'll see whether Petro is a gutless lapdog or not. I'll run the best verifiable excerpts.

Most know Paul Mifsud got six months for accepting a $100,000 gift from minority contractor Tommy Banks, who was awarded some $3.7 million in unbid state contracts. Almost unnoticed was the three-month sentence given Banks. But, Banks still has friends in high places, especially in the law-enforcement community. Jackson's order sheet, dated October 9, 1997—after Tommy's sentencing—reads "ATTENTION ALL PERSONNEL: The following individuals will receive awards at a Special Commendation Ceremony ... in the first floor auditorium of police headquarters." Included on the list: Citizen Thomas Banks. Perhaps the chief should read his own directive to all police officers not to associate with criminal or unsavory types. Or maybe that just applies to the rank-and-file officers. Maybe Tommy can call the chief on his "cell" phone and thank him.

We understand Tommy dined with Sheriff Jim Karnes right after his sentencing, and was seen with deputy sheriffs tailgating in his car at the Penn State-OSU game. But, reportedly, Big Jim has promised to pull Tommy's special commission which allows him to wear the sheriff's uniform and carry his .45 in funeral processions. Obviously, Big Jim is showing better judgment than Chief Jackson, if he follows through.

And Mayor Lashutka once again showed great courage and wisdom in telling the chief to stuff his lawsuit that claims the city's leader is a racist. Lashutka is many things. But mostly, he's fiscally conservative and socially, dare I say it, liberal. To accuse the mayor and safety director of racism as motive for minor procedural violations is absurd. Their motivation was clear: corruption in the top ranks of the police department that the chief openly tolerated.

10/29/1997

The apathy vote

How we can kick Botswana’s butt

by Bob Fitrakis

Last time I looked, the U.S. was rated 49th out of 50 democratic countries in voter turnout. We were kickin’ butt over Botswana. The sheer boredom of this year’s local elections give the Botswanians hope.

But, there are real issues at stake; and electoral politics still matters, sorta, even in Columbus. So here’s a quick election guide to inspire you to hit the polls this Tuesday.

CITY COUNCIL

Okay, it’s a little difficult here, since none had the courage to come out against the key fat cats vs. the people issue—the stadium/arena referendum. But here goes. Council President Michael Coleman, who should win handily, has done a commendable job pushing central city development. A cautious consensus-builder—he’ll even talk to me in public—he has a keen awareness of the need for better-trained workers. Mike also rates three cheers for standing with the south side community following the Georgia-Pacific explosion. Mike’s all right.

Incumbent Richard Sensenbrenner—with a family name like that, he’ll be an incumbent as long as he wishes. But, the dude’s not coasting on his name. He’s good on the environment, nearly great, and the Rails to Trails thing he pushes is way groovy. It makes sense for progressives to vote for the most progressive member of the Sensenbrenner family. And that doesn’t make him a "liberal."

Newcomer Mary Ellen O’Shaughnessy—From A Family That Gives A Dam. And she’s darned good on most issues from the environment to education to central city revitalization. Also, she’s the only non-incumbent with a good chance to win. New blood, old family, good mix.

Incumbent Peggy Fisher—hobbled with health problems and a lack of Republican big money, may very well lose her seat. I’ve always liked Peggy, particularly after she suggested turning the trash plant into a recycling center. Maybe that’s why the Republicans aren’t giving her better backing.

Linda Reidelbach—ideologically the only true conservative in the race, emerged politically in 1992 as an independent right-to-life Congressional candidate with a respectable vote count as such. Gracious, thoughtful and a tad bit populist, but on the other side of the political spectrum from most Alive readers.