Scandal Rocks Ohio Attorney General’s Office

The attorney general in a Midwestern sate fired three top aides involved in a massive sexual harassment scandal but refuses to resign even though he too participated by having an extramarital affair with a young secretary in his office.

It’s also likely that Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann committed perjury by amending his testimony to state investigators in order to conceal the extramarital affair with a young woman in charge of scheduling. The attorney general evidently lied about the fact that the mistress (Jessica Utovich) stayed overnight at a condo he rented with several friends that he hired as aides.

Dann had been questioned under oath by state investigators probing the widespread sexual harassment scandal that has rocked the attorney general’s office since he was elected in 2006. The Democrat attorney general hired three of his buddies to senior positions in the office and the four of them rented a Columbus suburb townhouse that was known as a sort of party fraternity pad.

That is where the official elected to uphold the state’s laws and Constitution rendezvoused with his young mistress. She was forced to resign as well as three other top aides and friends—including the directors of general services and communications and a third high-ranking administration official—involved in the office scandal.

The disgraced attorney general says he won’t resign, however, and simply offered an apology saying that he was “embarrassed” and has “taken responsibility” for what he has done. He also admitted that he did not create an atmosphere in his public and personal life that is consistent with the important mission of the Office of Attorney General.

Outraged lawmakers found the apology insulting and called on the attorney general to step down immediately. The state’s Republican Party chairman, Bob Bennett, said Dann is “unfit for the job of attorney general” and accused him of turning the office into a “raunchy frat pad.”