An independent investigation into all the allegations swirling around Attorney General Marc Dann could begin next week.
Republican leaders in the Legislature said Friday that they will pass a bill giving Ohio Inspector General Tom Charles the authority to investigate the attorney general’s office. Democrats are backing the bill, and Gov. Ted Strickland said he will sign it.
House Speaker Jon Husted and Senate President Bill Harris said they spoke with Charles and he indicated he is willing to conduct the probe.
The House will approve the bill Tuesday, the Senate on Wednesday and Charles will get to work immediately, they said.
In the wake of a sexual harassment investigation that saw three top aides lose their jobs, Dann admitted last week that he had an affair with an employee and mismanaged the office. Democrats and Republicans have called on Dan to step down or be impeached, but he refused, saying he has not committed any impeachable offenses.
Husted and Harris said they were moved to act Friday by reports that an Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation employee erased computer data that was related to the investigation of Anthony Gutierrez, the attorney general’s former general services director.
Gutierrez was fired last week following an internal office investigation of sexual harassment charges that also accused him of running his private business, MTV Construction, on state time using state property. The information removed from the computer may have been tied to that business, they said.
Husted and Harris also sent a joint letter to BCI Superintendent Robert A. Fiatal demanding answers about the computer.
Kathleen Walley, 43, who worked under Gutierrez, was suspended with pay on April 21.
Dann spokesman Ted Hart said Walley is accused of ‘‘having her computer scrubbed clean when not authorized to do so’’ by a BCI employee. BCI is part of the attorney general’s office.
Hart said he was unsure what information was removed from the computer.
Walley worked in the attorney general’s Youngstown office. She was hired in July 2007 and earned $33,100 a year.
She could not be reached for comment.
The office is reviewing the situation regarding the BCI agent removing the files from the computer, Hart said. The Ohio Ethics Commission and the Ohio State Highway Patrol have been asked to include this latest incident into their ongoing investigation of Gutierrez, Hart said.
Husted and Harris said the allegations were ‘‘troubling.’’ They asked BCI superintendent Fiatal how it could happen, when it happened and if the hard drives of any other computers have been wiped clean.
In a joint statement, Husted and Harris wrote, ‘‘It has become clear to us over the last several days that a comprehensive, independent investigation is necessary.’’
House Minority Leader Joyce Beatty, D-Columbus, said in a telephone interview that she joined the Republicans in their call for an independent investigation.
Asked if the investigation would delay impeachment proceedings, she said that is the wrong question. She said there are several steps to the impeachment process and the investigation is part of the information gathering process.
The move to impeach Dann will not proceed according to any timeline. Beatty said, ‘‘The important thing is to make sure we get his right and to be fair.’’
Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland previously called for an independent investigation and will sign the bill. He said Strickland remains committed to building an unassailable case for impeaching Dann.
Strickland said Dann has two options, to resign or be impeached.
State law only allows the inspector general to look into the governor and agencies under his control. The bill to be voted on next week expands that authority.
Gutierrez, 50, of Liberty, a close friend and neighbor of Dann, operated a construction company before coming on as director of general services.
Transcripts of interviews done during the sexual harassment investigation show one employee, who previously worked for Gutierrez, claimed it appeared he was running his personal business from the state office, getting calls on his cell and desk phone.
The woman, Mariellen Aranda, also claimed Gutierrez had an employee work on blueprints that were for his construction company.
Before coming on as a secretary in the Youngstown office, Walley owned the Youngstown Crab Company on Belmont Avenue for two years and then worked as a receptionist/biller with Forum Health in Youngstown, according to her personnel file.
She sold the restaurant in 2002 and her job at Forum was eliminated in 2006. She then took a job with NEOMED in Boardman as a billing specialist, the file shows. There is nothing to indicate she worked for Gutierrez’s construction company, MTV Construction.
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