Marc Dann admits to his own affair
Posted: Friday, May 02, 2008 at 1:14 p.m.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann said Friday he had an affair with an employee, and three advisers were forced out of their jobs in a scandal over sexual harassment allegations against an aide.
Dann, a Democrat who often was compared to Eliot Spitzer, the former New York Attorney General disgraced in a prostitution scandal, said he will not resign even after an investigation scolded him for allowing a woman who claimed harassment by an aide to his apartment for drinks.
The fallout is an especially painful blow to Dann because, like Spitzer, he has made his political name on fighting corruption.
Dann took responsibility for the scandal and acknowledged that he was not prepared to be attorney general when he took office and not ready to take over an office of this size.
"I'm embarrassed. I have taken responsibility for what I've done," he said.
He called the affair consensual and said it came during a difficult time in his marriage. He said it was "relationship that was wrong and I deeply regret it."
He apologized to his wife and three children for the pain and embarrassment.
Dann, 46, would not disclose the employee's name.
Dann's scheduler, Jessica Utovich, with whom had had a close relationship in which they often used profanity, nicknames and teasing when e-mailing each other, also resigned voluntarily, said Tom Winters, first assistant attorney general. He did not give a reason.
When interviewed for the investigation conducted by his assistants, Dann said Utovich stayed overnight at an apartment he shared with two aides for a variety of reasons that he would not discuss. Utovich refused to say whether she ever stayed overnight at the apartment during her interview.
Messages seeking comment were left for Utovich and Dann's wife, Alyssa Lenhoff.
Emerging as an appointed state senator with a small private law office, Dann became the face of the Democrats' charge against a scandal over state investments that contributed to the Ohio GOP's devastating election losses in 2006, winning over a better known and more experienced Republican.
As Ohio's top law enforcer, he took on the nation's largest insurance brokerage, the mortgage lending industry, student loan providers, MySpace, and the big three credit rating agencies, among others.
He removed himself from the investigation handled by his assistant attorneys general.
Anthony Gutierrez, who led Dann's general services office, was fired after the review found that he violated sexual harassment policy. He was accused by two women he supervised - Cindy Stankoski and Vanessa Stout, both 26 - of making unwanted advances and vulgar remarks.
Also fired was Dann's communications chief Leo Jennings who is accused of trying to get a worker to lie when interviewed under oath. Investigators say Edgar Simpson, Dann's policy chief, was forced to resign for failing to address inappropriate behavior. Simpson had knowledge of Gutierrez's history of policy violations, the investigation report said.
Jennings said, "I did nothing wrong whether it's this specific allegation leveled against me in the report or my conduct over the last 13 months with the attorney general's office. I haven't done a thing except do my job. My conscious is absolutely clear."
Stankoski said she went to the apartment near Columbus shared by Dann, Gutierrez and Jennings for pizza and drinks. She said she fell asleep drunk at the condo and when she was awoke, her pants were unbuttoned and Gutierrez was lying next to her in his underwear.
When it was apparent Stankoski had too much to drink, arrangements should have been made to get her home, said the investigation.
Stout alleged that Gutierrez repeatedly asked her for sex, suggesting she "owed" him for helping her land a state job.
The investigation also found that Gutierrez violated policies that prohibit driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs. The report detailed an incident where Gutierrez allegedly was drinking with other employees while driving a state vehicle. The matter is now under investigation by the State Highway Patrol.
Rex Elliott, the attorney for Stout and Stankoski, said both women feel vindicated.
"There are questions that go all the way to the top of that office about how the leader of that office allowed this environment to persist," he said.
Messages left for Gutierrez's attorney, Sam Amendolara, were not immediately returned. No phone listing for Simpson could be found
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