Former Ohio Attorney General's aide under scrutiny for vehicle buys

7/28/2008

COLUMBUS State investigators are looking into vehicle purchases made by a man fired amid the scandal under former Ohio attorney general Marc Dann.

As Dann s general services chief, Anthony Gutierrez (goo-tee-AYR -ehz) spent $1.8 million on 94 new cars and SUVs for the attorney general s office.

Records obtained by The Columbus Dispatch show some of the money came from a state fund for crime victims and that some of the vehicles replaced others just three years old.

A spokesman for State Auditor Mary Taylor says her office is investigating whether the purchases were proper. They also want to know if Gutierrez used any of the vehicles personally.

Gutierrez was the central figure in sexual harassment complaints from two women working in Dann s office.