Beacon Journal: Sidaway sentenced

State pension board member sentenced for taking free gifts

The Beacon Journal
Associated Press
Friday, May 12, 2006

Columbus, Ohio - A retired elementary teacher was placed on probation and fined for accepting gifts from investment clients while she served on the board that oversees Ohio's teachers' pension system.

Hazel Sidaway, 62, apologized to Judge Carrie Glaeden of Franklin County Municipal Court for twice violating state ethics law when she accepted tickets to a Cleveland Indians game in 2001 and the Broadway production of "Hairspray" in 2003 while on the payroll of the State Teachers Retirement System. A jury convicted her of two misdemeanor ethics violations April 14.

"I tried for 17 years to represent the teachers of Ohio with dignity and dedication," Sidaway said. "I accepted something of value that I should not have taken."

Glaeden told Sidaway she was having a hard time understanding why she would think taking such gifts was appropriate.

"I would like you to rethink that it was only on two occasions that you let the teachers you represented down," Glaeden said.

The judge named other occasions that came up during Sidaway's trial when she accepted gratuities from companies doing business with STRS, including another baseball game and a free meal she accepted for her grandchildren. A jury acquitted her of charges related to those events.

Sidaway was sentenced to two years' probation, fined $670, ordered to pay $5,382 in court costs and perform 200 hours of community service divided between her former school district in Canton and either a retirement home or senior center.