MOSERS watchers...you "ain't" seen nothin' yet! Let's go fishin'!

From John Curry, April 16, 2009

Today's article in the News-Leader.com (Springfield, MO) features some questionable retirement system travel. The Show Me folks are just now investigating one of their retirement systems, MOSERS (Missouri State Employees Retirement System), re. bonuses and have happened upon the discovery of another misspending and entitlement practice - globetrotting. It's kind of like opening up a can of worms at the first tug of the pull-tab on the lid above. Following the "amateur-globetrotting" on their dime article below is an example of "professional globetrotting" accomplished on the Ohio public's dime several years ago...... 2002 to be exact. Will the fishing be as good this year for the Missourians as it was for the Buckeyes in the past? Let's hope they catch every fish in the pond! However, $2,688 (even at today's prices) was just a "drop in the worm bucket" compared to the cost of ours, wasn't it?

John

Smith recalled asking Jetton, "Now that you've gone to London, are you coming to the meetings?"

News-Leader.com

April 16, 2009

State pension plan paid for Jetton trip

European visit made, but meetings missed.
The Associated Press

Columbia -- The former speaker of the Missouri House appointed himself to a state pension board and attended few meetings, but traveled with the agency last year to London.

The Columbia Daily Tribune reported Wednesday that the Missouri State Employees' Retirement System, called MOSERS, paid $2,688 for then-House Speaker Rod Jetton to take a six-day trip to London in July 2008.

Board members made the trip to talk with investment company officials about what is being done with the retirement system's funds. Some of the investment firms are headquartered there.

As speaker, Marble Hill Republican Jetton appointed himself to the board in September 2007. He left the House at the end of 2008, barred by term limits from seeking re-election.

Agency officials say Jetton missed seven meetings but attended a two-day board conference, the London trip and one other meeting.

"I felt it was unfortunate that he chose to go to one event and that happened to be in London," said Todd Smith, Gov. Matt Blunt's appointee on the board.

Smith recalled asking Jetton, "Now that you've gone to London, are you coming to the meetings?"

Jetton did not respond to the newspaper's requests for comment through two telephone messages and a visit to his office in Jefferson City.

In an e-mail to the Tribune, Jetton said that he is proud to have served on the board.

"During my time of service I tried to educate myself on the financial investments MOSERS' makes with our retirement funds. Since MOSERS' is backed by the Missouri taxpayer it is important that a close eye be kept on all investments," he wrote.

Sen. Jason Crowell, a client of Jetton's political consulting firm and a current member of the MOSERS board, said the meeting was an important function.

"It's like we are kicking the tires before we buy a car," he said.

Now, MOSERS stakeholders, here's some Professional globetrotting accomplished by some former Ohio STRS Board members back in 2002 ...fasten your seat belts! I have highlighted those former Ohio STRS board members who were OEA endorsed "teacher members" of the STRS Board during "our" travel junkets.

John

STRS paid $70,418 for trips in 2002

Canton Repository, August 9, 2003
By PAUL E. KOSTYU
Copley Columbus Bureau chief

COLUMBUS — The State Teachers Retirement System board created an online form to evaluate the conferences its members attend.

The electronic form was created because a paper one wasn’t being used, said Laura Ecklar, a spokeswoman for STRS.

But few board members use the electronic version, either, and those who do almost always say the seminars are “excellent.”

Critics of the pension fund say out-of-state travel by board members is indicative of STRS’s excessive spending habits.

In 2002, the first year evaluations were filed, nine current and former board members made a total of 49 trips to conferences, costing STRS $70,418. They filed 13 evaluations.

The top traveler that year was Jack Chapman of Reynoldsburg, who spent $14,684 on 12 trips. He was followed closely by vice chairman Eugene Norris of Columbus, who spent $14,573 on seven trips. Norris’ per trip cost, however, was higher at $2,044. Chapman filed seven evaluations, the most by any board member. Norris didn’t file any evaluations.

In June 2001, the board’s Committee on Board Orientation and Development asked the STRS staff to create a mechanism so members could file reports of their trips online. The evaluations were intended to help current and future board members decide whether it was worthwhile — in terms of education and cost — to attend similar seminars sponsored by the same organizations.

Ecklar, director of Communication Services, said there was no cost involved. Her office developed the wording and appearance of the form, while the fund’s Information Technology Services programmed it for the internal Intranet. She said several months were required to develop and test a program. The form became available in January 2002.

Ecklar called the form a success because board members are using it.

Hazel Sidaway of Plain Township, a former board member and now-retired Canton teacher, chaired the committee that initiated the electronic form. In the committee’s last report that was presented at the board’s June meeting, seven meetings were recommended “as beneficial.”

Three of those seven meetings were sponsored by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. Yet, two evaluations comment on the organization’s seminars. The annual meeting of the National Council on Teacher Retirement is recommended based on two evaluations, one that said it was “good” and the other said it was “excellent.” The recommendation of the annual meeting of the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems is based on one evaluation.

Chapman was the first to use the electronic form in February 2002 and, is the most frequent user of the program. According to STRS documents, Chapman is the only board member to file evaluations in 2003.

Chairwoman Deborah Scott, who at the June board meeting urged members to file evaluations, submitted one from the six trips she took.

None of the seminars were panned. In fact, 10 of the 13 evaluations said the meetings were excellent and others were said to be good, but still were recommended for other board members to attend.

Joseph Endry rated a convention in Anchorage, Alaska, as excellent “because of very current information about retirement system concerns.”

Chapman recommended the same meeting “based solely on the opportunity this convention provides for trustees to network with peers.” One of the sessions he attended discussed “the loss of faith in corporate America.”

In 2002, State Teachers Retirement System board members made 49 trips to conferences for which they were urged to file voluntary evaluations.

• Michael Billirakis spent $5,932 on four trips, filed no reports.

• Jack Chapman spent $14,684 on 12 trips, filed seven reports.

• Joe Endry spent $9,030 on six trips, filed two reports.

• Gloria Gaylord spent $3,803 on four trips, filed no reports.

• Paul Marshall spent $1,224 on one trip, filed no report.

• Rick Moore spent $2,735 on three trips, filed no reports.

• Eugene Norris spent $14,308 on seven trips, filed no reports.

• Deborah Scott spent $6,167 on six trips, filed one report.

• Hazel Sidaway spent $12,535 on seven trips, filed three reports.

*STRS Flashback* 5 years ago...."If Mr. Dyer is guilty of anything, it's doing what the board wants him to do." (ORTA's Joe Endry)

From John Curry, June 24, 2008
Subject: *STRS Flashback* 5 years ago...."If Mr. Dyer is guilty of anything, it's doing what the board wants him to do." (ORTA's Joe Endry)

Well, Joe, Mr. Dyer was found guilty of violating the Ohio ethics law in a criminal court. Did the "board" really want him to do that? Since many on that board were also found guilty of violating the same Ohio ethics laws...maybe you were onto something! John

Canton Repository, June 29, 2003

STRS bound by costly contract

By PAUL E. KOSTYU Copley Columbus Bureau chief

COLUMBUS -- Demanding that Herbert L. Dyer resign as executive director of the State Teachers Retirement System is one thing. Paying for it is another.

If the STRS board fired Dyer tomorrow, he would walk away with a $533,620 check. Unless the board can prove “malfeasance, misfeasance or nonfeasance,” Dyer gets paid for the rest of his 6-1/2 -year contract, which ends June 30, 2005.

If he resigns, he gets at least $133,405 because he must give STRS a six-month notice. That does not include pay for any unused sick or vacation time.

His contract gives him an incentive for awarding the STRS investment staff high bonuses regardless of how its investment portfolio does — the more bonuses they get, the more he gets.

Dyer has been under fire for three weeks for directing a pension fund that paid $15 million in performance bonuses and for artwork purchases and travel over three years. That was paid while the system’s investments plummeted by $12.3 billion and health-care contributions by retirees jumped significantly.

Privately, people in and out of the retirement fund are predicting Dyer will go, either on his own or because he will be forced out. One person said Dyer seems “more dejected” with “a different demeanor” than he normally projects.

But those who work with him say he remains in charge, goes about the business of the fund and has not talked about stepping down.

The chairwoman of the board, Deborah Scott of Cincinnati, has repeatedly and succinctly said, “Mr. Dyer is still the executive director.”

Marilyn Gibbs, a retired Plain Local Schools teacher, sent an e-mail June 12 to several people, including four members of the retirement system’s board. She asked, “I wonder if it’s time for someone to ask Mr. Dyer to resign.”

One board member responded.

Joseph Endry, the only member of the board who is elected to represent retirees, wrote back, “Well-written personal contracts are very expensive to break. Be patient.”

Asked to explain his message, Endry said, “It’s not that easy to break contracts. If Mr. Dyer is guilty of anything, it’s doing what the board wants him to do. He didn’t build this building.”

Among the criticisms of the retirement system is the spending on its posh, nearly $95 million headquarters in Columbus.

Dyer joined the teachers retirement system Jan. 1, 1993. He got a new contract in February 1997, and his current contract began Jan. 1, 1999. It was amended in April 2002.

Dyer’s contract calls for his pay to be adjusted annually based on the Consumer Price Index of the previous year or 3.5 percent, whichever is higher. The index has not been above 3.5 percent since 1991. Computations of Dyer’s base salary, however, show that his raises were actually above the 3.5 percent limit set by the contract.

In 2001, his base salary was $236,000 and rose to $256,260 in 2002, a $20,260 or 8.6 percent increase, according to STRS documents. It went up again this year to $266,810, which is a $10,550 or 4.1 percent increase.

Dyer also has received annual bonuses for meeting performance goals. His bonus is based on the weighted average of bonuses given to the STRS investment department multiplied by a percentage obtained from his annual evaluation.

In other words, the higher the bonuses paid to the STRS investment staff — whether the portfolio did well or not — the higher Dyer’s bonus.

For example, in 2002 the 110-member investment staff received $3.75 million in incentive bonuses for its work in 2001. The average bonus was $34,100. Dyer got a $41,052 bonus or 120.39 percent times the investment staff average.

You can reach Columbus Bureau Chief Paul E. Kostyu at (614) 222-8901 or e-mail: paul.kostyu@cantonrep.com

After the election: comments from Molly

From Molly Janczyk, May 12, 2008
Subject: The STRS Election: Local union letters

Congratulations to Tim Myers on being elected to the STRS Board.

I wish to comment on a items being circulated by Whitehall and most likely, I think, other local unions. I feel certain regardless of what is said, that Bill L. was the scribe or suggestor of items in a sample letter to the local school districts suggesting they send such letters to actives.

One ex. was Whitehall School District letter. I feel sure that similar letters went out in many if not most or all of the OEA schools. That is fine. We knew OEA had the money and power to completely overwhelm any efforts on our behalf. We expected all out efforts to reach actives. Unfortunately, we expected untruths as well and we got that.

1. CORE has NEVER fought against the 35 yr. rule. I have had that conversation with Bill L., McGreevy and other OEA officials on line and in person. I put out a very comprehensive letter to them and membership that BOTH retirees and actives benefited from HB 190 and precisely HOW each group benefited. I stated that NO ONE wants to take away benefits from one group over another. I HAVE fought to ensure this stand explaining it to any retirees who questioned this issue. The issue has been raised in discussion and this was always the result with NO EFFORT EVER FROM CORE TO FIGHT AGAINST THE 35 yr. rule.

Bill knows this. I continue to be saddened at the lack of integrity in the use of scare tactics so unneeded in what was going to be a landslide without lies (my opinion).

2. Another mistruth: CORE IS NOT against OEA but against OEA officials who have misled membership and who did not take steps to correct the problems with the former convicted OEA STRS Board members. CORE formed when OEA did not step up to provide oversight of the misspending which is verified and for which all the former OEA Board members were convicted of ethics violations.

That is NOT unfounded and hardly irrational. What is irrational is OEA not taking a stand in this cleaning house of its offending STRS Board members.

3. Misleading: CORE knows that OEA stated in the early 90s that legislation for a stream of revenue for health care was unnecessary. Joe Endry, former ORTA president went to the STRS Board back then and informed OEA of this need. OEA and STRS Exec. Direc. Herb Dyer, (OEA's choice for Exec. Direc.) did not feel it necessary. Dyer stated he wanted OUT OF THE HEALTH CARE BUSINESS! No long term planning was done to preserve health care and NOW OEA is working for HB 315, as is CORE, following CORE's efforts to clean up the Board and pursue CORE's number one goal: health care in retirement.

4. Naïve: It is naïve for anyone to think that there is no influence by organizations on STRS Board members. As attending membership clearly sees, the policies and mentalities are evidenced at every meeting. Similar organizational Board members tend to vote the same way, as happened with the former convicted STRS Board members who voted to approve every misspending item 100% of the time. An organization can and does infiltrate thinking and independence is not always evident though it is supposedly required. Block votes are very obvious by the same persons month after month very often.

We attend the meetings. We wish to help actives have health care in retirement. We wish for independent STRS Board members who listen to no organization but only adhere to the Ohio Revised Code to act solely on behalf of membership.

We want everyone to work for the same standard and nothing less. We want the leaders of organizations to stand tall with complete transparency and integrity. Where was OEA leadership in 2003 when all the information came out regarding their OEA STRS Board members who enjoyed $600 hotel rooms in Hawaii and Alaska, paying bar bills and flying from Ohio to NY for $1000? Where were they when STRS Board members awarded your money (interest on contributions) to huge bonuses, to pay for staff childcare, cars, credit cards, lunchroom, fitness center, and so much more. Unfounded? Irrational?

Had it not been for CORE, Leone and Lazares, those former OEA STRS Board members would still be enjoying the ride on your dime.

It remains a travesty that actives are not informed and take the word of organizations over their own research. We did the research and every item was found verifiable. Read the investigative reporters' articles on this issue. Plain Dealer: 6/08/03; 6/12/03 and more; Canton Repository: many articles. Leone and reporter Paul Kostyu of the Canton Repository won journalist awards for their STRS research. Cols. Dispatch, ONN, Cinci Ch. TV, Cols. TV, Dennis Shreefer -- radio talk show, Akron Beacon Journal, etc., etc.

Are they ALL irrational and unfounded?

No one could write the letters from the local(s) who is either not bending or misleading the facts, or who had bothered to actually find the truth.

This is not because Tim won as we knew he would do by a landslide as predicted by us. It is because we cannot seem to see any raising of the bar or complete integrity in doing so.

Molly Janczyk
OEA/NEA Lifetime
CEA Lifetime
ORTA Lifetime
CORE
STRS Retiree

Dennis Leone on 'Spin City': Nearly all policy changes of past 4 years needed because of OEA and ORTA's look-the-other-way culture

From Dennis Leone, April 12, 2008
Subject: RE: Spin City...another name for Columbus, OH?

Yes, and given all that happened between 1995 and 2003 under the leadership of the Dyer, the Fab 5, and Endry, it is astonishing to read that OEA -- under the so-called Plan B -- wants a board that “focuses on strategic governance matters rather than operational issues” and “observes a clear separation of board and CEO roles,” yet OEA (and in particular, Leibensperger and Frost-Brooks) have publicly resisted all of the recent motions I made which were designed to do precisely those things.

I guess OEA and ORTA still would prefer the executive director to have the unilateral power to “adopt all further policies” instead of being responsible for operations and administrative regs. I guess OEA and ORTA would prefer for the executive director to have the unilateral power to give rehired retirees at STRS all of their accumulated sick leave from their previous school district, even if they were paid for those days upon retirement. I guess OEA and ORTA would prefer the executive director to have the unilateral power to adopt his own policies pertaining to severance checks for laid off employees and the payment of private/personal legal fees of STRS employees. I guess OEA and ORTA would prefer the board to vote on big ticket contract issues without so much as having a summary of proposals before voting

In fact, nearly ALL of the 25-30 policy changes that have occurred in the past 4 years were needed because of a look-the-other-way culture that OEA and ORTA were part of. OEA is an embarrassment to active teachers. ORTA is an embarrassment to retirees. Some things never change.

Dennis Leone

FLASHBACK -- ONE YEAR AGO TODAY...does anybody in ORTA have any backbone?

From John Curry, April 12, 2008
I think we now know that answer, don't we? John

One year ago.....
Kathie Bracy to Tom Beck, April 12, 2007
Subject: To Franklin County RTA president Tom Beck re: Membership

Dear Tom,

That was a good meeting we had yesterday, and I want to commend you for your efforts as president of FCRTA. However, there are some issues that need to be addressed. I was just looking at the FCRTA website (http://geocities.com/fcrtaoh) at a page where you set forth your theme for your term of office as president of FCRTA -- "Make a Difference -- Again.....by signing up at least one new member." It's a very noble theme, but to be honest, I'm having trouble coming up with reasons to hang onto my own membership, let alone encourage others to sign up.

The problem I have is with the leadership of ORTA. They are totally unresponsive to the membership -- at least to the members I know who would like to hear from them. Many letters have been written to ORTA officers and board members about various topics pertaining to STRS; yet nobody gets replies! This is the second time I've written to you -- you don't reply, either, because I've yet to get a response to my first letter, written one month ago today.

I think if ORTA leaders were receiving a lot of mail commending their leadership, people would be hearing back from them regularly. It takes a lot of backbone to respond to messages that are critical of the way things are being done, and in the last few years, I haven't been able to think of much for which to commend ORTA.

I am a proud member of CORE (Concerned Ohio Retired Educators), the only retiree group that is aggressively working to bring about reform at STRS since Dennis Leone's investigative report of May 16, 2003 exposed many examples of blatant mismanagement and misspending of retiree funds. At the time, we looked to ORTA for leadership in initiating reform, but none was forthcoming and still hasn't. No wonder -- one of ORTA's own, former ORTA president Joe Endry, was one of the former STRS Board miscreants who were later convicted of ethics charges. Maybe it's easier to blame us for exposing him (along with the others) than it is for ORTA to take its lumps and move forward. I'm surprised Joe Endry has the nerve to show his face at FCRTA meetings. I might be more inclined to make an effort to bring a new member if I didn't think his would be one of the faces they would see there. Is ORTA still proud of him or what? I don't get it.

Retired STRS Board member Dennis Leone has done more than any other individual to initiate reform at STRS and to continue introducing reform initiatives at Board meetings. While he has received many distinguished honors for his efforts, ORTA has YET to recognize him for this. When he submitted his March 2007 STRS Report for publication in the ORTA Quarterly, ORTA's publications director, Tom Seamon, refused to publish it supposedly because Dr. Leone had shared it with some retirees and RTAs that had asked him to speak. When he asked Mr. Seamon why it was rejected, he never even received a response! If ORTA has a policy against publishing material that was already distributed, they never made that clear beforehand. There was a lot of information in that report that was much too important to wait a month or two to put out. Now ORTA is doing real harm to thousands of retirees who will probably never get that information any other way. Is this what ORTA wants? Is this real leadership? Is this the kind of organization I am supposed to encourage my friends to join?

To continue, when Dr. Leone asked ORTA president Don Bright if the rejection decision could be reconsidered, he never received a response from him, either! He also told Mr. Bright that he or Ann Hanning could have shown him a little respect by calling him in regard to the matter, but did they extend such a courtesy to him? No, of course not -- they are ORTA "leaders!" They have never contacted him about ANYTHING during his first 20 months on the STRS Board -- and he is representing RETIREES!! Helloooooo? ORTA -- is anybody out there??

When Dr. Leone asked Ann Hanning (in writing) if he could write another column to substitute for the first one which was rejected, AGAIN he never received a response. If this isn't proof that ORTA never wanted to publish his report in the first place, I don't know what is.

Does ANYBODY in ORTA have any backbone? ORTA doesn't respond to its own membership!! And they expect US to go out and get NEW members for their dying organization? ORTA needs to take a good look in the mirror and do some real soul searching to figure out WHY membership is declining. And they need to start with those who are the most critical, because those are the one who will best articulate the problems ORTA currently refuses to face. Leadership? What a joke! Get us to bring in new members? I don't think so.

Kathie Bracy
FCRTA and ORTA life member (but not proud of it!)

Molly and Dave on 'Spin City'

From Molly Janczyk, April 12, 2008
Subject: FW: : Spin City...another name for Columbus, OH?

OEA and ORTA want what they had in my opinion: No upsetting anyone and heads in sand -- let OEA do as it wishes and let's all smile about it and raise no points no matter what it looks like is going on. Smile, pats, pretense. Just no disagreement like happens in the real world. Live in a pretend one where we reward the likes of Jack Chapman, Dyer, Scott, Billirakis, Norris, Endry (just agree to everything) Sidaway and then praise them when they commit unethical violations but NEVER, NEVER admit fault! (My opinion).

From Molly Janczyk, April 11, 2008

Subject: RE: Spin City...another name for Columbus, OH?

It is a joke! It is surreal that blatant BS is accepted by so many clones who cannot think for themselves and form independent decisions. Well, soon enough, there will be one more to deliver a tea time majority vote with smiles and back pats just like the former Fab 5 and side kick Endry to form a voting majority once again. You can thank ORTA for helping bring that result. They can all go back to sitting in a calm, restrained room with no individual thinking just follow the mandate, make no waves, don't stomp feet, there is a way to do things: ORTA's mantra. OEA's dream! YEAH! We saw how effective that was cleaning up the old board and its leader: - 0 -

From Dave Parshall, April 11, 2008
Subject: FW: Spin City...another name for Columbus, OH?

What a joke. Actives really eat this up, I suppose, like sheep going over the cliff. Everything on their list is BS and can be summed up as “A rubber stamp board”. The future is always made up of many todays. If you don't take care of today there can be no future. Dave P

Golf, alcohol, vacations and HC crisis.....short term or long term vision of the 'visionaries'?

From Molly Janczyk, April 11, 2008

Subject: RE: Spin City...another name for Columbus, OH?

WOW! Unreal! WHERE was that long term vision and 'lawful' governing with former Fab 5 OEA Convicted Board Members and their tagalong Endry under the Arrogant Dyer who wanted out of the health care business! Long term alright! Just wrong visions of golf, alcohol, great vacations and NO SECURING A STREAM OF REVENUE FOR RETIREES WHEN THEY KNEW A HEALTH CARE CRISIS WAS LOOMING FROM THE EARLY 90's! ENDRY TOLD THEM THEY HAD TO DO SOMETHING! WHAT A JOKE!

Thanks John, This is great.

If it weren't for Dennis Leone.....

From Kathie Bracy (response to a letter)
January 8, 2008
(xxx) --

I'm curious. What do the Baldrige Principles say to do if somebody doesn't follow the rules? I'm glad you credit Dennis Leone for blowing the whistle on past mistakes, but what if mistakes are still occurring and nobody else on the Board is calling attention to it? Dennis is still a whistle blower (thank heavens), but he's still getting a lot of flak for it. If he brings up touchy issues in a "polite and civil" manner, he is ignored. If he doesn't turn up the volume in his pleas for oversight and action, nothing gets done about it. Do the Baldrige Principles tell board members what to do if everybody's being polite and civil to each other, but letting a lot of crappy stuff get by at the same time?

If Mark Meuser or any other Board members feel they're being insulted, there are ways to deal with it. If the Baldrige Principles don't address it, Board members themselves can do it, publicly or privately, whatever they wish; they're all adults and don't need intervention.

I believe the King of England and his Parliament would love to have had a good working relationship with the American colonists, too. Why do you think he didn't get it? When the old rules don't work, it's time for new rules. It sounds to me like the Baldrige Principles go only so far, but not far enough. I wholeheartedly agree with you on this point: "If he or she [the executive director] is not following policy, terminate them." And if, as you say, "all sides are to blame," then the spirit of reform is still alive and well. This won't last forever. Either reform will win out or we'll end up with the same kind of rubber-stamping, ethics-out-the-window Board we had before. Either way, the process is not going to be easy or fun.

Whether people like it or not, Dennis has brought about far more change than anyone else on the STRS Board. Had he not spoken up -- many times -- I wonder where we'd be now? How many changes have OTHER Board members initiated? The sounds I keep hearing are those of rubber stamps and Board members objecting to the one who dares to be vocal about wrongdoings. Here's a list I've put together:

Some of the things that would very likely still be going on if it weren't for Dennis Leone:

• Legal expenses paid for by STRS for staff members who hire their own lawyers outside STRS, for whatever purpose, without prior knowledge and consent of the Board

• Huge bonuses for over 300 non-investment staff members/employees who do no more than their day-to-day job (investment staff deserve the bonuses)

• Bonus checks for investment staff members would still be based, at least in part, on subjective factors instead of solely on benchmark factors

• STRS employees who adopt children would still be getting a $5,000 gift from STRS

• Cars for staff members and their families to use at their own discretion, permitted by official Board policy

• As many as seven Board members taking the same expensive trip and to faraway places such as Hawaii, Palm Springs, Anchorage, Kiawah Island, China, Africa; stays at fancy hotels with a minimum of "business" being conducted

• Free lunches/dinners at fancy restaurants; free booze; STRS paying beach bar bills

• Free use of STRS laptop computers in the homes of Board members, with no way of really monitoring whether the use of the laptops was personal -- in violation of Board policy

• Free credit cards for staff and Board members

• Free newspaper subscriptions, personal long distance phone calls, personal fax machines for Board members

• Unitemized lunch and dinner bills paid by STRS

• Thousand dollar plane tickets to New York, paid by STRS, with no requirement that far more economical reservations be made 30 days in advance

• Broadway shows, baseball games, concerts, trips to Kings Island and Columbus Zoo Light Show, etc., either at STRS expense or as gifts from companies doing business with STRS

• State Attorney General and State Auditor would still be on the Board

• Executive director would still be advising the Board to approve big money contracts without documentation, and most of them would be dumb enough (call it "trusting") to do it

• Lawyers would still be inserting language in such contracts after the Board approves it (thanks to the "trustworthy" executive director/staff)

• Free second night stays in Columbus and elsewhere (Orlando, etc.) for Board members, following meetings, for no legitimate reason

• Free hotel stays and meals for spouse/partner of Board member

• There would still be nine members on the Board, with no investment experts whatsoever

• Herb Dyer would still be there, along with a number of other Board members whose ethics prevented them from following the spirit and the letter of ORC 3307.15

• Child care services for STRS employees would not come close to covering the operating costs of the center; cafeteria services would not be cost neutral

• STRS would still be spending $5,000 a year to beautify the front lobby at Christmas time (remember all the poinsettias?)

• There would be no policy requiring that the Board receive copies of big ticket contracts before voting on them

• Free college education would still be offered/provided for employees, regardless of whether the employee gets a "C" or a "D" in the course

• STRS would still be buying tickets to the zoo for employees' families, then appropriating them for themselves so that somebody else would have to pay for the children to go, or they wouldn't get to go at all (talk about Grinches)

• Reimbursements for unused sick leave/vacation leave for employees who don't qualify

• There would be no policy prohibiting the awarding of sick leave accumulation to rehired retirees who were already paid for their accumulated sick leave at their previous public employer

• Escalating, unchecked administrative expenses; unchecked hiring of staff and employees

• Waterfalls would still grace the main lobby

• The Board still would be allowing the executive director to give severance cash and free health insurance to laid off STRS employees without formal board approval

• The Board still would be going into executive session, illegally, to discuss proposed policies

• The Express Scripts contract would not have several provisions that it currently does regarding the company’s fiduciary obligations with the board

• There would still be secret balloting by the Board

• There would be no statutory provision in Senate Bill 133 in 2004 that prohibited the likes of Jack Chapman, Hazel Sidaway, Eugene Norris, and Debbie Scott from ever serving on the board again because of their STRS spending habits

• There would be no language in Senate Bill 133 stipulating that future dishonesty on STRS Board election materials (such as saying that you are teaching social studies at Perry High School when you’re really not) will knock you off the board

• Mike Billirakis, Jack Chapman, Hazel Sidaway, Eugene Norris, Debbie Scott, Joe Endry and Herb Dyer would not have been convicted in court. Say what you want about it being an Ethics Commission investigation, but it was the Commission's head, David Freel himself, who said that Dennis Leone’s 2003 findings triggered the whole thing (along with Sondra Stratton pushing the Commission relentlessly in 2004).

It's been almost two years since those legal fees were paid by STRS. How come Dennis is the ONLY Board member (along with John Lazares) who sees this as WRONG and is trying to do something about it? How come NO OTHER Board members have brought it up? And WHY are they disturbed when Dennis brings it up (other than the fact that they don't like his behavior)? What else is going on that isn't reaching the surface here? What or who are they afraid of? I'd like to know, and so would a lot of other people. At the moment, we can only guess.

Kathie Bracy

Letter from a blogger

From Kathie Bracy, January 6, 2008

Hi (xxx) --

Hope you had a good holiday; this was one of the busier ones for me, and I'm ready to put it behind me and start getting caught up with things.

I hear what you're saying about ground rules and mutual respect, regarding the STRS Board, but the drum I hear even more loudly is the one that calls for a little more forceful action in the name of reform. Had the king of England and Parliament listened to the American colonists 200+ years ago, they might not have had a Revolutionary War on their hands. When serious issues continue to be glossed over instead of dealt with in a proper manner, those who are trying to put an end to all policies and decisions that run contrary to ORC 3307.15 are going to be less and less concerned with ground rules and mutual respect and more interested in Reform -- whatever it takes to accomplish it.

I know you aren't exactly thrilled with Dennis' style, but as I see it, it's the ONLY style that is getting a lot of things done on that Board. Had it not been for Dennis, you and I both know the corruption that was going on before (thanks to OEA "pillars" such as Mike Billirakis, Jack Chapman, Hazel Sidaway, Debbie Scott and Eugene Norris -- and one ORTA "pillar," Joe Endry -- and their good buddy Herb Dyer) would still be going on today. Yes -- fancy trips, dinners in fancy restaurants, free booze, cars, credit cards, baseball games, Broadway shows, and on and on. Free money for all -- hey, STRS is RICH -- let's just forget about those poor, sick retirees living on pensions less than $20,000 a year!

I know you and some others don't like to see the past dredged up time after time, and I get very sick of dredging it up myself. The big issue I see is this: the issues Dennis Leone brought to light should never have happened in the first place, as they ran totally counter to ORC 3307.15 -- and today's Board is STILL trying to do the same thing. Is it RIGHT to allow those legal fees to be paid? Is it WRONG for the Board to be aware of decisions the executive director is making and to intervene when it gets out of hand? Are we supposed to TRUST an executive director who slips credit cards to Board members without other Board members or the membership knowing about it? Or who expects the Board to approve big spending contracts with NO DOCUMENTS in hand, and allowing some willing lawyer to insert FURTHER language into it, AFTER it is approved? You know, it's been a LONG time since we've had an executive director we could trust.

I'm sure the "old Board" adhered nicely to the "Baldrige Principles." No doubt they had very civil, politely run meetings -- hey, they were all on the SAME SIDE -- greedy money grabbers; no need for uncivil behavior or attention to "ground rules." (xxx), you can criticize style all you want; it's the substance of the decisions of this Board that I and many others are continually eyeing -- we couldn't care less about "style." I'm sure there are Board members who hate the microscope we have put them under, but WE are the membership -- it's OUR money; and based on past history (much of which is still festering), how else are we going to get them to wake up and make ALL their decisions based on what is RIGHT and in accordance with ORC 3307.15? We'd ALL like to get the job done in a "civil" and "polite" manner, but when such approaches are not effective, what other choices are there? Hopefully the day will come when we CAN feel we can trust the staff to follow policy and make good decisions. We're not there yet.

If Mark Meuser is concerned about legal issues involved in having the Board be the only decision-maker, no problem -- that's why we have Neville and Patterson around. We don't want laws broken, either.

I, too, would like to see a more cooperative atmosphere on the Board, but that's not going to happen as long as they continue to rubber-stamp issues that are totally contrary to 3307.15 with only one or two Board members raising objections. Gee, if we didn't have those dissenters, they could operate very smoothly and in accordance with the Baldrige Principles -- wouldn't THAT be nice! And in no time we'd be right back where we started, with this nice little love affair between staff and Board. I'm not for it, (xxx). I'm for making right decisions and following existing policy, which doesn't say staff members should go out and hire their own lawyers without proper authorization, then expect the Board to pay those lawyers out of retiree funds. If we could TRUST staff and management, this kind of thing would never have happened in the first place. It would and should never have become an issue. Tell me something: if Dennis had not spoken up about this issue, who do you think would have? I don't see people like Mark Meuser bringing up things like this. It's a lot easier just to let them slip by, unnoticed by many. You don't look like a good little Board member to certain factions if you bring up stuff like this.

I'm sorry the fear of being "bashed" is keeping you from allowing me to post your comments on my blog. If you truly believe all that you are saying, then there is absolutely nothing to fear. Dennis has been bashed mercilessly and repeatedly since he exposed STRS management and Board in 2003, but he doesn't allow it to faze him because he and thousands of STRS members know he is right. Yes, there are those who would like very much to shut him up in the name of civility and politeness. But I say more power to him, because his way is the ONLY way that is bringing about change on that Board. (Notice he's always very polite when the Board is making the right decisions.) The "bad environment" has nothing to do with demeanor, but everything to do with Board decisions. Once that gets straightened out, I guarantee you will see more civility and politeness than you've ever seen anywhere, because there won't be any reason for anything less.

Thank you for writing, and Happy New Year. Let's hope the coming year will bring about what you want -- more politeness and civility on the STRS Board; and what I want -- good reason for more politeness and civility on the Board.

Kathie Bracy

Dennis Leone's INVESTIGATIVE REPORT on STRS: May 16, 2003

Hazel Sidaway and STRS: A flashback

From the OFT...an STRS flashback (Hazel Sidaway) from one year ago!

Cleveland Plain Dealer: 4 more convicted in pension case

Ex-board members took gifts from firm

Cleveland Plain Dealer
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Reginald Fields
Plain Dealer Bureau

Columbus -- Four more former members of the state teachers retirement board, including the past president of the state's largest teachers union, have been convicted of taking gifts from an investment firm doing business with the $65 billion pension system.

That makes six former State Teachers Retirement System board members and its past executive director who have been convicted of ethics violations for, in part, accepting Broadway play tickets in 2003 while the group was in New York City on official business.

Michael Billirakis, former president of the Ohio Education Association, Joseph Endry, Eugene Norris and Deborah Scott agreed to plea deals that spared them jail time.

The four each pleaded no contest in Franklin County Municipal Court Tuesday to one count of conflict of interest in return for prosecutors dropping related charges for taking other gifts and falsifying financial disclosure statements required by the state.

Billirakis, Norris and Scott were given $250 fines, suspended jail sentences, one year probation, 60 hours of community service and ordered to pay $275 in restitution to the board. Endry's deal is similar, but contains 30 hours of community service and no restitution, because he later repaid the Frank Russell Investment Group for his tickets.

"I think it is clearly overkill," said attorney H. Ritchey Hollenbaugh, who represented Endry and Scott. "The system is unfair to people that make an innocent mistake.

"It's very clear they were given tickets as they entered the theater, and it wasn't until much later that they became aware that the tickets weren't paid for by the state teachers retirement system, but had been provided by a vendor," Hollenbaugh argued.

Columbus assistant prosecutor Lara Baker disagreed.

"There was an itinerary provided to each of the individual board members that specifically stated that Frank Russell was hosting," Baker said of the tickets to the musical "Hairspray."

David Freel, executive director of the Ohio Ethics Commission, which investigated the case and recommended criminal charges, said the board members had come to expect royal treatment, but as volunteers for a state board they should have known better.

"It is particularly suspect when you think that this is a retirement system of public money," Freel said. "Why would these members have ever thought public retirement system money could pay for their personal entertainment?"

Former board member Hazel Sidaway took her case to trial in April and lost. She was convicted of accepting the musical tickets and for taking tickets to a Cleveland Indians game in 2001 from another investment firm.

Former member Jack Chapman pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor charges in June for taking sports and theater tickets.

And former executive director Herb Dyer pleaded no contest last September to failing to report gifts he received and was fined. Dyer was forced out in 2003 following revelations of extravagant spending by the teachers retirement system.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: rfields@plaind.com, 1-800-228-8272

John Curry to Lara Baker re: STRS Board members prosecution

From John Curry, Sept. 1, 2006

Ms. Lara Baker,

Ms, Baker, I wish to commend you and your staff for the dedication you have provided toward the furtherance of justice in your past successful prosecutions against Herb Dyer, Jack Chapman, and Hazel Sidaway. I also wish to commend you re. your current mission of prosecuting Eugene Norris, Michael Billirakis, Joe Endry, and Deb Scott.

I do wish to add that the Franklin County Muni Court has inadvertently misspelled the name of Billirakis in their entry in the system - and because of this, those who wish public access to his public folder on this website aren't able to obtain it.

All of my fellow STRS retirees are suffering and those with spouses are seeing healthcare insurance rates eight times higher than those of the public system that you will retire in. Current health care premiums in excess of $700 monthly are driving some STRS retirees to the poor house at a record breaking speed. Maybe if the misdeeds of some at STRS were reported to you several years earlier we would not be in these dire straights. I would like to think so. In any event, once again, you are owed a debt of gratitude and praise from this retiree.

Sincerely,

John Curry - an STRS retiree.

The Plain Dealer on current ethics charges and some hard questions re: Mike Billirakis and OEA involvement in STRS scandals

From John Curry, Sept. 1, 2006:

Tlcohio - Maybe you haven't been following CORE's emails over the last 3 years. I have not been a supporter of Mr. Billirakis.

I and others at CORE have criticized the leaders of the OEA for their lack of leadership by being asleep at the switch when the misspending, mismanagement, and entitlement philosophy blossomed at STRS under the leadership of Billirakis, Norris, Scott and other former OEA Executive Council members - also for the lack of forward thinking by not pressing for the increase in the employer contribution rate toward healthcare years ago as other state retirement systems have done.

We, at CORE, have cut Billirakis no slack - nor have I.

Billirakis was on the board when much of the items you mention below were approved by the STRS Board. We need active educators to help pass on the message of misdoings by the public officials at STRS. I hope you have helped by spreading the word. By the way, would you please share with me your name? When I write my articles or notes I do not do so anonymously. Since you didn't indicate that this letter should be confidential I will pass this on to the troops.

I notice that you used a reference below to the Education Intelligence Agency. I have read their website periodically. They are very much anti-organized labor, which I am not. I have also researched the salaries paid by the OEA to their employees through the U.S. Department of Labor website and have published this public information for three years running. The results below you have provided seem somewhat high for the year 1998 as compared to what I have seen from the U.S. Dept. of Labor, but I do agree that current active educators aren't getting the best bang for their bucks (annual dues) and OEA salaries are way above those of the classroom teachers. Once again, I am not against organized labor, but not all labor organizations have been corruption free either. I think the OFT has done an excellent job representing their members throughout the past and present. There are good ones and there are bad ones - just like STRS Board members and anyone else you come across when you walk down the street.

Sincerely,

John Curry
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From: Tlcohio@aol.com
Sent: Friday, September 01, 2006
Subject: Why no attacks on Billirakis, OEA-Connected STRS Scandals

John: Why no coverage and outrage about Mike Billirakis and his being criminally charged in Court this week for doing much of what Bob Taft did? Billirakis apparently did wrong and has been in control at STRS. Is that OK? According to one 1998 report shown below while Billirakis was at OEA he made much, much more money than the Governor in salary. Couldn't he afford to buy his own tickets when OEA people get paid so much? Is that OK? Let's hear more about Billirakis, OEA and their involvements in the scandals at STRS. Why doesn't Billirakis explain his wrongdoing and resign from STRS? If convicted, will Billirakis resign from his high NEA position? Did Billirakis approve the two fancy, wasteful waterfalls in the STRS Taj Mahal building? Thanks!
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Cleveland Plain Dealer/AP Newswire, Thursday, August 31, 2006

Ethics panel accuses 4 of violations

By Andrew Welsh-Huggins Associated Press

Columbus- The Ohio Ethics Commission charged three former members of the state teachers' retirement board and one current member Tuesday with failing to report gifts from companies doing business with the agency.

The filings in Franklin County Municipal Court bring to seven the number of officials with the State Teachers Retirement System who have been charged with ethics violations in recent years.

Michael Billirakis, a current board member, was charged with two counts of conflict of interest for accepting tickets to "Hairspray," a Broadway musical in New York, from the Frank Russell Corp./Russell Real Estate Advisors, now the Russell Investment Group, according to the Ethics Commission.

Billirakis, who is also a former president of the Ohio Education Association, the state's largest teachers union, was also charged with accepting tickets to a Cleveland Indians game from Salomon Smith Barney, now Citigroup, the commission said.

The retirement fund was doing business with both companies at the time.

Billirakis also was charged with two counts of filing false financial disclosure statements with the Ethics Commission for failing to report the companies' gifts. Such disclosure is required for all gifts over $75.

Billirakis is represented by Columbus attorney Terry Sherman, according to the Ethics Commission's Chief Investigative Attorney, Paul M. Nick. A message was left seeking comment.

Former board members Eugene Norris, Joseph Endry and Deborah Scott were each charged with one count of conflict of interest and a count of filing a false financial disclosure statement for accepting the "Hairspray" tickets.

Endry and Scott are represented by Columbus attorney Ritchey Hollenbaugh, Nick said. A message was left seeking comment. Nick said Norris did not yet have an attorney.

Norris has an address in Ann Arbor, Mich., but there was no phone listing for the address that was included in the charge filed against him. Each charge carries a punishment of up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

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Mike Billirakis: Executive Committee, National Education Association

Michael Billirakis, a social studies teacher at Perry High School in Perry (Lake County), Ohio, was elected to the National Education Association’s (NEA) Executive Committee in July 2002 and reelected in July 2005 for a second full three year tear, after fulfilling a one-year vacancy in 2001-02. He is now on the second year of his second full term. Billirakis has been active in the NEA since he began teaching 33 years ago at Field High School in Portage County, Ohio. During his tenure as president of the Ohio Education Association (OEA) – from 1994-2001 – Billirakis was at the helm when the OEA challenged the Cleveland voucher program, which was eventually upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. OEA joined more than 500 schools challenging Ohio’s public school funding formula, resulting in billions of additional dollars for education funding. Under his leadership, OEA also stopped the state from eliminating due process rights for teachers. In addition to serving as OEA’s vice president and president, Billirakis was president and an executive committee member of the Northeastern Ohio Education Association. He served on the Ohio Governor’s School Accountability Committee and currently sits on the board of directors for the State Teacher’s Retirement System, which has assets in excess of $67 billion, and is a Commissioner on the Education Commission of the States. After graduating from Youngstown State University with a bachelor’s degree in history and a Master’s in European history, Billirakis completed 30 hours of graduate study in education at Akron University. A native of the Island of Kalymnos in Greece, Billirakis immigrated to the Buckeye State when he was 12 years old. He and his wife, Valerie, now live in Pickerington, Ohio. Both of their daughters, Christine and Cynthia, are students at Ohio State University and are pursuing secondary education and elementary education, respectively. The NEA Executive Committee is composed of the three NEA officers plus six members elected at-large by the nearly 9,000-member-Representative Assembly.

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FROM 1998 web reports Education Intelligence Agency (June 1998), p. 17. During 1997, the highest paid (in gross salaries and expenses) OEA staff members, lobbyists, and labor negotiators/political organizers ("UniServ consultants") were:

1. Michael Billirakis president $166,733
2. William P. Sundermeyer executive director $164,347
3. William Dorsey secretary-treasurer $148,208
4. Gary Allen vice president $145,988
5. Benjamin Gerber UniServ consultant $145,112
6. Edward Spiezio UniServ consultant $144,309
7. Dennis Coughlan UniServ consultant $140,990
8. William Canacci UniServ consultant $140,537
9. James Romick UniServ consultant $140,241
10. Alan Adair, Jr. UniServ consultant $137,906
11. Dorothy Fay UniServ consultant $137,590
12. Thomas Scarpelli UniServ consultant $137,256
13. Charles Williams UniServ consultant $134,095
14. Mary Jo Shannon Slick UniServ consultant $132,971
15. Michael Shanesy UniServ consultant $131,912
16. Donald Looker UniServ consultant $125,058
17. Richard Bourgault executive director $120,608
18. Barry Bartelt computer services consultant $119,907
19. Richard Baker magazine editor $119,082
20. Jerome T. Rampelt director $116,272

An observation: OEA strangely silent

While the air (and my blog) is filled with talk about the latest round of ethics charges being brought against three former and one current STRS Board member, OEA and its bloggers seem very quiet on the subject. Perhaps they have their hands full, fending off a strike by OEA employees; or could it be because a former OEA president and two former OEA executive board members are among those being charged, making the list even longer that was started with Hazel Sidaway and Jack Chapman?

On another note, and to their credit, ORTA has published on their website Damon's recent letter announcing the latest round of charges - which includes one of their own, Joe Endry, former president of ORTA.

Stay tuned for further developments; this is far from over.

KBB

Columbus Dispatch: New ethics charges tied to vendors’ gifts

TEACHERS RETIREMENT BOARD

New ethics charges tied to vendors’ gifts

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

James Nash

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Four more current or former officials of Ohio’s second-largest pension fund were charged yesterday with breaking ethics laws by accepting Broadway and baseball tickets from vendors.

The misdemeanor counts against three former and one current State Teachers Retirement System board members are the latest in a lengthy investigation into vendors plying the unpaid board members with gifts.

Current board member Michael Billirakis was charged with two conflict-of-interest counts for accepting $275 tickets to the 2003 Broadway musical Hairspray from Frank Russell Corporation/Russell Real Estate Advisors and tickets to a 2001 Cleveland Indians game from Salomon Smith Barney. Both companies did business with the retirement fund.

Former board members Joseph Endry, Eugene Norris and Deborah Scott each were charged with one conflict-of-interest count for accepting the tickets to Hairspray in New York City.

All four board members were charged with failing to report to the Ohio Ethics Commission that they had received gifts worth $75 or more.

The violations are first degree misdemeanors punishable by fines as high as $1,000 or a six-month jail term.

Ethics Commission attorney Paul Nick, who is prosecuting the case with the Columbus city attorney’s office, said there was no evidence that any of the board members directed pension business to the vendors that offered them gifts. If that were the case, the board members would face more serious bribery charges, Nick said.

"It essentially is a classic conflict of interest," he said.

Three other former State Teachers Retirement System officials have been convicted of conflicts of interest for accepting gifts from vendors. Former board member Jack Chapman pleaded no contest to three counts, while former board member Hazel Sidaway unsuccessfully fought two charges. Former Executive Director Herb Dyer was charged with four counts and pleaded no contest to one under a plea bargain.

Nick said yesterday’s charges conclude the investigation of board members’ conduct, but prosecutors are continuing to investigate top-level staff members of the pension system.

Billirakis, Norris and Scott could not be reached or did not return calls yesterday. Endry said the criminal charges resulted from a "misunderstanding" because the pension system’s top staff did not advise him of the rules governing perquisites for board members.

As for the required disclosure form, "Well, I didn’t file it," Endry said. "That’s all I can say."

jnash@dispatch.com

OEC and Columbus City Attorney's office joint press release: Ethics violations filed against 1 current, 3 former STRS Board members

Press Release

August 29, 2006
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JOINT PRESS RELEASE: OHIO ETHICS COMMISSION AND COLUMBUS CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE

For more information, contact:

Ohio Ethics Commission
(614) 466-7090

or

Columbus City Attorney's Office
(614) 645-7483

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

ETHICS VIOLATIONS FILED AGAINST FORMER STRS BOARD MEMBERS

On Tuesday, August 29, 2006, Columbus City Attorney Richard C. Pfeiffer Jr.'s Office filed further charges upon complaints signed by the Ethics Commission's Chief Investigative Attorney, Paul M. Nick, alleging violations of the state's ethics laws against three former and one current Board Member of the State Teacher's Retirement System (STRS): Michael Billirakis; Joseph Endry; Eugene Norris; and Deborah Scott. The charges were filed in the Franklin County Municipal Court under case numbers 06 CRB 22161 (Billirakis), 06 CRB 22160 (Endry), 06 CRB 22162 (Norris), and 06 CRB 22159 (Scott).

The charges result from an Ohio Ethics Commission investigation initially referred to the Columbus City Attorney's Office on April 28, 2005. Although the Commission's extensive investigation found that each of these Board Members received multiple meals, gifts, and entertainment from investment firms managing STRS funds over the course of several years, the charges represent specific examples of wrongdoing.

Billirakis was charged with two counts of Conflict of Interest for accepting tickets to Hairspray, a New York City Broadway Musical Show, from the Frank Russell Corporation/Russell Real Estate Advisors and for accepting tickets to a Cleveland Indians game from Salomon Smith Barney, at a time when STRS was doing business with both firms. He was also charged with two counts of Filing False Financial Disclosure Statements with the Ethics Commission for failing to disclose Frank Russell and Salomon Smith Barney as sources of gifts in excess of $75. Norris, Endry, and Scott were each charged with one count of Conflict of Interest and a related count of Filing a False Financial Disclosure Statement for accepting and also failing to disclose the New York City Hairspray tickets from Frank Russell. These violations are all misdemeanors of the first degree, punishable by a maximum penalty of up to a $1,000.00 fine and/or six months in jail.

All four are scheduled for arraignment on Tuesday, September 19, 2006, at the Franklin County Courthouse, 375 South High Street, Columbus, Ohio, in Courtroom 4C at 9:00 a.m. The telephone number for information at the Municipal Court Criminal Division is 645-8186.

To date, three other STRS officials have been convicted as a result of this investigation by the Commission and the Columbus City Attorney's Office. Former Board Member Jack Chapman pleaded no contest and was convicted and sentenced on three Conflict of Interest counts on June 20, 2006. Former Board Member Hazel Sidaway was convicted after a jury trial of two Conflict of Interest counts, and was sentenced on May 11, 2006. Former Executive Director Herb Dyer was charged with four Conflict of Interest counts on August 2, 2005, and on September 1, 2005, in a plea bargain, Dyer pleaded no contest and was convicted of one of those charges, Filing a False Disclosure Statement.

Although these charges bring to an end the prosecution of former STRS Board Members, the Prosecutor has indicated that the investigation into the conduct of senior STRS employees continues.