*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

Flashback 2 years ago: STRS Board member Hazel Sidaway convicted; more to come

From John Curry, April 26, 2008
Subject: FLASHBACK-2 YEARS AGO- STRS Board member Sidaway convicted...the first of many more to come!

"Prosecutor Lara N. Baker said Sidaway and the board were part of a retirement system culture of entitlement. She said the board abandoned its responsibility to retirees and teachers. She said Sidaway took so many trips on the pension fund’s dime that it became a full-time job for her."

Ex-STRS board member Sidaway guilty

Canton Repository, April 15, 2006
By PAUL E. KOSTYU
COPLEY COLUMBUS BUREAU CHIEF

COLUMBUS - Hazel Sidaway was found guilty Friday of two counts of violating state ethics laws. The former Canton City Schools teacher faces a $1,000 fine and a 6-month jail term on each count. Eight jurors took two hours to arrive at their verdict after listening to testimony for three days in Franklin County Municipal Court. They said Sidaway was innocent of four ethics charges.

She was convicted of accepting four tickets, valued at $120, to a Cleveland Indians game in July 2001 and two tickets, valued at $550, to the Broadway show Hairspray in May 2003. She took family members to both events.

Sidaway’s attorney, H. Ritchey Hollenbaugh, said an appeal is unlikely. He said Sidaway had no regrets about going to trial. “She never considered a plea because to this day she believes she did nothing wrong.”

Judge Carrie E. Glaeden will sentence Sidaway on May 12.

Hollenbaugh said he will ask for leniency and that the judge “take into consideration other cases, like the governor’s.” Gov. Bob Taft was convicted of four ethics violations last year in a plea deal that netted him a $4,000 fine and court costs, but no jail time.

Hollenbaugh referred to Taft in his closing arguments Friday. “Did (Sidaway) play golf 52 times and not report it?” he said.

This was the second conviction in an ongoing investigation by the ethics commission of the State Teachers Retirement System, where Sidaway was a board member when she broke the law. Former Executive Director Herbert Dyer was convicted on a single ethics charge in a plea deal in September 2005. He was fined $1,000 and court costs and ordered to pay $394 in restitution to the retirement system.

Dennis Leone, the former superintendent and now retirement system board member who initiated questions about how the fund was operating years ago, said he hopes Sidaway is ordered to pay restitution.

“I wish other spending abuses that board members engaged in could be part of this decision,” he said.

Other board members and staff are on the prosecutor’s radar, some of whom went on the New York trip with Sidaway and others who may have violated ethics laws in other ways. Retirement system attorney Bill Neville attended the trial and took notes.

“We’d like to resolve (future) cases expeditiously,” said Paul Nick, chief investigator for the Ohio Ethics Commission. “I think they can see what is coming.”

“I think people will be paying attention,” Hollenbaugh said.

Sidaway cried and her lips quivered as Hollenbaugh made his closing arguments, telling jurors “she is not a criminal.” He said, “This case is an insult to the people who do public service.”

Prosecutor Lara N. Baker said Sidaway and the board were part of a retirement system culture of entitlement. She said the board abandoned its responsibility to retirees and teachers. She said Sidaway took so many trips on the pension fund’s dime that it became a full-time job for her.

Under cross examination by Assistant City Attorney Mickey Prisley, Sidaway said she considered the Broadway show a board meeting because conversations occurred before the show, during intermission and on the walk back to the hotel after the performance.

Prisley was incredulous, asking her repeatedly to justify the expense.

“I’m telling you,” Sidaway said firmly, “we had conversations at appropriate times in the evening.”

The commission initiated an investigation of the retirement system after media reports, including many by Copley Ohio Newspapers, in 2003 and 2004 raised questions about travel, bonuses, artwork and other items.

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

Note from John....what did the OFT have to say about this? Well, click here to see their commentary.

Double Dipping...as viewed by a retired judge and a retired educator

From John Curry, April 17, 2008
Subject: Double Dipping...as viewed by a retired judge and a retired educator
State legislators should change law on double dipping

BY HARRY E. KLIDE
Canton Repository, April 17, 2008

Those of us who have been privileged to retire from such occupations as teacher, police officer, firefighter, state or county officeholder or judge should be thankful for having fulfilled our dreams. We've had our day. We should step aside, deal with our aches and pains, draw our pensions and let the energized and young people fill our positions.

Unfortunately, too many of us who retire, for one reason or another, pursue the retire-rehire thing. We become part of a process that is known as double dipping. This practice has been around for a number of years and is legal. It enables politicians and civil servants to draw their pension while working in a similar full-time job.

OCCASIONALLY NECESSARY

In some circumstances, double dipping is acceptable and may even be necessary in rare instances if a position requires the unique experience and knowledge of a retiree and no one else is available. But double dipping has a negative effect, in that it denies the community new ideas and new blood.

When a superintendent of a school district resigns, gets his or her pension and then continues in his or her old job or becomes superintendent in another district, that means someone else was probably denied the opportunity to be a superintendent. In the present economic climate when so many teachers are being laid off, there is plenty of untapped talent among teachers and other educators who are looking for an opportunity to advance in their careers.

Furthermore, double dipping conveys the wrong impression to the community at a time when so many people are losing their jobs and homes and cannot support their families. They understandably believe that greed motivates double dippers.

As The Columbus Dispatch reported last September, elected officials in Ohio "were forbidden to double dip beginning in 1993. However, lawmakers say they unwittingly repealed the ban in 2000 amid changes to allow school districts to keep experienced educators who otherwise would have been lost to retirement."

Ohio law permits a state retirement system member to retire and subsequently be re-employed in a position that is covered by the same or another system, such as the Public Employees Retirement System, State Teachers Retirement System, School Employees Retirement System, Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund and State Highway Patrol Retirement System.

The Dispatch stated, "About 11,400 workers covered by the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System are drawing pensions and have returned to other jobs covered by the system." In the days ahead, this number will increase.

I am happy to note that Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Moyer is not in favor of judges' retiring and returning to the bench. He has called the move "working the system."

REFORM BILLS INTRODUCED

A few elected officials in Columbus are attempting to close the loophole that allows double dipping. It is about time. The Dispatch noted that House Bill 270, introduced by Rep. Michelle Schneider, R-Madeira, "would suspend the pensions of elected officials and public employees who return to the same or similar jobs within six months."

HB 240, introduced by Rep. Bruce Goodwin, R-Defiance, provides that those who want to double dip would have their salary capped at about 60 percent of their former salary.

The time has come for taxpayers to protest and compel their state legislators to focus on the practice of double dipping.

Regardless of how I feel about it, I cannot find fault with someone who is double dipping because he or she is only doing what is allowable by law. I find fault with those who make this right under our legal system.

Failure to correct this problem undermines trust and confidence in government because it encourages the notion that public officials are talking advantage of the offices to which they were elected to enrich themselves at the taxpayers' expense.

Many states outlaw or restrict double dipping. Isn't it time our state legislators take bold action to resolve this important issue?

Harry E. Klide is a retired Stark County Common Pleas judge.

http://www.cantonrep.com

From John Curry, April 17, 2008

Note from John - Well, I just had to comment on this article...so I will share it with you since the Canton Rep thinks it's too wordy.
I do understand Mr. Klide's position re. double dipping. As he is retired under OPERS and under the final average salary retirement formula from OPERS he (if not of Medicare age) only faces an $80 monthly healthcare premium through OPERS for his and his spouse's health insurance. Had he retired under STRS (as an educator) his monthly healthcare premium (non-Medicare age retiree) would currently be $850 per month or, over eight times as much! This is due to the lack of healthcare planning by an STRS administration and an OEA dominated board which (in the late 90's and early 2000's)was busy with entitlement, mismanagement, and misspending at STRS rather than carefully planning ahead for their educators' future retirements as did those who managed OPERS. In fact, a former Canton area educator and former STRS Board member, Hazel Sidaway, was convicted of Ohio ethics violations due to her acceptance of gratuities while being an STRS Board member. She was not alone as four of her fellow board members and fellow OEA members (Jack Chapman, Eugene Norris, Michael Billirakis, and Deb Scott)also were convicted of Ohio ethics violations that arose out of their STRS leadership (or lack thereof). Had they and the OEA spent their board leadership time planning ahead for the retirements of their fellow Ohio educators the current crop of retired educators wouldn't now be facing highway robbery healthcare premium rates and would not be rehired and/or never retired in the first place.

This lack of planning is causing current educators to stay in the classroom until they reach Medicare age so as to prevent paying premiums like the ridiculous $850 a month that retired educators now face with an STRS retirement. This compounds the problem of finding jobs for newly graduated teaching candidates as there are no job openings in Ohio's schools thanks to educators not retiring and/or being rehired due to this obscene monthly healthcare premium.

The STRS administration and board has now been pretty well "cleaned up" thanks to being exposed by former Chillicothe Schools Superintendent Dr. Dennis Leone who now sits on the STRS board as a retiree representative and STRS reformer and the Canton Repository's investigative reporting of Paul Kostyu, who won an award for his investigatory reporting of Ohio STRS in a series of revealing articles. Even though the STRS has been reformed (for the most part), there are still educator retirees who face these ungodly monthly healthcare premiums due to this mismanagement and lack of planning...something that OPERS retirees don't face. I do understand that many retired superintendents are really not "hurting" with 88% of their final average salary coming in each month...they certainly are able to pay the stiff tariff of eight hundred fifty bucks monthly but, many educators who retired before the 88% final average salary came into being retired with the 66% formula. 88% of a superintendent's salary is a whole lot more than 66% of a classroom teacher's salary. This is why we see all those older educators still in the classroom and why some teachers double-dip. In their case, double dipping is a necessity.

John Curry
A retired educator and member of CORE (Concerned Ohio Retired Educators)

After submitting my comments, I immediately received this comment from the Canton Rep:

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Kostyu on tackling public corruption; STRS cited as example

From John Curry, April 10, 2008
Subject: An Ohio "Corruption" bill (SB 219)...Ohio STRS mentioned...when does the clock start ticking for those who offered gratuities?

Tackling corruption

Canton Repository, April 10, 2008
BY PAUL E. KOSTYU
REPOSITORY COLUMBUS BUREAU CHIEF

COLUMBUS Investigations into the state's pensions systems and the Bureau of Workers Compensation several years ago has led to legislation that expands the reach of prosecutors and the Ohio Ethics Commission to go after public corruption.

Senate Bill 219, which passed the Ohio House unanimously Wednesday, equalizes the time frame that prosecutors and the ethics commission have to charge public and nonpublic officials with corruption. The bill, sponsored by State Sen. Kirk Schuring, R-Jackson Township, passed the Senate in December.

The bill now goes to Gov. Ted Strickland. A spokeman said Wednesday that Strickland will sign the bill.

Current law says public officials must be charged with corruption and ethics charges within two years after leaving office. However, those who corrupted the officials had to be charged within two years of the crime being committed.

Typically, that meant an earlier start of the clock.

David Freel, executive director of the commission, said the time difference often prevented the commission from going after those who gave illegal gratuities or things of value to public officials, who themselves were convicted of accepting the gifts. The legislation requires charges for public and nonpublic officials to be filed within two year of a public official leaving office.

The commission initiated an investigation of the State Teachers Retirement System after a series of stories by The Repository in 2003 and 2004 that pointed out problems with the system. Seven pension officials, including a former Canton teacher, were convicted of ethics charges.

"The message is," Schuring said, "that those who violate the public trust cannot avoid scrutiny and ultimately punishment."

Reach Repository Columbus Bureau Chief Paul E. Kostyu at (614) 222-8901 or e-mail:

paul.kostyu@cantonrep.com

In whose league are they playing.....Major League or Minor League?

From John Curry, April 6, 2008

Subject: ...as I sit and listen to my STRS CDs and ponder....whose league are they really in?

...as I sit and listen to my STRS CDs of the March '08 board meeting I reflect upon all the guff that Dr. Dennis Leone has to take and still get his motions passed so that reform is still taking place in our retirement system. My schedule of working 12 hour shifts, so as to afford affordable healthcare insurance for my spouse (whose healthcare premium subsidies were trashed by STRS several years ago) and myself...after 30 years of teaching in Ohio's public schools, makes it rather difficult to actually attend live STRS Board meetings. Still, I can get rather up close and personal when it comes to really hearing all the petty bickering by some board members that surfaces when Dennis introduces an idea that embodies reform. The funny thing is....many of those Leone-initiated motions were, at first, attacked by some on the Board who decried the very concept of such a reform-minded motion....only then, sometimes months later, to actually vote in the affirmative on the very same motion after the concept actually penetrated the logic center in their brains!

What were they thinking -- or were they thinking? Who are these Board members who initially just couldn't comprehend what Dennis was trying to do? Well, they just happened to be the ones who were strongly endorsed by the OEA!

Tom Mooney (the former President of the Ohio Federation of Teachers), before his untimely death, did realize what Dr. Dennis Leone was trying to accomplish at STRS....and told us so...in very open and honest speech to CORE members back in June of 2006...a meeting which I was lucky enough to attend. Too bad Tom's words weren't taken heart by some of those OEA-anointed persons who now represent "labor" (i.e.. classroom teachers and administrators) on the current (and even the past) STRS Board. Tom would roll over in his grave if he knew what has transpired at STRS Board meetings since his passing.

Compounding the problems mentioned above, I feel that there is another reason that some on the Board fail to realize: that they are dealing with a guy (Dennis Leone) who is "out of their league" when it comes to the concept of openness in government and the public's right to know that we now call the "Sunshine Laws" and the "Freedom of Information Act." It might behoove them to revisit history to see that the one they sometimes belittle (Dr. Leone), for what some of them have called micromanaging is actually one step ahead of them and doing what he does for their benefit and the benefits of over 300,000 STRS stakeholders. They tend to forget two items listed below:

Awards- Society of Professional Journalists- Ohio Chapter http://www.centralohiospj.org/?page_id=5

Chapter award winners

First Amendment Award

This award recognizes significant contributions to the First Amendment rights of freedom of expression. Individuals and organizations both inside and outside of journalism are eligible.

2007 - Marc Dann, Ohio attorney general
2006 - Fred Gittes, Gittes & Schulte
2005 - State Rep. W. Scott Oelslager, R, Canton
2004 - Dennis Leone, former superintendent of Chillicothe Schools
2003 - Martin Rozenman, Suburban News Publications
2002 - Catherine Candisky and Darrel Rowland, The Columbus Dispatch
2001 - Staff of the Ohio State University Lantern
2000 - Thomas A. Schwartz, OSU journalism professor
1999 - Cliff Wiltshire, Suburban News Publications
1998 - Verne Edwards, Delaware Gazette
1997 - Frank Deaner, Ohio Newspaper Association
1996 - Martin Yant, Ohio Observer magazine
1995 - Staff of the Ohio University Post
1994 - The Columbus Dispatch and Editor Bob Smith
1993 - not presented
1992 - Alan D. Miller, The Columbus Dispatch
1991 - The Fairfield County Leader
1990 - Luke Feck, former Dispatch editor
1989 - Andrew Douglas, Ohio Supreme Court Justice
1986 - Sam Perdue, Columbus Citizen-Journal city editor and columnist
1983 - Judge John W. McCormac of the Franklin County Court of Appeals

Item #2... the 2005 "Ethics in Government Award"

This award was presented to Dr. Leone by the Government Finance Officers Association. This award was described by the Bowling Green State University Retirees Association Newsletter as an award presented "For exposing a terrible and arrogant entitlement culture at the State Teachers Retirement System beginning in 1995, the Government Finance Officers Association presented its 2005 Ethics in Government Award to Dr. Dennis Leone in Cleveland Sept. 14 (2005)."

Since this presentation was obtained by this STRS retiree in the form of an Adobe Acrobat Reader, I'll have to give you a link to go to for details of this award...it (along with other background on Dr. Leone, as well as Dr. Paul Kostyu - who wrote nearly 100 articles re. the STRS fiasco) can be found by clicking on the following link:

http://www.bgsu.edu/downloads/execvp/file15866.pdf

The bottom line is...Dennis is thinking and acting "out of their league" when it comes to the betterment of a retirement system for all STRS stakeholders (active and retired). For those Board members who continually stonewall reform at STRS Board meetings comes an award also presented by the Society of Professional Journalists - Ohio Chapter. They, in my mind, are strong contenders for the "other award" that the SPJ also presents each year, The "Brick Wall Award" is described below...along with its dubious list of award winners. Care to nominate a few current STRS Board members for this award? I have a few in mind!

John

Source: http://www.centralohiospj.org/?page_id=5

Brick Wall Award

Started in 2001, this dubious distinction is presented to the individual or organization that, according to chapter members, did the most to block citizen access to public records and proceedings or otherwise violated the spirit of the First Amendment during the past year. Anyone is eligible, but special consideration will be given to public officials and tax-funded agencies that fail to follow the law.

2007 - Ohio Supreme Court justices Paul Pfeifer, Judith Ann Lanzinger, Terrence O’Donnell, Evelyn Lundberg Stratton and Alice Robie Resnick

2006 - The Ohio Supreme Court for a series of decisions which weakened Ohio’s Open Records law. Particularly onerous was the court’s decision to recognize “executive privilege” for the Ohio governor’s office in Dann v. Taft. This exception is not in the state’s Open Records statutes or the Ohio Constitution. In other record-shielding decisions, the court has blocked newspaper access to photographs of police officers and to the home addresses of state employees – both longstanding public documents.

2005 - Sen. Larry Mumper, R, Marion: Sponsored “Academic Bill of Rights” to limit what professors can say in the classroom; Jacqueline Piar, superintendent of Northridge Local Schools: Dismissed the high school principal and sent public records out of the county to shield them from view and asked the Licking County sheriff to drop a criminal investigation.

2004 - Ohio Consumers’ Counsel Robert S. Tongren: Destroyed a $579,000 consultants’ report to hide it from public scrutiny

2003 - Village of New Rome: Refused to provide documents showing how money was spent or how some officials came to occupy their offices

2002 - The Ohio Historical Society: Refused to follow Ohio laws regarding open meetings or public records, even though it received 75 percent of its annual funding from taxpayers; kept executive salaries secret

2001 - Judge Thomas E. Louden of Delaware County Juvenile Court: Sued by The Columbus Dispatch when he improperly closed a detention hearing and posted deputy sheriffs at the doors of the Delaware County Courthouse to keep the media out of the building)

FLASHBACK -- 4 Years Ago -- Herbie gets the raspberries and Gary can't follow Dennis's logic!

From John Curry, June 15, 2007
Subject: FLASHBACK -- 4 Years Ago -- Herbie gets the raspberries and Gary can't follow Dennis's logic!

My what a difference 3 years make. Herbie hit the bricks and Gary ate some crow! John

"Meanwhile, the Ohio Education Association came to the defense of Dyer and the STRS. The teacher union’s president, Gary L. Allen, sent an e-mail message to his executive committee, district leaders, advisory council, local presidents and STRS board members questioning the motives of Dennis Leone, the Chillicothe City Schools superintendent who is largely responsible for calling attention to the STRS spending spree."

“Mr. Leone’s motives for his decision to broadcast his claims far and wide are unclear,” Allen wrote. “Much of his logic is difficult to follow.”

Allen suggested that Leone’s effort were “destructive.”

New leadership urged for state retirement system

Canton Repository, June 13, 2003
By PAUL E. KOSTYU
Copley Columbus Bureau chief

CHILLICOTHE — A lawmaker who helps oversee Ohio’s five retirement systems called Thursday for the resignation of the executive director of the State Teachers Retirement System, while another said the system’s books need to be audited.

Sen. Kirk Schuring, R-Jackson Township, said it is time for Herbert Dyer to go, following revelations this week that the system has spent more than $15 million on staff bonuses, artwork and travel in three years while the system’s investments plummeted by $12.3 billion during that same time.

Schuring said Dyer has lost the confidence of the STRS members and new leadership is needed. In his fifth year on the Ohio Retirement Study Council, Schuring is its former chairman.

Rep. John Boccieri, D-New Middletown and a council member, said Dyer does not understand that the money spent by the STRS board “is not the board’s money or his money.” Boccieri, whose parents are STRS members, wants an audit of the system’s books, but he said calling for Dyer’s resignation “is a bit premature.”

State Auditor Betty Montgomery said in an e-mail Thursday she was concerned about “what we are being required to do in our state retirement systems” and that her office will “raise serious questions” about STRS policies.

Meanwhile, the Ohio Education Association came to the defense of Dyer and the STRS. The teacher union’s president, Gary L. Allen, sent an e-mail message to his executive committee, district leaders, advisory council, local presidents and STRS board members questioning the motives of Dennis Leone, the Chillicothe City Schools superintendent who is largely responsible for calling attention to the STRS spending spree.

“Mr. Leone’s motives for his decision to broadcast his claims far and wide are unclear,” Allen wrote. “Much of his logic is difficult to follow.”

Allen suggested that Leone’s effort were “destructive.”

While Allen was sending his message to OEA leaders, the union’s rank and file were lining up behind the superintendent who has become a hero to many.

Leone, lawmakers and news media reported getting numerous calls and e-mail messages backing his efforts and calling for action. All 120 e-mail messages Leone received from administrators, teachers and retirees thanked him, asked how they could help or encouraged him to continue. A couple suggested a class action lawsuit.

Allen said there was no relationship between his criticism of Leone and the fact that a current STRS board member is a former OEA president.

Michael Billirakis is a past president of OEA and Dawn Leibensperger, the wife of an OEA employee, was active in his election bid. Leibensperger is an OEA president in Dublin, in central Ohio.

Billirakis billed STRS $9,923 over three years for expenses, including trips to San Francisco, Boston (twice), Atlanta, Tacoma, Wash., and Anchorage, Alaska. He was one of the lowest spending board members. The top spender is Hazel Sidaway of Plain Township, who spent $54,216, which included 25 trips requiring airfare.

Allen said the past spending habits of Dyer and the board are “old news” and it is time for the system to move forward. He said, however, changes should be made in how bonuses are awarded to employees.

Schuring said he has heard repeatedly from constituents who have been in touch with Dyer.

“I am appalled with the kind of response my constituents have gotten from him,” he said. “He is a brash, arrogant and condescending man.

“We need a new leader who takes these matters seriously and not be part of any plan to spend money unwisely.”

Sen. Lynn R. Wachtmann, R-Napoleon and chairman of the council, wrote to a constituent in February that STRS did not move fast enough to prevent cuts in the health-care benefits of retirees. Wachtmann said earlier this week that he wants more hearings on the STRS spending and its health-care program.

Sen. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana but not on the study council, also writing to a constituent, said on May 28 that “Mr. Leone raises a number of valid issues pointing (to) mismanagement and inefficient use of funds by STRS.”

Leone said his motive is clear: “To get the board to change its spending practices and respond to its members.”

“This year there was a long and ugly teacher strike in the Eastern Local School District south of Chillicothe that the OEA rightfully supported,” Leone said. “What would have the reaction been from OEA and teachers if they found out the Eastern school board was spending like the STRS board? There would have been outrage if the board was flying to Hawaii, giving principals bonuses and purchasing polished stones for the superintendent’s office.”

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

paul.kostyu@cantonrep.com

FLASHBACK -- 3 years ago -- The day Deb, Eugene, Jack & other STRS travelers won't forget!

"In the wake of media reports last year about questionable spending on travel by pension board members, the legislation prevents the re-election or appointment of anyone who spent an average of $10,000 annually from 2000 through 2002 on board-paid travel.

"At the State Teachers Retirement System, that means board member Deborah Scott will be prevented from running for re-election. It also means current board chairman Eugene Norris, who was defeated recently in his re-election bid, cannot be appointed to a seat being vacated by Jack Chapman when he retires this summer."

Ohio House approves pension reform bill

Canton Repository, May 26, 2004
By PAUL E. KOSTYU
Copley Columbus Bureau chief

COLUMBUS — After last-minute maneuvering, a reworked pension reform bill passed the Ohio House on Tuesday. It will go to the Senate today for its concurrence.

A revised Senate Bill 133 finalized behind closed doors Monday reached the House floor late Tuesday.

Some Republicans joined Democrats in an unsuccessful attempt to defeat the bill because they wanted to keep active members of each system in the majority on the respective boards.

Among other changes, the legislation adds three investment appointees to each board — one by the state treasurer, one by the governor and joint appointee by the president of the Senate and speaker of the House.

The reform bill comes on the heels of a report from the Ohio Ethics Commission that alleged criminal wrongdoing at the Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund. That report has been sent to the Franklin County prosecutor.

The ethics commission is continuing its investigation of the State Teachers Retirement System. That report is expected within the next couple of months.

The long-stalled reform measure picked up speed within the last couple of weeks after Gov. Bob Taft brought stakeholders together to work out their differences. The Legislature also wanted to get something done before adjourning this week for the summer and the campaign season leading to the November election.

Senate President Doug White, R-Manchester, said the Senate will concur in the House changes today, which will send the bill to the governor for his expected signature.

The newest version of the bill, sponsored by Sen. Lynn R. Wachtmann, R-Napoleon, changes the makeup of all five of the state’s public pension system boards. The state auditor and attorney general have been removed from the boards.

Also, an additional retiree will be added to the boards of four systems. The police and fire fund already has two retirees.

An earlier Buy Ohio provision requiring a certain percentage of business go to state-based brokers and investment managers was watered down. Now, each board will have to set an annual goal for using Ohio companies and file a report about their use with the Ohio Retirement Study Council.

In the wake of media reports last year about questionable spending on travel by pension board members, the legislation prevents the re-election or appointment of anyone who spent an average of $10,000 annually from 2000 through 2002 on board-paid travel.

At the State Teachers Retirement System, that means board member Deborah Scott will be prevented from running for re-election. It also means current board chairman Eugene Norris, who was defeated recently in his re-election bid, cannot be appointed to a seat being vacated by Jack Chapman when he retires this summer.

The bill also requires people who promote themselves or companies to the pension systems to register as lobbyists.

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

Senate Bill 133: Reforms Ohio’s five public pension systems to improve oversight. Passed the House Banking, Pension and Securities Committee 13-8; passed the Ohio House, 57-42.

FLASHBACK-3 YEARS AGO -- STRS Bonuses disclosure despite the utterance of confidentiality

STRS director won’t pocket $40,000 bonus he wanted
Canton Repository, May 19, 2004
By PAUL E. KOSTYU
Copley Columbus Bureau chief

COLUMBUS — Under pressure from lawmakers and members of the State Teachers Retirement System, Executive Director Damon Asbury will not accept a bonus he earlier said was due him for work in fiscal year 2002-03.

The bonus, worth about $40,000, was subtracted from the package Asbury plans to recommend to the pension board Thursday. The bonuses to 370 investment and noninvestment employees will cost the system $3.81 million.

After maintaining for days that the dollar amount for each employee was confidential, the retirement system Tuesday released the names of employees and the bonuses they are receiving.

The list shows that F. Cassandra Hill, a teacher in the system’s child-care center, will receive the smallest bonus, $174. Her 2003 salary is $31,000.

The highest bonus goes to James M. Meeth, director of fixed income and an investment employee, who will receive $79,905, which is more than half of his 2003 salary of $140,020.

Laura Ecklar, a retirement system spokeswoman, said Asbury decided he should not personally benefit from a recommendation he makes to the board. Until Tuesday, Asbury had maintained that he should get the bonus just like all other eligible noninvestment employees. She said she did not know the exact amount of Asbury’s projected bonus because it was not on the list made public.

As deputy executive director for administration in 2001-02, Asbury received $49,728 as a bonus. As executive director, Asbury now makes $189,500 annually.

The bonus program for noninvestment employees was eliminated in the wake of media reports last year about spending on bonuses, artwork, travel and other expenses while the system’s portfolio declined and members’ health-care costs increased.

The program awarding bonuses to investment employees was reinstated but in a modified form. It now ties part of the amount each person receives to the overall performance of the entire retirement system portfolio. In the past, the bonuses were linked to how well the accounts managed by each employee faired.

Asbury said bonuses should be paid to investment and noninvestment employees to avoid potential lawsuits. He made that decision based on advice from Assistant Attorney General John E. Patterson, the attorney for the board. Patterson’s boss, Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro opposes the plan.

Although Asbury’s current contract prevents him from receiving bonuses, that’s not the case for Stephen A. Mitchell, deputy executive director of investments. According to his contract, Mitchell receives a 20 percent bonus if more than half of his staff qualify for one. In Asbury’s plan, Mitchell is budgeted to receive $48,470, based on a July 2003 salary of $242,350.

Most of the highest bonuses went to the investment staff, with some ranging from $30,000 to $60,000. Some noninvestment staff have proposed bonuses in the $10,000 to $30,000 range. Retirement system lobbyist Teresa M. Bierdeman, for example, is scheduled to receive $26,343. Her annual salary is $112,100. Retirement system general counsel Cynthia E. Hvizdos earns $129,120 and will get a $29,052 bonus under Asbury’s plan.

But those pale in comparison to Asbury’s two deputy executive directors, Sandra L. Knoesal, who oversees member benefits, and Robert A. Slater, who is chief financial officer. They will receive $43,324 and $46,573, respectively.

You can reach Copley Columbus Bureau Chief Paul E. Kostyu at (614) 222-8901 or e-mail:

paul.kostyu@cantonrep.com

Flashback, 3 years ago: STRS workers to get nearly $4 million in bonuses

“Oh my God,” said state Rep. Michelle Schneider, R-Cincinnati, and sponsor of legislation to reform the state’s five pension systems. “They just don’t get it. The nightmare continues.”

STRS workers to get $3.85M in bonuses

Canton Repository, May 12, 2004
By PAUL E. KOSTYU
Copley Columbus Bureau chief

COLUMBUS — Employees of the State Teachers Retirement System will get bonuses worth $3.85 million from a program that was suspended in the aftermath of revelations about excessive spending last year.

Retirement System Executive Director Damon Asbury said late Tuesday night that he will recommend to the Retirement System board next week that payments be made to 371 investment and noninvestment employees for work done in the 2002-03 fiscal year.

Asbury said he felt the system had a legal responsibility to make the payments because employees participated in the program expecting to earn bonuses for meeting “stretch goals.”

Employees met their stretch goals, for example, by attending workshops, talking to parents and keeping spreadsheets of expenses, according to information first reported in July 2003 by Copley Ohio Newspapers.

Asbury made the decision based on an Ohio attorney general opinion issued late last year, but not made public. He said the report indicated that a valid bonus contract existed between the system and employees.

“Oh my God,” said state Rep. Michelle Schneider, R-Cincinnati, and sponsor of legislation to reform the state’s five pension systems. “They just don’t get it. The nightmare continues.”

Asbury said he intended to brief key lawmakers Tuesday, including Schneider, but couldn’t because of the Legislature’s busy calendar. But he said state Sen. Lynn R. Wachtmann, R-Napoleon, and another sponsor of reform legislation, knew about Asbury’s decision earlier this year. Wachtmann, who is also chairman of the Ohio Retirement Study Council, could not be reached Tuesday night. The council meets today.

“This is not a step in the right direction,” said Schneider, a member of the council. “It absolutely hurts the effort to restore faith and trust in the system.”

Thomas Curtis, a retired teacher from North Canton, called for Asbury’s resignation immediately. He said Asbury told retirees “there was no contract” with noninvestment employees and they would never get bonuses. “This is totally against what he told us. I am disgusted.”

Asbury said he had heard informally that employees planned to sue the system over the bonuses. He said he had hoped to have the issue settled in January, but “we didn’t want it to get in the way of the pension reform bill in the Legislature.”

John Lazares, a Warren County superintendent who was just elected to the board but will not take office until September, wondered if there was another motive. He beat incumbent board member and chairman Eugene Norris by less than 300 votes Saturday. He said the margin would have been even greater had this news come out sooner.

“I ran on the issue that we have to rebuild confidence and respect for the system,” he said. “I know this will devastate members. I don’t support it.”

Asbury said there is money in the system’s budget this year to pay the bonuses, but not in next year’s budget.

“We need to move forward,” he said. “This is a carry-over from our past. It’s unfortunate. This is one thing we have to deal with head-on. I understand the sentiment on both sides. It’s not a decision I took lightly. I agonized over it, but I feel it is the right decision in the best overall interest of the system.”

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

Paul Kostyu: Ex-STRS board members face ethics charges

By Paul E. Kostyu, Copley Columbus Bureau chief

Canton Repository, August 30, 2006

COLUMBUS -- Ten charges of violating state ethics laws were filed Tuesday against four former board members of the State Teachers Retirement System. One of those under investigation said he would not contest the charges.

The news comes in the midst of another controversy brewing at the retirement system over the payment of legal bills to three staff members who testified at the trial of former board member and Canton City Schools teacher Hazel Sidaway. She was convicted in April of two counts of violating state ethics laws.

Joseph I. Endry, a retired teacher and former retirement system board chairman from Westerville, said he would either plead guilty or no contest to one count of filing a false financial disclosure statement and one count of conflict of interest.

“It’s unfortunate,” Endry said. “We were following the rules that STRS told us that were in effect. Apparently, a judge says those are wrong rules. When we did it, we thought it was all right. We find out now that it isn’t.”

Similar charges were filed against Eugene E. Norris of Columbus and Deborah Scott of Cincinnati. Both are former leaders of the board.

“I’ve got nothing to say,” Norris said.

A message left for Scott was not returned.

Messages for Michael N. Billirakis of Pickerington also were not returned. Billirakis, an executive committee member of the National Education Association and a current board member, was charged with four counts of ethics violations — two for conflict of interest and two for filing a false disclosure statement.

All four are accused of accepting and failing to disclose tickets to the Broadway show “Hairspray” from the Frank Russell Corporation/Russell Real Estate Advisors. Billirakis also is accused of accepting and failing to disclose tickets to a Cleveland Indians game that he got from Salomon Smith Barny. The retirement system was doing business with both firms at the time.

The charges, all first-degree misdemeanors, are similar to the two Sidaway was found guilty of and the three Jack H. Chapman of Reynoldsburg pleaded guilty to in June. Each charge can bring a maximum penalty of up to a $1,000 fine and six months in jail. Both Sidaway or Chapman received suspended jail sentences, were placed on probation, ordered to pay fines and perform community service.

The board members received “multiple meals, gifts and entertainment from investment firms managing STRS funds,” according to Paul M. Nick, the chief investigative attorney for the Ohio Ethics Commission. The charges represent specific examples of wrongdoing, Nick said.

All four are scheduled to appear in Franklin County Municipal Court at 9 a.m. Sept. 19 in courtroom 4C.

The ethics commission investigation began in October 2003 after media reports, including many by Copley Ohio Newspapers, raised questions about travel, bonuses, artwork and other items.

Nick said the latest charges represent the end of the investigation against board members, but an investigation of senior staff continues. He would not provide names saying it was less than a dozen. “You have reported one before,” he said.

That would be Stephen A. Mitchell, deputy executive director of investments. In September 2005, the pension fund’s top executive, former Executive Director Herbert L. Dyer, was charged with four counts of conflict of interest, pleaded no contest to and was guilty of one count of failure to disclose a golf outing. He was fined and ordered to reimburse the retirement system.

The Sidaway trial sparked another controversy at the retirement system. This month the board, in a closed meeting, approved reimbursing Mary Ellen Grant, Stephen W. Ehlers and Eileen Boles for their legal costs when they were called to testify. They hired private attorneys instead of using in-house counsel, who attended but did not participate in the trial.

Responding to a public records request, Executive Director Daymon Asbury told a STRS retiree the current board, including Billirakis, gave him permission to pay $900 for Grant, $500 for Ehlers and up to $6,000 for Boles. All three had gone on the trip to New York when the board saw “Hairspray.” All three were granted limited immunity from prosecution.

“STRS has no business whatsoever paying the private personal legal fees of these employees,” said board member Dennis Leone.

He also said “it is my understanding” the board turned down a Sidaway request that her legal fees, estimated to be several thousand dollars, be paid by the retirement system.

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

THIS IS THE WEEK!!! A must-read

From John Curry, Aug. 27, 2006:

August 31, 2006 marks the two year anniversary date of absence from the STRS Board by a former Board member. The statute of limitations for charging one with an ethics violation is two years. Will a former STRS Board member be charged this week by the Columbus City Prosecutor's office for attending the Broadway play "Hairspray" with freebie tickets from an investment firm which does business with STRS - or, did some in the audience actually pay for their tickets? We shall see!

In case you forgot, this is a partial list from Paul Kostyu of those who enjoyed the play:

"Sidaway didn’t see the show alone. Board members who served with Sidaway included Jack H. Chapman of Reynoldsburg, Michael N. Billirakis of Pickerington, Joseph I. Endry of Westerville, Eugene E. Norris of Columbus and Deborah Scott of Cincinnati. All attended “Hairspray” in New York with Sidaway in May 2003." Paul Kostyu (Canton Repository)

In case you didn't see the article or forgot about it, here it is below - along with a few notes:

Inquiry of STRS may go further

By Paul E. Kostyu, Copley Columbus Bureau chief

Canton Repository, July 1, 2005

COLUMBUS -- Hazel Sidaway is not the only State Teachers Retirement System board member who got high-priced show tickets from a company that did business with the board. And she may not be the only one facing charges.

All of that could have become public long ago, one critic said, if Gov. Bob Taft hadn’t derailed a state inspector general’s investigation two years ago. (Note from John: Bobby wouldn't do that, would he?)

Sidaway, who retired as a Canton City Schools teacher and STRS board member two years ago, is charged with accepting “thousands of dollars” in meals, drinks, lodging and entertainment from September 1998 to June 2003 from companies that handled the teachers pension fund’s investments. She also is accused of failing to report those gifts, filing false ethics statements and lying about the gifts to investigators.

Sidaway denies she did anything wrong.

She retired from the pension board on June 30, 2003. Had she gotten through Thursday, Sidaway may have avoided criminal charges, because that’s when the two-year statute of limitations would have run out on the seven misdemeanor charges.

Instead, she is due to appear in Franklin County Municipal Court in Columbus on Aug. 2 at 9 a.m.

Among the alleged gifts were two tickets worth $550 to a Broadway show, four tickets to a Cleveland Indians game valued at $120, and three meals at high-end Columbus restaurants valued at $240.

Sidaway didn’t see the show alone. Board members who served with Sidaway included Jack H. Chapman of Reynoldsburg, Michael N. Billirakis of Pickerington, Joseph I. Endry of Westerville, Eugene E. Norris of Columbus and Deborah Scott of Cincinnati. All attended “Hairspray” in New York with Sidaway in May 2003.

Sidaway’s tickets, the criminal charges say, came from Frank Russell Investment Group.

The investment group has overseen the pension system’s investments since 1991, according to STRS spokeswoman Laura Ecklar.

It and Smith Barney, which has been a broker for the pension system for more than 20 years, are named in the complaints against Sidaway and could face charges, though a financial settlement is more likely, according to Paul Nick, chief investigating counsel for the Ohio Ethics Commission.

Kim Atwater, a spokesman for Smith Barney, said the company is “cooperating fully with the authorities.” She said it will wait for the investigation to conclude to see “what they’re saying about us and the other firm.”

Frank Russell Investment Group did not return a call for comment.

“We didn’t do anything wrong” with the New York trip, insisted Endry, one of the other board members. “It was perfectly legitimate.”

Endry, whose term on the board ends Aug. 31(2005), said then-Executive Director Herbert Dyer and Chapman, who was then the board’s chairman, said the tickets for the show were paid for by the pension system, not the investment group.

“STRS was supposed to be billed,” he said. (Note from John: Joe, the STRS should not be paying for the tickets either - even if they really did!)

Endry said he has not been notified about whether he faces charges. He said he had a “casual conversation” with ethics commission investigators months ago.

Nick said “more than a few” other pension board members and staff are being investigated. Charges are expected by mid-July, according to Lara N. Baker, Columbus’ chief prosecutor, though she would not say who may be charged.

While the charges against Sidaway are misdemeanors, Baker said she is reviewing a report from the ethics commission to see if felony charges need to be referred to the Franklin County prosecutor.

Dennis Leone, the former Chillicothe superintendent who first raised questions about STRS spending practices, said he feels vindicated by the charges, which “provide substantiation for what I researched.”

Leone, who joins the pension board on Sept. 1, said he hopes to see restitution, and criticized the time it took for charges to be filed.

“This would have come out years ago,” he said, had Gov. Taft not vetoed efforts by lawmakers to allow Inspector General Thomas Charles to investigate the pension system.

Charles had made preparations to do so, but at the time the governor and his supporters said a Charles-led effort would set a precedent for investigations of the administration in the future.

Should he be charged, Endry said, he hopes the attorney general’s office would represent him because his actions were taken “in the line of duty.” (Note from John: Dream on, Joe, Sidaway and Chapman also viewed Hairspray "in the line of duty" - the AG's Office didn't represent them!)

Ecklar said it is more likely Sidaway and anyone else facing charges will have to hire their own attorneys.

“This is an individual issue,” she said, and does not represent problems “systemic to STRS. There is no favoritism to specific vendors.”

Three members of the pension fund’s board represent State Superintendent Susan Tave Zelman, Auditor Betty D. Montgomery and Attorney General James M. Petro.

Jen Detwiler, spokesperson for Montgomery, said there is no indication that her representative, Mary Beth Foley, will be swept up in the investigation.

“Auditor Montgomery always has insisted that her representative meet the highest level of ethical standards,” she said. “We’re confident she kept within those standards.”

Zelman has scheduled a meeting with her representative, Steven Puckett, according to spokesman J.C. Benton.

Chapman, Billirakis, Norris and Scott could not be reached for comment Thursday. Petro’s office did not return a call for comment. (Note from John: imagine that!)

Dyer lost his job as head of the pension fund after media reports, including many by Copley Ohio Newspapers, raised questions about spending on travel, employee bonuses, artwork and other items. The spending came at a time when the system’s investment portfolio plummeted and health-care costs for members increased.

State Sen. Kirk Schuring, R-Jackson Township, was one of the lawmakers who pushed for changes at the pension system to improve accountability. He also advocated that the inspector general be allowed to investigate. He said an audit of the system’s overall management, policies and investments is due in the fall.

“Maybe this took so long because of the exhaustive effort of the ethics commission, and it had a lot to uncover,” he said.

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

STRS FLASHBACK -- The Kostyu "one sentence" that many retirees (and actives) have forgotten about & Will Eileen submit a "final tally?"

From John Curry, Aug. 27, 2006

"White worked for Eileen Boles, executive assistant to the retirement board. Facing ethics charges herself, Boles agreed to testify at Sidaway’s trial in exchange for immunity." Paul Kostyu (April 13, 2006)

"No reimbursement has yet been made to Eileen Boles as she has not yet submitted a final tally of the time spent in providing and explaining relevant documents and actions in the Sidaway prosecution and other investigations. However, the Board approved an amount not to exceed $6000." Damon Asbury (August 25, 2006)

STRS ‘stars’ enjoyed trips to Broadway By PAUL E. KOSTYU COPLEY COLUMBUS BUREAU CHIEF April 13, 2006 COLUMBUS - Idolized as stars at the State Teachers Retirement System, pension board members demanded the best in restaurants and entertainment when they traveled. Itineraries were planned well in advance and altered to suit board members’ tastes. “Fancy restaurants that were exotic and unique,” including one owned by actor Robert DeNiro, were researched. Jazz and blues clubs, and who was playing when board members were in town, were checked out. “It was very odd to me,” said Laura White, a former temporary retirement system employee who helped research and plan board travel. White was the prosecution’s first witness Wednesday in the long-delayed trial of Hazel Sidaway of 2915 Parkridge Cir. NW in Plain Township. In July 2005, Sidaway pleaded innocent to seven charges of accepting and not disclosing gifts, a violation of state ethics laws, during a three-year span during her 17-year tenure on the board. On Tuesday, prosecutors dropped one charge “for strategic reasons” prior to selection of eight jurors, including one who contributes to the teachers’ pension system. Chief Prosecutor Lara N. Baker painted a picture of Sidaway as responsible and diligent, but “wanting more,” which is why she took gifts and didn’t report them. Baker has scheduled calling 12 witnesses during the trial, which is expected to end on Friday. Defense attorney H. Ritchey Hollenbaugh of Columbus said he will call two, including Sidaway. White worked for Eileen Boles, executive assistant to the retirement board. Facing ethics charges herself, Boles agreed to testify at Sidaway’s trial in exchange for immunity. Hollenbaugh said after Wednesday’s session that Boles “didn’t do anything that she needed immunity for.” He also said there were no surprises from the first day. Baker would not comment. With her attorney in the courtroom, Boles took the stand and at times looked confused and bored. She said she was nervous. Boles said she accompanied the board and other staff on a real-estate inspection trip to New York City in May 2003. One of the charges against Sidaway says she and her husband accepted and did not report tickets, each worth $250, to see the Broadway show “Hairspray.” The tickets were paid by Frank Russell Investment Group, which has overseen the pension system’s investments since 1991. Sidaway is also accused of accepting and not disclosing tickets to a Cleveland Indians game in 2001 and expensive meals at high-end restaurants in Columbus. The Sidaway case is expected to have an impact on how prosecutors proceed in the coming months against other former and current retirement system staff and board members who received the same or similar gifts. The Ohio Ethics Commission initiated an investigation of the retirement system after media reports, including many by Copley Ohio Newspapers, in 2003 and 2004 raised questions about travel, bonuses, artwork and other items. Herb Dyer, executive director of the retirement system at the time Sidaway is said to have accepted gifts, reached a plea deal and was found guilty of a single ethics violation in September 2005. Hollenbaugh was also his attorney. Reach Copley Columbus Bureau Chief Paul E. Kostyu at (614) 222-8901 or e-mail: paul.kostyu@cantonrep.com

Below is a letter from Damon Asbury sent on August 25, 2006 re. Boles and other STRS officials relating to STRS payments to private attorneys:

Dear John:

Pursuant to your request for information, the following expenditures have been made:

1. Reimbursement to Mary Ellen Grant for legal services in connection with her testimony in the Hazel Sidaway trial. $900

2. Reimbursement to Steven Ehlers for legal services in connection with his testimony in the Hazel Sidaway trial. $500

Both of these associates were reimbursed for legal expenses they incurred while assisting the Ohio Ethics Commission and the Columbus City Attorney’s office in the prosecution of former Board member Hazel Sidaway. Ms. Grant and Mr. Ehlers were asked to provide testimony concerning the details of a real estate trip made to New York City in 2003 by some STRS Ohio staff and board members. Ms. Grant and Mr. Ehlers were in attendance for some portions of that particular trip.

No reimbursement has yet been made to Eileen Boles as she has not yet submitted a final tally of the time spent in providing and explaining relevant documents and actions in the Sidaway prosecution and other investigations. However, the Board approved an amount not to exceed $6000.

Damon Asbury