MasonBuzz.com

Paul E. Kostyu reports:

An investigation of state Rep. Peter Beck by the U.S. Department of Labor has cleared the former Mason mayor of any wrongdoing in a fraud case, his lawyer said Thursday.

But two other investigations of the Republican legislator remain ongoing. A civil lawsuit against Beck alleging he participated in fraud that cheated investors out of more than $1.2 million sparked the investigations. Beck, a certified public accountant, has since countersued.

The department’s investigation began last summer and focused on startup software company Christopher Technologies and its president and chief executive officer John Fussner, according to Konrad Kircher, Beck’s Mason-based attorney.

Beck was interviewed by investigators about his role with Christopher Technologies and Fussner.

Kircher referred calls about the case to Michael Trupo, a spokesman for the department.

But Trupo told The Enquirer he could not comment or even confirm whether there was an investigation that involved Beck.

The initial lawsuit against Beck, filed Jan. 3 by 14 investors – many from Hamilton, Butler and Warren counties, and others from Pennsylvania and Alabama – accused him, the Milford accounting firm of Donohoo, Cupp, Beck & Associates, Ark by the River Fellowship Ministry and others of defrauding them by taking their investment and spending the money instead on personal and other non-business items.

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Posted in: Crime, Government, News |

Tags: Tags: ark by the river fellowship ministry, donohoo cupp beck & associates, election, fraud, investors, lawsuit, mason, ohio, pete beck, peter beck, republican, state representative, tml consulting

Paul E. Kostyu reports:

State Rep. Peter A. Beck is the subject of three separate state investigations, according to his attorney.

Meanwhile, Beck this week in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court countersued those who filed a lawsuit against him. The initial suit alleges he participated in a fraud that cheated investors out of more than $1.2 million. Beck is seeking more than $25,000, punitive damages and attorney fees.

The state investigations of the Republican former mayor of Mason are coming from:

• The Joint Legislative Ethics Committee, which is trying to determine whether Beck used his position as a state lawmaker for financial gain.

Konrad Kircher, Beck’s Mason-based attorney, told The Enquirer he has heard neither from the committee nor from the legislative inspector general, Tony W. Bledsoe, who conducts investigations for the committee. Bledsoe said he could neither confirm nor deny an investigation by his office.

House Speaker William G. Batchelder, R-Medina, told The Enquirer on Jan. 7 that the ethics committee, which he chairs, was investigating Beck.

• The Division of Securities Enforcement of the Department of Commerce, which is looking at “an alleged theft of monies from Ohio investors,” according to a Dec. 13 letter from the department obtained by The Enquirer.

Kircher said Beck is cooperating with investigators and sent a box and a half of materials to the division.

The department asked the Bureau of Criminal Identification & Investigation, which is overseen by the attorney general, to assist with the investigation. The letter asked that forensic accountant Leo A. Fernandez be assigned to the case, and the agency also “provide litigation support services.”

Lisa Peterson Hackley, a spokeswoman for the agency, said the investigation of Beck is ongoing.

• A third agency, which Kircher would not identify. It started an investigation last summer, but, said Kircher, “It’s dead in the water.”

That agency apparently is not the state auditor’s office. Carrie Bartunek, a spokeswoman, said the agency is not involved with the investigations because “it does not appear” public dollars are involved.

Beck represents Ohio’s 54th House District, which covers southwest Warren County and a small part of eastern Butler County.

Kircher said Beck’s response is a three-pronged effort. Not only is Beck charging his accusers of defaming him, but he’s asking the court “to strike various scandalous, vexatious and impertinent allegations” in the case against him. He also filed a motion to dismiss the case entirely.

The countersuit accuses the investors of trying to humiliate and embarrass Beck in an effort to “extort” concessions and a settlement. Beck refuses to settle, Kircher told The Enquirer.

Investors’ attorney J. Thomas Hodges of Cincinnati said he couldn’t comment because he hasn’t had time to review the countersuit.

The Division of Securities Enforcement can search for evidence of fraud, such as misrepresentations to investors or misspent money, by tracking bank accounts and other sources.

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Posted in: Crime, Government, News |

Tags: Tags: ark by the river fellowship ministry, donohoo cupp beck & associates, election, fraud, investors, lawsuit, mason, ohio, pete beck, peter beck, republican, state representative, tml consulting

Paul E. Kostyu reports:

Apparently not worried about the lawsuit against state Rep. Peter Beck that sparked an ethics inquiry, House Speaker William G. Batchelder appointed the three-term lawmaker as chairman of the chamber’s Ways and Means Committee for the next two years.

Batchelder, R-Medina, announced his selection of leaders for the House committees today. The Ways and Means Committee primarily deals with tax issues.

Beck, R- Mason, is one of two from Southwest Ohio to be selected as committee chairmen. State Rep. Peter Stautberg, R-Anderson Township, will lead the high profile Public Utilities Committee. He also is in his third term.

Beck and business associates face a civil lawsuit alleging they were involved in defrauding investors out of more than $1.2 million. The suit prompted Batchelder to tell The Enquirer this week the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee would launch an investigation of the lawmaker.

Also named to leadership roles were Rep. Lou Terhar, R-Green Township, who will be vice chairman of the Economic Development and Regulatory Reform Committee, and Rep. Tim Derickson, R-Oxford, who leads the Agriculture and Development Subcommittee of the powerful House Finance and Appropriations Committee, which oversees the state budget.

Posted in: Government, News |

Tags: Tags: ark by the river fellowship ministry, chairman, donohoo cupp beck & associates, election, fraud, investors, lawsuit, mason, ohio, pete beck, peter beck, peter stautberg, republican, state representative, tml consulting, ways and means committee, william batchelder

Barry M. Horstman reports:

This is not the first time in court for some of the key players in a lawsuit alleging that state Rep. Peter Beck and others defrauded investors out of more than $1.2 million.

A 2011 Hamilton County Common Pleas Court lawsuit lodges similar charges against some of Beck’s co-defendants, alleging that they improperly used a North Carolina couple’s loan of nearly $900,000, not to help develop residential property by Ault Park as intended, but instead for personal reasons.

While the 2011 suit adds context, it’s currently on hold – because of a continuing probe by Ohio securities regulators.

Common Pleas Judge Jody Luebbers in March 2012 stayed the case indefinitely pending resolution of a criminal investigation by the Ohio Department of Commerce into the same issues. Dennis Ginty, a department spokesman, said this week that the state still “is looking into the matter” and could not provide a timetable for when the probe will be wrapped up.

Although Beck was not named in the earlier suit, he has ties to some of the 2011 defendants. Since 2005, some of the same individuals and corporate entities also have been defendants in Hamilton County lawsuits involving alleged non-payment of city of Cincinnati income taxes, tax liens for failing to pay Ohio income taxes and failure to pay for services.

The new suit filed last week, Beck’s attorney argues, has caused the representative to be “unfairly blemished for things he had nothing to do with” because his public position makes disgruntled investors “see him as vulnerable.”

“Pete’s a victim as much as anybody else,” said attorney Konrad Kircher of Mason. “He lost money in this, too. If they think he’s sitting on a lot of their money, they’re wrong.”

Beck, a Mason Republican now in his third term in a district that includes parts of Warren and Butler counties, also faces an ethics investigation by the Ohio House over the recent lawsuit.

Although the specific details differ, the broad story lines in the lawsuits from 2011 and last week are similar. At the heart of both are allegations that large amounts of money solicited for business investments were collected under false pretenses and then improperly spent on other purposes, including Beck’s 2010 state legislative campaign.

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Posted in: News |

Tags: Tags: ark by the river fellowship ministry, donohoo cupp beck & associates, election, fraud, investors, lawsuit, mason, ohio, pete beck, peter beck, republican, state representative, tml consulting

Paul E. Kostyu reports:

Sworn in to his third term Monday, state Rep. Peter Beck now faces an ethics investigation by the Ohio House because of a civil lawsuit alleging he participated in a fraud that cheated investors out of more than $1.2 million.

House Speaker William G. Batchelder told The Enquirer that the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee, which he chairs, will look into the case that was filed against Beck and others last week in Hamilton County.

“The allegations I think are untrue and are an injustice,” Beck, R-Mason, told The Enquirer. “It’s been very hard on me.”

He referred all other questions to his attorney, Konrad Kircher of Mason. Kircher said he is preparing a counterclaim against those who sued Beck and will file it within a month. He called the lawsuit frivolous and said it defames Beck’s character. He would not say how much Beck would seek in damages. Kircher said Beck lost money in the investment deal.

Kircher also told The Enquirer that an attorney then associated with the suit sent it to Beck in February “trying to extort money” through a settlement. Kircher said Beck refused to settle.

No criminal charges have been filed in the case, but Batchelder said that doesn’t matter to the House. The allegation is sufficient for the ethics committee to launch its own investigation. The speaker said he did not know a lot about the case.

When asked if the House takes the allegation seriously, Batchelder, a former common pleas and appellate court judge, said, “We sure do.”

The issue will likely be sent to the legislative inspector general, who investigates such cases then makes a recommendation to the committee. A House member who violates ethics rules can be reprimanded, censured or expelled. Beck, an accountant and former mayor of Mason, represents Ohio’s 54th House District, which includes parts of Warren and Butler counties.

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Posted in: Government, News |

Tags: Tags: ark by the river fellowship ministry, donohoo cupp beck & associates, election, fraud, investors, lawsuit, mason, ohio, pete beck, peter beck, republican, state representative, tml consulting

Kimball Perry reports:

Peter Beck, a state lawmaker from Mason, is accused of participating in a fraud that cheated investors out of more than $1.2 million, a Hamilton County lawsuit alleges.

Beck, who didn’t return Friday calls, is a Republican representing Ohio’s 54th House District.

Fourteen investors – many from Hamilton, Butler and Warren counties and others from as far away as Pennsylvania and Alabama – filed the Thursday suit.

It accused Beck, the Milford accounting firm of Donohoo, Cupp, Beck & Associates, Ark by the River Fellowship Ministry and others of defrauding them by taking their investments and spending that money instead on personal and other non-business items.

“Pretty amazing, isn’t it?” asked Cincinnati attorney J. Thomas Hodges who filed the suit on behalf of the 14 accusers, led by Thomas Walter of Madeira.

At least $15,000 of the money the suit alleges was defrauded went to help Beck win election in 2010.

“Beck, who was running for state representative for the State of Ohio, received a check for $5,000 made payable to his campaign fund, Friends of Pete Beck, treasurer Donohoo. There was another check written to Beck’s campaign … for $10,000,” the suit notes.

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Posted in: Government, News |

Tags: Tags: ark by the river fellowship ministry, donohoo cupp beck & associates, election, fraud, investors, lawsuit, mason, ohio, pete beck, peter beck, republican, state representative, tml consulting

Kim Antrican with her husband, Todd, and children Stephanie and Seth outside of their Lebanon home. / The Enquirer/Amanda Davidson

Paul McKibben reports:

Kim Antrican worked 23 hours on Election Day while battling breast cancer. The next day, she had another chemotherapy treatment.

Antrican, director of the Warren County Board of Elections, credits a lot of adrenaline for enabling her to work such a taxing day.

“Every day on the way to work, I would pray ‘God give me strength for today. Give me the strength to get through the day’ because I knew that I had to pull from my strength somewhere,” she said.

Antrican, 44, of Lebanon, underwent a double mastectomy in August after feeling a lump in her chest the previous month. She began chemotherapy on Sept. 25, one week before early voting started.

She worked 74 hours during election week and the week prior to that. She put in a 61-hour week two weeks before Election Day.

With the election behind her, she’s working less (40-hour weeks) and not spending her weekends at the office. She’s married with two teenagers.

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Posted in: Election, News, Warren County |

Tags: Tags: breast cancer, cancer, director, election, election day, kim antrican, lebanon, warren county board of elections

Union members from around the country rally at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing to protest a vote on “right to work” legislation. / Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

Paul E. Kostyu reports:

The divisive battle over “right-to-work” legislation could be coming to Ohio next year.

As neighboring Michigan moved Tuesday to become a “right-to-work” state – and 10,000 protesters jammed the lawn of its Capitol – Ohio groups who support the laws say Ohio has to follow suit or watch jobs leave.

• Poll: Would you like to see a “right-to-work” amendment on the fall ballot

“When we are working with companies who want to investigate locations, the first question on their list is right to work,” said Phillip Parker, president and chief executive officer of the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce. He later backed off his statement at an afternoon press conference, but there are other indications the fight may be coming to Ohio.

A group called Ohioans for Workplace Freedom is gathering signatures to put the issue on the fall ballot. They need 385,253.

“Indiana has done this. Michigan will. What choice will Ohio have,” tea party activist Chris Littleton of West Chester told the Toledo Blade this week. “This is economic jet fuel for job creation, wage growth and a vibrant Ohio economy. If two border states do this, how can Ohio afford not to do this?”

Senate Minority Leader Eric H. Kearney, D-North Avondale, told the Enquirer there are efforts by Republicans to introduce right-to-work legislation next year, but he could not identify who was leading that effort. House and Senate Republicans, however, deny there is any effort underway.

“Right-to-work” legislation means no one can be required to join a labor union or pay union dues. That would prevent closed shops or workplaces that require union membership to get a job.

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Posted in: Government, News, Ohio |

Tags: Tags: chris littleton, election, employment, jobs, John Kasich, michigan, ohio, ohioans for workplace freedom, phillip parker, rick snyder, right to work, union

Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted / Columbus Dispatch/Will Figg

Barry M. Horstman reports:

Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted said Monday there is one major thing the federal government could do to help improve elections in Ohio: give the state the tens of millions of dollars it needs to upgrade or replace its aging voting machines.

“Our machines are old – they’re wearing out,” Husted told a conference on the 2012 election sponsored by the Pew Center on the States. “We can’t run an … election system on the cheap.”

Like most states, Ohio in the mid-2000s relied on the $3 billion in federal money from the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to help buy voting machines still in use. Experts say the electronic voting systems have an effective life of six to 10 years, meaning that many are near the time when they either need to be replaced or will start becoming expensive and difficult to maintain.

The law “got us addicted to these machines, and now they’re getting old,” Husted said.

But secretaries of states from across the nation, election experts, voting rights advocates and others attending the two-day conference agree that federal budget realities of 2012 make it highly unlikely that Washington will again offer the kind of extensive financial aid.

That law, primarily a response to the debacle in the 2000 presidential race in Florida, provided billions of fed dollars to enable states to improve voting equipment, in many cases by replacing the much-maligned punch-card voting machines at the heart of the Sunshine State’s “hanging chad” controversy.

With most states and counties also facing severe fiscal pressures, there is no ready source for the amount of money needed to replace the voting machines purchased with the federal dollars, officials warn. “Nobody really has that kind of funding available,” Husted said. “But people are always asking, ‘What could Washington do?’ Well, this is something it could do.”

The Enquirer reported in August, as part of its Protect Your Vote series, that voting machines in Ohio – particularly the touch-screen machines used in 46 of the state’s 88 counties, including Butler County – were nearing the end of their life cycles.

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Posted in: Election, News, Ohio |

Tags: Tags: ballots, board of elections, election, jon husted, ohio secretary of state, pew center on the states, voting macgines

Cliff Pride fills out a provisional ballot as his wife, Yvonne, watches in Springfield Township. / The Enquirer/Cara Owsley

Barry M. Horstman reports:

Posted in: Election, News |

Tags: Tags: election, electiond day, ohio, provisional ballots