Board approves payment to two in Dann scandal

By Marc Kovac

Paying the money in advance of the board’s approval rankled some lawmakers.

COLUMBUS — When the state Controlling Board approved giving $495,000 to the two women at the heart of the scandal involving former Attorney General Marc Dann, it was just a formality, because the money had already been given to them.

Over Republican members’ objections, the state Controlling Board signed off on a fund transfer to cover a settlement with the two women involved in the controversy that led to Dann’s resignation.

The $495,000 in settlement funds was part of a larger agenda item, with the attorney general’s office seeking spending authority for several various claims.

The funds went to Vanessa Stout and Cindy Stankoski, who had filed complaints against a manager hired by Dann, alleging sexual harassment. An internal investigation substantiated the complaints and prompted the firing of two employees, the forced resignation of a third and a legislated investigation by the state’s inspector general.

A report by the latter, released in late December, alleged cronyism and “hiring missteps,” sexual harassment and other improper activities and wrongdoing under Dann’s leadership. It also raised questions about Dann’s use of campaign finances.

Dann has repeatedly denied criminal wrongdoing in the matter.

Attorney General Richard Cordray’s office announced in late January that Stankoski, of Columbus, and Stout, formerly of Masury, had agreed to accept $247,500 each to settle their complaints.

The state issued a check for the settlement at that time — a move that rankled some lawmakers, who believed the settlement should have come before the Controlling Board before funds were paid out.

But the check issuance was a common procedure within the bounds of state law when court judgments are issued against the state, Cordray said Monday.

Still, all three Republican members of the board objected to the request Monday. Sen. John Carey, a Republican from Wellston, said he did not approve of the payment of the settlement before Controlling Board approval.

Of their objections, Cordray said later, “I think that there was discomfort with the entire saga from my elected predecessor, and this is a way to register that. I don’t make more of it than that. ... I think it expresses perhaps their dissatisfaction with the fact that the whole episode ever occurred.”