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Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2009 > November > 18 > Entry
Dann aide gets 45 days jail, including Christmas
Tony Gutierrez, a former top aide and friend to Democrat Marc Dann, must report to the Franklin County jail beginning Dec. 4 to serve a 45 day sentence spread out over weekends, including Christmas and New Years Day.
Gutierrez, 52, was sentenced Wednesday, Nov. 18, to 45 days in jail and five years probation, plus he must pay $6,876 in restitution. He pleaded guilty to felony theft in office and unauthorized use of property as well as misdemeanor charges for filing an inaccurate ethics statement, soliciting or receiving improper compensation and attempted workers compensation fraud.
In Franklin County Common Pleas court, Gutierrez apologized to his wife and children for what he has put them through and to the state and the court.
Gutierrez is the only one to face criminal charges in the sexual harassment scandal that led to Dann’s resignation in May 2008.
In February 2007, Dann hired Gutierrez, a neighbor and friend in a Youngstown suburb, to head up the attorney general’s general services department, despite knowing about problems in Gutierrez’ background. The job paid $87,500 a year but Gutierrez also ran his private construction business on state time, using state equipment and employees.
Gutierrez said coming from the construction industry, he was ignorant of state ethics laws.
“The top guy was my best friend and he guided me down the road wrong,” Gutierrez said of Dann.
Then two junior female staffers accused Gutierrez of sexual harassment and drunken driving of state vehicles. That triggered multiple investigations and eventually Dann’s admission that he had an extramarital affair with a staffer and wasn’t prepared to be attorney general when voters elected him over Republican Betty Montgomery in November 2006.
Dann admitted to misusing his campaign account and paid $1,000 fine to the Ohio Elections Commission.
Earlier this year, the state agreed to pay the two female staffers a combined $495,000 to settle the case.
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Comments
By etackett
November 20, 2009 2:57 AM | Link to this
if he did this in Montgomery county he’d only received porbation
By ruth
November 19, 2009 8:52 AM | Link to this
if all the crooked government misfits (lawyers, law enforcement, political buffs)were taken to the golden gate bridge and forced to jump, the water level would increase and destroy californua…
By eric
November 18, 2009 10:12 PM | Link to this
The people who say 45 days is nothing could not last a night much less a week in jail.
By me2
November 18, 2009 8:01 PM | Link to this
okay…is this punishment statewide now????….felony theft…you recieve 45 days in jail…weekends only..provided the theft is no more than $6876…
By Mom
November 18, 2009 7:16 PM | Link to this
Wow!! He gets 45 days and on the weekends to boot for felony theft! Had it been me they would have slammed the book and said 4 to 5 YEARS! Seems the lawmakers only go easy on themselves!
By TKidding72
November 18, 2009 7:05 PM | Link to this
It just doesn’t make sense that he only gets 45 days and only has to serve on weekends. It sounds like he stole enough for it to be a felony but I guess since it was a white collar crime its ok. In other words if you can afford to buy your way out of trouble you don’t get the same punishment as everyone else!
By TKidding72
November 18, 2009 7:05 PM | Link to this
It just doesn’t make sense that he only gets 45 days and only has to serve on weekends. It sounds like he stole enough for it to be a felony but I guess since it was a white collar crime its ok. In other words if you can afford to buy your way out of trouble you don’t get the same punishment as everyone else!
By Jim
November 18, 2009 6:15 PM | Link to this
Felony theft gets 45 days in jail on weekends?
By Edward
November 18, 2009 6:14 PM | Link to this
Tony should have known you never trust a guy with two first names.
By Fred
November 18, 2009 5:41 PM | Link to this
“The top guy was my best friend and he guided me down the road wrong,” Gutierrez said of Dann. Funny how the rats scurry and turn on each other when the ship is sinking. Obviously Gutierrez is not very smart, but it is still hard to believe he was unaware of all the illegal acts he committed. Not a pretty story for the Ohio Democratic party.