DaytonDailyNews.com

COLUMBUS — In violation of state ethics laws, George Forbes took fancy meals, charter flights and limo rides from investment professionals who wanted a chance to manage a slice of the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation's $20.9 billion investment portfolio.

Early in his 10-year tenure on the BWC Oversight Commission, Forbes became heavily involved in opening investment management duties to a large number of brokers and money managers. He personally interviewed potential money managers and sometimes overruled financial consultants on who to pick.

The bureau runs an insurance fund, collecting and investing premiums from employers and paying medical bills and lost wages when workers are injured on the job.

Forbes, 76, pleaded no contest in Franklin County Municipal Court on Thursday to two counts that he violated state ethics laws and pleaded guilty to four counts that he knowingly filed false financial disclosure statements.

Judge Paul Herbert sentenced Forbes to pay $12,000 in fines and restitution and complete 60 hours of community service by October. Herbert also gave Forbes 30 days in jail, which he won't have to serve unless he's convicted of another offense committed in the next 12 months.

Forbes, who heads the Cleveland chapter of the NAACP and spent 26 years on the Cleveland City Council, left the courthouse without commenting.

All six charges were first-degree misdemeanors. Prosecutors filed the case now because the two-year statute of limitations was expiring.

"This represents a standard of accountability. Mr. Forbes is a long-term officeholder. He knew the rules of the game," Ohio Ethics Commission Executive Director David Freel said. The Ethics Commission and State Inspector General investigated Forbes and referred their findings to prosecutors.

Forbes drew investigators' attention for three reasons: his role on the Oversight Commission, his involvement in selecting minority money managers and brokers for the BWC, and his daughter, Mimi Forbes, worked for Pittsburgh-based MDL Capital Management.

George Forbes resigned from the Oversight Commission in June 2005, the day after it was disclosed that MDL Capital Management had lost $215 million in bureau money through a high-risk hedge fund.

Franklin County Assistant Prosecutor David Buchman said his office may or may not pursue felony charges against Forbes in the future.

The Ethics Commission's investigative report on Forbes pointed out potential felony violations of state laws against public officials having an unlawful interest in public contracts. Public officials may not try to steer contracts or public investment deals to family or business associates.

Contact this reporter at (614) 224-1624 or lbischoff@DaytonDailyNews.com.