DeWine said he doesn’t specifically recall asking those seeking state business to give to Hands Together but noted that he and his wife Fran frequently talk about the school and its good work.
“So, are we talking about Hands Together a lot? Yeah. And I don’t apologize for it. Anyone that wants to give to Hands Together, we would encourage them to give to Hands Together. Anyone,” he said. “My MO is not to be twisting people’s arms for Hands Together. We tell them about Hands Together because that’s just part about what Fran and I do in our life now, but we certainly don’t twist anybody’s arm.”
In a 2013 report by the Springfield, Mass.-based Hands Together, the non-profit listed contributors who gave more than $5,000. They included:
- Mike Kiggin, an Ohio lobbyist who represents four law firms that jockey for legal assignments from DeWine;
- Jay Eisenhofer and Stuart Grant of Grant & Eisenhofer, a securities fraud law firm;
- Pete Spitalieri, owner of CELCO, a collections agency selected by DeWine to collect state debt;
- Bernstein, Litowitz, Berger & Grossman, a securities fraud law firm selected by Ohio in a massive case against Bank of America;
- Eric Jones, a collections attorney selected by DeWine to collect state debt; and
- Ice Miller, a law firm with a Columbus office that does special counsel work for the state.
The lawyers, lobbyist and firms were not listed as contributors in a 2011 report from Hands Together. DeWine was elected in 2010.
More than 100 other donors — foundations, families, churches, individuals — are also listed as contributors of $5,000 or more.
In July 2013, the school held its first graduation ceremony. The 129 students survived the devastating earthquake in January 2010, a cholera epidemic, street violence and extreme poverty in one of the world’s worst slums. The Becky DeWine School’s eight campuses have an enrollment of roughly 5,000 students, serving 9,700 daily meals.
Robert Stern, former president of the Center for Governmental Studies, based in Los Angeles, said DeWine should be clearly stating that contributions to the charity have no bearing on whether a lawyer or firm gets state work.
“It’s probably a great school to give to. It’s probably doing great stuff,” he said. “But there should be no linkage or any perception of any linkage between those contributions and decisions he is making.”
As attorney general, DeWine hires dozens of outside attorneys and firms to handle specialized legal work, complex litigation and debt collection duties. The work is worth millions of dollars in fees and payments.
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