A top aide at the center of a scandal that brought down former Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann has pleaded not guilty to felony theft in office and other charges. Anthony Gutierrez entered the plea Monday in Franklin County Common Pleas Court. The 10-count indictment also charges him with worker's compensation fraud, misusing state computers and using campaign funds to pay for rent and utilities at a Columbus condominium he shared with Dann. Two female employees alleged that Gutierrez sexually harassed them there and at the office while he was Dann's head of general services. A county prosecutor's spokeswoman says Gutierrez was released on bonds totaling $100,000. Gutierrez was fired last year. Dann later resigned.
Jo Ingles is a professional journalist who covers politics and Ohio government for the Ohio Public Radio and Television for the Ohio Public Radio and Television Statehouse News Bureau. She reports on issues of importance to Ohioans including education, legislation, politics, and life and death issues such as capital punishment.