State lawmaker faces bribery charges
Published: Wed, March 14, 2012 @ 12:06 a.m.
By Marc Kovac
COLUMBUS
A state lawmaker was indicted Tuesday on bribery charges after accepting trips and campaign cash from undercover investigators.
Rep. W. Carlton Weddington, a Democrat from Columbus, faces single counts of bribery, election falsification and filing a false ethics disclosure form, all uncovered as part of a lengthy sting.
Weddington turned himself in to law enforcement Tuesday afternoon near the Statehouse and faces an initial court appearance later this week. He also resigned his seat in the Ohio House, effective immediately.
http://www.vindy.com/news/2012/mar/14/state-lawmaker-faces-bribery-charges/
http://www.vindy.com/news/2012/mar/14/state-lawmaker-faces-bribery-charges/
FBI ethics probe forces Ohio Dem lawmaker to resign
Columbus Government Examiner
COLUMBUS, Ohio (CGE) - Charges stemming from an FBI investigation that includes bribery forced Ohio House Representative W. Carlton Weddington to resign his Columbus district seat Tuesday.
Weddington faces jail time if convicted of ethic violation charges
Rep. Weddington, a member of the Ohio Black Legislative Caucus, now faces indictment on felony and misdemeanor charges related to his conduct on the issue of payday lending.
Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien said the charges relate to an undercover FBI operation that included Weddington accepting trips to California and Florida, allegedly in exchange for services, according to published reports.
The investigation, O'Brien said, commenced in April of 2010, when reports surfaced that Weddington had told an official with the Center for Responsible Lending that he wanted a $2,500 payment made to the Legislative Black Caucus before the group of lawmakers would agree to talk with him about payday lending.
http://www.examiner.com/government-in-columbus/fbi-ethics-probe-forces-ohio-dem-lawmaker-to-resign
http://www.examiner.com/government-in-columbus/fbi-ethics-probe-forces-ohio-dem-lawmaker-to-resign
Weddington Indicted on Three Counts, Resigns House Seat
Hannah Report 3/13/12
Columbus Rep. Carlton Weddington (D) resigned his House seat Tuesday shortly after being indicted on multiple counts by a Franklin County grand jury. As part of his agreement to cooperate, Weddington also withdrew as a candidate for the 25th House District in November's election.
Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien and Edward J. Hanko, special agent in charge of the Cincinnati field office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), announced the indictment of Weddington, the result of a lengthy FBI investigation at the Ohio Statehouse, Tuesday morning at a news conference at the Franklin County Courthouse.
O'Brien said that Weddington was indicted on three charges: bribery, a third-degree felony; election falsification, a fifth-degree felony; and filing a false ethics disclosure statement, a first-degree misdemeanor. The charges in the current indictment carry a maximum penalty of 4½ years in prison, with O'Brien indicating that he "expects" Weddington will receive prison time. However, he added that he is not the one doing the sentencing. http://www.hannah.com/DesktopDefaultPublic.aspx?type=hns&id=188829
Columbus Rep. Carlton Weddington (D) resigned his House seat Tuesday shortly after being indicted on multiple counts by a Franklin County grand jury. As part of his agreement to cooperate, Weddington also withdrew as a candidate for the 25th House District in November's election.
Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien and Edward J. Hanko, special agent in charge of the Cincinnati field office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), announced the indictment of Weddington, the result of a lengthy FBI investigation at the Ohio Statehouse, Tuesday morning at a news conference at the Franklin County Courthouse.
O'Brien said that Weddington was indicted on three charges: bribery, a third-degree felony; election falsification, a fifth-degree felony; and filing a false ethics disclosure statement, a first-degree misdemeanor. The charges in the current indictment carry a maximum penalty of 4½ years in prison, with O'Brien indicating that he "expects" Weddington will receive prison time. However, he added that he is not the one doing the sentencing. http://www.hannah.com/DesktopDefaultPublic.aspx?type=hns&id=188829
Batchelder Considers Lighter Floor Sessions to Move Budget Review Bill
Hannah Report 3/13/12
House Speaker William Batchelder (R-Medina) said Tuesday that he is deciding whether the House will continue holding regular floor sessions or revert to a lighter schedule as the chamber works through Gov. John Kasich's mid-biennium review that is scheduled to be introduced on Wednesday.
Batchelder said that the House does not have the bill yet, but said he is planning to bring multiple committees in to hear sections of the bill. While some portions of the bill may be simple, he said others may take in-depth study and testimony.
"It would be impossible, under the best of circumstances, for the committee on Finance and Appropriations to have this thing done in the kind of time frame we discussed. We will not bring anything to the floor that has not been fully vetted and examined thoroughly," he said. "I don't know when we will color our eggs, but we're to a point where we definitely have a lot of work to do." http://www.hannah.com/DesktopDefaultPublic.aspx?type=hns&id=188830
House Speaker William Batchelder (R-Medina) said Tuesday that he is deciding whether the House will continue holding regular floor sessions or revert to a lighter schedule as the chamber works through Gov. John Kasich's mid-biennium review that is scheduled to be introduced on Wednesday.
Batchelder said that the House does not have the bill yet, but said he is planning to bring multiple committees in to hear sections of the bill. While some portions of the bill may be simple, he said others may take in-depth study and testimony.
"It would be impossible, under the best of circumstances, for the committee on Finance and Appropriations to have this thing done in the kind of time frame we discussed. We will not bring anything to the floor that has not been fully vetted and examined thoroughly," he said. "I don't know when we will color our eggs, but we're to a point where we definitely have a lot of work to do." http://www.hannah.com/DesktopDefaultPublic.aspx?type=hns&id=188830
Gongwer 3/13/12
Rep. W. Carlton Weddington resigned his House seat on Tuesday, just hours after federal and county officials announced he had been indicted on felony bribery and election falsification charges.
The second-term Columbus Democrat also faces a misdemeanor charge for filing a false financial disclosure statement tied to his alleged acceptance of about $16,000 in trips and money from undercover FBI agents who asked him to introduce legislation on their behalf.
The lawmaker received cash and all expense-paid trips to South Beach, Fla. and Napa Valley, Calif. in 2011, as well as checks and cash for campaign contributions "in order to corrupt or influence him in the performance of his official duties," Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien said. (Official statement) Both trips lasted three to four days.
Gongwer 3/13/12
Speaker Bill Batchelder on Tuesday confirmed some hesitancy in his caucus regarding Gov. John Kasich's plan to raise taxes on oil and gas drilling and later use the increased revenue to provide income tax rate cuts.
The Medina Republican, however, said he's told his members to "hang loose" and wait for more details given the immediate lack of legislative language to study.
In fact, the absence of legislation to implement that tax plan and other components of the governor's broad-based "mid-biennium budget review" package threatens to complicate Mr. Kasich's push to see the measures enacted before the General Assembly breaks for the summer. While the administration has briefed legislative leaders and plans a news conference on the issues Wednesday, so far the speaker said he only has relatively brief synopses of the proposals.
In the short term, Speaker Batchelder said, "We will be doing our best by the suggestions that we have, which would be a paragraph on what would be a bill or at least a major part of a bill."
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