Another GOPer bites the dust. Do you think the GOP will run him again when his term is up? I imagine it might be hard to find an honest GOPer to take his place. What do you think, little one?
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Ohio gov. fined but avoids jail on ethics charges
Thu Aug 18, 2005 1:14 PM ET
(Page 1 of 2)
By Jim Lekrone
COLUMBUS, Ohio (Reuters) - Ohio Republican Gov. Bob Taft, the great-grandson of a U.S. president, on Thursday admitted violating ethics laws for not disclosing golf outings and other gifts and was fined $4,000, but avoided jail time.
"I accept full responsibility for this mistake. I am very sorry," Taft said in a statement in Franklin County Municipal Court after pleading no contest to four criminal misdemeanor ethics violations. That plea allowed Judge Mark Froehlich to find him guilty.
He could have faced up to six months in jail on each of the four counts, but a plea agreement reached with prosecutors that Taft signed in court limited his punishment to the fine.
Taft, 63, has previously accepted responsibility for the reporting lapses but insisted again that he would not resign before his second and final term is up in January 2007.
In his long tenure in state government, including two terms as governor and two terms as secretary of state, Taft had developed a reputation for demanding strict adherence to ethics laws by state employees -- which made his lapses all the more glaring.
"In this instance, I have failed to meet those high expectations and I am very disappointed in myself," a contrite Taft told reporters after the court proceeding.
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today.reuters.com |
