TRANSKRIPTIO 🔗
WEBVTT
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Free speech is non-negotiable. Tyranny cannot coexist with freedom. Lies
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must be exposed. The truth will not be canceled. This
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is the Tom Roten Show.
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A former Scioto County, Ohio commissioner has been sentenced to
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two and a half years in prison for his involvement
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in a kickback scheme. I'll be talking to Ohio Auditor
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of State Keith Faber about that and more on today's episode. Hi, everybody.
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I am the straight shooter, Tom Roden. Thank you for
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finding the show on your favorite podcast platform. Apple Podcasts, Spotify,
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wherever you get podcasts. Search for Tom Roten Show. Like
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and subscribe so you don't miss an episode. And you
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can find every episode on my website, tomrotenshow.com. I share
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every episode as well on my social media pages. Follow
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me on Facebook, LinkedIn, and X. Ohio Auditor Keith Faber
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is just one of my guests today. We'll start off
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the discussion with Total Media Radio reporter and news director
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Bill Shope, who has been covering the scandal with the
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Scioto County Commissioner Brian Davis. That's coming up. Both Shope
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and Faber appeared on the Tom Roten Morning Show, which
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airs on the Eagle Total Media radio stations in Ohio,
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West Virginia, and Kentucky. And you can listen live six
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to nine weekday mornings online at yourtotalmedia.com. Hit that listen
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live button at yourtotalmedia.com. The Tom Roten Show is powered
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by Dutch Miller Auto.
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Midland Insurance and Dan Kinder, a sponsor of the Tom
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Roten Show. Former Commissioner Brian Davis sentenced to 30 months
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in prison. After he admitted involvement in a kickback scheme
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involving the Southern Ohio Port Authority, Portsmouth Area Business Park,
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Brian Davis was ordered to pay about $ 68, 000 in restitution
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after pleading guilty to felony counts of theft in office,
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receiving stolen property, and filing an incomplete and false tax return. Ultimately,
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Auditor Faber says, you can never repay the public for
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that breach of trust, but certainly this sentence is appropriate
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under the circumstances. If you lie, cheat, steal, the auditor
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of state's office is going to find you. We are
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going to use the tools at our disposal to prosecute you,
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and we are going to see that you're held accountable.
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So Davis is being held accountable. Now, Robert Horton, there's
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a question about him because he was originally put on
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paid leave when this happened. He's a former Scioto County
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Economic Development Director, head of the Southern Ohio Port Authority.
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He and along with his wife face separate grand jury
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indictments for charges including theft in office, money laundering, and bribery. Okay,
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so right now I'm going to be joined by Bill Shope.
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Bill Shope is the Total Media News Director at at
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our Portsmouth stations, and he's been covering this extensively for
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us here on The Eagle. Bill, good morning. How are you, sir?
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Hey, good morning, Tom. How are you?
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I'm doing great. So culmination of a lot of work here,
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obviously a lot of work by Auditor Faber's office, but
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Load full transcript
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you have been covering this extensively for a long time,
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and yesterday it came down that former Commissioner Brian Davis
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is going to go to prison for two and a
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half years. Now, he had asked for no prison time
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and community service, right?
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That's accurate, yes. And his statement to the court, I
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believe it came out last Thursday, that's what he was
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asking for, was leniency in the case.
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He had.
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Over 70 people submitted letters of support for mercy and
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leniency for former Commissioner Davis, including a number of his
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fellow ministers and pastors, uh, here in Sire, the County.
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Yeah. So, uh, he, he's getting 30 months and has
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to pay $ 68, 000 or thereabouts in restitution. Uh, well, what's
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been the sentiment, uh, around the area about this and, and,
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you know, having some closure, at least in the Davis case.
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Well, Tom, I think that a lot of it, uh,
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there was a lot of anger.
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About this case.
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Now there's, uh, a sense of remedy in our community
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right now with this sentencing being handed down. Some people
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feel it wasn't a strong enough sentence, but when you
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look at the length of the sentence, he could have
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gotten five and a half years. That was the max.
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So what the state did, I think was very smart.
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They avoided an appeal process. And when commissioner Davis entered
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his guilty plea earlier this year, I think that was
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part of it. Look, we're going to waive our right
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to appeal. So there's no appeal in this process, and
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there is no early judicial release included in this case. Now,
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that means that a court can't come back and issue
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early release because he's been a good guy or a
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stellar inmate, but the prison to where he's sent... They
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can recommend or grant him an early release if he's
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a model inmate or if there's overcrowding or there's other
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kind of variables in this. But I've covered and I've
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done my own investigation on this case, Tom, for over
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two years. I lucked into it. I just happened to
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see a document from a local business that was using
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Osteel out of South Carolina to build a building for them.
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And I noticed on the document it said– official representative
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Robert Horton, who was the Southern Ohio Port Authority president.
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And the key thing is a port authority doesn't have
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to accept competitive bids. They can award a bid to
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anybody they want to. And that's exactly what Robert Horton
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did with the allowance of Scioto County Commissioner Brian Davis
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and current Commissioner Scotty Powell gave a blistering victim impact
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statement yesterday in which He detailed the fact that there
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was even another scheme for a $ 10 million addition onto
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this current building for which Davis was convicted that never materialized. And,
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I mean, Brian Davis was trying to grift every dime that.
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He could possibly.
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Out of the taxpayers of the state of Ohio and
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Scioto County in this matter. Now, Robert Horton, Tom, is
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probably going to end up getting community control. He's a
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75-year-old man with a heart ailment, and he rolled over first.
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He signed a proper agreement with his indictments. So he
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rolled over first, and that's what's going to happen, I believe. Now,
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I've a judge can overrule the state's recommendation for community control.
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It usually doesn't happen, but I think that's how it's
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going to end up. But, yeah, Brian Davis also has
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to pay back the months of salary that he collected
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while under suspension, and that's a hefty amount. He lost
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his retirement account while a Saudi County commissioner, and he's
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paying court costs as well. Now, his wife got 24
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months of community control.
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Now, when you say community control, is that just community service?
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What is that exactly?
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It's a form of probation. They have to report to
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a
probation officer, Tom. They have to submit to random
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drug testing. They also have to seek and attend counseling sessions,
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and their whereabouts are monitored. They have to report to
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a probation officer if they're going to leave the area.
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It's It's sort of a lighter form of probation is
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what it is.
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I see. So that's what– go ahead.
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Yeah, she was sentenced to that because she had a
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minor role. And I don't mind saying this. It's my opinion. Again,
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I've covered this for a number of years now. I
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do believe that she rolled over on her husband because
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once everything started just happening very quickly here back in mid-August.
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And it was just one thing right after another. And
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I think they knew that Brian Davis was going to
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get jail time no matter what. And She had an
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excellent attorney, by the way, and I think he just
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looked at her and said, look, you can add a
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couple months on your husband's sentence, and you can avoid
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jail time if you let them know what they need
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to know or verify what they already know. So yeah,
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I mean it was– and I did the research. I
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cannot find any instance in Scioto County history where a
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sitting commissioner was indicted and then later found guilty to
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a plea or a court case. of felony counts. I mean,
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this is an historic moment in our county.
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Yeah, without a doubt. So two and a half year
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prison sentence for Brian Davis, his wife, Lori, who pleaded
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guilty to a single felony count of tampering with evidence,
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sentenced to 24 months of community control. And so when
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will we find out about the former Scioto County Economic
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Development Director, Robert Horton, that you think that he'll probably
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also get community control, but when will we find out
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about that for sure?
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Well, Tom, it's interesting to note that during this whole process,
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Robert Horton was indicted on Valentine's day, uh, six, seven
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months before Brian Davis was ever indicted. Yet today, Robert
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Horton has never had a pretrial conference. He's had a
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number of status conferences, which are, you know, a more
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relaxed version of a pretrial conference. Um, that's what told
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me at the beginning that, you know, he had rolled
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over on everybody. Uh, I think that now, interestingly enough,
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he had a status conference yesterday, one half hour after
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Brian Davis was sentenced in the exact same courtroom with
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the exact chain judge. It was behind closed doors. So I,
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I do believe that that is going to come out soon. Uh,
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auditor Keith Faber. I spoke with him yesterday at length, uh,
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following the sentencing, and he was pleased with the sentence,
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and I just think that he wants to get past
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this and move on. You know, Auditor Faber's office has
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done an amazing job of prosecuting public officials that are
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stealing money from taxpayers, and I cannot commend Auditor Faber
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enough for the amount of work that his office put
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into this.
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Yeah.
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And looking forward to speaking with Keith Faber coming up
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here in just a few minutes. We're talking with Bill
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Shope right now. He's the reporter, news director for Total Media.
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He's been covering this story for the last couple of years. Bill,
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do you feel in your investigation that there's been any
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other involvement from any other officials? In other words, do
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you feel like You know, the other commissioners, have they
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done the right thing by turning over whatever they had
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and not being involved in this? And that goes for
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even the now deceased Kathy Coleman. And I know that
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she was very much beloved in the community. Were there
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any allegations that she or any of the other commissioners
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involved in this?
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When you say allegations, I will say this. I've been
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privy to some information that I'm not going to disclose
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the source, but I did hear it with my own ears.
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There are several recorded phone conversations between former Commissioner Davis
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and Kathy Coleman and Robert Horton and Kathy Coleman. And
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Kathy Coleman never attempted to make any money off of
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this in any way, shape or form. She was very
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disturbed by what was going on, but she did know
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about it. And, you know, I would think if there
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was enough criminal activity at the time that with the
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depth of Auditor Faber's investigation, that would have come out
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at that time. Commissioner Scotty Powell did work with the
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state auditor's office once he was made aware of what
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was taking place. And His statement yesterday, a victim impact statement, Tom,
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was a blistering one against Brian Davis. He even detailed
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a side scheme that was taking place with former Commissioner
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Davis and Robert Horton to where there was going to
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be another $ 10 million building added on to the current
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facility at the Minford Airport, the Soar Business Park. And
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that was going to be done through Osteel out of
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South Carolina as well. But Commissioner Powell did a great
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job in putting a stop to that and saying, look,
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we're not going to do this. And the current commission
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board had no side workings at all, Tom, in this
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entire matter. And again, Kathy Coleman was a fine person.
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She was a good commissioner, and she was an honest person.
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In my opinion, and this is my opinion, Tom, based
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on what I've heard with my own two ears, she
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was bullied into a number of things and threatened with
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the loss of jobs in our community, in our county,
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if some of these actions didn't take place. And it's
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my belief that Kathy was acting in the best interest
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of all of Scioto County. And unfortunately, I kind of
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got into, I was yelled at by Commissioner Davis in
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an open session for questioning about some of this. Following
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that meeting, Kathy told me, she said, I want to
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talk to you this evening about some things. And I said,
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that's fine. Just give me a call at your convenience.
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And then a couple of hours later, she was involved
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in that fatal car crash there in Greenup, Kentucky. So
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it's something that is going to stay with me. I
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just wonder what she would have said at that time.
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That was certainly odd timing, that. accidental crash. I mean,
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I'm sure it was investigated. I mean, there's no reason
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to think anything was suspicious there.
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Oh, absolutely not. No, it was pouring rain. Electric was
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out over in Greenup and somebody disobeyed a traffic signal
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and there was a horrible collision with another vehicle and
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Commissioner Coleman and her dog that she was taking to
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get an ice cream were killed. So Kathy lingered, you know,
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for quite a while. Columbus did everything they could, you know,
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to help her, but the injuries were just too difficult
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to overcome. And it was certainly a loss for our county.
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Yeah.
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Yeah. Much beloved former commissioner, Kathy Coleman.
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Absolutely.
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She died. I believe she actually passed on July 4th
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of last year, right?
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That's accurate.
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Yes.
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Yeah.
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And, you know, Tom, you asked earlier about the mood
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in the county.
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Yeah.
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I'm going to go to a county commissioner's meeting today,
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and I'm going to ask them a couple of hard
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questions about some things. And then once we have that,
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it's our intent here at Total Media that we're going
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to move on. There are a lot of good positive
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things happening in the county. But again, it's an historic
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moment in our county that I hope we never see again. And,
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you know, I hope that former Commissioner Davis learns from
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his mistakes. I hope his His wife does it as well,
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and they
come out of their sentencing better people.
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Did you ever ascertain, as he was involved in this
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kickback scheme, exactly where it was that he kind of
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lost his integrity and how that could happen? And certainly, look,
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that could happen to anybody in office. There's a lot
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of opportunities when you get in a position of power,
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but where it was that that he crossed the line?
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Well, actually, it started a number of years ago, back
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in 2021. I mean, let's put this in perspective. Robert
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Horton was, according to himself, was a very successful contractor
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in South Carolina and Florida that during an interview I
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had with him when he first came up here, he
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stated he was responsible for a lot of development on
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the boardwalk in Myrtle Beach. And so... When you look
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at that, why would a guy move from an extremely
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profitable job in an area whose development has been growing
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for 20-some years to move to one of the most
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economically depressed areas of the state of Ohio to take
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over an agency that was created when he got here?
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He had no family here. He never resided inside of
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the county. He resided in Adams County. So I think
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that he set this up from day one. He saw
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an opportunity. He knew he needed somebody to help move
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some legislation along. And flat out, Tom, Brian Davis lied
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to his fellow commissioners with threats and misinformation over a
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long period of time, all the while, while he was
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collecting money. from these shell companies. And it was stated
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yesterday that Lori Davis even called Osteel's accountant and asked
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them to move payment over so that it would not
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reflect on Brian Davis. And that was one of the
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shell companies that she had set up. And that's she
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ended up not being convicted or pleading guilty to any
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of those felony charges. But again, it's because I believe
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that she rolled over on her husband. And that's my opinion. Wow.
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And and received a lesser sentence.
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Yeah. Pretty incredible. Well, today it begins. The local officials,
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00:20:12.660 --> 00:20:16.140
the new county commissioners, they have the opportunity to win
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back the trust of the local people. And certainly you
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hope that they do that and that we can move
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forward from here.
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Tom, I'm glad you said that because the commissioners I
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spoke with yesterday, that was exactly what their opinions are
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about how to handle this. And there's a lot of
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good things taking place in Scioto County right now. from
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a business development standpoint, you know, in Pipeton, the data
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center that's coming into Franklin Furnace, and in our entire region,
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as a matter of fact. And it's time. The criminals,
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you know, are locked up right now. And let's move
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forward and let's do a good job.
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Bill Shubb, Total Media News Director, Portsmouth. Thank you so
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00:20:57.490 --> 00:21:01.410
much for covering this and for giving us the inside
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scoop here this morning.
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Tom, I always enjoy talking to you, man. Thank you.
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God bless what you do, man.
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Appreciate you. Take care. Hey, if you're looking for in-home
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00:21:10.920 --> 00:21:14.079
personal care needs for an elderly loved one, I want
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you to call Evan Worrell at 888-242-8404. Panhandle Support Services,
333
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a sponsor of the Tom Roden Show, offers the most
334
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336
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337
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Learn more at personalinhomeservices.com. That's personalinhomeservices.com. We've been talking about
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00:21:49.740 --> 00:21:55.680
this sentencing. Former Scioto County Commissioner Brian Davis is getting
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30 months. And Auditor Faber's office has done an incredible
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job here bringing this out and investigating this to the fullest.
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And pleased to be joined now by Ohio Auditor Keith Faber.
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Good morning, sir.
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Hey, Tom.
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Great to be here.
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Do you kind of feel like... You've had this sense
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of accomplishment in getting this done and, you know, putting
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this to bed, so to speak, with the sentencing of
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Brian Davis.
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Yeah, I mean, certainly getting this case moving forward, there's
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still more investigation and more things going on here. You know,
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the other defendants who haven't pled guilty are innocent until
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proven guilty. I always have to say that, but the
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facts are the same. You know, this is conviction 169
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and 170 for our office since I've been audited. And
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I know in the last three months I have as
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your state auditor in Ohio, we are going to run
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through the finish line. We have a bunch more things
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in the pipeline. And so you're going to continue to
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see us holding people who lie, steal, and cheat with
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public money accountable, just like we had with the first 170.
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Yeah. I mean, when people abuse their power, their position
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of authority... for personal gain, as Davis did with this
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00:23:15.849 --> 00:23:19.619
kickback scheme. They need to be held accountable. It needs
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to be brought to light. And the people need to
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be able to start regaining some confidence here in the
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new people that they have, in this case, specifically the
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Scioto County Commissioners.
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That's exactly right. And our office is set up to
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start the process to bring people to justice who are
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doing this We go after public officials and politicians without
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regard to fear or favor, without regard to whether they're
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Republican or Democrat or an independent. Davis was a Republican.
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I'm a Republican. If you're lying, stealing and cheating, I
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don't care what party you are. You're an offender and
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we're going to hold you accountable.
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Yeah.
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So in this case specifically with Brian Davis, um, Apparently
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this was some type of, and you mentioned innocent until
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00:24:08.369 --> 00:24:12.390
proven guilty, but he was working with the Port Authority
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00:24:12.410 --> 00:24:18.480
director there and Robert Horton on this kickback scheme. Davis's wife, Lori,
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00:24:18.519 --> 00:24:22.000
was involved as well. She's not going to prison. She's
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getting this community control sentence, but she pleaded guilty to
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a felony.
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Yeah, those two I can clearly say are guilty. They
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did what they did as charged in the indictment. You know,
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Horton has been indicted with the same indictment. You know,
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the thing here in this story that was most interesting,
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we picked this up during an audit when we started
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seeing payments going to people, but why are they getting
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00:24:47.599 --> 00:24:50.849
a payment kind of thing? And so when you start
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00:24:50.910 --> 00:24:54.049
following those leads and pulling the leads, our team, our
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00:24:54.089 --> 00:24:58.210
forensic auditors, investigators went across multiple states in this case.
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And when they got into the facts, The more we pulled,
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the more it didn't look good. And ultimately, like most crimes,
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00:25:08.690 --> 00:25:12.069
the original offense was bad enough, getting a kickback. The
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00:25:12.109 --> 00:25:16.230
cover-up was worse. And the cover-up is part of what
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00:25:16.289 --> 00:25:19.579
he was sentenced for. And so I always tell people
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that it's the cover-ups that really.
399
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Infringe.
400
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The original offense is bad, but true. trying to cover
401
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it up, that infringes even more on public trust because
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now you get into lying and cheating and colluding and
403
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all those things. And we believe that's all present in
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00:25:38.279 --> 00:25:38.759
this case.
405
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I'm presuming that Mrs. Davis had a different attorney than Mr. Davis.
406
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Did she roll on her husband?
407
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No, I think she had the same attorney. I think they...
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And ultimately, remember, he's a public official, so he has
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greater culpability in our view of the world. It was
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his vote that started this process. And so in that situation,
411
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her facts were a little different, wasn't quite as extreme.
412
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And so in our negotiations, we thought that was an
413
00:26:13.460 --> 00:26:18.839
appropriate adjustment to the sentence. Now,
look, I think the
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judge could have easily sent both of them to prison.
415
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The problem is that they've got young kids and kids
416
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with special needs, and then you have to talk about
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what you do about that. Now, they could have staggered
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the prison terms and done other things, but in the end,
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we think this was an appropriate sentence for an appropriate crime.
420
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I would have.
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Preferred us to have the ability to put them in
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prison for the rest of their lives, but that's not
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what the law is. That's not what the sanctions are
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for those crimes.
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I understand that Brian Davis had like 70 people character
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witnesses there, but it didn't seem to make too much
427
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of a difference with the judge.
428
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Well, the judge could have stacked these offenses and could
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have given him upwards of five and a half years.
430
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So the judge did what most judges do. He sentenced
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them someplace in the mid-range of the sentencing parameters, particularly
432
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when you think about appeals and other things. And that's
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pretty much where the judge came down. We thought two
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and a half years is a sizable sentence. I did
435
00:27:20.329 --> 00:27:23.750
a first auditor in state to have personally tried one
436
00:27:23.769 --> 00:27:26.490
of these cases. And so I tried a case against
437
00:27:26.549 --> 00:27:29.509
the Lima Allen County Regional Transit Authority director, and we
438
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convicted her of seven felonies. And the judge sentenced her
439
00:27:33.519 --> 00:27:35.519
to 12 and a half years in prison, but then
440
00:27:35.579 --> 00:27:39.240
ran them all concurrently. So she'll do 30 months as
441
00:27:39.299 --> 00:27:42.359
well for that offense where she was faking the sale
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00:27:42.380 --> 00:27:44.799
of buses to move money into their political action committee.
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00:27:45.299 --> 00:27:48.710
similar dollars. And so she'll actually do about 30 months
444
00:27:48.769 --> 00:27:51.509
as well. So based on that sentence alone, I can
445
00:27:51.549 --> 00:27:53.390
tell you this one's in the range.
446
00:27:54.130 --> 00:27:58.009
So Davis is doing 30 months, but also ordered to
447
00:27:58.069 --> 00:28:03.559
pay about $ 68, 000 in restitution to the county and over
448
00:28:03.559 --> 00:28:07.319
$ 500 to the auditor's office. But then also he's got
449
00:28:07.339 --> 00:28:10.710
to forfeit not only his retirement pay, but he has
450
00:28:10.750 --> 00:28:15.869
to repay his salary that he received. So that's a
451
00:28:15.930 --> 00:28:17.269
sizable amount right there.
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00:28:17.289 --> 00:28:21.720
Oh, yeah. We always ask for restitution. And I always
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say the criminal sanction is one of the most important
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things we go for, but we always go for restitution
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to make the taxpayers whole. And in this case, he's
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already paid, as I understand it, the $ 67, 000. That was part.
457
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Of the deal.
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He brought a check with him, and that's been deposited.
459
00:28:39.609 --> 00:28:43.400
And so that's a good thing. Paying back his salary
460
00:28:43.420 --> 00:28:45.599
will go to the county, and he'll have to do that.
461
00:28:46.019 --> 00:28:49.359
And he'll forfeit his pension and retirement. That will all
462
00:28:49.400 --> 00:28:51.849
be seized to make part of that restitution as well.
463
00:28:52.069 --> 00:28:58.630
Yeah. So back to the man he allegedly has colluded
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00:28:58.690 --> 00:29:02.259
with here, the former Scioto County Economic Development Director and
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00:29:02.299 --> 00:29:06.259
Robert Horton. You know, there's reports that he may not
466
00:29:06.319 --> 00:29:10.680
go to jail, that he might receive the community control
467
00:29:11.220 --> 00:29:15.369
similar to Mrs. Davis. But we don't know that as
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00:29:15.430 --> 00:29:16.970
of yet. When will we find that out?
469
00:29:18.670 --> 00:29:21.470
Well, they were supposed to have had a date yesterday.
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And that got continued. So I don't know that the
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00:29:25.680 --> 00:29:29.859
new date for a plea change or a hearing status
472
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conference has been set yet. And so when that happens,
473
00:29:34.450 --> 00:29:37.049
certainly you'll know about that. It'd be on the public docket.
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00:29:37.930 --> 00:29:41.059
We anticipate, again, that he'll continue. in and plead guilty,
475
00:29:41.099 --> 00:29:44.680
but if he doesn't, then we'll have trial. My prosecutors
476
00:29:44.720 --> 00:29:48.200
and trial guys are really good. I jokingly say, I
477
00:29:48.220 --> 00:29:50.109
don't know the exact number, but I think they're running
478
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about 170 to one on convictions. And if, if he
479
00:29:55.049 --> 00:29:56.730
wants to have a trial, we'll have a trial, but
480
00:29:57.180 --> 00:29:59.359
The fact of the matter is we've got very clear
481
00:29:59.420 --> 00:30:03.839
parameters where we don't indict or charge unless we believe
482
00:30:03.880 --> 00:30:06.950
that a jury will come back and convict him beyond
483
00:30:06.990 --> 00:30:10.930
a reasonable doubt. And so we have a really strong
484
00:30:10.970 --> 00:30:14.670
track record of having jurors do that. And so we'll
485
00:30:14.690 --> 00:30:18.170
see what he does. My guess is that based on
486
00:30:18.210 --> 00:30:19.640
these facts, he's going to plead guilty.
487
00:30:20.180 --> 00:30:22.619
Is Horton the last domino in this case, or is
488
00:30:22.660 --> 00:30:24.990
there anybody else that you're looking at?
489
00:30:26.349 --> 00:30:30.109
I can only say, Tom, because we've got an ongoing investigation,
490
00:30:30.170 --> 00:30:33.890
that the investigation goes on and the investigation goes on
491
00:30:33.930 --> 00:30:34.509
beyond Mr.
492
00:30:34.529 --> 00:30:34.809
Horton.
493
00:30:36.029 --> 00:30:40.980
Wow. Okay. Well, I mean, it looks like, you know,
494
00:30:41.019 --> 00:30:44.220
your office has done an incredible job here in bringing
495
00:30:44.259 --> 00:30:47.740
this out. And, you know, hopefully you'll make people of
496
00:30:47.819 --> 00:30:51.920
the county feel a little bit better about what has happened. But,
497
00:30:52.349 --> 00:30:56.200
I mean, always when you have situations like this, it's like, Well,
498
00:30:56.500 --> 00:30:58.920
there we go again. We can't trust the government, and
499
00:30:59.680 --> 00:31:01.539
there's a reason for that, and that's why we have
500
00:31:01.579 --> 00:31:03.940
to be vigilant and transparent.
501
00:31:05.819 --> 00:31:09.950
Yeah, and I appreciate that sentiment. I certainly have seen that.
502
00:31:10.349 --> 00:31:12.470
But I would tell people outside of county, you've got
503
00:31:12.509 --> 00:31:15.569
some really good elected officials down there. You've got a
504
00:31:15.609 --> 00:31:17.849
couple of other county commissioners who feel like they were
505
00:31:17.930 --> 00:31:24.160
duped by Davis, and they take their job seriously. they
506
00:31:24.319 --> 00:31:28.180
all want justice for this case. One of them testified and,
507
00:31:28.380 --> 00:31:31.960
and made a very good victim impact statement as to
508
00:31:32.019 --> 00:31:35.740
what that meant to the County and the citizens. Santa
509
00:31:35.779 --> 00:31:38.819
County is a great place in Ohio, but look, it's
510
00:31:38.859 --> 00:31:43.609
had its challenges and it continues to have challenges. And,
511
00:31:43.849 --> 00:31:46.869
and certainly having a corrupt County commissioner isn't, isn't helpful
512
00:31:46.930 --> 00:31:49.650
for that. And we will do what we can to
513
00:31:49.849 --> 00:31:52.009
help restore trust. Yeah.
514
00:31:53.299 --> 00:31:56.720
I want to get your thought on another subject that
515
00:31:56.759 --> 00:32:01.079
your office is dealing with, and that is cybercrime. And
516
00:32:01.240 --> 00:32:03.680
you have a recent case in this, but you say
517
00:32:04.180 --> 00:32:09.630
that Ohio governments have lost roughly $ 15 million to cyberattacks
518
00:32:09.690 --> 00:32:10.329
and scams.
519
00:32:11.670 --> 00:32:15.369
Yeah, we lose more money to cybercrime than we do
520
00:32:15.390 --> 00:32:18.369
to employee theft and dishonesty like this case in Ohio.
521
00:32:19.400 --> 00:32:23.259
Every week goes by, we get notification of another six-figure
522
00:32:23.299 --> 00:32:27.539
loss to government somewhere in Ohio because they've been the
523
00:32:27.579 --> 00:32:30.119
victim of a vendor redirect or a cyber hack or
524
00:32:30.180 --> 00:32:33.920
something going on. But it's not just government, Tom. It's
525
00:32:33.940 --> 00:32:38.329
your listeners. We have individuals, particularly senior citizens, who are
526
00:32:38.400 --> 00:32:43.450
being victimized by these cyber fraudsters. And it's tough to
527
00:32:43.490 --> 00:32:45.990
do anything about it from government, but it's something government
528
00:32:46.009 --> 00:32:48.000
ought to do more. And One of the things when
529
00:32:48.039 --> 00:32:50.000
I'm attorney general, we want to do is have a
530
00:32:50.019 --> 00:32:52.990
group that hacks the hackers, that goes back and tries
531
00:32:53.029 --> 00:32:57.750
to identify who they are by reverse hacking them and
532
00:32:57.890 --> 00:33:01.170
tries to identify where they're from and get their money
533
00:33:01.210 --> 00:33:05.980
back to pay the victims. But more importantly, now that
534
00:33:06.019 --> 00:33:08.880
we've got an administration in Washington, D.C. that's willing to
535
00:33:08.980 --> 00:33:11.859
extradite these guys, try and get them back here to
536
00:33:11.900 --> 00:33:14.759
stand justice. I was part of a press conference with
537
00:33:14.819 --> 00:33:19.680
the United States Attorney General and Kash Patel, the FBI director,
538
00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:22.539
where they announced that they were extraditing four guys from
539
00:33:22.660 --> 00:33:27.269
Africa to Ohio who had been involved in a romance
540
00:33:27.329 --> 00:33:30.730
scam with senior citizens. So if we can get them,
541
00:33:30.789 --> 00:33:33.490
grab them, bring them back, prosecute them, make examples, the
542
00:33:33.509 --> 00:33:37.490
message is don't screw with Ohioans. But part of the
543
00:33:37.609 --> 00:33:40.349
answer is to educate. And I have been out there
544
00:33:40.369 --> 00:33:44.089
trying to educate Ohioans and local governments in Ohio on
545
00:33:44.130 --> 00:33:46.720
how to avoid extradition. being a victim. And the simplest
546
00:33:46.819 --> 00:33:49.960
answer is somebody calls you, they email you, they text
547
00:33:50.000 --> 00:33:53.910
you unsolicited, don't open the link, don't answer, hang up.
548
00:33:54.730 --> 00:33:57.450
I get eight to 10 scam calls a day trying
549
00:33:57.490 --> 00:33:59.789
to convince me that they can get me a better
550
00:33:59.849 --> 00:34:03.190
deal on Medicare. Well, here's the joke. I know they're
551
00:34:03.210 --> 00:34:05.140
all scam calls because I'm not old enough to get
552
00:34:05.259 --> 00:34:07.819
on Medicare yet. And so when they say your Medicare
553
00:34:07.859 --> 00:34:10.699
benefits are sitting out here not being used, I know
554
00:34:10.739 --> 00:34:14.260
those are scam calls. But if you're a senior citizen
555
00:34:14.280 --> 00:34:16.219
and you get that call and somebody says, hey, we
556
00:34:16.260 --> 00:34:20.219
can get you, you know, $ 500 a month extra, people go, well,
557
00:34:20.659 --> 00:34:24.079
maybe I ought to look into that. And the reality
558
00:34:24.159 --> 00:34:28.489
is that those are unsolicited calls, unsolicited emails, unsolicited texts.
559
00:34:29.070 --> 00:34:32.090
It's a scam. They're trying to take advantage of you
560
00:34:32.150 --> 00:34:33.130
and the system. Yeah.
561
00:34:33.719 --> 00:34:37.059
You know, we're hearing a lot about flock cameras these days,
562
00:34:37.159 --> 00:34:40.719
and certainly they're all over Columbus, and a growing number
563
00:34:40.800 --> 00:34:44.739
of them even in more rural parts of Ohio. I
564
00:34:44.780 --> 00:34:49.550
just saw a story where hackers had breached the data
565
00:34:50.210 --> 00:34:53.989
of a flock camera, and they did this to show
566
00:34:54.050 --> 00:34:57.369
the media that, hey, this can be done fairly easily.
567
00:34:57.670 --> 00:34:59.889
So that's got to be, with all the other concerns
568
00:34:59.969 --> 00:35:02.489
and debates about flock cameras, there's another one to be
569
00:35:02.530 --> 00:35:03.110
concerned about.
570
00:35:04.789 --> 00:35:07.929
Yeah, I mean, flock cameras are interesting because if you
571
00:35:07.969 --> 00:35:10.840
talk to law enforcement, they'll tell you that it may
572
00:35:10.889 --> 00:35:14.219
be one of the best law enforcement crime-solving tools they've
573
00:35:14.239 --> 00:35:20.079
had since DNA. And there are plenty of crimes, whether
574
00:35:20.119 --> 00:35:23.079
it's the Tepe murder case in Columbus, or I was
575
00:35:23.119 --> 00:35:26.139
just with the police chief in Marion who told me
576
00:35:26.159 --> 00:35:29.380
they had solved a couple of child abduction cases with
577
00:35:29.400 --> 00:35:32.389
flock cameras pretty quickly. And so there are benefits to
578
00:35:32.570 --> 00:35:34.789
law enforcement, but I think the solution is we got
579
00:35:34.809 --> 00:35:39.730
to lock these things down and only allow law enforcement
580
00:35:39.780 --> 00:35:42.900
with a law enforcement purpose to have access to this data,
581
00:35:43.599 --> 00:35:48.400
particularly in certain circumstances, probably should require a warrant when
582
00:35:48.420 --> 00:35:53.039
you're trying to do a mosaic of somebody's activities and movements.
583
00:35:53.480 --> 00:35:55.539
You probably need to have a warrant. And I'm not
584
00:35:55.599 --> 00:35:58.280
sure you shouldn't only limit it to supervisors, but that
585
00:35:58.320 --> 00:36:01.989
discussion is ongoing. And we can do that. We have
586
00:36:02.070 --> 00:36:05.949
other law enforcement databases, whether it's the Lean Network or
587
00:36:06.010 --> 00:36:08.409
other things, where only law enforcement get to see it.
588
00:36:09.030 --> 00:36:12.349
But the ORS system, which is the system where you
589
00:36:12.389 --> 00:36:16.489
track drug, to look for drug shopping and physician shopping,
590
00:36:17.260 --> 00:36:21.199
has a similar requirement. Anytime somebody accesses those computers to
591
00:36:21.239 --> 00:36:24.099
get that data, they have to put a case number
592
00:36:24.659 --> 00:36:28.699
And put information and an authorization from the supervisor to
593
00:36:28.739 --> 00:36:31.010
go in and do that. And those are all audited.
594
00:36:31.710 --> 00:36:34.670
And so maybe we need a system like that. But
595
00:36:34.769 --> 00:36:37.349
either way, it needs to be tightened up, Tom. It
596
00:36:37.389 --> 00:36:39.550
just can't be a system that somebody can go, a
597
00:36:40.119 --> 00:36:43.059
law enforcement guy can go track their ex-wife or girlfriend's
598
00:36:43.139 --> 00:36:48.449
activities online. or subject to being hacked. And so absolutely,
599
00:36:48.489 --> 00:36:50.650
if you're going to have this database, it needs to
600
00:36:50.690 --> 00:36:51.269
be tightened up.
601
00:36:51.449 --> 00:36:54.309
Yeah. Yeah. And I think that really kind of goes
602
00:36:54.389 --> 00:36:56.710
in with what you've talked about, where you say, you know,
603
00:36:57.130 --> 00:37:00.550
as attorney general, you're wanting to create a public integrity
604
00:37:00.610 --> 00:37:04.750
and anti-corruption task force. So, I mean, that goes for
605
00:37:05.110 --> 00:37:08.199
all elected officials and then people in authority like those
606
00:37:08.260 --> 00:37:10.880
police officers that we've read about who have abused the
607
00:37:10.900 --> 00:37:11.539
flock system.
608
00:37:13.110 --> 00:37:15.969
That's absolutely right. You know, as auditor, I have convicted
609
00:37:16.030 --> 00:37:19.389
two county sheriffs and put them in prison for abusing
610
00:37:19.429 --> 00:37:24.280
their responsibilities. We've convicted law enforcement folks who were violating
611
00:37:24.360 --> 00:37:27.139
the lien or the other laws. That's a felony in Ohio.
612
00:37:28.119 --> 00:37:30.380
And so we need to have a unit in the
613
00:37:30.420 --> 00:37:33.099
attorney general's office that can continue to go out and
614
00:37:34.019 --> 00:37:38.730
promote public integrity and go after people when they violate it.
615
00:37:39.179 --> 00:37:40.940
And so that's one of the things that we're going
616
00:37:40.980 --> 00:37:43.539
to do when I become attorney general. Add to that
617
00:37:43.639 --> 00:37:46.960
some of the consumer protection stuff and the anti-cyber fraud stuff.
618
00:37:47.539 --> 00:37:49.780
As I say, if you're a human trafficker in Ohio,
619
00:37:49.800 --> 00:37:52.639
we're going to get you. If you're engaged in elder
620
00:37:52.659 --> 00:37:54.769
abuse in Ohio, we're going to get you. If you're
621
00:37:54.789
--> 00:37:59.090
engaged in consumer fraud, we're going to come after you.
622
00:37:59.530 --> 00:38:01.909
Those are all things that a good attorney general should do.
623
00:38:03.170 --> 00:38:06.320
And we will be happy to work regionally and nationally
624
00:38:06.360 --> 00:38:09.079
with other attorney generals. You've got a really good attorney
625
00:38:09.119 --> 00:38:12.210
general in West Virginia. He's a friend of mine. We
626
00:38:12.250 --> 00:38:16.550
will work with them on cross-border offenses and cross-border crime,
627
00:38:16.570 --> 00:38:19.989
whether it's organized retail theft. Anything that's trying to take
628
00:38:20.030 --> 00:38:24.659
advantage of people in Ohio, we're going to promote justice,
629
00:38:24.780 --> 00:38:27.119
and that's what an attorney general does. I've got a
630
00:38:27.159 --> 00:38:31.159
track record of doing that, and the only one running
631
00:38:31.199 --> 00:38:33.280
for attorney general who's prosecuted criminals.
632
00:38:34.739 --> 00:38:40.789
And this Ohio auditor, Keith Faber, has just... gotten done
633
00:38:40.889 --> 00:38:44.900
here with this sentencing of former Scioto County Commissioner Brian
634
00:38:44.940 --> 00:38:48.079
Davis will serve two and a half years in prison
635
00:38:48.340 --> 00:38:56.199
on this kickback scheme that has reverberated throughout southeastern Ohio
636
00:38:56.699 --> 00:39:00.230
and of course Keith Faber also Republican candidate for Attorney
637
00:39:00.269 --> 00:39:04.590
General on Election Day November 3rd. Sir thank you so
638
00:39:04.630 --> 00:39:05.989
much for joining us appreciate it.
639
00:39:07.050 --> 00:39:10.630
Thanks Tom and thanks for bringing your listeners up to
640
00:39:10.670 --> 00:39:11.989
date on these important cases.
641
00:39:12.409 --> 00:39:19.460
Absolutely. The Tom Roten Show is sponsored in part by movcac.com.
642
00:39:19.940 --> 00:39:25.869
It stands for Motivate, Organize, Volunteer Citizens Action Coalition, Turning
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Talk Into Action. Listen, if these Corvettes line up with
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what you believe, join the movement. Protect the sanctity of life,
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restore voter integrity, the right of free speech, the right
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to keep and bear arms, protect the innocent, and medical freedom.
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Those are the core values at MOVCAC. Again, if there's
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not a chapter in your area, look to start one.
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Go to movcac.com. Hey folks, keep your immune system healthy
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with vitamins and supplements from Holy Moly Health Food Store.
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in the Merritt's Creek Shopping Plaza, Barbersville, West Virginia. Holy Moly.
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So what do you think, Roten Army? Brian Davis sentenced
660
00:40:39.579 --> 00:40:45.409
to 30 months in prison, paying $ 68, 000 in restitution. Is
661
00:40:45.489 --> 00:40:47.789
that enough? Should it have been more? And should his
662
00:40:47.909 --> 00:40:51.710
wife also have gotten prison time? Let me know your
663
00:40:51.750 --> 00:40:56.869
thoughts on my conversation with Auditor Keith Faber and Total
664
00:40:56.909 --> 00:41:01.420
Media News Director Bill Shope. Email address... Tom Roten Show
665
00:41:01.500 --> 00:41:06.239
at Outlook.com. Tom Roten Show at Outlook.com. Both Bill Shope
666
00:41:06.590 --> 00:41:10.329
and Ohio Auditor Keith Faber appeared on the Tom Roten
667
00:41:10.349 --> 00:41:14.510
Morning Show on the Eagle. Total Media Radio stations in Ohio,
668
00:41:14.550 --> 00:41:18.349
West Virginia, and Kentucky. You can listen live weekday mornings
669
00:41:18.349 --> 00:41:21.269
6 to 9. Download the Total Media app to your
670
00:41:21.309 --> 00:41:24.610
phone and click on the Eagle. That'll do it for
671
00:41:24.630 --> 00:41:27.369
this episode. Thank you so much for listening, Roten Army,
672
00:41:27.789 --> 00:41:28.889
to the Tom Roten Show.