Shocking this could happen in Ohio... NOT REALLY

The Ohio Elections Commission yesterday found that the chairwoman of the Athens County Democratic Party mishandled $27,000 in campaign contributions during an unsuccessful race for county prosecutor last year. Phil Richter, the commission's executive director, said the commission voted unanimously to refer Susan Gwinn's case to the Athens County prosecutor's office for possible criminal prosecution. Richter said the commission also could have dismissed the case or fined Gwinn, but decided against those options. The decision on whether to pursue charges against Gwinn will initially be up to Prosecutor C. David Warren, the incumbent who fended off a challenge from Gwinn in the 2008 Democratic primary. Warren said he plans to ask a local judge, who originally appointed special prosecutor David Yost to investigate Gwinn's campaign, to leave the case in Yost's hands. Yost is Delaware County's prosecutor. After Warren's office got a tip about possible wrongdoing by Gwinn's campaign, he asked to have a special prosecutor look into the allegations, to avoid any appearance of conflict of interest on his part. In April, Yost filed a complaint against Gwinn, alleging three violations of state elections law. He claimed that Gwinn had received about $27,000 from two private donors, including her brother, and had funneled the money through her private bank account to hide its sources. Gwinn's attorney has said the money came from personal loans, which Gwinn had every right to spend on her elections campaign and which she planned to repay. Gwinn referred questions about her case to attorney Dennis W. McNamara, who did not return a phone call seeking comment yesterday.