In what amounts to a classic stall tactic, Bob Taft's former right-hand stooge Brian Hicks is crying foul.
Columbus - As prosecutors race to beat the statute of limitations, Brian Hicks - the governor's former right-hand man - filed a complaint that could slow them down until the statute expires.Hicks asked a Franklin County judge to invalidate a July 14 subpoena from Ohio Inspector General Tom Charles, arguing that it was improperly served on his attorney.
"Inasmuch as the subpoena has never been served on Mr. Hicks, it is invalid and unenforceable," Hicks' lawyer, John Zeiger, argued in a case filed Tuesday in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.
I'm not an expert on this, so I won't speak to the validity of the claim, but what a whiny little baby. There are so many important things to get to the bottom of, and this guy has to try and stop it all.
Among the records the inspector general requested are any that would help to determine whether Hicks paid the fair-market rate to rare-coin dealer Tom Noe when he and his family stayed at Noe's home in the Florida Keys. The stays occurred while Hicks served as chief of staff to Gov. Bob Taft.Although similar homes in the region rent for thousands of dollars per week, Hicks has said that he paid a fair price when he gave Noe $300 for one visit and $500 for the other.
Hicks did not report any discounted stays on his annual ethics statements, although he is required to disclose any gifts of $75 or more. Failure to report them is a misdemeanor.
Noe is the central figure in a tangled criminal investigation conducted by a task force of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.
Federal authorities are trying to determine whether he illegally disguised political donations to President Bush, and state officials are examining a $50 million rare-coin investment that Noe managed for the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation. Noe's lawyer has estimated that up to $13 million of the investment cannot be accounted for.
Although the allegations faced by Hicks are less serious, Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien called Hicks "the focus right now because of a statute-of-limitations issue. We believe there are some publicly reported incidents that the statute will expire on as of July 31, 2005."
He confirmed that the stays at Noe's house "are among them."
With any luck, the investigations will be allowed to continue, and everyone involved will get their comeupance. This is serious folks. It could spell the end of the line for Ohio GOP Musical ChairsTM. If a party is in power long enough, the greater the chances for a tremendously huge fall from (faux) grace.