More allegations against sexting Calumet County WI DA lead to his resignation

(Original Post 9-21-10)

Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle has called for the removal of the Calumet County DA over allegations that he sexted a domestic violence victim and invited a "date" to an autopsy. The DA, Calumet County Attorney Kenneth Kratz, has taken a leave of absence, citing "medical reasons." Doyle cannot formally seek removal unless he receives a complaint from a Calumet County resident, something he expects to occur later this week.

The second allegation regards a woman who was "dating" Kratz when he took calls involving a missing persons case. The case involved someone believed to have been murdered. He discussed aspects of the case that no other layman (or woman) knew, and that woman alleged Kratz "invit[ed] me to go with him to the autopsy (provided I would be his girlfriend and would wear high heels and a skirt)."

Doyle said "It's mind-boggling.To have an autopsy be used for the premise of a social engagement is just beyond anything anyone can imagine, I think.... That's the part that concerns me the most because it's really the use of official duties, in his official status as district attorney, for purposes completely unrelated to his job as district attorney."

Legislators, advocates for crime victims and prosecutors from across the state had already been calling for Kratz's resignation in the wake of reports that he had sent 30 text messages last year to Stephanie L. Van Groll, 26, while he was prosecuting her ex-boyfriend on domestic violence charges.

Van Groll's lawyer, Michael R. Fox, said Monday that he is aware of the new allegations against Kratz. "If it's credible, it's incredible," Fox said of the letter released by Doyle's office.

Kratz began texting Van Groll just minutes after she met with him Oct. 20 to discuss the abuse her ex-boyfriend had inflicted upon her. After Van Groll told Kratz about the abuse, he asked if she would mind if he dropped the charge from a felony to a misdemeanor, according to documents released Monday by the state Department of Justice.

Van Groll said she considered the request odd and told Kratz that trying to strangle someone is a felony, the documents show. Kratz sent his first text to Van Groll about 10 minutes after the meeting, telling her that she had potential and signing the message, "KEN (your favorite DA)." In other text messages sent over three days, Kratz referred to Van Groll as a "young, hot nymph" and asked if she "likes secret contact with an older married elected DA."

Van Groll reported the text messages to police. Kratz removed himself from the prosecution of Van Groll's boyfriend after the state began investigating his communication with her. The state appointed a prosecutor to take over the case, and Van Groll's ex-boyfriend was convicted in April of a domestic violence felony, according to court records.

On Friday, Kratz issued a statement saying that he "showed a lack of respect not only for my position but for the young woman that was involved," but refused to step down.

The Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence and the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault released a joint statement saying "Whether or not Kratz has been an advocate for crime victims in the past, it is clear he can no longer serve in his current position. He has ignored victims, advocates and his peers, who have all called for him to step down. His repeated attempts to minimize his behavior show he either is in denial or only concerned for his personal interests."

The Wisconsin District Attorneys Association sent this letter, stating that Kratz' actions "has cast aspersions on our entire profession," and goes on to say that the would have fired subordinates who commites similar actions.
 
Van Groll's lawyer, Michael R. Fox, said "I am going to pull up every floorboard that I can to see what is behind this. There are things here that don't make sense. It is very strange how it has come to light. I believe my client was treated the way she was treated because she is a woman and was very vulnerable because she was a victim of domestic violence. It strikes me as something that requires further inquiry, because I don't know how you can text a victim in such a suggestive way and not immediately, the moment those texts leave your (phone), be in a conflict of interest."

(Update 9-22-10) Two more women have claimed that Kratz has harassed them. Maria Ruskiewicz, an Appleton, WI native who is now 31, claimed that she was sexted when she met with him in 2008 to discuss a pardon for a 1997 drug conviction. Ruskiewicz needed the pardon because as a student attending Oklahoma City University as a law student, it was necessary for her career goals. Kratz had prosecuted her for the drug conviction and she needed his support for the application she would send to Govenor Jim Doyle.

At the meeting, Kratz asked her about secratary - boss sex, and afterwards Kratz began to send her sexually suggestive texts, including texts describing him in the bedroom. After discussing the harassment with relatives, Ruskiewicz asked Kratz to stop texting her, which he did.

Deborah Felice, the associate dean for students at the law school, said she met with Ruskiewicz at her request on Sept. 25, 2008, to discuss the messages.

"She said she was very upset because she was pursuing a pardon and the DA she was working with was sending her these text messages that were basically stalking her," Felice said, adding that she was shown some of the messages.

Felice said she and Ruskiewicz met with a university lawyer five days later. They decided the best course of action was to ignore Kratz and hope he would go away. Felice said she spoke with Ruskiewicz weeks later and the messages had stopped, and "that's the last I heard of it until this morning," when she saw a segment about Kratz on national TV.

Richard Ginkowski, an assistant Kenosha County prosecutor, discussed the texts with Ruskiewicz as they were discussing the pardon application, and Ginkowski offered to take the matter to the Office of Lawyer Regulation, but "I decided in the end I didn't want to rock the boat." Since the scandal broke, she has said "This is not an isolated event. This happened a year prior to the first woman who came out. He is choosing women who are in vulnerable positions, not just women in general."

Ruskiewicz was granted her pardon last month by Gov. Doyle. A fourth woman has also claimed that Kratz contacted her inappropriately.

(Update 10-5-10) Kratz resigned yesterday as Calumet County DA. In a letter to Jim Doyle, Kratz said, "I hereby resign from my position as District Attorney, Calumet County, effective immediately." The resignation ends Kratz' 18 year career as Calumet County, WI district attorney. The resignation ends the official removal process, with a hearing scheduled for October 8 in Chilton being canceled.

A statement sent by fax to news outlets said Kratz remains at an out-of-state treatment center. He apologized to his "wife, son and entire family for the embarrassment and shame I have caused" and offered his "deepest apology to the citizens of Calumet County."

He cited an undisclosed condition for which he's receiving treatment as his downfall. "I have lost the confidence of the people I represent due primarily to personal issues which have now affected my professional career," Kratz wrote.

The Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence spokesman Tony Gibart said "I think the resignation is an important step and a necessary step. It's something that had to happen for victims to regain trust in the Calumet County legal system." However, Gibart said that Kratz needs to also face professional and perhaps even criminal charges for his actions. "I don't think that [only a resignation]sends the right message to victims," Gibart said.

Growing Ohio sexual harassment and possible assault scandal involving Attorney General's office

(Originally Posted 4-19-08)

There is a growing sexual harassment scandal involving employees of the Ohio State Attorney's office. An alleged victim has officially filed a police complaint involving misconduct at the condo where the Attorney General and officials stayed.

The complaint by Stankoski, 26, an employee in the telecommunications section, focuses on the night of Sept. 10, 2007, when her boss, Anthony Gutierrez, pressured her to go out for a drink after work. After visiting three Downtown bars, Gutierrez took her, at the invitation of Attorney General Marc Dann, to the Dublin-area condo then occupied by Gutierrez, Dann and Leo Jennings III, the attorney general's $102,000-a-year communications director. All three have since moved.

Stankoski said that a half-hour after arriving, she felt drunk, asked to lie down and was directed to Gutierrez's bedroom. When she awoke around 4:30 a.m., she said her pants were unbuttoned and Gutierrez was lying beside her dressed only in underwear. Stankoski said Gutierrez later admitted that he unbuttoned her pants and wanted to have sex with her, but decided against it.
The police will decide whether Gutierrez should be charged, Collins has said.

Dann has acknowledged that he was at the condo that night but declined to comment because of the ongoing internal investigation.

Vanessa Stout, 26, another employee Gutierrez supervised, also filed sexual-harassment complaints with the state and with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Gutierrez and Jennings have been suspended with pay pending the outcome of an internal investigaition, which Attorney General Dann insisted on. Internal investigations are frowned upon, and the results can lead to coverups of more extensive and serious crimes.

Gutierrrez has a history of problems behind the wheel, yet was still hired by Dann's office, as shown below:

Gutierrez was arrested for drunken driving just weeks before he was hired by Dann, 10 Investigates' Paul Aker reported.

Records show Gutierrez' blood-alcohol level hit .149, nearly twice the legal limit. The Ohio State Highway Patrol confirmed that Dann picked up Gutierrez after the incident.

"I can only tell you that Mr. Dann knew that Mr. Gutierrez (had) a DUI," said Ted Hart, a Dann spokesman.

A timeline of events showed that Gutierrez was arrested on Sept. 26, 2006. Gutierrez turned in his application to Dann in December that year. On Jan. 9, 2007, Gutierrez pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of reckless operation. Dann hired Gutierrez less than a month later, Aker reported.

10 Investigates found that Gutierrez never listed the incident on his official application. Hart said that Dann would not have hired Gutierrez with a DUI.

10 Investigates also learned of other problems Gutierrez had that took place in state-owned vehicles. Before an SUV named the Sunshine Express had flames on it, it suffered body damage. Records obtained by 10 Investigates showed Gutierrez apparently crashed it but skipped AG policy by failing to report the damage.

"The policy clearly states if that the vehicle is damaged that reports have to be filled out and at this point there is nothing to point," Hart said.

(Updated 5-6-08) Things have taken a turn over in Ohio after Dann admitted that he had an affair with Jessica Utovich, his ex-scheduler. He apologized to his family and Ohio citizens after the revelations of the rumored sexual misconduct. The internal investigation of Gutierrez and Jennings led to their firing Friday, May 2.

"To (my wife) Alyssa and my children, to the employees of the attorney general, I apologize for my human failings," Dann said during a tense, hour-long news conference [May 2].

"I take full responsibility. As disappointed as I am with the conduct of others, I am even more disappointed in myself. … I have not conducted myself in a way that is consistent with my values as a husband, a father and my responsibilities as the attorney general of Ohio."
Dann said he is "heartbroken by my failure to recognize the problems being created and by my failure to stop them."

Punishment went to others, however, based on findings of an internal investigation done by Ben Espy, executive assistant attorney general, and Julie Pfeiffer, senior assistant attorney general.

Anthony Gutierrez, general-services director, and Leo Jennings III, communication director, both Dann's longtime friends from the Youngstown area, were fired. A third longtime Dann friend, Edgar C. Simpson, his top nonlegal adviser, resigned Thursday night instead of being fired yesterday. Simpson was paid $110,000 a year; Jennings and Gutierrez were paid $102,000 and $87,500, respectively.

The woman who spent nights at the Dublin-area condominium with Dann last year, Jessica Utovich, his former scheduler, resigned Thursday. Other staff members said she was crying in the office all day Thursday, her last day on the job.

Governor Ted Strickland thought that the firing of officials except for Dann was a double standard, and an Ohio GOP operative said as a result of the scandal, he lost the trust of Ohio citizens and should resign.

"Marc Dann failed the people of Ohio, and he must resign immediately," DeWine said. "It's simply not acceptable that everyone but Dann himself will be held accountable."

Gutierrez, Jennings, Simpson and Utovich declined to comment or did not return phone calls yesterday.

Dann repeatedly stated that his own ethical and policy breaches don't justify his departure as the state's top lawyer.

Several investigations remain open. The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is looking into Stankoski and Stout's sexual-harassment complaints, and the State Highway Patrol and the Department of Administrative Services are reviewing unreported accidents and use of state vehicles.

The Ohio Ethics Commission will be asked to look into allegations that Gutierrez was running his construction business from his state office.

Over the weekend, calls for the AG to resign grew louder, with Governor Strickland calling for Dann's resignation yesterday. Dann decided to stick it out in a response, and now some Ohio Democrats have disowned him, calling Dann an independant who was elected a Democrat. Ohio legislators have dusted off the impeachment statutes, which haven't been used in literally 200 years.

Steinglass said the most notable impeachment case in Ohio was brought in 1808 against George Tod, a Supreme Court justice, and Calvin Pease, a common pleas court judge.
They both were impeached by the House for declaring a law involving the right to a trial by jury unconstitutional, but each was acquitted by one vote in Senate trials.

The Columbus Dispatch has full coverage of this story.

(Update 5-14-08) Dann has been impeached by his own party, and offered to resign to hold off an investigation into the matters discussed above by Ohio Inspector General Thomas P. Charles, which will start today. The Ohio House passed, and Governor Strickland signed an emergency bill granting the Inspector General immediate powers to investigate Dann. The FBI will also do their own investigation.

The nine counts of impeachment allege that Attorney General Marc Dann:
• Obstructed the internal investigation into allegations of sexual harassment in his office.
• Willfully and intentionally issued misleading statements under oath.
• Neglected to perform the duties of his office and, by his own admission, was not competent or qualified for the job.
• Knew or should have known that his own admitted sexual affair with an employee contributed to and allowed a hostile work environment.
• Failed to ensure the safety and security of state property.
• Failed to investigate and prohibit improper use of state property.
• Knew or should have known of the misuse of state property for personal business.
• Committed acts of gross neglect of duty by undermining the integrity of his office, bringing disrepute on the office, betraying the public trust as Ohio's chief law-enforcement officer and undermining the effectiveness and efficiency of the office.
• Committed acts of gross immorality and knew or should have known that his personal conduct undermined the effectiveness and efficiency of the office.