Mike Crites (R)
Richard Cordray (D)
COLUMBUS, Ohio (Legal Newsline)-Mike Crites, the Republican nominee for Ohio attorney general, said Monday he will seek an ethics investigation against his Democratic opponent, state Treasurer Richard Cordray.
In a statement, Crites said he will file a complaint with the Ohio Elections Commission amid allegations that Cordray's campaign accepted illegal contributions.
The Dayton (Ohio) Daily News recently reported that Cordray received a $10,000 contribution from Lindsey Kuty, the daughter of Montford Will, a bond trader doing business with the State Treasurer's office.
Kuty, 25, made the contribution less than two weeks after Cordray took office as state treasurer.
The newspaper reported that not long after Kuty's contribution, Will's firm - Wachovia Securities - went from doing less than one percent of the state treasurer's bond trading business to 37.5 percent.
When asked by the Daily News where the contribution came from, Will said the money "came from her mother."
The revelation uncovered two potential violations of state campaign finance law since the law prohibits giving campaign contributions in someone else's name. State law also bars state contractors and their spouses from contributing more than a combined total of $2,000 in any 24-month period.
"These developments are enormously troubling in any political race, but particularly in a race for Attorney General, the state's top law officer," Crites said. "Voters expect their Attorney General to obey both the letter and the spirit of the law."
Crites said he would file the complaint in the coming days, at which time he would seek an expedited hearing. Crites said he is also asking that sworn depositions be taken from all parties involved, including Cordray.
From Legal Newsline: Reach reporter Chris Rizo at chrisrizo@legalnewsline.com.