WOSU News » sting

Ohio Public Safety Director Speaks out on Inspector General Report on Scuttled Sting at Governor’s Residence

Karen Kasler — Tue, 18 May 2010 00:00:00 +0000

For the first time, the state’s top public safety official is speaking out about the decision to call off an operation involving a suspicious package to be dropped off at the Governor’s Residence in January.

Inspector General Tom Charles blasted the decision to call off that package drop, and said public safety officials made false statements during his investigation.

But Public Safety Director Cathy Collins-Taylor says the inspector general had a predetermined conclusion in mind and mischaracterized facts.

NOTE: Karen Kasler’s entire interview with Public Safety Director Cathy Collins-Taylor will be on “The State of Ohio” on WOSU-TV at 5:30pm Friday, May 21.

RELATED STORY FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS: a Democratic state representative proposes a law that would require the Ohio watchdog to step aside from investigations involving an agency where he or a family member has worked.

The bill from state Rep. Dennis Murray comes as hearings are set to begin Wednesday in the confirmation of Public Safety Director Cathy Collins-Taylor.

State Inspector General Tom Charles issued a report critical of Collins-Taylor’s actions surrounding the cancellation of a contraband sting at the governor’s residence. The sting has become politically touchy for Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland.

Charles is a former trooper. His wife is a Highway Patrol officer.

Murray’s bill calls for the deputy inspector general to take over when the inspector general has a potential conflict.

Attorney for Ohio’s Top Public Safety Official Fires Back at Inspector General

Karen Kasler — Tue, 04 May 2010 00:00:00 +0000

A lawyer for the state’s top public safety official is firing back at the Inspector General. The comments involve a report on a decision to stop a sting at the Governor’s Residence before it happened. Statehouse correspondent Karen Kasler reports.

Report: Sting Halted To Spare Governor Embarassment

Karen Kasler — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000

The state watchdog says high-ranking Ohio officials stopped a valid sting planned for the governor’s residence only to save the governor embarrassment.

The state Inspector General said in a report Thursday that politics drove the decision by Ohio public safety director Cathy Collins-Taylor to stop the sting from happening.

The report also found numerous problems with the program that allows inmates to work at the governor’s residence in Bexley.

The report said inmates can walk unescorted outside the mansion where they received deliveries of contraband and had free access to knives, axes and other tools with no supervision.

The sting targeted a planned January drop-off of contraband by a woman whose inmate husband worked at the residence.

In a statement released by the Governor’s office, Strickland said the decisions in the case were made by people acting in good faith. And he said if decisions were made in order to protect him from some kind of embarrassment, that was unnecessary.

State Inspector General Seeks Info on Package Sting

Karen Kasler — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000

The State Inspector General wants to know what happened when troopers warned off a woman who they suspected planned to drop off a package of contraband for her husband at the Governor’s residence. The woman’s husband, a prison inmate, was working a dinner party inside the house. And Senate Republicans have opened their own investigation.