Bob Taft purged one of his high-ranking employees for keeping him out of the loop about a $215 million loss in the months leading to the presidential election



Ohio Governor Robert Taft served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Tanzania in the 1960's.

Bob Taft purged one of his high-ranking employees for keeping him out of the loop about a $215 million loss in the months leading to the presidential election

Taft demotes aide over withheld data
SIlence about $215M loss a 'critical error'
Photo
Gov. Bob Taft told the Buckeye Boys' State mock Bureau of Workers' Compensation the real bureau has failed repeatedly.
( THE BLADE/DAVE ZAPOTOSKY )
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By JAMES DREW and STEVE EDER
BLADE STAFF WRITERS

[Excerpt]

COLUMBUS — The investment scandal at the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation escalated yesterday as Gov. Bob Taft purged one of his high-ranking employees for keeping him out of the loop about a $215 million loss in the months leading to the presidential election.

Yesterday was James Samuel’s final day in the governor’s office, said Mark Rickel, Mr. Taft’s press secretary.

“He made a very critical mistake in not passing along information on the size of the MDL loss,” Mr. Rickel said.

The bureau confirmed June 7 that a high-risk hedge fund that it invested in through Pittsburgh-based MDL Capital Management had lost $215 million in just a few months last year.

On June 8, an e-mail surfaced that James Conrad, the bureau’s former administrator-CEO, wrote to Mr. Samuel on Oct. 26, 2004, explaining that the “entire value” of the hedge fund that MDL managed had been lost.

“I did not directly tell the governor about the dollar figure,” Mr. Samuel said last night, repeating his statement a week ago that he recalls briefing Jon Allison, the governor’s chief of staff, about the Oct. 26, 2004 e-mail — but does not remember telling Mr. Allison that the entire $215 million had been lost.

“Maybe I did. Maybe I didn’t,” he told The Blade on June 9.

Mr. Allison has said Mr. Samuel, 35, did not forward or discuss the e-mail contents with him.

Mr. Taft has said he was not told about Mr. Conrad’s e-mail and didn’t know the extent of the loss until last week.

Mr. Samuel, who in July, 2003, joined the governor’s office as an executive assistant for business and industry after working eight years for the bureau, is being demoted to a post in the taxation department. He’ll work on tax amnesty programs, with his salary trimmed from $80,000 to $76,000, Mr. Rickel said.

Mr. Conrad announced his resignation May 27 after Mr. Taft said the bureau had “failed to implement proper controls to safeguard” the bureau’s $50 million investment in rare-coin funds controlled by Tom Noe, a Toledo-area coin dealer and Republican fund-raiser.

Mr. Taft decided not to fire Mr. Samuel because he has been a “very capable employee who has worked tirelessly” on the governor’s plan to overhaul the state tax system, Mr. Rickel said.

Karen Huey, director of the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services since November, 2003, will be Mr. Taft’s new liaison to the bureau, the governor announced yesterday.

When this story was posted in June 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:



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American Taboo: A Peace Corps Tragedy Returned Volunteers met with author Philip Weiss in Baltimore on June 18 to discuss the murder of Peace Corps Volunteer Deborah Gardner. Weiss was a member of a panel that included three psychiatrists and a criminal attorney. Meanwhile, the Seattle U.S. Attorney's office announced that Dennis Priven cannot be retried for the murder. "We do not believe this case can be prosecuted by anyone, not only us, but in any other jurisdiction in the United States." Read background on the case here.

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June 16, 2005: Special Events Philip Weiss, PCV murder writer, speaks in Baltimore June 18 "Rainforests and Refugees" showing in Portland, Maine until June 25 "Iowa in Ghana" on exhibit in Waterloo through June 30 NPCA to hold Virtual Leaders Forum on July 29 RPCV's "Taking the Early Bus" at Cal State until Aug 15 "Artists and Patrons in Traditional African Cultures" in NY thru Sept 30 RPCVs: Post your stories or press releases here for inclusion next week.

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June 14: Peace Corps suspends Haiti program After Uzbekistan, the Peace Corps has announced the suspension of a second program this month - this time in Haiti. Background: The suspension comes after a US Embassy warning, a request from Tom Lantos' office, and the program suspension last year. For the record: PCOL supports Peace Corps' decision to suspend the two programs and commends the agency for the efficient way PCVs were evacuated safely. Our only concern now is with the placement of evacuated PCVs and the support they receive after interrupted service.

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June 6: PC suspends Uzbekistan program Peace Corps has announced that it is suspending the Uzbekistan program after the visas of 52 Peace Corps volunteers who arrived in January were not renewed. The suspension comes after a State Department warning that terrorist groups may be planning attacks in Uzbekistan and after the killings in Andizhan earlier in May. Background: PCOL published a report on April 23 that Peace Corps volunteers who arrived in January were having visa difficulties and reported on safety and visa issues in Uzbekistan as they developed.

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June 6, 2005: This Week's Top Stories Kinky Friedman will "sign anything except bad legislation" 6 Jun Niels Marquardt Makes Chimpanzee Protection a Priority 6 Jun Laurence Leamer needs approval for "Today" appearance 6 Jun Desperate Housewives' Ricardo Chavira is son of RPCVs 6 Jun Anthony Sandberg runs Berkeley sailing school 5 Jun Amy Smith field-tests sugarcane charcoal 5 Jun Mary Johnson organizes workshop on genocide 3 Jun Jonathan Lash in 100 most Influential Business Leaders 3 Jun Hastert jump-starts Chris Shays' Campaign 3 Jun John Coyne says 41 RPCVs applied for scholarships 3 Jun James Rupert writes on bombing in Kandahar mosque 1 Jun John McCain says to expand opportunities for service 1 Jun Jay Rockefeller's relationships with Japanese go way back 1 Jun Anat Shenker met her husband during service in Honduras 31 May Ryan Clancy punished without hearing for visiting Iraq 30 May Melissa Mosvick remembered as a fallen American hero 29 May Kurt Carlson played basketball against Togo's national team 29 May Helen Thomas's favorite president remains JFK 24 May

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