Western-Star.com

COLUMBUS — Attorney General Marc Dann's office is now looking into damage to a second SUV assigned to Anthony Gutierrez, said Dann spokesman Ted Hart on Friday, April 25.

Gutierrez, 50, is on paid administrative leave during an internal investigation into allegations that he sexually harassed two 26-year-old subordinates. Gutierrez, Dann's friend, neighbor and former roommate, is paid $87,500 a year to run the office maintenance, mailroom, purchasing and vehicle operations for the attorney general's office.

The 2007 Chevy Tahoe assigned to Gutierrez in January showed up at a state garage March 18 with the right front bumper cover punched in so far that it affected the right front wheel, Hart said. There was no damage report filed and whoever dropped the SUV off for Gutierrez told garage workers that it had been hit while parked, Hart said.

The 2004 Chevy Suburban assigned to Gutierrez last year showed up with unexplained damage to the right side on Oct. 10, roughly the same time that his employee, Cindy Stankoski, claims Gutierrez pressured her for sex and told her he got so drunk that he fell asleep at the wheel and awoke only when he hit a guardrail. No damage report was filed.

The state Department of Administrative Services sent a sternly worded letter to Dann's office, calling for an investigation into the damaged vehicles and threatening to remove Gutierrez from the state's insurance program if that wasn't done.

Hart said the Ohio Highway Patrol now is investigating the unexplained damage.

Once the patrol's investigation is finished, administrative services will help Dann's office review its fleet management practices, he said.

Meanwhile, Ohio Republican Party Deputy Chairman Kevin DeWine is calling for an independent investigation into the sexual harassment charges.

Breaking his silence on the matter, DeWine said "I was hoping that Marc Dann and the rest of the Democrats would step up and do the right thing and call for an independent investigation. You can't have a political appointee investigating his boss."

Executive Assistant Attorney General Ben Espy, who serves at Dann's pleasure, is leading the investigation, which is expected to wrap up next week.

Contact this reporter at (614) 224-1624 or lbischoff@DaytonDaily

News.com.

Staff writer William Hershey contributed to this report.

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