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Michael D. Pitman reports about Butler County, Ohio, politics, county government, countywide issues and Butler County people just like you for Cox Ohio Publishing (including the Hamilton JournalNews, Middletown Journal and several weekly papers in Butler County). He wants your suggestions and questions for more news stories. Leave a comment for him here or e-mail Michael at Home > Blogs > Butler County News and Issues > Archives > 2011 > March > 02 > Entry
CCR Ministries’ bingo license in jeopardy, again
MIDDLETOWN — The Ohio Attorney General’s Office is again seeking to reject the bingo license for CCR Ministries.
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine’s office issued a notice of intent to reject the 2010 and 2011 charitable bingo licenses for the organization at 902 Crawford St. operated by Chee Chee Rose. Then-Ohio Attorney General Nancy Rogers in May 2008 issued a similar notice for the 2007 and 2008 bingo licenses for CCR.
There are a number of grounds in the noticed issued by Peter Thomas, chief of the Attorney General’s charitable law section. According to the notice, among other things Rose allegedly:
paid consulting fees to former politician Michael A. Fox, which is in direct violation of the Ohio Revised Code;
failed to either use, donate or transfer net profits from bingo and net profits from the sales of instant bingo for a charitable purpose listed on the organization’s application;
used slot machines for profit;
paid bingo game operators compensation and tips;
lied about gross bingo receipts on the 2010 bingo license application;
used the sale of instant bingo tickets as the “primary source of retail income;”
either withheld or denied the Attorney General access to records;
Attorney for CCR Ministries, Kurt Gearhiser, said he has 30 days to request a hearing on the notice issued last week. He said he needs to discuss the issue with Rose and will make a determination between March 10 and 15.
“My expectation is that we will,” he said of protesting the notice’s claims. “My belief is that once we request a hearing that the allegations that have been raised in the letter will be proved to be untrue.”
A settlement was reached between the Ohio Attorney General’s office and Rose regarding the 2008 intent to reject notice.
Fox connections
Rose and CCR Ministries has been linked to Fox, who’s under investigation for allegedly improperly benefiting from a contract to build the county’s fiber optics network and mail fraud. The government had filed in August a superseding indictment, adding the phrase “kickback and bribery scheme.”
Both Rose and CCR Ministries are mentioned numerous times in the federal court documents.
According to the indictments, between December 2004 and July 2007, Fox “directly and indirectly” solicited payments, gifts and other benefits from Rose.
The indictment claims the benefits and payments were in excess of $300,000 and were “improperly obtained” by Fox “as reward for favorable treatment rendered” to CCR and its charitable activities.
Fox is set to be on trial on April 11 in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati.
Thoughts?
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment | Categories: Fox indictment, Ohio Attorney General
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By Vanity
March 3, 2011 2:50 PM | Link to this
Something new on Fox. Give it time. George Lang will be back with something new on him. Definite Ethics Commission stuff so far. Interesting to see who besides Gary Cates will step up, back George, and tarnish their name. I think those campaign funds are about all dried up.