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U.S. Office of Special Counsel
1730 M Street, N.W., Suite 218
Washington, D.C. 20036-4505
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OSC: Ohio Prosecutor
Violated Hatch Act
Official, Assistant Pressured Subordinates
To Make Political Contributions
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 7/12/07 CONTACT: Loren Smith, 202-254-3714,
lsmith@osc.gov
WASHINGTON, DC – A local prosecutor in Ohio, Mathias Heck, along with
his assistant, Greg Flannagan, repeatedly pressured subordinates to
contribute money and time to political campaigns, in defiance of federal
law. This according to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, a small
independent agency that enforces the Hatch Act, the law that limits
political activity by government employees.
OSC has filed for disciplinary action against Mr.
Heck, the Montgomery County Prosecuting Attorney, and Mr. Flannagan, his
executive assistant, charging them with multiple violations. According to
the filing, the pair used their official authority to interfere with or
affect the results of elections and coerce Hatch Act-covered employees into
contributing money and time to the local Democratic party.
Mr. Heck was first elected Montgomery County
Prosecutor in 1992 and has successfully run for re-election every four years
since then. In each election, he has represented the Democratic party. (As
an elected official, he is not prohibited by the Hatch Act from running for
re-election. 5 U.S.C. ยง 1501(c).)
The Prosecutor’s Office has received three
federal grants – the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) grant, the Victims of
Crime Act (VOCA) grant, and the IV-D grant – since at least 1997. The IV-D
grant originates from the Child Support Enforcement Program under the Social
Security Act and is overseen by the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services oversees the program. The U.S. Department of Justice administers
the VOCA and VAWA grants. Mr. Heck is covered by the Hatch Act due to his
oversight of the Prosecutor’s Office programs funded by these grants and his
responsibility for seeking and receiving the grants. Mr. Flannagan was
covered by the Hatch Act because he was paid by and otherwise had duties in
connection with the IV-D grant received by the Prosecutor’s Office.
Among other things, OSC’s complaint alleges that
Mr. Heck coerced subordinates to make yearly contributions to two Democratic
party fundraisers, to volunteer for his 2004 re-election campaign, and to
volunteer their time to the Democratic Party; used Prosecutor’s Office
resources to further his 2004 candidacy for re-election to the Prosecutor
position; and used his official authority to interfere with or affect the
outcome of the 2004 election for United States Congress in which Jane
Mitakides was a candidate.
OSC’s complaint alleges that Mr. Flannagan similarly
coerced employees, including subordinates, to make contributions to two
yearly Democratic party fundraisers, and to volunteer on behalf of the
Democratic party and on behalf of Cindi Heck, Mr. Heck’s wife, during her
2005 candidacy in a partisan election; and used Prosecutor’s Office
resources to further Mr. Heck’s 2004 candidacy for re-election to the
Prosecutor position.
Special Counsel Scott Bloch noted, “Coercion cases such
as the one involving Mr. Heck and Mr. Flannagan feature the most pernicious
sort of Hatch Act violations. Indeed, this sort of activity is exactly why
the law was originally passed. We are confident of our course in this case
and we stand ready to prosecute any and all violations of the Hatch Act.”
The Hatch Act strictly prohibits state and local
employees who have duties in connection with federally-funded programs from
being candidates in partisan elections. The penalty for a proven violation
of the Act by a state or local employee is removal of the employee from
his/her position by the state/local agency and debarment from state/local
employment for the following eighteen months, or forfeiture of federal grant
funds by the state/local agency in an amount equal to two years of the
salary of the employee.
***
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel is an independent investigative and
prosecutorial agency. Among other functions, it investigates and prosecutes
complaints alleging violations of the Hatch Act and provides advisory
opinions regarding the Act’s requirements. For more information about OSC,
please visit our web site at www.osc.gov
or call 1-800-872-1855.
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