Plaintiff John Mitchel, Ohio Coordinator of the Republican Liberty Caucus, recently filed civil suits against both the Prosecutor and several current and former County Commissioners in Greene County, Ohio. According to Mitchel, “What we have here is compelling evidence of bid-rigging, pay-to-play politics and money laundering,” which he says are all violations of the Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.
Mitchel claims that the officials violated the oversight responsibilities clearly defined in contracts with private corporations and cites a 2003 BRAC Initiative Agreement with the Dayton Development Coalition as the primary violation of the rules.
The Ohio Revised Code (O.R.C.) clearly states that records related to the BRAC Initiative Agreement are public records and, as such, are subject to public scrutiny. Moreover, through information available in the public domain, Mr. Mitchel has identified a clear money trail starting with Greene County taxpayers’ dollars being passed through the Dayton Development Coalition and un-bid contracts with private consultants, the Greentree Group and PMA (a Washington lobbyist), and then on to former Congressman Dave Hobson and Hobson’s replacement, Republican Steve Austria. Over many years, PMA contributed over $60,000 to the Hobson and Austria campaigns. According to the Associated Press, PMA is under investigation and will shut down operations by the end of March.
John Mitchel, USAF Ret., has 27 years of military experience, including a B.S. from the U.S. Air Force Academy and experience in Army ROTC and attending the Air Force Institute of Technology. He also holds an MBA from Michigan Tech. University and an M.S. in Economics from Wright State University. Mr. Mitchel also investigated waste, fraud, and abuse with the Department of Defense. He currently serves on the Greene County GOP Central Committee.
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