Thursday, July 08, 1999
Campaign inquiry turns to Ky. lawyer
Covington man offers to talk
BY JOHN MCCARTHY
The Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Investigators for the Ohio Elections Commission want to hear from a lawyer for a former Statehouse lobbyist who allegedly had financial ties to U.S. Sen. George Voinovich's brother.
Philip Richter, the commission's executive director and attorney, said Wednesday that he would continue the panel's investigation of Anthony Fabiano until he and special investigator Roger Makley hear from Mr. Fabiano's lawyer, Patrick Hanley of Covington, Ky.
The commission ruled last month that it did not have enough evidence to proceed against Mr. Voinovich and his brother, Paul, and it dropped their cases. The case emerged from George Voinovich's 1994 re-election campaign for governor. He was elected to the U.S. Senate Nov. 3, one day after allegations of money laundering in the 1994 campaign surfaced.
Mr. Richter said he would delay a hearing in the Fabiano case that had been scheduled for today. He said Mr. Hanley had contacted him about the case and wanted to discuss it.
Mr. Richter said he and Mr. Makley would speak with Mr. Hanley, but that he did not know what Mr. Hanley has to say. Mr. Hanley did not return a telephone call Wednesday seeking comment.
“We're going to give Mr. Hanley the opportunity to talk to us about whatever he wants to talk about,” Mr. Richter said.
The case against Mr. Fabiano and two corporations he allegedly controlled was continued last month because Mr. Fabiano refused to be interviewed by the investigators.
George Voinovich had been accused of approving a plan to use a middleman to conceal the source of $60,000 transferred from his 1994 re-election campaign treasury to Paul Voinovich and Mr. Fabiano for cam paign work allegedly performed by a former union official.
Vincent Panichi, George Voinovich's campaign treasurer, told a U.S. Justice Department lawyer investigating another matter that George Voinovich had approved the transfer during a meeting with Paul Voinovich, according to federal court records. But Mr. Panichi later said he wasn't specific enough about what he knew for certain and what he only assumed.
The Voinovich brothers both said they did not remember such a meeting taking place.
Mr. Makley told the commission that too few records existed among the parties involved. He said he could not get information from Mr. Fabiano or Nicholas Mamais, the now-deceased fund-raiser who was identified by Mr. Panichi as the middleman.
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