MORE COVERAGE State Treasurer Joe Deters. Enquirer/STEVEN M. HERPPICH

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Bill Markovits, the lawyer for the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners, and Carl Stich Jr., an assistant county prosecutor who is representing that office, agreed Tuesday to terms of the investigation outlined by Petro.

State investigators plan to interview Allen and Rebecca Collins, the assistant Hamilton County prosecutor who claims Allen used his position to coerce her into sex. They will conduct interviews outside the prosecutor's office and will make their findings public, Petro wrote in the three-page letter to Stich and all three county commissioners.

The investigation is expected to take four or five weeks.

"It is essential that the public have confidence in the thoroughness and impartiality of our investigation," Petro said. "We believe that if the results of the investigation are communicated only to you, then the public's confidence in our investigation may be undermined."

The investigation will focus on sexual harassment claims that Collins made against Allen last month in an internal complaint and, two weeks later, in Collins' federal lawsuit. The suit also names the Board of County Commissioners as defendants.

Allen admits having an affair with Collins, but he insists it was consensual. His attorney, Michael Hawkins, has called Collins' complaint "outrageous and false."

On Aug. 31, Stich asked Petro to investigate the allegations and how the office handled the internal sexual harassment complaint, which Collins gave to Stich. Collins later took back that complaint as her lawyer started to negotiate a settlement aimed at avoiding a lawsuit.

"We will undertake the investigation that Mr. Stich requested, but only pursuant to certain conditions," Petro wrote.

The first was that the two offices agree to the investigation and promise to cooperate.

The cooperation, Petro said, includes Allen making his staff available for interviews outside that office - a move he believes would help keep the investigation impartial.

At some point, Petro said, investigators will try to interview Collins and Allen.

"If one or both of the attorneys do object and advise their clients not to be interviewed, then our ability to conduct the investigation will be significantly impaired," Petro wrote.

Petro also asked that no documents be destroyed and efforts be coordinated with any investigation done by an attorney for the county commissioners.

The commissioners have hired Dayton attorney Roger Makley to defend them from Collins' lawsuit.

Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune said he is glad Petro is doing the investigation.

"Yesterday, there was a fair amount of discussion about it," he said. "For a while, it looked like the prosecutor's office would not go along with it - but they finally saw the light."

Portune added that the scope of the examination is not as broad as commissioners had hoped. "It's a good start," he said. "And it does not preclude anything found being followed up by our investigator."

Stich could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

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