OH AG Office - Yet ANOTHER Investigation, this time by Highway Patrol

It wasn't quite a wrap, was it.  Yes, the Ohio Attorney General's office announced on Wednesday that the internal investigation was over.  The findings and any recommendations - e.g. suggested disciplinary actions - would be released next week. And on Tuesday, the Columbus police indicated that there wasn't adequate evidence for criminal charges against Anthony Gutierrez, who is in the center of this alleged sexual scandal.

But we knew there was more.  And already the more has started rearing its head.  In THE CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER, Reginald Fields reports that the State Highway Patrol is now advancing its own investigation.  The target is, you got it, Gutierrez.  They want to determine if he wrecked his state vehicle in October and, if so, was he intoxicated at the time.

The reason for this probe emerged during the internal investigation. As Fields tells readers, "One of the  accusers alleged in a complaint that a drunken Gutierrez fell asleep behind the wheel and struck a guardrail while driving his state-issued Chevy Suburban."  Gutierrez put the damaged car through the usual channels in the state office for repairs but since it was a one-car wreck he was not required to file a written report.  He didn't. It is part of Gutierrez's job to oversee the office's fleet of cars.

If Gutierrez is found to have been intoxicated at the time of the accident, there are all kinds of penalties possible, ranging from a DUI charge to suspension of his vehicle perk if he manages to keep his job.

Of course, we anticipate there will be further offshoots of that now-famous September 10th bar-hopping and relaxing at the condo.