OH Gov: Petro (R) Investigated by FBI, Assailed by Blackwell (R)

Republican gubernatorial hopeful Jim Petro (R-Rocky River) is besieged on multiple fronts. The Cleveland Plain Dealer "blog" Openers reports that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating allegations that Petro personally took lucrative special counsel work away from an Akron law firm after the firm's president refused to donate to his campaign. Jack Morrison, president of the law firm, said he has been contacted by the FBI and has agreed to meet with an agent on Wednesday. At the same time, as reported in the Toledo Blade, Petro's Republican primary opponent Ken Blackwell (R-Cincinnati) has launched a savage assault against Petro over the Noe/Coingate scandal. “Where was Jim Petro while Tom Noe allegedly pilfered millions of Ohio taxpayer dollars?” asked Mike Hernon, Blackwell’s campaign manager. Hernon went on to accuse Petro of ignoring warnings from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and special counsels to investigate the investment practices of the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, which gave Mr. Noe $50 million to invest in rare coins. "On top of that, while Tom Noe was alleged to be defrauding Ohioans, Jim Petro was giving taxpayer-funded special counsel work to Tom Noe’s wife. That might be called the ultimate 'double dip,'" Mr. Hernon added.