For more information, contact:
Ohio Ethics Commission
(614) 466-7090

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

ETHICS CHARGES FILED AGAINST FORMER PROJECT DIRECTOR

Former Ohio Department of Mental Health Project Director Somers L. Martin is scheduled to be arraigned in Franklin County Municipal Court on February 28, 2007, to face two criminal misdemeanor charges alleging violations of the state's Ethics Law filed by the Ohio Ethics Commission and Columbus City Attorney Richard C. Pfeiffer Jr.'s Office. The charges result from an Ethics Commission investigation initiated by a referral from the Department of Mental Health to the Commission. Martin subsequently resigned from her public employment.

Martin is charged with a conflict of interest in receiving $11,700 in 2003 for work for a private business that was simultaneously performing contract work for the Department of Mental Health which Martin was responsible for overseeing as the Department's Project Director. Martin allegedly failed to disclose the conflict to supervisors and is also charged with knowingly failing to disclose the business as a source of her income on her 2003 Financial Disclosure Statement. The business was identified as Outcomes Management Group.

Both charges are first-degree misdemeanors and carry a maximum penalty of a fine of up to $1,000 and/or up to 6 months in jail.

The Ohio Ethics Commission is an independent state agency that applies and administers the Ethics Law for state and local public officials and employees outside of the General Assembly and judiciary. It has the power to investigate allegations of unethical conduct of public servants. The Commission was created over 30 years ago upon the enactment of the Ohio Ethics Law in 1973.

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