The Committee to Improve the Judiciary

Chairman - David Palmer - Sacramento, CA - Columbus, OH

Anatomy of a Crooked Judge

Ohio Supreme Court Justice Terrence O'Donnell

Committee Purpose

The Committee's purpose is to assure that judges running for election and/or reelection are honest and competent to handle the job of dispensing justice (as opposed to dispensing with justice) equally and fairly under any and all circumstances.  Therefore, the Committee endeavors to support the election of highly ethical and competent candidates.  In contrast, the Committee has an ethical duty to seek the defeat of candidates that are ethically and/or intellectually insolvent.

Below is a table that contains the names of various entities along with contact names that have contributed to Justice O'Donnell in the past.  Each of these entities will receive notice from the Committee asking that based on O'Donnell's misconduct that, they refrain from making future contributions to his campaign.  In the event that any of these entities do in fact make further contributions, the Committee fully intends to embark on a national boycott of their products and/or services. 

Disclaimer:   The Committee is not associated with any political party nor any PAC (Political Action Committee).  The Committee is only interested in exposing dishonest, unethical and/or incompetent judges regardless of their political affiliation.  Put simply, the Committee engages in equal opportunity in exposing corruption and misfeasance in the judiciary.

Ohio Supreme Court Justice Terrence O'Donnell - Candidate for reelection in Nov. 2006

Anatomy of a Crooked Judge

After reviewing the undisputed facts below, the Committee strongly urges that you not support the reelection of Justice Terrence O'Donnell to a six-year term on the Ohio Supreme Court.  For the sake of all Ohioans, it is imperative that O'Donnell be defeated in November 2006.

The Chairman has spent a great deal of time since 2000 investigating the conduct of Justice O'Donnell.  That investigation has led to the inescapable conclusion that he is guilty of (a) felony theft-in-office, (b) illegal use of a state car and fuel, and (c) tax fraud by underreporting income earned from use of a state car and fuel.  The facts of O'Donnell's criminal and/or quasi-criminal conduct are as follows:

Tax Fraud - After his appointment to the Supreme Court on May 13, 2003, O'Donnell immediately took possession of a state-owned fully-loaded 2000 Buick Park Avenue Ultra and state gas card on May 15. 

Fuel usage and maintenance records prove that O'Donnell used the Buick Ultra to commute from Cleveland to the Court; usage which is deemed taxable income by the IRS.  Moreover, he used the Buick to attend political fundraisers and for numerous other personal purposes, all of which is taxable income.  A review of O'Donnell's fuel records demonstrates that 90-95% of his use of a state car and fuel was personal and therefore taxable income.

Because the value of the Buick exceeded $15,000, IRS rules required that O'Donnell calculate his tax liability by using the Lease Value Method.  O'Donnell falsely claimed $2,683.00 in taxable income on his 2004 W-2 for personal use of a state car/fuel., meaning he laughingly claimed that 72.5% of his use of the state car was for official court business.  The real truth is that at least 95% was for personal use, the majority of which was for commuting to and from work.

According to IRS Pub 15-B his taxable income under the Lease Value Method in 2004 was $9,463.00.  Therefore, O'Donnell knowingly and intentionally defrauded the IRS by underreporting his personal income by $6,569.00.  He also perpetrated a fraud on the taxing authorities for the State of Ohio and the City of Columbus.   (See "Watchdog's complaint to Ohio Attorney General Betty Montgomery re: Tax Fraud Involving Ohio Supreme Court Justices" under Ohio Reporter at www.noethics.net)

O'Donnell's 2003 W-2 shows that he claimed $0.00 in income for personal use of a state car/fuel from May 15 to Dec. 31.  IRS Pub 15-B mandated that said personal income be disclosed on his W-2, a fact well known to O'Donnell. 

Theft-in-Office - Cleveland - in April-May 2003, O'Donnell worked as a retired visiting judge in the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court.  Ohio Revised Code § 141.07 prohibits any visiting judge from receiving travel expenses while working in the County where they reside.  O'Donnell lived in Rocky River which is in Cuyahoga County, therefore, he was not lawfully entitled to collect travel expenses while working at the Cuyahoga County Court. 

Despite this prohibition, O'Donnell knowingly perpetrated a fraud on the citizens and taxpayers of Cuyahoga County (Cleveland) by submitting travel expenses for mileage and meals in an amount of $291.55.  He illegally collected $146.25 for mileage by billing for 15 trips at 30 miles per trip ($9.75 per) to and from the court in Cleveland to his home in Rocky River. 

Evidence that O'Donnell is nothing more than a penny-ante thief is proven by his illegal claims for $.50 cent coffees, bottled water and Egg McMuffins just about every morning he drove to the Juvenile Court in Cleveland.  He also had the gall to unlawfully bill for a dozen donuts that he provided to court personnel.  Earning over $400 a day for performing minimal services

Improper/Questionable Travel Compensation - Sandusky -  from Feb to May 2003, O'Donnell billed Erie County $1506.36 for mileage and meal expenses as a visiting retired judge. 

During this timeframe, O'Donnell owned a residence on Catawba Island in Erie County.  When he traveled from Rocky River to Sandusky at the beginning of the week, he billed 55 miles and collected $17.05.  However, once he arrived in Sandusky he spent the balance of the week residing in his home on Catawba Island.  According to O'Donnell, a roundtrip from the courthouse in Sandusky to his home on Catawba Island was 25 miles.  From Feb-May 2003 he billed for 60 roundtrips and collected $465.00 [$7.75 per trip].  (See "Justice Terrence O'Donnell" under "Watchdog Misconduct Complaints - Judges/Attorneys" at www.noethics.net.)

Improper/Illegal use of State Car for Campaigning

There is no dispute that O'Donnell illegally used a state car and fuel to attend political fundraisers in 2003 and 2004.  In a rather lame attempt to conceal his illegal activity, O'Donnell intentionally failed to submit required fuel purchase receipts to assure that prying eyes (the Committee's) could not establish his whereabouts.

On Saturday, August 2, 2003, O'Donnell drove a state car from Cleveland to the Mansfield Speedway in Mansfield, Ohio to act as grand marshal and thrown the green flag.  O'Donnell had the chutzpah to claim that he was engaged in an official court function, therefore it was legal for him to use a state car and fuel to so act.  The truth is that, he was "trolling for votes."

On Sunday, August 24, 2003, O'Donnell drove from Cleveland to Columbus to attend a political event at the home of the Franklin County Republican Party Chairman's home.  His sole purpose for attending was to troll for votes and campaign contributions.  This fact was proven by two ladies who attended at the Chairman's behest to witness O'Donnell's conduct.  I took photos and videotape of the state's car that O'Donnell drove.  In this instance, O'Donnell falsely claimed that he was already in Columbus and merely drove to the event on Dublin Road.

$18,000 in Leftover $10 and $20 bills - in early 2004, O'Donnell claimed that some unknown person or persons broke into the state's Buick in downtown Cleveland while he was attending a social event (trolling for votes) and stole $18,000 in leftover $10 and $20 that he had accumulated over the years. He went on to laughingly tell the press that it was his daily habit to toss unwanted/leftover $10 and $20 into a dresser drawer in his bedroom from the time he first became employed. 

He also claimed that he took the bag with $18,000 from Cleveland to Columbus and then back to Columbus because he didn't have time to deposit it in his bank.  This is pure bull because the bank he did business with (Charter One) had a branch within a couple of miles of his home in Rocky River and the courthouse in Columbus.  It is more likely than not that this $18,000 represented payoffs to O'Donnell as compensation for past rulings or promised rulings in the future or that he was acting as a bagman for higher-ups. (See "Justice Terrence O'Donnell's Nightly Prayer" under "Watchdog Commentary" at www.noethics.net.)

Incompetent and Lifetime Consumer of Public Pork -  the vast majority of O'Donnell's career after graduating from college has been dedicated to porking out at the public trough.  His peers in the Cleveland area were obviously not impressed with his legal skills since he was never able to obtain employment as a partner in any prestigious firms over the past 34 years.  O'Donnell's work history is as follows:

1. 1968-1970 - Instructor, speech and debate, Cuyahoga Community College

2. 1970 - instructor, grades 7 and 8, St. Brendan School, North Olmstead

3. 1971--1972, Law Clerk, Justice Corrigan, Supreme Court of Ohio

4. 1972-1974, Law Clerk, Judge Manos and Corrigan, 8th District Court of Appeals in Cleveland

5. 1974-1976, Director, Paralegal Education Program, David M. Myers College

6. 1976-1980, associated with (low level gopher) with the firm of Marshman, Snyder & Corrigan

7. 1980-1982 (elected 1982/1984/1990) appointed by Gov. Rhodes to Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court  (best paying job ever)

8. 1995-2002, Judge 8th District Court of Appeals (even better paying job ever)

9. Feb 2003 to May 2003, visiting judge

10. May 12, 2003, appointed to Ohio Supreme Court by Gov. Taft (the best paying job he could ever hope for)

Conclusion

The only reason O'Donnell became a justice on the Supreme Court was because of his work ethic as a gopher and flunky for the Republicans in Ohio.  In addition, he was willing to do the bidding for business friends (contributors) by selling his vote to the highest bidder.  Put simply, O'Donnell is nothing more than a compliant lackey for the Republican power structure in Ohio.

Worst of all is his willingness to engage in serial thefts of taxpayer money by billing for travel expenses he was not lawfully entitled to and  defrauding the IRS, State of Ohio and Columbus by underreporting income he earned from personal use of a state car and fuel.  To assert that O'Donnell is an ethical dwarf is an understatement and unfair to ethical dwarfs!

O'Donnell has proven to be a petty thief and tax scofflaw who has no business sitting in judgment of anyone.  It is time that the voters of Ohio recognize this fact and send him packing back to Rocky River.

Letter from Watchdog to O'Donnell Contributors

Below is a letter (via email) sent to the contributors named in the table below.  The content of the letters are the same other than the inclusion of relevant facts relating to each person and/or entity.

The Limited - Mr. Les Wexner

Re:  Contributions to Justice Terrence O'Donnell of the Ohio Supreme Court

Dear Mr. Wexner:

In reviewing the list of O'Donnell contributors, I noticed that in the past you and/or your organization have contributed several thousand dollars to his campaign.  I trust that you are not aware of the fact that Justice O'Donnell is guilty of filing false/fraudulent travel expense claims in Cleveland (felony theft-in-office) and of intentionally underreporting his income (criminal tax fraud) to the IRS, State of Ohio and Columbus regarding his personal use of a state car and fuel in 2003, 2004 and 2005.

I would invite you to go to my website at www.noethics.net and click onto an article titled "Voter Alert re: Justice Terrence O'Donnell" under "Ohio Reporter" and other articles listed therein that detail the criminal and/or quasi-criminal conduct engaged in by O'Donnell.  After such review I cannot imagine that you and/or anyone in your organization would make contributions to O'Donnell's campaign to be elected to the Ohio Supreme Court in 2006.

As a successful businessman who has likely paid tens of millions in income tax, I cannot imagine that you would countenance such illegal conduct on the part of someone entrusted to deliver real justice to those who consume your products.

I will continue to track all contributions made to O'Donnell and in the unlikely event that you and/or your company and/or associates do contribute to O'Donnell in the future, I intend to begin a boycott of your products both in Ohio and throughout the nation.  I believe that if you so act that, your customers have an absolute right to such information in determining whether they wish to make future purchases.

You'll notice on my website that a column exists on the table of past O'Donnell contributors allowing me to notice my viewers as to whether I receive a response in a timely fashion and to alert them to what the response is and whether or not future contributions were made.

Finally, thanks for your time and attention to this matter and I eagerly await your response via email so that I may post it on my website for viewing by Ohio voters and consumers of your products.

David Palmer - The Watchdog