THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWS ORGANIZATION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI | WWW.NEWSRECORD.ORG
THE NEWS RECORD
131 years in print Vol. CXXXI Issue XXXX
THURSDAY | FEB. 24 | 2011
CINCY
SURPRISE
PAYING IT BACK
sports | 4
UC program allows classes to choose how to donate grant money
Bearcats defeat Georgetown 58-46 and look to March
spotlight | 3
UC trustee Chesley facing disbarment james sprague | News Editor
A member of the University of Cincinnati’s Board of Trustees is facing disbarment as a lawyer in Kentucky and possibly Ohio for his involvement with a 2001 class-action lawsuit. Stan Chesley of the Cincinnati law firm of Waite, Schneider, Bayless and Chesley, was recommended by Kentucky trial commissioner William L. Graham for permanent disbarment for his actions in the 2001 fen-phen diet drug lawsuit. Chesley negotiated a settlement of $200 million for 431 people in Boone County, Ky., that were sickened by the diet drug.
Yet almost half of that $200 million settlement went to Chesley and his cocounsels with the lawsuit — William Gallion, Shirley Cunningham, Jr. and Melbourne Mills, Jr. — for lawyer fees. The lawyer fees were approved by former Boone County Circuit Court Judge Joseph Bamberger in a “clandestine meeting” with the attorneys in February 2002 — a meeting that excluded the lawyer’s clients. Gallion was convicted to 25 years in federal prison and Shirley to 20 years in 2009 for bilking their former clients of money from the settlement. Both, in addition to Mills, were disbarred as lawyers and ordered to pay back $127 million in restitution to the victims and forfeit
$30 million to the federal government. Chesley, however, was not charged and received approximately $20 million in fees from the settlement although contractual agreements with the clients entitled him to approximately $13 million, according to the trial commissioner’s report. “The greed evidenced by the plaintiff’s attorneys in this case is astounding,” the report stated, “and Chesley, although his avarice may not be as breathtaking as that of Cunningham, Gallion and Mills, is culpable of unethical conduct.” If disbarred in Kentucky, Chesley could also face disbarment as an attorney in Ohio. Chesley’s attorneys, Scott Cox and Sheryl
Snyder, were surprised and disappointed by the trial commissioner’s report. “His findings are directly contrary to the findings of federal authorities, who fully investigated this case and never considered Mr. Chesley a target of their investigation,” Cox and Snyder said. “We will therefore appeal his recommendation.” Whether Chesley would remain a member of UC’s Board of Trustees is subject to decision only by Ohio Gov. John Kasich, said UC spokesperson Greg Hand. “Board members are appointed by the governor of the state of Ohio,” Hand said. “It wouldn’t be up to anyone at the university to determine whether or not someone remains on the board.”
eamon queeney | photo editor
eamon queeney | photo editor
A COLLECTIVE VOICE Thousands of union members from across the state gather at the entrance to the Ohio Statehouse Tuesday to voice their opposition to Gov. John Kasich’s budget and the proposed Senate Bill 5 (above). Protestors held signs and claimed the state’s middle class’s welfare was in their hands.
SENDING A MESSAGE Protesters deliver a statement to UC administration Monday.
University gets taste of protest Gin A. Ando | Editor-in-chief
Armed with colorful signs and printed chant slogans, dozens of rain-soaked students and faculty marched into University of Cincinnati President Gregory Williams’ office Monday afternoon and delivered a letter condemning Ohio Senate Bill 5. Although no individual group was solely responsible for organizing the demonstration, members of UC’s College Democrats, Campus Antiwar Network, the International Socialist Organization and American Association of University Professors chanted “Kill the bill, change the budget!” and “Save UC!” Demonstrators waved signs as speakers explained how SB5 could adversely affect everyone due to its broad reform to unionized labor. Faculty members spoke on how UC’s AAUP was the oldest chapter in the state and helped create a harmony that helped avoid worker strikes for the past 30-plus years. Despite Ohio Sen. Shannon Jones’ — who sponsored the bill in the Ohio Senate — insistence that SB5 was not created to “punish” workers, UC’s AAUP chapter president John McNay said differently. “There is a penalty for working in higher education,” he said. He then explained how unionized workers earn a salary comparable — not disproportionately higher as labor union critics claim — to their counterparts in the private sector. The bill, which would cut back on collective bargaining rights for all unions, is being met with resistance by a variety of groups, including firefighters and police officers. “These are issues about quality of life,” McNay said. INSIDE
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Entertainment Spotlight Sports Classifieds
SENATE BILL 5 SPARKS UPROAR senate bill five: collective UNREST - part Two
“CAIRO TO COLUMBUS” Ohio union workers protest SB5 at state capitol
gin a. ando | editor-in-chief
COLUMBUS, Ohio — More than a thousand demonstrators from around the state bottlenecked at the doors of Ohio’s Statehouse Tuesday in support of killing — or at least maiming — the controversial, allegedly union-busting Ohio Senate Bill 5. Union members ranging from nurses to police squeezed onto steps leading to the doors of the Capitol. They filled an atrium to capacity. They sat on the benches outside the cafe and on the various staircases throughout the building. Attendance estimates range from approximately 1,000 to nearly 4,000. If passed, SB5 would largely abolish the ability to negotiate on behalf of a union, also known as collective bargaining rights. As of Wednesday, Ohio’s Republican lawmakers compromised and said wage negotiation ability may be included. Critics of the bill, however, say SB5 will essentially dismantle the foundation of a union and eventually end up annihilating unions in Ohio altogether. Unionized employees from
the University of Cincinnati who attended the protests spoke on the condition of anonymity because administrators told them they would face consequences if they demonstrated in Columbus. “A lot of people don’t understand it’s not just the union they’re coming after,” said “Brad,” a union worker for more than 30 years and UC employee. “They’re coming after every public employee. When these other people on campus realize that, they’re going to be crying, too. They just don’t believe it’s going to happen.” State troopers controlled access to the building and patrolled the Capitol’s hallways, watching the approximate 1,000 demonstrators let into the building. By 4 p.m., SB5’s hearing’s start time, the building’s rotunda was standing room only. Troopers barred anyone else from entering, leaving hundreds of protesters demanding in a collective voice to let them in. What happened Wednesday was not a vote, however. State legislators heard various testimonies from those speaking for and against the bill. “The truth is, our state is broke,”
jasmine evans |tnr contributor
thursday
Two weeks before the Cincinnati Reds’ baseball season begins at Great American Ballpark, locally owned and operated Holy Grail Tavern & Grille will be the first business
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marisa whitaker | tnr contributor
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anna bentley | senior photographer
WORKING AS ONE A protestor holds a sign at the Capitol that reads “Buckeyes Against SB5.” who perform maintenance and housekeeping, law enforcement officers and dispatchers, engineers, nurses, and office administrators are unionized. see Capitol | 5
Corryville hot spot expanding to the Banks
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said Chris Littleton, co-founder of the Ohio Liberty Council and president of Cincinnati’s Tea Party chapter. “Collective bargaining has institutionalized government … [it] replaces merit with comfort.” Bruce Johnson, president of the Inter-University Council of Ohio, a group comprised of the state’s 14 public schools including UC and works to connect the universities, said SB5 would allow for more efficiency in institutions. He cited the University of Toledo as an example — a school that virtually wasted $8 million on inefficiencies and wasteful employee wages, he said. Protesting UC union members did not see it the same way. “When people put things into perspective and talk about the unions, they really need to look at the overall picture,” said “Last Resort,” another UC employee who requested anonymity for fear of university reprisal. “We’re not part of the problem, but we’re definitely part of the solution.” Currently, UC, which employs members of six unions, has eight collective bargaining contracts. Professors, librarians, those
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JOINING THE CLUB The Holy Grail will be among the new businesses at the Banks.
to open in the riverfront Banks project. The 6,000-square-foot sports bar will have a stage for live radio broadcasts, bands and other forms of entertainment. The bar will be located at the corner of Joe Nuxhall and Freedom ways, directly across from the Red’s Hall of Fame, said Don Andres, co-owner of the bar, which has a location on W. Charlton Street in Corryville. The opening of the restaurant at the Banks will be the third Holy Grail location in the Cincinnati area; the other is in Delhi. Andres and his business partners — Jim Moehring, Tom Heitker and Paul Goebel — are all friends who grew up on the west side of Cincinnati with backgrounds in the finance, food and entertainment industries. The original Holy Grail brewed its own beer and opened in the 1990s under previous ownership but closed in 2001. Andres and Moehring, both University of
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Cincinnati alumni, re-opened the business in 2004 alongside Heitker and converted it into its current state as a sports bar. The restaurant’s new location is an opportunity to further expand the Holy Grail brand and name recognition to people from all over the greater Cincinnati area and beyond, just as the Corryville location helped them through UC athletics, Andres said. “The UC community has been a big part of the Holy Grail,” Andres said. “This is a great way for alumni, students and faculty to experience all the Holy Grail has to offer. It is important to us as small business owners to know that our brand was developed and established in the University of Cincinnati community.” The expected date for the establishment to open to the public is St. Patrick’s Day March 17, Andres said, but it will be no later than the Red’s Opening Day March 31.