OH Coingate probe looks at pension officials

A criminal fraud investigation involving the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation is expanding to examine the conduct of some state pension officials.

Authorities are trying to determine whether gifts provided by brokers and vendors violated laws requiring public officials to disclose such items to the public, or whether the gifts led to conflicts of interest or even constituted bribes.

Board members at the Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund and State Teachers Retirement System already have been prosecuted for improperly accepting freebies from vendors or failing to disclose those gifts.

But the investigation of investment scandals at the bureau is uncovering other information, including situations in which brokers or vendors giving gifts to bureau officials possibly were doing the same at some pension systems, The Dispatch was told.