Ohio speaker, under FBI investigation, thought Disney might move to Cincy. He was wrong.

COLUMBUS - When former Ohio Speaker Cliff Rosenberger heard Disney might want to relocate some studios from the United Kingdom to the Cincinnati area, he didn't pick up the phone to check it out.

He took a trip to California, complete with sushi, steaks and a stay at a luxury hotel.

Rosenberger, a Clinton County Republican, resigned last month amid an FBI investigation into his excessive travel and expenses. One example of that excess: a last-minute trip to Los Angeles last year, paid for by GOP donors, to ask Disney executives a yes or no question about an improbable scenario.

On Aug. 15, Rosenberger took a meeting with Eliot Winks, a worship pastor at Indian Hill's Armstrong Chapel United Methodist Church. Winks wanted to talk about developing a film studio in Evendale along Interstate 75, according to emails obtained by The Enquirer via a public records request.

Winks told Rosenberger he was representing a firm called D6 Capital Partners, which was working on a 10- to 20-year agreement with a major motion picture studio to film movies in the Cincinnati area. That studio would need tax incentives to make the move worth its while. If it all went well, the studio behind the "Star Wars" films could move production to Ohio, instead of the U.K.

"It was intimated though Elliot Winks (sic) that Disney/LucasFilm would be the targeted studio for that particular development," explained Shawn Kasych, Rosenberger's policy director at the time, in an email to a Disney executive. He is now chief of staff for House Republicans.

But Disney never was considering a move to Ohio.

Rosenberger's office called Walt Disney Studios to line up an in-person meeting later that week, but didn't ask about the Cincinnati-area studio, House GOP spokesman Brad Miller said.

D6 Capital Partners isn't listed as a business in Ohio, and a quick Internet search reveals it has no website or professional presence. Staff did do a little research on D6 and didn't find much, Miller said.

Yet Rosenberger, used to traveling for free to locations ranging from Boston to China, London and Israel, booked the flight to Los Angeles and asked questions later.

Three days later, Rosenberger and Kasych, the policy director, met with Disney executives. They also met representatives at Warner Brothers and Mandeville Films, an independent studio headquartered at Disney's campus. Those other meetings stemmed from Rosenberger's efforts to expand film credits in Ohio, in hopes of luring a permanent production studio to the state, Miller said.

The Disney executives told Rosenberger the studio plans were bogus, and executives weren't pleased with Winks' implication otherwise.

"We are taking this misrepresentation very seriously and I have been asked to put together a timeline along with any correspondence that led up to you all making an urgent trip to our offices last Friday," wrote Mary Ann Hughes, a film production executive at Disney.

During the trip, Rosenberger stayed at the W Hotel Hollywood, luxury digs a few blocks from the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He dined at gourmet restaurants: Malbec Argentinean Cuisine, Sushi of Gari Hollywood and Lawry's The Prime Rib. He billed House Republicans' political arm nearly $3,000 for food and lodging from the trip, according to campaign finance reports.

"The trip was entirely appropriate. It was paid for appropriately, which was not at taxpayers' expense," said Rosenberger's attorney, David Axelrod.

Why didn't Rosenberger just send an email or make a phone call before booking the trip?

Rosenberger was trying to maintain relationships with the film industry and show he was serious about bringing a permanent studio to Ohio, Miller said.

"The speaker felt that an in-person meeting was necessary in order to flush this out," Miller said. "If it were true that Disney were interested in moving to Ohio, they could continue those communications and discussions about how potentially to make this a reality."

The meeting between Rosenberger and Winks was set up by Evendale Mayor Richard Finan, a former Ohio Senate president. Finan's involvement gave D6 Capital legitimacy in House staff's minds, Miller said, despite the lack of information about the company.

Finan told The Enquirer he wasn't allowed to speak about the film studio because of a non-disclosure agreement he signed.

Winks and Disney did not respond to requests for comment.

Rosenberger and Kasych were joined in Los Angeles by Kristen Schlotman, executive director of Film Cincinnati, and Ivan Schwarz, CEO of the Greater Cleveland Film Commission. Schlotman and Schwarz could not be reached for comment.

The trip to Los Angeles sparked planning for another outing for Rosenberger, a Clarksville native.

Hughes, the Disney executive, suggested Rosenberger visit Lucasfilms' studios on a trip he was taking that month to London. That trip, paid for by corporate sponsors of the conservative GOPAC Education Fund, is one focus of the FBI's investigation into Rosenberger. Lobbyists for the payday- and title-lending industry attended the London trip.

Rosenberger, Cleveland-area state Rep. Nathan Manning, Wisconsin Speaker Robin Vos and Vos' wife were to visit the "Star Wars" set, emails show. Then, plans changed to allow the four to visit the set of Disney's "Aladdin," an upcoming live-action version that filmed outside of London.

Rosenberger's staff canceled the movie set trip while he was in London, citing a "scheduling snag."

Editor's note: A previous version of this story said Rosenberger promised incentives for the Evendale studio, drafting a letter to Winks. That draft was in correspondence the Ohio House released to The Enquirer after a public records request. However, a House spokesman said the draft was written by Winks, who hoped Rosenberger would sign it. The then-House speaker did not sign the letter or agree to its terms, the spokesman said.