Columbus elected officials paid a fraction of the fair-market value to watch an Ohio State football game from a luxury box with a lobbyist, according to the Ohio Ethics Commission, which has ordered them to pay the difference. The commission found that the trip Mayor Andrew J. Ginther, Councilman Shannon G. Hardin, former Councilwoman Michelle M. Mills and Franklin County Municipal Court Judge Eileey Y. Paley took to watch the Buckeyes in the 2014 Big Ten Championship in Indianapolis was worth $696.53, not the $250 they each paid.

Columbus elected officials paid a fraction of the fair-market value to watch an Ohio State football game from a luxury box with a lobbyist, according to the Ohio Ethics Commission, which has ordered them to pay the difference.

The commission found that the trip Mayor Andrew J. Ginther, Councilman Shannon G. Hardin, former Councilwoman Michelle M. Mills and Franklin County Municipal Court Judge Eileey Y. Paley took to watch the Buckeyes in the 2014 Big Ten Championship in Indianapolis was worth $696.53, not the $250 they each paid.

The ruling calls for city officials to pay the difference to the city, benefiting taxpayers rather than the company that hosted them.

Several sources have said Ginther, Hardin and Paley recently received letters from the commission ordering them to pay the difference. The Dispatch received copies of those letters on Monday.

Ginther�s spokeswoman, Robin Davis, had said Friday that she couldn�t track down a copy. Ginther and Hardin were returning to Columbus Friday from the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, she said.

Ginther, Mills, Paley and Hardin were all City Council members when they took the trip in December of 2014. They sat in the fully-stocked suite at Lucas Oil Stadium belonging to food vendor Centerplate to watch Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship football game.

Days earlier, Centerplate had been awarded the food-vendor contract at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. Centerplate�s lobbyist John Raphael organized the trip.

Beyond paying the cost difference, Ginther, Hardin and Paley will receive no other sanctions, sources said. Mills, who resigned from the City Council shortly after the news of the trip came out last summer, remains under investigation by the FBI.

�Once again, allegations directed toward me were proven to be baseless,� Ginther said in an email sent by Davis. �The matter is now closed.�

Paley, Hardin and Mills did not immediately respond to messages left with them on Friday.

The ethics commission has yet to formally announce its findings, but is expected to do so in the next week or two. The commission launched its investigation nearly a year ago after Dispatch stories detailed the football junket.

�We have resolved or are resolving the issues involving city officials except for one,� said Paul Nick, executive director of the ethics commission, who declined further comment.

Larry James, Mills� attorney, said Friday he has not received any letter or communication from the commission in months. Two sources close to the investigation said the FBI and U.S. Department of Justice are investigating Mills for actions while she was in office and have asked the commission to cooperate with them.

Franklin County commissioners and city council members appoint members of the Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority board, which oversees the convention center. The city also backs the bonds that funds capital projects that the authority's board approves.

The authority has since terminated its contract with Centerplate after an internal investigation found the company colluded with Raphael to get the contract. Raphael was also a county-commissioner-appointed member of the authority's board, but abstained from voting on the contract.

Raphael was sentenced last month to serve a 15-months in federal prison in a separate case after he pleaded guilty to extorting money from Columbus' red-light-camera vendor for campaign contributions to city officials. No city officials have been charged in that FBI investigation.

The FBI continues to investigate Raphael and others in the matter of the Centerplate contract.

Centerplate has filed a lawsuit against the authority seeking damages, claiming the authority has harmed its reputation. Centerplate officials have said in court records that it was Raphael who suggested the company needed to take care of �key stakeholders� and suggested the trip.

lsullivan@dispatch.com

@DispatchSully