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North Canton businessman Benjamin Suarez is accused of funneling illegal campaign contributions to U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci, above. Suarez has denied the allegations. Renacci promoted Suarez's complaints about California government attorneys around the time he received the donations. Renacci says he was just responding as a normal course of congressional business.

(The Plain Dealer)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Indicted campaign donor and North Canton businessman Benjamin Suarez possesses the power to hypnotize Ohio officials with shameless and conspiracy-laden missives.

The Plain Dealer's Sabrina Eaton recently exposed two more victims of Suarez's mind-control letters: Congressman Jim Renacci of Wadsworth, and, to a lesser extent, Gov. John Kasich's chief counsel, D. Michael Grodhaus.

Renacci and Grodhaus join Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel and Secretary of State Jon Husted in reacting to Suarez in 2011 under the guise of basic constituent services.

The Suarez letters to officials charge that his direct marketing company -- Suarez Corporation Industries -- is under attack from "rogue" government attorneys in California. Several district attorneys in California have filed a lawsuit accusing Suarez's company of selling "unapproved and misbranded drugs and devices" and making false claims about their benefits.

Suarez's company makes products such as the EdenPure infrared heater; Dr. Frank Ryan's Abdominal Fat Reducer; and Arthri-Zen, a topical cream for joint pain.

Suarez doesn't like anyone to question the effectiveness of his products or advertising and he has asked for help in derailing the California investigation.

Renacci and Mandel wrote letters that promoted Suarez's agenda around the time Suarez and his employees were sending campaign donations to them. Husted, who received campaign money from Suarez in 2010, made a phone call for him. Grodhaus, who wrote a letter on Suarez's behalf, did not get any money -- but Kasich's campaign did in 2009 and 2010.

The federal government last month indicted Suarez and his top corporate officers, accusing them of illegally reimbursing employees for tens of thousands of dollars in donations made to Renacci's re-election campaign and Mandel's unsuccessful U.S. Senate bid. Renacci, Mandel, Husted and Kasich have given donations from Suarez to charity.

What is so troubling about the interaction between Ohio officials and Suarez – beside the appearance of quid pro quo related to Renacci and Mandel donations – is that Ohio officials did little to vet Suarez's complaints before passing them on like an Internet chain-letter.

There were plenty of signs in Suarez's letter that should have given officials pause. One, Suarez made the government attorneys sound like mob figures by comparing their actions to "extortion."

Ohio officials also didn't approach the issues from the consumer's point of view. A simple Google search would have unearthed plenty of tidbits about the company, such as its "F" rating from the Canton Better Business Bureau.

In other words, consumers were completely left out of the equation by the very people who claim to look out for them.

Here's an abbreviated version of the officials' actions.

Mandel sent letters espousing Suarez's claims to Renacci and to the California state treasurer. In this letter, Mandel threatened to sue California if its officials didn't back off.

Husted made a general inquiry by phone to California attorney General Kamala Harris, whom he had met before. By comparison, it is the least unusual action.

Renacci's letter to Kasich urged the Ohio governor to call California Gov. Jerry Brown to "share our concerns" about "baseless lawsuits" against Suarez. (You can read Renacci and Suarez's letters here.)



Grodhaus sent a letter to Harris asking that her "Consumer Protection staff review the actions of the NAPA county District Attorney and his purported investigation" of Suarez's company. (This letter was sent after Grodhaus told Suarez in another letter that it is inappropriate for Ohio to intervene. Kasich's office ignored Suarez's list of demands and never told him that it sent a letter to Harris.)



There's also an important addendum to Renacci's contact with Kasich's office. Renacci's letter to the governor, sent via email from the congressman's legislative director to a Kasich staffer, included a note essentially telling him to ignore the letter about Suarez.

"We’re sending this over merely as a courtesy to our constituent, and in no way realistically expect your office to take any action on this," the note said.

So, Renacci sent the letter though he didn't believe it was really worthy of his signature or governor's attention. That's disingenuous. (Renacci's office is adamant that it handled the Suarez letter appropriately by passing to the governor because it involved state issues, not federal ones.)

Suarez should have received the same form letter congressional offices send all the time to constituents who make outlandish charges. (Renacci's office disagrees. It says the congressman received a large packet of information from Suarez that merited some attention because the company is a large employer in Stark County.)

If you still don't believe that Suarez makes wild accusations, consider the letter his company sent Kasich in February, after the Federal Bureau of Investigations began looking into the campaign donations. (You can read this letter below.)

The letter, signed by Suarez's human resources director, Julianne Dalayanis, accuses U.S. Attorney Steven Dettelbach and another attorney of "malicious prosecution" that benefits their careers and helps Democrats such as U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown.

Dettelbach is a Democrat, but it's impossible to make the case that he is doing Democrats' bidding. While Suarez was passing out money like candy to Republicans in 2009, 2010 and 2011, Dettelbach's office was busy investigating, indicting and convicting Cuyahoga County Democrats.

My favorite among the many absurd charges in the letter is that the U.S. Justice Department has ignored "the fact that Barack Obama received hundreds of millions in donations from overseas by untraceable prepaid credit cards."

I hope Suarez's company makes tin foil hats because Dalayanis sounds like someone who would wear one.

Kasich's office politely told Dalaynis to take a hike after getting this one.

I can't explain why Ohio officials didn't' look more closely at Suarez's company or into California's legal complaints before lending their names to Suarez's charges. Or, why they didn't just blow off the letter.

I guess that they wanted to cover themselves. They wanted to look like they tried to help an Ohio company in case Suarez laid off employees as a result of his legal troubles.

All the politicians mentioned here fiercely argue that their actions represent perfunctory constituent services and not an endorsement. If that's the case, they need to change the model of constituent services.

Forwarding Suarez's letter and promoting his agenda does represent an endorsement. As elected officials, their names mean something. They ran for office so they would have a powerful name. But their interaction with Suarez illustrates that they have hurt their brands.