An investigation by Randy Ludlow of The Columbus Dispatch revealed that the top two lawyers to Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland intervened in an active criminal investigation by the Ohio State Highway Patrol into "an alleged scheme to cover up the use of illegal immigrants to remodel a state-leased office building." A lobbyist who is close friends with Strickland met with the governor’s chief legal counsel after the lobbyist was hired by the company under criminal scrutiny. The governor’s lawyers argued that patrol investigators lacked jurisdiction to pursue the case, a notion rejected by the county prosecutor.
