When ProgressOhio last caught up with Rep. Peter Beck (R-Mason) [pdf], he was bemoaning the paucity of the hundreds of dollars in freebies he got from lobbyists at an ALEC conference:
He requested four tickets for the [Reds] game and buffet, two for himself and his wife and two more for an adult child and her friend. These tickets have a fair market value of at least $300.
He went on to lament, "Also why aren't we going to King's Island?" Beck is a 60 year-old man, who makes $61,100 for his job as a legislator, plus an additional salary as partner at a successful accounting firm, Donohoo, Cup & Beck.
It wasn't a huge surprise when news broke that the latest legislator under investigation for financial chicanery was Beck. The depths of his alleged dealings are fairly astounding, however. An investment firm was pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into a church which the principal's wife ran. Beck was a financial consultant to both outfits and received suspiciously timed campaign contributions. Beck, who listed numerous debts on his financial disclosure forms, is also engaged in a lawsuit at the accounting firm where he was formerly a partner. They forced Beck out last summer and claim he "misrepresented his expertise" and owes the firm $200,000.
