ST. CLAIRSVILLE, Ohio — Along Main Street, just about anyone older than 45 remembers Wayne Hays, the powerful Democratic congressman forced to resign his seat three decades ago after it was disclosed that he had hired a young woman on his Washington staff to do one thing: be his mistress.
Elizabeth Ray, the aide and soon-to-be trivia game answer who famously admitted she couldn't type, was the beginning of the political end for Hays. The final nail in Hays' coffin, though, was hammered by a young public safety director from nearby Bellaire named Bob Ney, who once defeated Hays for a state legislative seat and eventually took over Hays' congressional district and his influential House committee.
But now, Ney appears to be in the early stages of adopting his predecessor's legacy of scandal.
The six-term Republican, implicated but not indicted in the spreading influence-peddling investigation involving lobbyist Jack Abramoff, has been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury digging into his reported acceptance of gifts from lobbyists in exchange for legislative favors.
"It sounds to me like he's dishonest," said Donna Shidell, a clerk at a downtown pharmacy, reacting with dismay like many here to a steady stream of news about corruption and how Ney figures into it.
Corruption is hardly unique to Ohio. A California congressman, Randy "Duke" Cunningham, last month admitted accepting at least $2.4 million in bribes.
And Rep. Tom DeLay of Texas, the former House majority leader, was indicted in September on money-laundering charges. DeLay is also a focus of the Abramoff investigation.
But the sheer volume of corruption in Ohio, a state that helped decide the 2004 presidential election, offers a testing ground for the public tolerance of corruption as the midterm elections approach. Democrats are sizing up the state as an opportunity to improve their fortunes nationally in 2006.
Ohio's governor, Republican Bob Taft, pleaded no contest in August to felony charges that he failed to report gifts and golf outings from lobbyists. An ongoing investigation related to more than $50 million in state financial losses from a rare-coin investment venture has already damaged Ohio Republicans, who control nearly every statewide office but now feel vulnerable. According to one published report, senior Ohio Republican officials decided to demand Ney's resignation if he was indicted.
