Sherrod Brown, the Democratic Senator from Ohio, who lost his seat in 2024, announced he is running for the Senate again this year. He told the media he "can't sit on the sidelines" when he launched his campaign last August.
Now, we're learning that Brown recently held a fundraiser that was attended by disgraced politicians, a felon, and a racist. There is also a reported history of this group exchanging political favors and political back-scratching.
That fundraiser took place on March 25, and it was hosted by disgraced political figures such as his brother, Charlie Brown, disbarred felon Dante DiTrapano, impeached West Virginia Chief Justice Margaret L. Workman, and radical leftist Sheldon Whitehouse.
Sheldon Whitehouse, of course, is a known member of an all-white beach club in Rhode Island. Whitehouse describes himself as a progressive and prominent critic of “systemic racism," but dismissed concerns about his membership in the discriminatory club as simply "a long tradition in Rhode Island."
Brown's brother, Charlie, was elected Attorney General of West Virginia in 1984. Five years later, he was forced to resign following a sex and abortion scandal. According to The New York Times, Brown resigned abruptly in August of 1989 as part of a deal that would end a grand jury investigation into allegations that he lied under oath, as well as digging into his campaign finance records.
Here's more from The New York Times, including details on his lying under oath the sex and abortion scandal (emphasis added):
Mr. Brown acknowledged that he denied writing the note but said that it was a mistake and that he realized it almost immediately. He said he requested a brief recess, and when the hearing resumed, he corrected his testimony.
The Charleston Gazette reported two weeks ago that the note involved a request for $50,000 from Mr. Brown's former secretary, who the paper said had been impregnated by Mr. Brown, had an abortion and demanded the money to keep quiet. The secretary, Brenda K. Simon, 35, of Columbus, Ohio, today was indicted on one count each of extortion and obtaining money under false pretenses.
The grand jury also subpoenaed Mr. Brown's campaign records from 1984 through 1988, although it did not publicly reveal the reason for the inquiry.
During this ordeal, Charlie Brown was represented by Rudolph DiTrapano and the case was presided over by Circuit Court Judge Margaret L. Workman. This is where things become a tangled web of political favoritism.
Rudolph DiTrapano is the father of Dante DiTrapano, who was arrested in Florida in March 2006 and charged with cocaine possession. A few months later, Dante DiTrapano was indicted by the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia on two separate felony counts, including “possessing various firearms in and affecting interstate commerce while being an unlawful user of and addicted to a controlled substance.” This indictment followed a string of reported legal struggles, including an arrest on April 24, 2006, in Georgia, where he was charged with driving on a suspended license and possession of cocaine. On June 11, 2006, he was arrested again, this time in South Charleston, West Virginia, for driving on a suspended license, having no insurance, having an expired registration, and having an expired inspection sticker. He was indicted on June 14, 2006.
Dante DiTrapano pled guilty on June 26, 2006, and was released on bond. On October 10, 2006, he was sentenced to six months in federal prison and an additional three years of supervised release. Less than six months later, Dante DiTrapano was arrested again and charged with possession of methamphetamine. On April 10, 2007, he failed a drug screening, testing positive for cocaine. His supervised release was revoked, and he was sentenced to two years behind bars.
On May 10, 2007, Dante DiTrapano's West Virginia law license was revoked; his Georgia law license was also revoked on November 8, 2008. After his release from prison, Dante DiTrapano was once again arrested, this time for forging a signature to secure a $500,000 loan from United Bank. He pleaded guilty in that case and was sentenced to one day in prison and five years of supervised release. He also had to perform 1,000 hours of community service.
Before his law licenses were revoked, Dante DiTrapano also used a client's power of attorney to steal $1.4 million.
Despite this history of wrongdoing, Dante DiTrapano's law license was reinstated in 2018 by none other than Judge Margaret L. Workman, who was by then the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia.
Workman, while a Circuit Court Judge, had presided over the Charlie Brown case, in which he was represented by Rudolph DiTrapano, Dante's father.
Chief Justice Workman was not without her own scandals. She was impeached in August 2018 by the West Virginia House of Delegates for "maladministration, corruption, incompetence, neglect of duty, and certain high crimes." Workman was impeached along with four others: Justice Allen Loughry, Justice Robin Davis, and Justice Elizabeth Walker.
Workman was charged with "unnecessary and lavish" spending of taxpayer dollars related to the renovation of their offices in the East Wing of the Capitol, as well as failure to develop and maintain court policies concerning the use of state resources (e.g. cars, computers) and funds. She was also charged with signing documents that gave senior status judges pain that exceeded what was allowed by state law, as well as spending a combined total of $742,000 with Justices Davis and Walker.
According to The Wall Street Journal, recommendations for articles of impeachment were handed down for all four justices.
Shortly before the start of her Senate trial, the West Virginia Supreme Court granted her writ of prohibition and ordered the Senate to halt the trial, and despite the impeachment, Workman remained on the court until she retired at the end of her term in 2020.
Voters in Ohio rejected Brown less than two years ago, and for a reason. Given Brown's ties to these corrupt politicians, a convicted felon, and Sheldon Whitehouse, it's clear voters have even more reasons not to send Sherrod Brown back to the Senate in November.
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