Lucrative county job irks critics

When he testified in his bankruptcy case last September, legendary Cincinnati power broker Ron Roberts was asked to describe his career.

Roberts talked about his first job as a military intelligence officer, then about the congressmen he has served, Bill Keating and Willis Gradison. He talked about his 15 years as executive director of the Cincinnati Business Committee, a CEO-only club. Though he was fired from that role in 1996, for years he wielded tremendous influence on downtown development and Cincinnati's public school system. Finally Roberts testified about his Imax theater in Newport, which failed in 2003 and remains an empty shell.

"My one and only chance at business was with the Imax of which I'm now bankrupt," Roberts told Judge J. Vincent Aug. "I think I should have stayed in politics."

Eight months later, Roberts has gotten his wish. Hamilton County's Republican commissioners, Pat DeWine and Phil Heimlich, hired Roberts in February to lead their massive new reform initiative. Under a $145,000-per-year, no-bid contract, Roberts is organizing four commissions that will scrutinize county spending and try to boost its economic-development potential. The reform effort is still in its infancy, but its impact could be huge. Ideas already under study include merging local government services, outsourcing county jobs, ramping up development in western Hamilton County and shaking up the system for putting property tax levies before voters.

For the first time in nearly a decade, Roberts is back in the thick of things, taking daily meetings with civic and business leaders, politicians and planners, helping to chart a course for the future of the region.

That's making some uncomfortable, including Roberts' past critics and Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune, a Democrat who voted against Roberts' hiring and criticizes "financial entanglements," including a past consulting relationship between Roberts and Heimlich's campaign.

Roberts wouldn't comment for this story, citing a clause in his contract that prohibits media interviews. But his comeback is a noteworthy tale, built on relationships that reach back decades.

That much is evident in Roberts' bankruptcy case, a two-year struggle that came to a settlement in April. The Imax failure ultimately left Roberts more than $3.5 million in debt. He had bet virtually every asset he owned on the venture and risked losing it all. Under the settlement, Roberts will keep his Indian Hill home but lose about $1 million in investments from his retirement plan.

Roberts kept his Blome Road home by paying bankruptcy trustee Henry Menninger $50,000 to release his claim on the property, court records show. Roberts borrowed the money in December, but it's not clear where he got it. A mortgage on file at the Hamilton County Recorder's Office lists attorney Paul Muething as trustee for the transaction. Muething didn't return the Courier's calls. He's a partner at Keating Muething & Klekamp, Bill Keating's old firm.

Another old friend, Chris Finney, local real estate attorney who is active in conservative politics, helped Roberts settle a dispute over retirement assets. Roberts financed the Imax with a Key Bank loan, which the bank later sold to an investor, an affiliate of Capital Crossing Bank. Roberts and the bank battled in court over whether Roberts' retirement accounts were pledged as collateral. The dispute was on appeal when the April settlement was reached.

What are people saying about mortgages today:

Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down last week to a seven-month low. Mortgage-giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.3 percent, down slightly from 6.31 percent two weeks ago. It put rates at the lowest level since they were at 6.24 percent the first week of March.

Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Territorial Savings Bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgages all cut their 30-year mortgage rates to 5.75 percent this week.

Most people think of a mortgage as a means to an end. After all, you buy a house, not a home loan. But a mortgage is much more than the path to homeownership. It is a financial instrument that must be managed, just like any other financial investment.