Army general fired after visiting ‘Hooker Hill’ on public dime


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A U.S. army major general misused a government credit card, spending thousands of dollars in an area known as “Hooker Hill” in South Korea and at the Cica Cica Boom club in Rome, according to a recent report from the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Defense.

The report found that Maj. Gen. Ronald Lewis misused government credit cards for personal expenses; lied about the misuse; and “engaged in conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman on multiple occasions during official travel.”

Lewis was serving as special assistant to the secretary of defense during his trip to Seoul, South Korea, in April 2015. While there, the report says he patronized the “Candy Bar” club in an area off-limits to military personnel known as “Hooker Hill.”

Receipts show he charged $1,121 in personal expenses at the Candy Bar to his government credit card, much of which was a 81 percent “tip.” When his staff asked later about the charge, he filed a false complaint with Citibank disputing the claim, the report says.

In October 2015, Lewis traveled with the Secretary of Defense to Rome. While there, he ventured alone to the “Cica Cica Boom” club a short distance from the delegation hotel and admits he danced with local women and drank to “more than moderation.”

When the $1,755 bill came, Lewis said his personal credit card was declined. So an employee from the club accompanied him back to his hotel at about 1:40 a.m. where he ordered a subordinate to let him borrow a government-issued card.

Signs outside the Cica Cica Boom advertise “Sexy Show,” “Fans Club” and “Lap Dance,” the report notes.

The report also lists allegations of inappropriate interactions with female staffers in Hawaii, Malaysia, and Palo Alto, Calif.

Lewis disagreed with how the report characterized his actions, saying the Candy Bar bill was inaccurate and that he did not patronize a “strip club” in Rome. But, he wrote in a response to the report, “I am aware of my mistakes, errors in judgement, and perceptions I may have created.”

Defense Secretary Ash Carter fired Lewis last year.

Bill would abolish boards, overhaul licensing

Ohio lawmakers on Tuesday proposed a massive overhaul of professional licensing with legislation to abolish 11 licensing boards and consolidate them under three new boards and two existing ones.

The changes aim to streamline professional licensing in the state and address concerns that many of the state’s professional licensing boards are open to legal challenges in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year.

The I-Team first reported last year that most Ohio licensing boards are dominated by members of the industries they regulate, opening them up to challenges under state and federal anti-trust laws because of perceptions they serve to limit competition instead of serve the public.

Ohio Sen. Bill Seitz, R-Cincinnati, today submitted a bill that would:

  • Create the State Vision and Hearing Professionals Board to replace four boards dealing with optometry, hearing aids and speech-language pathology.
  • Create the State Behavioral Health Professionals Board to replace three boards dealing with chemical dependency, counseling and psychology.
  • Create the State Physical Health Services Board, to replace two boards dealing with occupational therapy, athletic trainers and prosthetics.
  • Abolish the Ohio Board of Dietetics and the Ohio Respiratory Care Board and transfer their duties to the State Board of Pharmacy and the State Medical Board.

The bill would also require the Ohio Department of Administrative Services to review agency actions to make sure they are in line with antitrust laws.

It’s not clear how likely it is for a bill of this size to get through committee and a floor vote with few days left in lame duck session. Any bill not voted on when the two-year session ends in December will have to be re-introduced next session.

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