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Helen Jones-Kelley, director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, resigned last night near the end of a monthlong, unpaid suspension for mining state computers for confidential information on "Joe the Plumber." Two senior managers suspended for their roles in the scandal that spiced this year's presidential campaign also are leaving, The Dispatch has learned. The administration fired Doug Thompson, deputy director of child support. Fred Williams, assistant agency director, resigned effective Jan. 31. The action came soon after the Republican-controlled General Assembly approved a measure cracking down on state workers who improperly conduct checks involving Ohioans' personal...

As the evidence continued to build against Ohio Bureaucrat Helen Jones-Kelley for doing an illegal search on Joe the Plumber's background, she remained on unpaid "leave" because of a different violation. She used the states e-mail system to campaign for Obama. Today she finally resigned from her position, two of her superiors left their jobs also...........

State official resigns over 'Joe the Plumber' affair Wednesday, December 17, 2008 6:54 PM Updated: Wednesday, December 17, 2008 07:38 PM By Catherine Candisky THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Helen Jones-Kelley, the state official placed on unpaid leave for improperly accessing confidential information from state databases on "Joe the Plumber," has resigned. Two senior managers involved in the incident also are leaving, The Dispatch has learned.. Jones-Kelley was scheduled to return to work as director of the Department of Job and Family Services on Monday following a one-month suspension without pay. Today's action comes just hours after the Senate approved a measure...

The state worker who unwittingly ran an improper child-support check on the man known as Joe the Plumber told lawmakers yesterday that a deputy director later "dictated" how she was supposed to cover it up. Vanessa Niekamp, an administrator for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services' Office of Child Support and a 15-year state employee, said that when Deputy Director Doug Thompson came into her office, "He appeared very upset, his neck was bright red, and he was shaking. He closed my door." Thompson told her she must write an e-mail to the agency's information-security officer, and then...

COLUMBUS -- Ohio Department of Job and Family Services Director Helen Jones-Kelley improperly allowed employees to look at Joe the Plumber's confidential state records with "no legitimate agency function," a state investigation concluded. That's the bottom line from a 48-page report released by Ohio Inspector General Tom Charles today. The report calls Jones-Kelley's authorization "improper" and says that she has committed "a wrongful act" by allowing underlings to search databases for information on Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, a Toledo plumber who was thrust into the spotlight of the 2008 presidential election after he asked a tax policy question of Democratic nominee...

Inspector general says Joe the Plumber's files searched improperly Thursday, November 20, 2008 12:47 PM By Randy Ludlow THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH A state agency director had no legitimate reasons to check state computer systems for confidential information on "Joe the Plumber," according to a report released this afternoon by Ohio's inspector general. Helen Jones-Kelley, the suspended director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, "had no legitimate agency function to purpose to support her decision" to check on the newly minted political figure, the report states. The investigation by the office of Inspector General Thomas P. Charles found...

Joe the Plumber case still dripping -- Half-dozen agencies access records of Ohio man By Dennis J. Willard, Akron Beacon Journal staff writer Published on Friday, Nov 14, 2008 The election is over, but the Joe the Plumber case is not. Ohio Inspector General Tom Charles said his office is now looking at a half-dozen agencies that accessed state records on Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher. The Beacon Journal has learned that, in addition to the Department of Job and Family Services, two other state offices — the Ohio Department of Taxation and Ohio Attorney General Nancy Rogers — conducted database searches...

The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services has no records to support the assertion of its now-suspended director that computer checks often are run on people "thrust quickly into the public spotlight." In response to a public-records request, the state agency said today that it had no records involving prior checks of the type that Director Helen Jones-Kelley authorized on "Joe the Plumber." Ohio's inspector general is investigating the legality of inquiries in agency computer systems for personal information on Toledo-area resident Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, who was popularized by Republican John McCain. Gov. Ted Strickland placed Jones-Kelley on paid...

Gov. Ted Strickland has placed the director of the Department of Job and Family Services on paid leave for possibly using a state computer and e-mail account for political fund raising. The governor took the action against Helen Jones-Kelley, director of the state agency, late this afternoon. Strickland said he asked Inspector General Thomas P. Charles to investigate the matter. He named Jan Allen, secretary of his cabinet, to serve as acting director of Job and Family Services. The Dispatch filed a public-records request last week that requested any Jones-Kelley e-mails that mentioned Democrat Barack Obama, who won election as...

Tax, welfare info also sought on McCain ally A state agency has revealed that its checks of computer systems for potential information on "Joe the Plumber" were more extensive than it first acknowledged. Helen Jones-Kelley, director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, disclosed today that computer inquiries on Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher were not restricted to a child-support system. The agency also checked Wurzelbacher in its computer systems to determine whether he was receiving welfare assistance or owed unemployment compensation taxes, she wrote. Jones-Kelley made the revelations in a letter to Ohio Senate President Bill M. Harris, R-Ashland,...

Ohio's Head of Job and Family Services Approved a Child-Support Search on Joe Wurzelbacher Immediately After Third Debate; Her Excuse? "Oh, We Always Do That" Confirmed: Max Donor to Obama Helen Jones-Kelley (two e's in Kelley) just happens to be a maximum $2300 contributor to Barack Obama.