Buz Lukens
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Donald Edgar "Buz" Lukens (February 11, 1931 – May 22, 2010) was a Republican member of the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
from
Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
. His political career ended in 1990 when he was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Six years later, he was convicted for accepting a bribe during his time in Congress.


Early years

Lukens was born at Harveysburg, Ohio. He attended schools in Harveysburg and graduated from
high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...
in Waynesville, Ohio. He earned a bachelor's degree from
Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...
in
Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...
in 1954. After finishing college, Lukens joined the U.S. Air Force, reaching the rank of captain after six-and-a-half years of active duty. Remaining a member of the
Air Force Reserve The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commis ...
, in 1961 Lukens accepted a job as minority counsel for the Republican staff of the House Rules Committee.


Political career

Lukens was president of the national Young Republicans in the early 1960s.


Congress

In 1966, Lukens won a seat in the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
, defeating Democrat James H. Pelley. He began serving in the House in 1967 ( 90th Congress). In 1968, Lukens won re-election, defeating Democrat Lloyd D. Miller. Lukens chose not to run again for the House seat in 1970. Instead, he made a run for
Governor of Ohio A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...
. However, Lukens was defeated in the Republican primary by Roger Cloud, who went on to lose the general election to Democrat John J. Gilligan. Lukens was a supporter of California Governor
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
's campaign for the Republican nomination for president in 1968. Lukens then was appointed to the Ohio State Senate, serving from 1971 to 1986. In 1986, Tom Kindness, who held Lukens’ old seat, opted to challenge U.S. Senator
John Glenn John Herschel Glenn Jr. (July 18, 1921 â€“ December 8, 2016) was an American Marine Corps aviator, astronaut, businessman, and politician. He was the third American in space and the first to orbit the Earth, circling it three times in 1 ...
rather than run for re-election. Lukens sought to take back his old seat, and defeated perennial Democratic candidate John W. Griffin. Lukens started serving this term in 1987 ( 101st Congress). In 1988, Lukens won re-election, defeating Griffin once again.


Sex scandals and resignation

On February 1, 1989, an Ohio
television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
station caught Lukens on camera at a Columbus, Ohio,
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restaurant talking with the mother of a teenage girl, and openly discussing his sexual relationship with the girl. Soon afterward, a grand jury brought charges against him of contributing to the delinquency of a minor because of allegations that he paid the girl $40 and gifts in exchange for sex when she was 16 years old. Further allegations had been made that the relationship with the girl began when she was 13, but a grand jury declined to pursue further charges against Lukens beyond a single charge of "contributing to the delinquency of a minor". On June 30, 1989, a jury in the Franklin County Juvenile Court convicted Lukens of the
misdemeanor A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than admi ...
crimes of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and contributing to the unruliness of a minor for paying $40 to the girl for sex in his Columbus apartment on November 6, 1988. A friend of the girl's, a 19-year-old, accompanied her that day, but was not directly involved. The judge set aside the conviction on the first charge but upheld the second, for which Lukens received the maximum penalty, 180 days in jail and a fine of $1,000. The judge suspended all but 30 days in jail and half the fine, and ordered Lukens to attend
sex offender A sex offender (sexual offender, sex abuser, or sexual abuser) is a person who has committed a Sex and the law, sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and legal jurisdiction. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convi ...
programs and be tested for venereal diseases. Bond was set at $100,000, which the judge declared "eminently reasonable for a man with no remorse whatsoever." Though Ohio's
age of consent The age of consent is the age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to Human sexual activity, sexual acts. Consequently, an adult who engages in sexual activity with a person younger than the age of consent is un ...
is 16, Lukens' conviction was under a misdemeanor statute that states that "no person shall... aid, abet, induce, cause, encourage, or contribute to a child or ward of the juvenile court (into) becoming an unruly or (delinquent) child." Lukens made an unsuccessful appeal to the Franklin County Court of Appeals. Of particular contention was the fact that the girl had a considerable juvenile delinquency record (which included curfew violations, running away, and petty theft), but this record (as well as a psychiatric report) was ruled inadmissible. She lived with her mother, but was a ward of the Juvenile Court. Lukens' defense was that the juvenile record would show that the girl was already a delinquent and not a reliable witness. The reliability of her testimony was already under attack, as there were significant testimony inconsistencies, a fact conceded by County Prosecutor Michael Miller. Refusing to resign from his seat despite the demands of the Republican leadership, Lukens lost the 1990 Republican primary—the real contest in this heavily Republican district—to state representative
John Boehner John Andrew Boehner ( ; born , 1949) is an American politician who served as the 53rd speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2011 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served 13 terms as the U.S. representative ...
, who would later become
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives The speaker of the United States House of Representatives, commonly known as the speaker of the House or House speaker, is the Speaker (politics), presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the United ...
. On October 23, 1990, the
House Ethics Committee The U.S. House Committee on Ethics, often known simply as the Ethics Committee, is one of the committees of the United States House of Representatives. Before the 112th Congress, it was known as the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. ...
voted to investigate charges that Lukens had fondled and propositioned a Capitol
elevator An elevator (American English) or lift (Commonwealth English) is a machine that vertically transports people or freight between levels. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive traction cables and counterweight systems suc ...
operator. Realizing his position was untenable, Lukens resigned from Congress on October 24, 1990. In January 1991 he served nine days of the 30-day jail sentence handed down in 1989.


House banking scandal

In 1995, the task force investigating the House banking scandal charged him with five counts of
bribery Bribery is the corrupt solicitation, payment, or Offer and acceptance, acceptance of a private favor (a bribe) in exchange for official action. The purpose of a bribe is to influence the actions of the recipient, a person in charge of an official ...
and
conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...
related to actions he took while in Congress. He was accused of accepting a bribe of $15,000. He was convicted in March 1996 after a second trial, and sentenced to 30 months in prison.


Personal life

Lukens married Toshiko Shirley Jane Davis, a model 21 years his junior, in Columbus, Ohio in June 1973. They divorced in 1983.


Death

Lukens died of cancer in
Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
in 2010 at the age of 79.


See also

*
List of American federal politicians convicted of crimes This list consists of American politicians convicted of crimes either committed or prosecuted while holding office in the Federal government of the United States, federal government. It includes politicians who were convicted or pleaded guilty ...
*
List of federal political scandals in the United States This article provides a list of political scandals that involve officials from the government of the United States, sorted from oldest to most recent. Scope and organization of political scandals This article is organized by presidential terms ...
* List of federal political sex scandals in the United States


References


External links

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* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Lukens, Donald Buz 1931 births 2010 deaths Deaths from cancer in Texas American politicians convicted of sex offences Ohio politicians convicted of crimes Republican Party Ohio state senators Ohio State University alumni People from Harveysburg, Ohio People from Middletown, Ohio Politicians convicted of bribery under 18 U.S.C. § 201 Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio United States Air Force officers Prisoners and detainees of Ohio 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Ohio General Assembly