Tony Gutierrez's State Vehicle

As director of general services, Gutierrez oversaw the office's fleet of state vehicles and assigned himself whichever ride he wanted to drive.

He had a penchant for hulking SUVs, including a black Chevy Suburban that arrived at the office's repair shop at the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation on Oct. 10, 2007, with extensive damage to both sides.

Repairs were needed to the fender, front door, back door, and rear panel on the right side, and back door and rear panel on the left side.

Gutierrez traded the damaged car in for a new one the same day, Hart said.

Hart added that the attorney general's office cannot find evidence that Gutierrez ever reported the damage to the vehicle or explained what happened, as required.

"There is supposed to be paperwork," Hart said. "But what I'm telling you is we can't find it. We're still looking."

Dann, asked in an earlier interview Wednesday whether Gutierrez had ever damaged a state car, said: "I don't know. I have no personal knowledge of that."

If he were in an accident, Gutierrez would have been required to report it to the Department of Administrative Services, whose risk management office carries insurance on all state vehicles.

There is no report from the attorney general's office involving that vehicle, said DAS spokesman Ron Sylvester.

The damaged Suburban got repaired and took on a new life.

It was converted by Dann into his Sunshine Express, named after Ohio's open records law. The black SUV with flames painted on the sides and an office logo on each front door is used by staffers as an eye-catching promotional tool for the office.
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Our Undercover Investigators Have Found Pictures of The Interior and Rear of the Vehicle