Buz Lukens

Buz Lukens
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 8th district
In office January 3, 1987 – October 24, 1990
Preceded by	Tom Kindness
Succeeded by	John Boehner
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 24th district
In office January 3, 1967 – January 3, 1971
Preceded by	None (new district)
Succeeded by	Walter E. Powell
Member of the Ohio Senate from the 4th district
In office January 3, 1971 – January 2, 1987
Preceded by	Walter E. Powell
Succeeded by	Barry Levey
Personal details
Born	Donald Edgar Lukens (1931-02-11)February 11, 1931 Harveysburg, Ohio
Died	May 22, 2010(2010-05-22) (aged 79) Dallas, Texas
Political party	Republican
Residence	Middletown, Ohio
Alma mater	Ohio State University
Occupation	Politician

Donald Edgar "Buz" Lukens (February 11, 1931 – May 22, 2010) was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio. His political career ended in disgrace in 1990 when he was charged with contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor.^[1]

Early years

Lukens was born at Harveysburg, Ohio. He attended schools in Harveysburg and graduated from high school in Waynesville, Ohio. He earned a bachelor's degree from The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio 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, in 1961 Lukens accepted a job as minority counsel for the Republican staff of the House Rules Committee.

Political career

In 1966, Lukens won a seat in the United States House of Representatives, 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. 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 then was appointed to the Ohio State Senate, serving from 1971 to 1986. In 1986, incumbent U.S. Representative Tom Kindness did not stand for re-election for his seat (Kindness unsuccessfully tried to unseat incumbent U.S. Senator John Glenn). Lukens ran to replace Kindness 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 station caught Lukens on camera at a Columbus, Ohio, McDonald's restaurant talking with Anna Coffman, the mother of Rosie Coffman, a teenage girl. During the conversation he openly discussed having sexual relations with Rosie. Soon afterward, a grand jury brought charges against him of contributing to the delinquency of a minor because of allegations that he paid Rosie $40 and gifts in exchange for sex when she was 16 years old. Further allegations had been made that the relationship with Coffman 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 May 26, 1989, a jury in the Franklin County Juvenile Court convicted Lukens of the misdemeanor crime of contributing to the delinquency of a minor for the paying of $40 to Coffman for sex in his Columbus apartment on November 6, 1988. A friend of Coffman's, a 19-year-old, accompanied her that day, but was not directly involved.

Though Ohio's age of consent is 16, Lukens's 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."^[2]

Lukens made an unsuccessful appeal to the Franklin County Court of Appeals. Of particular contention, Rosie Coffman 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 Coffman 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.^[3][4]

Refusing to resign from his seat, despite the demands of the Republican leadership, Lukens lost the 1990 Republican primary to state representative, and future Speaker of the House, John Boehner.

While serving out the remaining months of his congressional term, a Capitol elevator operator accused him of fondling her. He was ordered to serve 30 days in jail and see a psychologist, as well as be tested for venereal diseases. He served nine days in jail.^[5]

Lukens resigned from Congress on October 24, 1990.^[6]

House Banking Scandal

In 1995, the task force investigating the House banking scandal charged him with five counts of bribery and conspiracy related to actions he took while in Congress. He was convicted in March 1996 after a second trial. Lukens died of cancer in 2010.^[7]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Buz Lukens.

External links

• Buz Lukens at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• United States Congress House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct (1990). In the matter of Representative Donald E. Lukens : a staff report of the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, U.S. House of Representatives, One Hundred First Congress.. Government Printing Office.