The ensuing scandal first reported by The Dispatch last month cost four people their jobs, including two of Dann's closest friends from Youngstown.

Shaken but still defiant, Dann, a Democrat elected in 2006, said he would not resign -- and said he never considered doing so -- despite the expanding fallout from a sex scandal that has rocked his office for the past month.

"To (my wife) Alyssa and my children, to the employees of the attorney general, I apologize for my human failings," Dann said during a tense, hour-long news conference yesterday.

"I take full responsibility. As disappointed as I am with the conduct of others, I am even more disappointed in myself. … I have not conducted myself in a way that is consistent with my values as a husband, a father and my responsibilities as the attorney general of Ohio."

Dann said he is "heartbroken by my failure to recognize the problems being created and by my failure to stop them."

Punishment went to others, however, based on findings of an internal investigation done by Ben Espy, executive assistant attorney general, and Julie Pfeiffer, senior assistant attorney general.

Anthony Gutierrez, general-services director, and Leo Jennings III, communication director, both Dann's longtime friends from the Youngstown area, were fired. A third longtime Dann friend, Edgar C. Simpson, his top nonlegal adviser, resigned Thursday night instead of being fired yesterday. Simpson was paid $110,000 a year; Jennings and Gutierrez were paid $102,000 and $87,500, respectively.

The woman who spent nights at the Dublin-area condominium with Dann last year, Jessica Utovich, his former scheduler, resigned Thursday. Other staff members said she was crying in the office all day Thursday, her last day on the job.

The probe was triggered by sexual-harassment complaints filed by Cindy Stankoski and Vanessa Stout, employees Gutierrez supervised.

But they were nearly forgotten yesterday after Dann's revelation about a long-rumored affair.

The linchpin of Dann's confession -- that Utovich stayed overnight at the condo he shared with Gutierrez and Jennings -- came only Wednesday when Dann, after the investigation had been completed, amended his earlier sworn testimony to Espy and Pfeiffer.

In his first interview, April 22, Dann dodged the question when Espy asked him whether Utovich ever spent the night, saying he did not want to get "dragged into a … discussion of rumor and innuendo."

Dann's approach changed eight days later when, after reviewing a transcript of his testimony, he told Espy that he hadn't had a chance to complete his answer.

"I have knowledge that she stayed overnight," he said this time. He did not elaborate.

While Dann refused to quit, others immediately began calling for his resignation, including several newspapers and Ohio Republican leaders.

Gov. Ted Strickland, while refusing to call for Dann to step down, said he thought it was a "double standard" for some administrators to be fired while Dann remains in office.

Deputy Ohio Republican Chairman Kevin DeWine urged Dann to resign.

"Marc Dann failed the people of Ohio, and he must resign immediately," DeWine said. "It's simply not acceptable that everyone but Dann himself will be held accountable."

Gutierrez, Jennings, Simpson and Utovich declined to comment or did not return phone calls yesterday.

Dann repeatedly stated that his own ethical and policy breaches don't justify his departure as the state's top lawyer.

Several investigations remain open. The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is looking into Stankoski and Stout's sexual-harassment complaints, and the State Highway Patrol and the Department of Administrative Services are reviewing unreported accidents and use of state vehicles.

The Ohio Ethics Commission will be asked to look into allegations that Gutierrez was running his construction business from his state office.

Dann said he has appointed Jim Friedman, a Cleveland lawyer-lobbyist who served as chief of staff to former Gov. John Gilligan, to lead a new working group responsible for improving management structures and personnel.

Dann, 46, married with three children, has been linked to Utovich since last summer, when she attempted to accompany the attorney general on a law-enforcement conference in Turkey. Utovich ultimately didn't go; Thomas R. Winters, Dann's first assistant attorney general, confirmed that he nixed her participation.

Dann said his extramarital relationship ended late last year, around the time he moved from the Dublin-area condo and into a Columbus apartment with his oldest daughter.

In one of the few new details unveiled yesterday, the report said Jennings "attempted to impede the investigation by attempting to persuade (Assistant Attorney General) Jennifer Urban to give false testimony under oath."

In a text message to Dann, Urban said, "I will not lie like Leo wants me to … I love you and Tony and Leo, but not enough to get disbarred."

Urban declined to comment yesterday. Her lawyer, Vince Rakeshaw, said Urban will cooperate in any future investigations.

Top officials such as Simpson looked the other way instead of probing the bad behavior, which was first reported in October, the report said.

ajohnson@dispatch.com

jnash@dispatch.com