House Speaker Bill Batchelder has been asking State Rep. Peter Beck to resign for more than a year, and now he has. Beck is stepping down while he prepares for a trial later this month on 69 felony counts including fraud, theft, perjury, money laundering and receiving stolen property.
He's accused of helping to scam investors by misleading them about a start-up software company he knew was insolvent.
Batchelder says Beck's resignation was the best decision for his constituents. It’s not like he was going to represent his Southwest Ohio area much longer anyway since he was defeated by another Republican in the primary this spring.
