Ohio House District 96 incumbent Ron Ferguson says he will hold those responsible “accountable to the full extent of the law” after a series of false allegations linked his family business to an undocumented Guatemalan national stopped for a traffic violation in Wintersville.
STEUBENVILLE, Ohio — WWVA, a Wheeling, West Virginia, radio station owned by iHeart Media has issued a formal retraction after airing allegations that Ohio House Representative Ron Ferguson (R-District 96) employed an undocumented immigrant at his family’s Steubenville entertainment venue, Seven Ranges — claims that law enforcement, local officials, and a judge have since confirmed are entirely without basis.
The allegations were broadcast on WWVA by morning personality David Blomquist, known on-air as “Bloomdaddy,” and surfaced during what Ferguson describes as a coordinated effort by backers of his primary opponent, former state senator Frank Hoagland, to damage his reputation ahead of the May 5th election.
“He knew and knows that is 100% unequivocally, categorically false,” Ferguson said of Hoagland in an interview Monday on Dimitri Live and Dangerously Local, the River Talk Radio program hosted by Dimitri Vassilaros. “He was sent letters by mail, he was sent text messages, he was sent emails.”
You can listen to Dimitri’s full interview with Ferguson here.
A Traffic Stop With No Connection to Seven Ranges
The sequence of events that gave rise to the story began when a Guatemalan national — identified in the interview only as “Oscar” — was pulled over by Wintersville Police for a traffic violation. When officers contacted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to check for outstanding warrants, ICE advised them not to detain the man. Because Oscar had no valid driver’s license, he was free to leave on foot.
Unable to secure a ride, Oscar contacted an acquaintance. That person was unavailable and passed the call to a manager at Seven Ranges Entertainment — a man named Rich — who knew Oscar in a personal capacity, not through any employment relationship at the business.
At no point during the encounter did Oscar state that he worked for Seven Ranges Entertainment or for Ferguson.
“He never says it,” Ferguson told Vassilaros. “The Wintersville Police have since confirmed it, we have confirmed it. Everybody knows it. The Hoagland campaign knows it. Frank Hoagland chooses to lie anyway.”
WWVA and iHeart Retract the Story
Before WWVA aired its segment, Ferguson’s mother — an attorney and sitting judge — contacted the station and provided the facts of the case directly to staff.
“She talked to the WWVA staff before they ever went on the air,” Ferguson said. “She gave them all of the facts. And they actually admit that on the audio file. They actually admit, ‘very nice lady, she was very helpful, she called them back.’ And then he attacks her, saying, ‘I’m not going to call her back because we’re going to get lost in legalese.'”
WWVA broadcast the allegation regardless. The story was also promoted by Hoagland’s campaign on the Hoagland for Ohio Facebook page.
Following contact from Ferguson’s legal team, iHeart Media — WWVA’s parent company — acknowledged the error. A company representative named Jim Davis reached out to Ferguson’s attorney and confirmed that a retraction had been aired on a Friday broadcast. Davis also attempted to provide audio of the retraction but said the file bounced back as undeliverable to the attorney’s email address — an explanation that drew skepticism from both Ferguson and Vassilaros on air.
“This guy’s in radio and he doesn’t know how to deliver an audio file,” Vassilaros said. “He’s one of the top people at iHeart. I don’t believe that for a second.”
Ferguson said the retraction, while necessary, does not excuse the damage already done. “When you flat out lie about somebody, you lie about their business, there’s absolutely grounds for a lawsuit,” he said. “I believe in holding people accountable to the full extent of the law and that’s what we’re going to do.”
Seven Ranges Entertainment and E-Verify Compliance
Seven Ranges Entertainment is an indoor-outdoor sports bar and grill located at the Fort Steuben Mall in Steubenville. The venue offers bowling, axe throwing, arcade games, and event space, and is owned jointly by Ferguson, his parents, his brother, and his uncle.
Ferguson said the business uses a payroll processing company to verify the legal work status of all employees — a process consistent with Ohio’s E-Verify Workforce Integrity Act, House Bill 246, which Ferguson said he supported in the legislature.
“I am an America First candidate and have been all along,” Ferguson said, citing the E-Verify legislation as an example of his commitment to legal hiring practices. He noted that several employees of Guatemalan origin do work at Seven Ranges — legally — and described them as good workers who are part of the broader Steubenville community.
Ferguson Calls Out Hoagland’s Campaign
Ferguson is seeking his fourth term representing Jefferson and Monroe counties and the eastern half of Belmont County. Hoagland, a retired Navy SEAL and former state senator, entered the race at the urging of, by his own admission during a debate on the River Talk program, Columbus political interests.
“He said Columbus asked him to run — those were his words,” Ferguson recalled. “And I said, yeah, they asked you to run because you’re a yes man. He denied being a yes man. I asked him right in this studio — then give me one time in seven years that you voted no that you’re proud of. Silence.”
Hoagland did not appear at a second scheduled debate and has not responded to interview requests from River Talk Radio, according to Vassilaros.
Ferguson said the willingness of the Hoagland campaign to continue promoting allegations even after the official retraction illustrates a broader pattern. “They don’t care. They just want to go forward anyway — like Democrats — and lie to try and win a race.”
The May 5th Republican primary election between Ferguson and Hoagland will determine which candidate advances on the Republican ticket in Ohio House District 96.
