ACORN agrees to leave Ohio under settlement

COLUMBUS -- The community organizing group ACORN has agreed to permanently give up its business license in Ohio, under a settlement with a libertarian organization.

The 1851 Center for Constitutional Law had filed a lawsuit against the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, ACORN's full name. The suit alleged that ACORN's voter registration drives amounted to organized crime because the group turned in a pattern of fraudulent forms.

Attorney Maurice Thompson with the 1815 Center calls the settlement mostly confidential but says it calls for ACORN to cease operating in Ohio by June 1.

ACORN attorney Alphonse Gerhardstein says the group denies any wrongdoing in Ohio. He says ACORN has already pulled out of the state for reasons unrelated to the lawsuit.