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#1
09-17-2005, 11:31 AM
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More Dem Corruption
Notice how far into the story they were identified as Dems. AP
N.M. treasurer, former treasurer arrested on racketeering ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — New Mexico's state treasurer and his predecessor were charged Friday with racketeering, accused of steering state business to investment advisers in return for hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks. Treasurer Robert Vigil and former Treasurer Michael Montoya, both Democrats, allegedly received the kickbacks from three financial advisers who were paid commissions for helping invest public funds, according to an affidavit. They appeared briefly in federal court Friday and were released on their own recognizance. "Public funds should never be used like private ATM machines," U.S. Attorney David Iglesias said while announcing the charges at a news conference. If convicted, both men face up to 20 years in prison for each of two counts of racketeering and interference with commerce. Vigil said after the hearing that he would plead not guilty and planned to continue serving as treasurer. "I feel I've done a great job and continue to do a great job," Vigil said. Montoya did not speak with reporters after the hearing, and calls to his home went unanswered later Friday. It was not immediately known whether Montoya had a lawyer; he appeared in court without one. Investment adviser Peter Simons cooperated with the FBI in exchange for immunity. He said he paid Montoya part of his commissions and personally delivered cash to Montoya three times — in amounts ranging from $4,000 to $10,000, according to an affidavit. Another adviser allegedly paid Montoya $632,000 and Vigil $54,000. It was unclear whether the other two advisers would face charges. Other kickbacks to Vigil allegedly came in the form of tickets to political fundraisers and donations to charities in which his wife participated. Montoya served as state treasurer from 1995 to 2002. Vigil was elected to a four-year term in 2002. The two have worked together in the past. Vigil served as deputy treasurer under Montoya, and when Vigil was auditor, he hired Montoya in 1992 as head of the agency's Medicaid fraud unit. 
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#4
10-01-2005, 8:58 AM
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If they had been Republicans, GOP would have been in the headline or title.
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Deel Leit laafe baarfiessich rum un die annre hen ken Schuh. From the Pawn Shop Bill School of VooDoo economics: "A 3-4% growth in the GDP, as proudly advertised by the Bushies, is close to a NEGATIVE GROWTH when you consider that the inflation was at least or close to 3-4%."
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#7
10-02-2005, 10:34 PM
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How about John Corzine. American Daily
SOURCE NJ SENATOR JON CORZINE: LIES, LIES….AND COVERUPS! By Gordon Bishop (09/15/05) The biggest tax-and-spend liberal in the United States Senate is New Jersey’s Jon Corzine, a wealthy Wall Street investor who represents the most taxed state in the nation (New Jersey, of course). Corzine bought the New Jersey U.S. Senate seat six years ago for more than $60 million and is now ready to spend another $60 million-plus to become the Garden State’s next governor. It’s corrupt politicians like Jon Corzine that are perverting America’s political system in the same manner that Bill Clinton turned the White House into a Whore House and was barred from practicing law for lying under oath about his sexual escapades. Like Clinton, Corzine also has some female problems, such as paying them off for personal political gain. He and wife were divorced three years ago. Corzine’s most recent “girlfriend” was Carla Katz, who Corzine paid out $615,000 so she could buy a historic house in New Jersey and upgrade it. The money was a gift, including payment of a ‘gift tax’ of $145,000. It just coincidentally happens that Carla Katz is president of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) union in New Jersey. The CWA represents government employees. Katz and her union endorsed Corzine for Governor a few months after he gave her the fat-cat gift for her country home. Money and Power equals Corruption at the highest level. Corzine says the cash gift included money to renovate her highlands home, such as adding a driveway, digging a swimming pool, building a deck, putting in a septic system, plus a large addition to the 200-year-old landmark dwelling. Now the plot thickens. Katz never sought any building permits to improve her dream house. The town’s building inspector said Katz never asked for any permits. So what did she do with the $108,150 that was earmarked for renovations? Katz won’t say. Neither will Corzine. That’s “private” business, they say. This is a guy who unabashedly tells New Jersey’s second largest newspaper (Asbury Park Press) that, “The public can trust me.” Only a pathetic liberal has the audacity to utter such double-talk. In the life of Jon Corzine, it’s all about “Where’s the money?” The Asbury Park Press wrote a lead editorial on Corzine, headed “A matter of trust.” The Press writes: When Jon S. Corzine ran for the U.S. Senate seat in 1999, he repeatedly promised voters he would put his assets in a blind trust to avoid possible conflicts of interest should he be elected. Today, as little as one third of his holdings, estimated at between $86 million and $262 million, are in a blind trust. Corzine needs to explain why he reneged on his promise to New Jersey voters to put all his assets in a blind trust. When the trust was originally formed, it was to have been managed by three friends – two former partners at Goldman Sachs, where Corzine made his fortune, and a political operative active in his Senate and gubernatorial campaigns. That doesn’t inspire much faith in the independence a bland trust implies. Nor does the fact that the Newark mailing address for the trust is the same as his U.S. Senate campaign committee. Corzine, the Democrat candidate for governor, has not responded to requests from Gannett New Jersey to release the trust agreement and to identify the managers of the blind trust and Corzine’s two other investment companies. Corzine also has not submitted the trust agreement to the Senate Ethics Committee for approval. To do so would force him to comply with strict rules governing blind trusts, including a requirement that the funds be independently managed. Even the money that is going into Corzine’s blind trust isn’t hidden from the senator’s eyes because Corzine himself reports the trust’s individual assets, income and transactions on his annual Senate financial disclosure form, says Alex Knott, political editor of the watchdog Center for Pubic Integrity. The potential for such conflicts is greater for a wealthy man like Corzine, who has a wide-ranging investment portfolio and longstanding contacts with people in the global investment banking and securities industries. Corzine is under no obligation to put his money in a blind trust. But he told voters he would do so and he failed to keep his promise. He must explain why. He also needs to fully disclose his financial affairs by making his tax returns public. While he’s coming clean, he should identify the managers of his limited blind trust and his other two investment companies and provide details about whom they do business with. Otherwise, the voters will just have to take Corzine’s word that his business affairs pose no conflicts. That isn’t good enough. (PS: The New Jersey media is starting to ask questions about how Corzine suddenly left Goldman Sachs investment firm as co-chairman after making a sizeable fortune in the $350 million range. Some Wall Street investors who knew how Corzine operated at Goldman Sachs implied he didn’t “play by the rules,” one of the reasons he walked away from his co-chairmanship of one of the biggest brokerage houses in the world.) Ed: Views are those of individual authors and not necessarily those of American Daily.
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#8
10-02-2005, 10:38 PM
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No wonder Corzine's once 20% lead has nearly disappeared. When the very Lib Newark Star Ledger begins to crack the whip.
SOURCE Questionable contributions Thursday, September 29, 2005 Voters often take comfort in the notion that a self-made millionaire knows his way around a checkbook and therefore will be careful with the public's money. Then Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jon Corzine made us queasy by tossing greenbacks to groups that might be seen as voting blocs. Makes one wonder about him and about the groups taking the cash. Let's start with the 16 prominent black ministers who stood with Corzine this week to announce their endorsement of him. No surprise there. We believe the ministers when they say the $5.1 million some members of the Black Ministers Council got from Corzine did not influence their decision. They would have endorsed him anyway. Their support, they say, is based on Corzine's policy positions, such as favoring needle exchange programs and funding for embryonic stem cell research, as well as the traditional Democratic causes. And surely no one can blame the pastors for accepting donations to help their worthy projects. What is questionable is why neither Corzine nor the ministers realized that voters might wonder about the timing of the donations and the endorsement. After all, this is the state where an ugly controversy erupted after a previous gubernatorial election when a Republican operative bragged that black ministers were paid to suppress black votes. The taunt was never proven, but the damage was done. Since then, the ministers have gained a well-deserved reputation for being willing to criticize Republicans and Democrats alike. They have done so when many black elected officials, virtually all Democrats, could not. Taking money from Corzine diminishes their ability to maintain that stance. More troubling than the ministers' willingness to take Corzine's money is the senator's willingness to give it so freely. While Corzine certainly has a right to give to the charities of his choice, his spending has increased since he entered public life. Even his supporters say he doesn't seem to understand that traditionally groups court the governor, not the other way around. At this point in Corzine's career -- he's been in the U.S. Senate for five years -- he should be able to run on his record and convictions, not his wallet. Black churches are not the only religious beneficiaries of Corzine's largesse. Seventeen Jewish groups received money ranging from $100,000 for the Jewish National Fund to $500 for the United Synagogue of Hoboken. The New York Catholic Archdiocese received $1.3 million. But none has endorsed him outright -- something they're bound by law not to do because of their nonprofit status -- although his generosity hasn't been kept a secret from members. The problem is not Corzine's charitable giving. It's the timing, and the ham-handedness that it demonstrates. It's reasonable to question his judgment, particularly whether he'll be a good steward of the already cash-strapped public treasury.
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#9
10-23-2005, 11:41 PM
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People of NJ get this one right. The Trentonian
Poll: Dems the most corrupt SOURCE Column By Charles Webster Most of you think corruption in government is a serious problem in New Jersey. According to the latest poll from Quinnipiac University, 92 percent of you think it’s a serious problem in this state. But more people think Democrats are the most corrupt according to the findings of the Quinnipiac poll. Half of the people responding to the poll said they associate government corruption to the Democratic Party. Is it no wonder? Democrats like Bob Torricelli, Jim McGreevey, Charles Kushner, Gary Taffet, Paul Levinsohn, Roger Chugh, David D’Amiano, Golan Cipel, William Watley, Lesly Devereaux, Robert Janiszewski and Anthony Impreveduto head up the long list of recent Democrats caught in a long run of scandals tied to corruption in recent years. Oh don’t think Republicans are immune, but only 22 percent of respondents in the polls said they associate corruption to the GOP. But don’t forget about GOPers James Treffinger, Harry Parkin, and James Lambert who are on the short list of Republicans tied to corruption. And let’s not leave out the infamous Monmouth County 11 who were mostly Republicans with a sprinkling of Democrats. Oh there’s no doubt about it. Corruption is a serious problem in the Garden State and its growing like a weed. There is a very telling aspect to the Quinnipiac poll - Forrester wins in the eyes of voters as a person who is part of the solution in ridding the state of corruption. Bad news for Corzine. More people - 43 percent - think Corzine is part of the problem when it comes to corruption, while 42 percent think he can solve the problem. The old teeter totter is in play. More people are convinced Forrester can solve the state’s problems. Forrester continues to win the confidence of voters in the poll as the man who can tackle out-of-control property taxes. Forrester continues to win the confidence of voters in the poll as the man who can tackle corruption. Buchanan predicts a Forrester win. Commentator Pat Buchanan on syndicated television talk show The McLaughlin Group has predicted Forrester will win the governor’s race. Guess he’s been reading the polls too. Sen. John McCain is coming! McCain will attend a Forrester rally at Brookdale Community College tomorrow afternoon. Stay tuned.
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#10
10-25-2005, 6:54 PM
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Anyone wanna guess the Party affiliation of Mr. Mariano? Story won't tell you. AP
Philadelphia city councilman indicted By Patrick Walters, Associated Press Writer | October 25, 2005 PHILADELPHIA --A city councilman was indicted on federal fraud and bribery charges Tuesday, five days after he was talked down from the City Hall observation deck. Rick Mariano, 50, was accused of giving favors to friends and businesses that paid his personal expenses. Prosecutors said he helped one business receive a tax break and gave another help on buying city property. Four others were charged along with Mariano. On Thursday, Mariano climbed alone to the City Hall observation deck, 500 feet up, causing a suicide scare that drew police and firefighters. The police commissioner escorted him down about two hours later. Mariano spent two days in a hospital. The councilman's spokesman later said Mariano went to the deck to "clear his mind," not to kill himself. Officials said Mariano could not have jumped because the observation deck is encased in glass. Mariano knew he was under federal investigation and had just learned that his previous attorney could no longer defend him, his spokesman said. Mariano's lawyer promised that the former union electrician would fight the charges. "I'm going to go look at the indictment, and then I'll begin to fashion what I think is an appropriate defense," Nino Tinari said. "We'll see who's swinging at us and who's not, and I'll go from there." The 10-year councilman told reporters before the scare that he expected the city to stop paying his legal expenses if he were indicted, and that he would have problems paying those bills. Mariano makes about $100,000 a year as a councilman. Unlike some colleagues, does not have another job.
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#12
10-25-2005, 7:06 PM
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How about this LA Councilman?
LA Times Judge Suggests Lower Ethics Fine for Weiss From Times Staff Wire Reports A state administrative law judge has recommended that a proposed fine against Councilman Jack Weiss for violations of city ethics laws be lowered from $25,200 to $6,000. The city's Ethics Commission has accused Weiss of 40 violations, including failure to submit on a timely basis mailers from his 2001 campaign and expense reports from his office account. ADVERTISEMENT Judge Timothy S. Thomas wrote that there was no evidence that Weiss intended to deceive voters and that a higher fine would do "little public good." The commissioners can accept the recommendation or set their own fine.
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#14
10-26-2005, 6:15 PM
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AP
Ex-Ala. governor indicted in conspiracy (D - Siegelman) ap on Yahoo ^ | 10/26/05 | AP MONTGOMERY, Ala. - A federal grand jury has indicted former Gov. Don Siegelman and three others in a "widespread racketeering conspiracy" that included bribery and extortion, prosecutors announced Wednesday. The prosecutors said Siegelman and former Chief of Staff Paul Hamrick violated racketeering laws during his term from 1999 to 2003. The indictment, in part, alleges that Richard Scrushy, former chief of the HealthSouth hospital chain, made disguised payments totaling $500,000 to Siegelman to get appointed to a key hospital regulatory board. Former state Transportation Director Gary Mack Roberts was charged with fraud for his alleged role in influencing the agency on Siegelman's behalf. The announcement of the indictment was made simultaneously in Montgomery and Washington. Siegelman has called the long-running grand jury probe a political witch hunt by Republican prosecutors trying to derail his Democratic campaign for a second term. He planned a statement later Wednesday.
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#16
10-26-2005, 8:05 PM
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Quote:
Here is a better challenge: See if you can find an honest Republican in the state of Ohio. BTW, if you have any rare coins, keep them away from Ohio. :P
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#17
10-26-2005, 8:27 PM
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AP
N.M. treasurer quits as impeachment looms By BARRY MASSEY, Associated Press Writer Posted: Wednesday October 26th, 2005, 6:06 PM Last Updated: Wednesday October 26th, 2005, 6:06 PM SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - New Mexico's indicted state treasurer resigned Wednesday shortly after lawmakers began considering whether he should be impeached. Robert Vigil's resignation came more than a month after he was arrested and charged with extortion in a federal investigation into an alleged kickback scheme involving state investments. Vigil, 52, announced his resignation, effective immediately, in a letter to Gov. Bill Richardson and Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron. "I have committed no crime, and the allegation made by the federal government are false," Vigil wrote. "I look forward to the day when a jury will hear all of the evidence, and I will have the opportunity to clear my name." Vigil, a Democrat, was elected to a four-year term as treasurer in November 2002 and took office in 2003. He has pleaded not guilty to 21 felony charges of extortion. No trial date has been set. Earlier Wednesday, a bipartisan House subcommittee held a public meeting to review evidence in the now-ended impeachment case. Videos were played that showed Vigil accepting cash - nearly $12,000 - from an investment adviser in two meetings earlier this year. The adviser secretly recorded the meetings as part of a deal in which he is cooperating with prosecutors. Vigil's lawyer has contended the payments were campaign contributions and violated no law. However, the subcommittee's special counsel, Paul Kennedy, suggested the cash payments were illegal - even if made for a campaign - because they were "in exchange for the promise of future business" from the treasurer's office. Under state law, the governor has the power to appoint a replacement for the treasurer.
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#19
10-28-2005, 4:34 PM
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AP
Georgia Congresswoman Fined $33,000 By JEFFREY McMURRAY ASSOCIATED PRESS Georgia Congresswoman Fined $33,000 WASHINGTON (AP) - Rep. Cynthia McKinney must pay a $33,000 fine and reimburse as much as $72,000 to political donors after accepting excessive contributions in the 2002 election, the Federal Election Commission said Friday. The fine alone exceeds the total amount in the Georgia Democrat's campaign account through Sept. 30. It was part of a conciliation agreement between McKinney and the FEC. The alleged illegal activity stems from McKinney's 2002 re-election campaign, in which she lost the Democratic primary to Denise Majette. McKinney was out of Congress for two years before winning the seat back in 2004, when Majette left to run for the Senate. McKinney's spokesman, Richard Searcy, said he hadn't seen the report late Friday and had no immediate comment. The eight-page agreement, signed by McKinney's campaign treasurer, Joan Christian, says there was $106,425 in excessive contributions in 2002 - $42,950 for the primary and $63,475 for the general. Because McKinney lost the primary election, all money collected for the general election must be reimbursed. The agreement says McKinney's campaign reimbursed $34,199 of the excessive contributions but still owed $72,226 as of Aug. 31, the date of the agreement. "If you're not in a general election, you can't raise money," said FEC spokeswoman Kelly Huff. "And if you took money, you really can't spend it, because if you lose, you're in a world of hurt." Huff said it was unclear how much - if any - of that $72,226 McKinney had already repaid. First elected to Congress in 1992, McKinney has seen her share of controversy as an elected official. She once questioned the "Negro tolerance" of Democratic Vice President Al Gore. She also suggested on a radio show that Bush administration officials had advance knowledge of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks but kept quiet, suggesting a possible profit motive for defense contractors.
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#20
10-28-2005, 11:26 PM
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AP
Marion Barry Pleads Guilty in Tax Case By DERRILL HOLLY, Associated Press Writer Fri Oct 28, 5:41 PM ET Former District of Columbia Mayor Marion Barry pleaded guilty Friday to two misdemeanor counts stemming from his failure to file tax returns in 2000. Sentencing for Barry, a city councilman, was set for Jan. 18 in U.S. District Court. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor counts of willfully failing to file and failure to provide information. A plea agreement recommended probation. Magistrate Judge Deborah A. Robinson freed Barry on his own recognizance but ordered him to inform federal authorities before leaving the area. Barry, 69, told the court that he was not sure how much money he earned between 1999 and 2004, conceding that tax forms provided by his employers — New York-based investment firms — may support the government's contention that he earned $534,000. Barry served four terms as mayor. In his third term, he was videotaped in 1990 in a hotel room smoking crack cocaine in an FBI sting. The following year, he served a six-month prison sentence. Then, in 1994, he regained the mayor's office for another four-year term. The misdemeanor charges will not required Barry to give up his seat on the city council, where he represents one of the city's poorest neighborhoods. Elected to the seat last year, he will qualify for pension benefits and a lifetime income if he completes his term in 2008. Barry earns $92,605 a year in his council post. He has served a total of 21 years in city government, including two previous
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