Summary of Republicon Scandals 1 of 2
Rich Travsky
various posts. The crimes range from the petty on up.
URLs were live when first posted.
Part 1 of 2.
---------------
1.
http://www.sltrib.com/09181999/utah/25003.htm
Another Prominent Utah Family Donated to Bush via Its Children
Saturday, September 18, 1999
BY DAN HARRIE THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
Another family prominent in Utah business and politics has been
donating campaign cash in the names of children to presidential
hopeful George W. Bush.
Three children of Scott Marquardt, president of Management &
Training Corp. (MTC), contributed $1,000 apiece to the Bush
juggernaut earlier this summer. The youngsters are 8, 10 and 13
years of age.
Federal elections regulations ban donations of more than $1,000
and also prohibit people from trying to sidestep the limit by making
contributions in the names of others. Rules also require that
contributions be made "knowingly and voluntarily," although there
are no age requirements in the law.
=====
2.
From The Washington Post, 9/3/99:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-09/03/073l-090399-idx.html
State Pension Investments Probed
Ex-Conn. Treasurer Placed Funds With Firms Tied to Bush Fund-Raiser
By John Mintz Washington Post Staff Writer
The FBI is investigating whether a former Connecticut state treasurer
improperly steered millions of dollars in state pension funds to firms
allied with a politically connected consulting company in Washington
that is run by a top fund-raiser for George W. Bush's presidential
campaign.
Park Strategies LLC, whose president is Wayne Berman, a major
financial backer of the presidential campaign of Texas Gov. Bush (R),
has turned over subpoenaed documents to the FBI in connection with the
probe, knowledgeable sources said.
Also subpoenaed was the Carlyle Group, a Washington merchant bank and
client of Park Strategies that retains former president George Bush as
a senior consultant.
At the center of the probe is Paul J. Silvester, who became
Connecticut's treasurer in 1997 but who was defeated in an election
last November.
The FBI is looking into approximately $800 million in investments from
Connecticut's state pension fund that Silvester made in the fourth
quarter of 1998, most of it placed after the election but before he
left office on Jan. 6.
=====
3.
From The Hartford Courant, 9/24/99:
http://www.courant.com/news/apwire/Sep24-APwire_23259.stm
Silvester probe could extend to Washington
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) The federal investigation that led to former
state Treasurer Paul Silvester's guilty pleas for racketeering and
money laundering could extend into national politics.
Washington, D.C., business consultant Wayne Berman, a top national
Republican operative and a major fund-raiser for GOP presidential
candidate George W. Bush, has complied with a federal subpoena for
records related to one or more ''finder's fees'' that he received in
connection with an investment Silvester made with state pension funds.
=====
4.
From St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 10/30/99:
This is then ongoing driver's license scandal investigation from when
republicon Governor Ryan of Illinois was Secretary of State. There
have been 14 guilty pleas so far and 13 more have been indicted:
- From The Chicago Tribune, 12/4/99:
http://www.chicago.tribune.com/news/metro/chicago/article/0,2669,ART-38957,FF.html
License probe turns to leases for buildings
Elgin raid raises issues of kickbacks, preferential pacts
- From The Chicago Tribune,
12/15/99:
http://chicagotribune.com/news/metro/chicago/article/0,2669,ART-39398,FF.html
- From The Associated Press, 1/9/00:
http://www.postnet.com/postnet/news/wires.nsf/StateRegion/E87505FD34EBE67B86256861005F9756?OpenDocument
==========
5.
From The Associated Press, 10/27/99:
http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1999/10/27/miami.ap/
Florida State Senator Pleads Guilty
By TRACY FIELDS Associated Press Writer
MIAMI -- A state senator pleaded guilty to conspiracy in a Medicare
fraud case and must resign from the Legislature, where he has served
for 15 years.
State Sen. Alberto Gutman and his wife, Marci, were charged last year
as the secret owners of companies that billed Medicare for health
care services that were not performed, sometimes for clients who did
not exist.
====
6.
From The Dallas Morning News, 10/27/99:
http://www.dallasnews.com/texas_southwest/1027tsw999judge.htm
By Pete Slover / The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN - A judge on the state's highest criminal court - arrested
after a ticket-scalping incident last year - pleaded no contest to
trespassing Tuesday and received six months' probation.
[...]
Judge Mansfield, 47, a Republican, was placed on deferred adjudication
probation, meaning that he will have no criminal record if he
completes his probation, pays a $300 fine and performs 30 hours of
community
service, the nature of which was not determined Tuesday.
====
7.
From The Associated Press, 11/4/99:
http://flash.syracuse.com/cgi-bin/syr_nview.pl?/home1/wire/AP/Stream-Parsed/CUSE_NEWS/n0326_PM_NY--Pataki-Trip
Donations to sponsor of Pataki's Hungary trips are investigated
ALBANY, N.Y. -- The state Ethics Commission is investigating whether
two trips to Hungary by Gov. George Pataki were illegally funded by
companies with business interests before the state, the New York Times
reported today.
=====
8.
NY Times 11/15/99
http://www.nytimes.com/library/national/111599mich-roche-edu.html
This is sordid case of George Roche III, of conservative Hillsdale
College. A lengthy affair with his son's wife and her later suicide.
====
9.
From The San Antonio Express-News, 11/10/99:
http://www.express-news.net/auth/ennews/ap/texas/d0623.html
This is the ongoing story of Texas State Sen. J.E. "Buster" Brown,
Brazoria County, who sexually harassed a female office clerk.
- http://www.express-news.net/auth/ennews/ap/texas/d0828.html
Texas State senator under attack for groping woman employee
=====
10.
From The New York Times, 11/17/99:
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/national/regional/ny-gop-trial.html
Prosecutors Say Tapes Prove Former G.O.P. Leader's Guilt
By JOHN T. McQUISTON
UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- Secretly recorded conversations that federal
investigators say provide clear evidence of a landfill extortion
scheme were played in Federal District Court here Tuesday in the trial
of John Powell, the former Suffolk County Republican leader.
The members of the jury, each wearing a set of headphones, listened
intently as they heard Powell described as the "main man," the "head
honcho" and the "boss" of the town of Brookhaven, where he is charged
with taking $20,000 in bribes for access to the town landfill.
============
11.
From The San Antonio Express-News, 11/19/99:
http://www.express-news.net/auth/ennews/ap/texas/d0882.html
Texas senator said soliciting illegal contributions for Bush
MESA, Ariz. - A Texas state senator reportedly is asking Arizona
lawmakers for a portion of their own campaign funds for Republican
presidential contender George W. Bush, a practice said to be illegal.
Texas Sen. Teel Bivins, whose district includes Amarillo, used
official Texas Senate stationery to tell Arizona legislators that a
contribution of up to $1,000 from their own campaign account is legal,
The Tribune, a newspaper covering suburban Phoenix, said today.
The Tribune also said Arizona statutes prohibit the transfer from any
state campaign account to another candidate's federal or state
campaign.
====
12.
From The Poughkeepsie Journal, 12/2/99:
http://www.pojonews.com/news/crime/stories/cr120299s2.htm
Indictment tops 16 counts
By Michael Valkys
Poughkeepsie Journal
WHITE PLAINS -- Federal prosecutors Wednesday announced eight
additional corruption charges have been lodged against former Dutchess
County Republican Chairman William Paroli Sr.
Paroli -- who faces a March trial -- was previously indicted in
September on eight counts of corruption for allegedly masterminding a
six-year scheme to shake down contractors on Town of Poughkeepsie
projects with more than $100,000 going to Paroli and the GOP.
The eight new charges -- bringing the total to 16 -- were handed down
Wednesday by a federal grand jury.
Paroli is now charged with one count of conspiracy to commit
extortion, seven counts of extortion, one count of bribery, one count
of embezzlement, two counts of mail fraud and four counts of witness
tampering.
=====
13.
From The New York Times, 12/3/99:
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/national/regional/ny-powell.html
G.O.P. Figure in Suffolk Is Convicted
By JOHN T. McQUISTON
UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- John Powell, a former leader of the Suffolk County
Republican Party who was once seen as a rising star in the state
party, was found guilty of conspiracy and extortion in a landfill
scandal on Thursday evening by a federal jury.
=========
14.
http://www.phillynews.com/inquirer/99/Dec/06/city/CRIM06.htm
HARRISBURG - The Republican House majority is expected to make history
today by allowing a lawmaker convicted of perjury to take his seat and
vote despite a provision in the Pennsylvania Constitution that makes
him ineligible to serve.
GOP legislators plan to block or vote down a Democrat-led effort to
expel
Rep. Frank Serafini, who was sentenced Nov. 18 to five months in federal
prison for lying to a federal grand jury that was investigating an
illegal campaign finance scheme.
====
15.
From The New York Times, 12/9/99:
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/national/regional/ny-republican.html
Convicted Republican Seeks Deal in 2nd Case
By JOHN T. McQUISTON
UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- Five days after being convicted of
conspiracy and extortion, John Powell, a former Suffolk County
Republican leader, was back in court Wednesday, trying to avoid a
second trial on charges of helping to run a truck theft ring.
Powell, who was convicted Dec. 2 in Federal District Court here of
extorting $20,000 in bribes from a trucker in exchange for preferred
access to the Town of Brookhaven landfill, said through his lawyer
Wednesday that he hoped to negotiate a plea agreement with federal
prosecutors in the truck theft case.
===
16.
From The Hartford Courant, 12/16/99:
http://www.ctnow.com/scripts/editorial.dll?bfromind=1396&eeid=1243606&eetype=article&render=y&ck=&ver=hb1.2.20
By MATTHEW DALY
The Hartford Courant
To state Republicans, it's a no- brainer.
Connecticut should have a board of trustees to oversee management of
its $20 billion pension fund, the GOP leaders say - and one of their
own is Exhibit A for why.
Former state Treasurer Paul J. Silvester, a Republican, set off a
state scandal after pleading guilty to money-laundering and
racketeering charges involving investments he made during his final
months in office.
=======
17.
From The Providence (R.I.) Journal 12/17/99:
http://www.projo.com/cgi-bin/frame_it.cgi?URL=/report/pjb/stories/02923091.htm
EDC chief resigns
By CHRISTOPHER ROWLAND
Journal State House Bureau
PROVIDENCE -- John Swen resigned from his job as executive director of
the state Economic Development Corporation yesterday, brought down by
questionable spending practices after two years as Governor Almond's
chief business booster.
From
http://www.projo.com/report/pjb/stories/02917041.htm
[...]
Swen is an appointee of Almond, a Republican.
[...]
Another Republican senator, John A. Patterson, of North Kingstown,
agreed. The Almond administration ``has been scandal-free until now,''
he said. ``It's sad that this is no longer the case.''
=====
18.
From The New York Times, 12/18/99:
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/national/regional/ny-campaign-gop.html
Fund-Raiser for Republicans Denies Wrongdoing
By WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM
A businessman who has raised tens of thousands of dollars for the
campaigns of Gov. George E. Pataki and other Republicans pleaded not
guilty yesterday to federal charges that he promised favorable state
parole rulings to the families of three convicted violent felons in
exchange for $36,000 in campaign donations.
====
19.
From The New York Times, 12/15/99:
http://www.nytimes.com/library/national/regional/121599ny-col-purdy.html
Tough Times For Big Man In Dutchess
POUGHKEEPSIE , N.Y. -- Only the uninitiated would think there was
anything odd about the goings-on Tuesday in the county courthouse
here.
William Paroli Sr., the Republican elections commissioner, was on the
witness stand testifying for the county clerk who is contesting the
results of the still-unresolved November election.
[...]
A federal corruption investigation has cut a jagged swath through the
Town of Poughkeepsie in the last two and a half years, leaving behind
charges, convictions, political unrest, a suicide and enough rumors
and conspiracy theories to keep this county riveted.
The elder Paroli has been the impresario of the local Republican
Party, and federal prosecutors have accused him of masterminding a
medley of corrupt acts.
Prosecutors said he conspired with local officials to shake down
contractors.
They allege that on one project alone, $137,800 was extorted and
funneled to the Republican Party, with various conduits used to get
money to Paroli.
An F.B.I. document filed in the case says that while running for
county party chairman in 1997, Paroli acknowledged to supporters that
he used "his 'leadership' to 'smooth the way' and 'cut through the red
tape' for business and contractors who were willing to make
contributions to the party."
There were also smaller favors for Paroli, either from the public
coffers or contractors, prosecutors allege: tires for his car,
construction material and electrical work for his house and
landscaping for his yard.
There have been four convictions, including the guilty plea of the
town's water superintendent who was charged with conspiring with
Paroli to extort money.
The town's assessor, whose body was found in the Hudson River in
October 1997 after he committed suicide, has since been linked by
prosecutors to what they say was a conspiracy.
====
20.
From The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 12/15/99:
http://www.ardemgaz.com/today/ark/baydepose15.html
Huckabee denies misuse of mansion funds after deposition
RACHEL O'NEAL
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
Gov. Mike Huckabee was questioned for 31/2 hours Tuesday as he gave a
deposition in a lawsuit against him over his alleged misuse of the
taxpayer-financed, $60,000 Governor's Mansion Allowance.
====
21.
http://www.metroactive.com:80/metro/public-eye-9951.html
The recent arrest of Sunnyvale City Councilman Jim Roberts for drunken
public
behavior--allegedly hitting an innocent taxi driver whom he stiffed, no
less
-- was obvious fodder for media hounds. But what intrigues Eye most is
how
quickly news of Roberts' drunken exploits hit the street. According to
city
spokesman Dan Rich, KNTV started making calls early the same morning
Roberts
was busted. It certainly wouldn't be hard to imagine someone in the
Sunnyvale
cop-shop eagerly spreading news of Roberts' arrest. After all, Roberts
opposed
the 1998 binding arbitration ballot measure championed by the Public
Safety
Officers Association. One local labor operative--not a cop or
firefighter
-- openly rejoiced upon hearing the news, happily speculating that the
arrest
meant certain death for the Republican Roberts' rumored desire to run
for
Assembly in 2002, the year incumbent Elaine Alquist (D-Santa Clara) is
termed-out of office. For the record, Roberts told the Sunnyvale Sun he
is
going to plead "not guilty" to all charges.
======
22.
From The Associated Press, 1/3/00:
http://www.newsday.com/ap/rnmpmt0o.htm
State GOP chief, party pay $128,000 federal fine
WASHINGTON - The New York State Republican Party has paid a $128,000
fine to the Federal Election Commission to settle allegations that
Chairman William Powers handed out tens of thousands of dollars
illegally, according to documents reviewed Monday.
The hefty fine stems from Powers' distribution of wads of cash during
the 1994 and 1996 elections.
State party officials say the money paid scores of poll watchers
monitoring the vote in New York City.
FEC officials say there is no way to know exactly who it went to,
since Powers and other top party officials signed sworn affidavits
stating they do not recall specifically who received the cash.
The FEC alleges that Powers, GOP state party counsel Jeffrey Buley and
New York Federal Campaign Committee treasurer Michael Avella failed to
report proper purposes for disbursement, failed to report the names of
recipients and made cash payments over federal limits.
"What appears to have happened is that the Committee did not want to
create a paper trail whereby the people to whom it disbursed these
funds could be identified," according to a brief by FEC General
Counsel Lawrence Noble.
"Recipients of hundreds of thousands of dollars in committee funds
appear nowhere on the public record," Noble's brief said.
=====
23.
From The Oregon Register-Guard
http://www.registerguard.com/news/20000105/1a.ethic.0105.html
By DAVID STEVES The Register-Guard
SALEM - It's one thing for a lobbyist to spend thousands of dollars
treating legislators to all-expense-paid trips to Hawaii and Palm
Springs.
But a lobbyist for the beer and wine industry has spent thousands of
dollars on such travel for politicians' spouses as well, possibly
violating an Oregon ethics law that limits gifts to public officials'
family members to $100 a year.
According to expenditure reports filed with the state Government
Standards and Practices Commission, lobbyist Paul Romain reported
spending $12,944.09 for travel, lodging, food and golf on behalf of
seven legislators and their spouses, who attended annual meetings of
the Oregon Beer and Wine Distributors Association in Palm Springs,
Calif., in 1994 and 1996, and in Hawaii in 1998.
Although in some instances he did not break down the amounts spent on
legislators' spouses, interviews with Romain and lawmakers indicate
that the spouses alone received about $5,500 worth of free food,
airfare and lodging.
...
The expenditures ranged from $245 for Sen. Gene Timms' spouse, Edna
Timms, to travel to Palm Springs in 1996, to $1,565 paid for Sen. Neil
Bryant's spouse, Mary Bryant, to accompany him to two beer and wine
distributor meetings in Palm Springs in 1994 and 1996 and a meeting in
Hawaii in 1998.
Besides Timms, R-Burns, and Bryant, R-Bend, Romain reported that his
association treated Sens. Dave Nelson, R-Pendleton, Tom Hartung,
R-Portland, Rep. Lane Shetterly, R-Dallas and former Sens. Paul
Phillips and Ken Baker, both Republicans, and their spouses to free
trips so they could speak at conventions in Palm Springs or Hawaii.
Romain also picked up greens fees for four of the legislators,
spending between $110 and $250 apiece on golf.
...
Most of the seven legislators held assignments, in many cases as
chairmen, on committees that controlled the flow of bills affecting
beer and wine taxes and laws affecting alcohol consumption.
====
24.
From The Arizona Republic, 1/6/00:
http://www.azcentral.com/news/0106verkamp.shtml
Rep. Verkamp relinquishes Judiciary post
Decision comes after DUI arrest
By Chris Moeser
Less than two weeks after his arrest on a charge of drunken driving,
Rep. John Verkamp resigned Wednesday as chairman of the House
Judiciary Committee.
The panel frequently hears law enforcement issues, including bills
affecting laws against driving under the influence.
Verkamp, who served as Coconino County attorney for 12 years before
being elected to the Legislature in 1992, called the decision the
"right thing to do under the circumstances."
The Flagstaff Republican has been Judiciary chairman since 1997 and
helped oversee passage of Arizona's extreme DUI law, under which he
was arrested and booked Dec. 23.
=====
25.
From Reuters, 1/7/00:
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000106/pl/politics_lindauer_1.html
GOP Hopeful Pleads No Contest to Campaign Charges
By Yereth Rosen
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - More than a year ago, Republican John Lindauer
finished a distant third in Alaska's gubernatorial election after
spending nearly $1.9 million of what he said was his own money to
unseat Democratic Gov. Tony Knowles.
On Thursday, Lindauer was a convicted criminal after pleading no
contest to three misdemeanor charges stemming from the way he gathered
and spent money for his supposedly self-financed gubernatorial
campaign, the costliest in Alaska history.
His no-contest pleas were to two charges of violating the state's
campaign-finance law and one count of unsworn falsification.
Jerome Schroeder
You simply don't understand. Republicans are god-fearing folk, thus what
ever they do is pre-approved. The Right Reverend Pat Robertson has given
the GOP God's official okey dokey to do what ever is necessary to win the
year 2000 elections.
The Democrats unfortunately are not godly folk, thus even if they steal an
apple, or accept a 20 dollar donation from an illegal Mexican alien, it is a
serious naughty. Ask the Revs Pat and Jerry or that eminent political
philosopher Rush Limbaugh. They'll tell you so too.
Jerry
"Rich Travsky" <rtra...@REMOVETHISuwyo.edu> wrote in message
news:38CC52...@REMOVETHISuwyo.edu...