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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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The Michigan Citizen Editorial
You Are Here: Home » Editorial » A lawless Detroit and Michigan
A lawless Detroit and Michigan
Posted by: The Michigan Citizen Posted date: April 09, 2014 In: Editorial, Top Stories of the Week | comment : 4
“Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.” — Frederick Douglass
Detroit is not safe. And we don’t say that to mean criminals are at every turn of the corner waiting to prey on their next victim. While that may be the case in some instances, the real harm is done by those who are in positions that are supposed to provide a secure and decent quality of life for residents — those that are entrusted with the public good do just the opposite.
When U.S. Attorney General Barbara McQuade won her victory in court against Kwame Kilpatrick, she suggested corruption in Detroit had come to an end. While we, and many of our readers found appeal in McQuade’s comments, it has become increasingly apparent this couldn’t be further from the truth. Corruption in Detroit — in Michigan is alive and well.
Corruption in Detroit is apparent when people are so disenfranchised and isolated, they take it upon themselves to beat someone who accidently hit a child. It is failure to understand moral corruption that creates a “dual system” of compassion. Corruption — in public policy and public office — created the extreme poverty and deprivation that much of Detroit is living under, creating an environment where such a base response could happen.
Recent mainstream reports would lead the public to believe Council President Brenda Jones — or her supporters — to be a part of wrongdoing with an alleged bribe for the council president vote. Although the allegations are under investigation and it is unclear if anyone at all can be implicated, we question the focus on Jones. There is no fairness in that singular focus especially when it was Jenkins’ name that came out of the Eastern Market bar conversation.
All council members should be questioned and investigated. However, it does seem for some, as if it is more comfortable to believe Jones, the winner with a populist message would be corrupt. Ironically, there is little money behind populism these days.
And unlike New Orleans, where not only former Mayor Ray Nagin was indicted for accepting bribes, but also those who offered the bribes were arrested, many of the bribers in the Kilpatrick saga are still walking around, unscathed and doing business.
Rick Snyder
Rick Snyder
Last week, the state Democratic Party revealed Gov. Snyder’s cousin received a lucrative state contract, double what it was budgeted to be. It’s hard to say what is more corrupt, the increase in the furniture contract while benefits for schools and seniors are being cut, or the fact that Gov. Snyder’s aide Richard Baird — paid from a fund with anonymous donations —appeared to steer government contracts to benefit the governor’s cousin. Whoa. If that had been Kwame…
There are several layers of corruption and lawlessness operating in Detroit. The legal aspect of corruption can be prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s office, but the understanding of moral corruption requires a sense of humanity, compassion, empathy. Those qualities are in short supply considering the attacks on the state and city’s most vulnerable residents. The attacks —water shut offs, unemployment, failing schools, mass incarceration, emergency management — are Michigan’s most vile and lawless acts.
We join Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mark Schauer in asking for a federal investigation of the Snyder administration.
Last edited by untanglingwebs on Sun May 25, 2014 7:58 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Sun May 25, 2014 7:24 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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BREAKING: The NERD Fund is back – Snyder administration ...
www.eclectablog.com/2014/03/breaking-the-nerd-fund-is-back-snyder...
... Snyder administration faces charges of nepotism and corruption. ... the Michigan Department of Technology, Management, ... Governor Snyder hoped he could ...
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Letter: Snyder administration is a culture of corruption ...
www.mlive.com/opinion/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2014/04/new_snyder...
Apr 15, 2014 · Gov. Rick Snyder can no longer claim to be a nerd, a non-politician or even a turnaround expert. Michigan’s unemployment remains far above the national ...
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Whistleblower in Snyder Administration Corruption Scandal ...
www.democracy-tree.com/...snyder-administration-corruption-scandal
... Snyder Administration Corruption Scandal, ... Michigan Secretary of State Corruption Scandal, ... he is the governor’s lackey, ...
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PJ Media » Dems Hope to Snare Snyder with Corruption Tipline
pjmedia.com/blog/dems-hope-to-snare-snyder-with-corruption-tipline
Dems Hope to Snare Snyder with Corruption ... to be corruption in Gov. Rick Snyder’s (R) administration. ... operate a business in Michigan. Snyder also signed ...
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Corruption revelations shake Michigan education authority ...
World Socialist Web Site
11 days ago
... the Obama administration has ... Secretary of Education Arne Duncan went on a public campaign with Governor Snyder to ... Corruption revelations shake Michigan ...
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Scandal surrounds Snyder administration | The Detroit News
www.detroitnews.com › Opinion › Editorials
Apr 02, 2014 · By now, Gov. Rick Snyder and his administration have a new middle name, ... What’s clear to the voters of Michigan is that the stink of cronyism, ...
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Snyder administration defends transparency after NERD fund ...
www.mlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/07/snyder_administration...
Jul 18, 2013 · The Snyder administration ... on Wednesday published its list of the 18 "worst governors in America," lumping Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder ... corruption ...
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Letter: Snyder administration is a culture of corruption ...
blog.mlive.com/.../print.html?entry=/2014/04/new_snyder_graybeal.html
Gov. Rick Snyder speaks during the Governor's Economic ... in the Snyder administration, with Snyder’s cousin ... of corruption and nepotism that ...
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No end to corruption – The Michigan Citizen
michigancitizen.com/no-end-to-corruption
... Gov. Rick Snyder said he did ... Let’s make sure this administration is accountable. Gov. Snyder must ... Wayne County corruption, State of Michigan engages ...
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Michigan Democrats say Rick Snyder administration helped ...
www.politico.com/story/2014/03/rick-snyder-cousin-michigan-104973.html
The allegations come as Michigan Gov. Snyder's ... Michigan Democrats charge that officials in Republican Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration moved to protect the ...
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Snyder administration dodges questions like potholes ...
www.eclectablog.com/2014/04/snyder-administration-dodges-questions...
... calling out Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder on his ... potholes on a Michigan road. Now the Snyder administration is ... root out corruption in state ...
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Last edited by untanglingwebs on Sun May 25, 2014 7:50 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Sun May 25, 2014 7:35 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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BREAKING: The NERD Fund is back – Snyder administration faces charges of nepotism and corruption
By Eclectablog on March 25, 2014 in Corporatism, GOPocrisy, Michigan Republicans, Rick Snyder
This morning the Michigan Democratic Party released emails obtained through a FOIA request suggesting that Richard Baird, Governor Rick Snyder’s “Transformation Manager” who was once paid from the New Energy to Reinvent and Diversify (NERD) Fund, intervened on behalf of Governor Snyder’s cousin George Snyder to ensure he was protected from budget cuts in 2011. The NERD Fund has since been shut down by the governor after accusations that its secret donors were obtaining political favors in return for contributions to the multi-million dollar slush fund. CVS Caremark, the only known contributor, received a $60 million no-bid contract with the City of Detroit subsequent to a donation to the fund, for example. The fund’s other donors were never revealed.
The new allegations surround a $19.2 million contract with the state held by Haworth, Inc. to supply office furniture. One of Haworth’s preferred dealers is DBI Interiors. The president of DBI is George Snyder, cousin of Republican Governor Rick Snyder.
On March 13th of 2011, just a month after Gov. Snyder revealed a budget he claimed asked for “shared sacrifice” from Michiganders, George Snyder emailed Baird, asking for assistance with the $19.2 furniture contract that benefitted both Haworth and DBI. Minutes later, Baird forwarded the email to Phyllis Mellon, then Chief Deputy Director of the Michigan Department of Technology, Management, and Budget (DTMB), asking her to call him about it.
Less than two weeks after the email exchange, the Senate passed legislation with the cost-cutting language in place that lessened the value of their contract. Three days after that, on April 29th, George Snyder again emailed Baird saying, “We are very upset and nervous about language in the Senate budget bill on furniture, and advise [sic] on who I can discuss this with. Baird responded to him saying, “[Budget Director] John Nixon’s people are on this. Sit tight.” Baird then immediately forwarded the email to Nixon who responded, “We are on it.”
On May 12th, the state House passed the Senate bill with the cost-cutting language stripped out, a move that significantly benefited Haworth and DBI. On June 21st, Governor Snyder signed the bill into law without the cost-cutting language feared by the Governor’s cousin George, thereby protecting their $19.2 million contract.
Two months later, facing negative press about their contract, George Snyder reached out to Baird again asking for a meeting with incoming DTMB director Phil Jefferies. In that email, he thanks Baird for helping his accountant’s daughter get a job in the Snyder administration. Baird agreed to set up the meeting.
Ironically, just a week and a half after the bill benefitting DBI and Haworth was signed into law, Gov. Snyder signed another bill requiring the state government to make impartial decisions when awarding construction contracts.
Apparently impartiality was not something needed when considering the contract that benefitted his cousin and his business associates. Their connections in the Snyder administration appear to have paid off. A year later, in September of 2012, Haworth’s $19.2 million contract was increased, more than doubled, in fact, to over $41 million. In February of this year, the Snyder administration granted Haworth a 2.6% price increase on furniture sold to the state and extended their contract to February of 2015.
It’s worth noting that Haworth and DBI connected donors have given over $600,000 in contributions to Republican campaigns (including Governor Snyder) and to the Governor’s “Governor’s Club” fund which has raised nearly $1 million since Gov. Snyder took office in 2011.
Another group, Integrated Strategies Inc. also appears to have benefited from a close relationship with then NERD Fund-paid Richard Baird. Around the same time that DBI and Haworth were scheming to preserve their contract amidst cost-cutting efforts by Republicans, Steve Trecha, President and CEO of Integrated Strategies Inc reached out to Baird asking for his help in preventing the rebidding of a contract they had secured. The next day, March 15, 2011, Baird forwarded Trecha’s email on to Budget Director Nixon (Page 1, Page 2) saying, “Per our discussion”.
Four months later, Integrated Strategies was awarded an additional $2.2 million “Supply Chain Transformation” contract with the Michigan Department of Corrections.
Again, it’s worth noting that Trecha donated $750 to Rick Snyder’s campaign before the Supply Chain contract was awarded. After the award, Trecha donated $7,300 to Gov. Snyder and Lt. Gov. Brian Calley’s campaigns.
The Michigan Democratic Party has sent a letter (pdf) to Patrick Miles, Jr., the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan requesting that he investigate these two matters.
I am legal counsel for the Michigan Democratic Party. I am writing to bring to your attention matters that are of serious concern because they impact the integrity and transparency of our State government. I write to you because I understand that your office has responsibility for investigating potential federal criminal violations. […]
These transactions raise serious questions about how governmental business has been conducted in the Snyder administration. But from the available information it is not clear whether they simply show special treatment by government officials for relatives and favored interests, or whether they are evidence of illegal “pay-to-play” arrangements. A crucial missing element is information about the NERD Fund, the secretive and unreported tax exempt entity that paid Richard Baird’s salary during the period the transactions took place. Disclosure of the NERD Fund’s contributors and expenditures could well answer many questions about how the Governor’s office has conducted its affairs.
As the United States Attorney, you have the authority and responsibility to enforce federal criminal laws designed to combat state and local corruption and “pay-to-play” schemes, including the mail and wire fraud statutes,18 U.S.C. §§ 1341 and 1343 including the honest services amendment, 18 U.S.C. § 1346, the Hobbs Act 18 U.S.C. § 1951, and the program bribery statute, 18 U.S.C. § 666. I understand that initiation of an investigation is a serious undertaking for a federal prosecutor, one that requires at least a reasonable suspicion of potential criminal conduct. While I lack expertise in federal corrupt practices laws, I believe that the evidence discussed above, together with the unknowns surrounding the secretive NERD Fund, reasonably raise questions about the propriety and legality of the actions that have been revealed.
I respectfully ask you to carefully review the enclosed information and to take any action you believe to be appropriate.
Governor Snyder hoped he could quietly shut down the NERD Fund without disclosing his donors and simply move Richard Baird onto his staff with no further conversation. These allegations suggest that may not be the case and raise big questions about how Governor Snyder was calling for shared sacrifice from Michigan residents on one hand then gave corporations a nearly $2 billion tax break and, perhaps, protected his cousin and corporate friends from sharing in that sacrifice on the other.
MDP Chair Lon Johnson issued this statement:
While parents and seniors were being told by the governor they must sacrifice to balance the state’s billion-dollar deficit budget, Rick Snyder’s family and political friends were being taken care of. This scandal reveals hypocrisy reaching directly into the governor’s office and is a serious and disturbing breach of public trust.
Lonnie Scott, executive director of Progress Michigan, took this jab:
Snyder spent 2011 balancing a $1.8 billion tax break for corporations on the backs of seniors, middle class families and school children and now we find out his office was cutting backroom deals to line the pockets of his cousin. We need a governor who works for everyone, not just his wealthy pals and well-connected special interest friends. This information is extremely troubling and we hope the Attorney General will investigate. Perhaps Bill Schuette should’ve invested his time and resources focusing on rooting out corruption, rather than fighting to protect discriminatory policies that continue to keep loving families apart.
Stay tuned. This could get very interesting. And, unfortunately for Governor Snyder, it’s making national news.
[Caricature by DonkeyHotey from photos by Anne C. Savage for Eclectablog] |
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Sun May 25, 2014 7:37 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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April 2, 2014 at 1:00 am
MICHIGAN POLITICS
Scandal surrounds Snyder administration
Mike Jackson
Labor unions will be making the case against Gov. Rick Snyder. (Daniel Mears / The Detroit News)
By now, Gov. Rick Snyder and his administration have a new middle name, and it is “scandal.”
In recent days, observers and the news media are asking questions whether the Snyder administration stepped in to influence legislation that would benefit the governor’s cousin, George Snyder, who was trying to get a state furniture contract. The back and forth will go on for some time in a fog of claims and counter-claims.
What’s clear to the voters of Michigan is that the stink of cronyism, nepotism and backdoor deals is starting to cling to Gov. Snyder like a bad smell.
The freshly unearthed Furniture-gate scandal involving Snyder’s cousin, desks and cubicles, the now departed budget director John Nixon and a flurry of incriminating emails is just the latest in a string of incidents that, by now, should raise serious questions about whether Snyder can be trusted — and whether he even knows what he’s doing.
Consider this partial “dirty laundry” list of the first three-and-a-half years of the Snyder record:
Snyder hired a top aide with full access to government — yet paid him from a secret fund that, thanks to public scrutiny, has now been “reinvented” into a slightly less secret fund.
Top government officials worked behind closed doors with the private sector on the now infamous “skunk works” project designed to dismantle public education — obviously without a single public school teacher, administrator or school board member in the room.
In December 2013, Snyder said the nation’s “democracy thrives and our government is at its best when there is openness and accountability, all while our freedoms of speech and association are protected” — as he signed a new law that opens the floodgates to more untraceable dark money that threatens the very democracy he claims to care about.
These are just a few examples of how Snyder never does what he says, or does the opposite of what he says, the most infamous case being his repeated pledge that “right to work” was not on his agenda — until he suddenly added it to his agenda after a shakedown by, among others, Dick DeVos and other opponents of working men and women. In gratitude, the DeVos family gave more than $700,000 to the two Republican caucuses in the Michigan Legislature. The entire saga of how Snyder flipped overnight on this issue is an illustration of a man who allows himself to be played like a puppet by powerful special interests.
Every Michigan citizen should be concerned whether special interests are weighing in to unfairly steer government to benefit themselves.
Every Michigan citizen should be concerned when Snyder calls for “shared sacrifices from all,” as he did in his inaugural address in 2011 — and then takes more than $1 billion from schoolchildren so big corporations could enjoy a tax break that may or may not have created a single job.
Just a few months before those school cuts were made, Snyder’s cousin fired off an email to top officials in the Snyder Administration, apparently trying to catch a break on what would have been a lucrative state contract. Within 80 minutes, the cousin — who gave $15,000 to Snyder’s campaign — got responses from two of Snyder’s most senior officials, including Nixon, promising action. We now know the cousin has won nearly $900,000 in contracts during Snyder’s first term, more than under any governor.
For ordinary citizens, the message is clear: It pays to be Snyder’s cousin and it pays to contribute handsomely to his political campaign.
Michiganians deserve much more than scandal from the governor who claimed in his 2010 campaign that he would make Michigan a national leader in transparency.
Mike Jackson is executive secretary-treasurer of the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights Detroit.
From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140402/OPINION01/304020004#ixzz32jOJPTqT |
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Sun May 25, 2014 7:49 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Whistleblower in Snyder Administration Corruption Scandal Comes Forward
Posted on May 16, 2012 by admin
URGENT: Press Release from Stand up for Democracy on whistleblower in Snyder Addministrtion Corruption Scandal in Michigan
From Stand Up for Democracy:
STAND UP FOR DEMOCRACY SALUTES WHISTLEBLOWER IN SECRETARY OF STATE SCAM OVER BOGUS EMERGENCY MANAGER REPEAL PETITION FONT SIZE ISSUE
Courageous professor at Michigan State University blows whistle on scam concocted to paint the picture that something was wrong with the petitions when in fact, nothing was wrong. Emails leave trail of deceit.
Detroit – Members of the Stand Up for Democracy coalition are saluting aMichiganStateUniversity professor for blowing the whistle on state elections officials in the wake of the unfolding scandal involving bogus claims about font size on the petition to repeal the emergency manager law.
“This smells just like theMississippiof old,” said Rev. Dr. Wendell Anthony, president of the Detroit Branch NAACP and member of the Stand Up for Democracy coalition. “Michiganis rapidly becoming the new version of the old south. The report by the professor is key today just like eyewitnesses to criminal lynchings were key back in the day. Shame on the State for permitting Democracy to be sacrificed on the scaffold of political expediency and slain on the foundation of the principals of freedom and justice!”
The State Board of Canvassers split 2-2 along party lines and was unable to reach agreement that the emergency manager repeal petition met the legal requirement of a 14 point font size for the headline. At the time the staff for the Michigan Secretary of State knew in advance that the font size was in fact correct before the hearing began. They knew this because recently released emails show they asked for an independent analysis of the font size from Chris Corneal, Associate Professor of Graphic Design in the Department of Art, Art History and Design atMichiganStateUniversity. Mr. Corneal analyzed the petition, confirmed that the font size was correct, transmitted his findings to the state at their request and promptly had his findings ignored in the final report to the board.
“In other words, the fix was in to make sure the dubious argument that the font size was incorrect would go forward in spite of proof that the state had to the contrary,” said Anthony.
Al Garrett, president, Michigan AFSCME Council 25 and another partner in the coalition agreed.
“This omission creates a bold-face lie,” said Garrett. “The republican representatives on the board said the font size was incorrect despite their own staff knowing that it was in fact correct. The result makes the board of canvassers hearing nothing more than a scam concocted to paint the picture that something was wrong with the petitions when in fact, nothing was wrong. |
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Sun May 25, 2014 7:53 am |
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twotap
F L I N T O I D
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Is their ever a day goes by that the NAALCP isn't whining about something?  |
_________________
"If you like your current healthcare you can keep it, Period"!!
Barack Hussein Obama--- multiple times. |
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Sun May 25, 2014 7:57 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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No end to corruption
Posted by: The Michigan Citizen Posted date: October 17, 2013 In: Editorial
r
This week, Kwame Kilpatrick was sentenced to 28 years in prison. When Judge Nancy Edmunds issued her order she said: “We’re demanding transparency and accountability in our government … If there has been corruption in the past, there will be corruption no more.”
On the steps of the courthouse, U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade said the Kilpatrick sentencing sent a “powerful” message to Detroit and those who want to serve in public office. McQuade said Kilpatrick received the highest sentence ever handed down in a public corruption case.
Unfortunately, we don’t believe this means the end of public corruption, it just means Kilpatrick got the longest sentence ever.
We should all get the message. Transparency and accountability are the cornerstones to good government.
Today as Detroiters live under emergency management, we know we are even further from transparency and accountability than ever before.
Today, we have welcomed a slicker, more polished version of corruption.
When millions of public dollars are being spent without transparency and the future of billions of dollars in assets are being decided without public input — corruption is not dead in Detroit.
The Emergency Management policy is — as Detroit City Councilwoman JoAnn Watson described it — a right-wing gangster move. Economist Dr. Julianne Malveaux correctly named it nothing but a “wealth transfer.”
There is the moral corruption — and plain wrongness — when the powerful use laws to benefit a few, but also there are some practical and legal implications in this emergency management morass.
In a deposition, Gov. Rick Snyder said he did not know who had donated to his NERD (New Energy to Reinvest and Diversify) fund. Not knowing who donates may give him the benefit of plausible deniability. Plausible deniability is when an executive or senior official deliberately remains uninformed so — if necessary — they can plausibly claim they had no knowledge of a damning fact.
Corruption is not dead when the governor — an elected official — is allowed to maintain a secret fund that pays or augments the pay of several key appointees. Appointees who have the power to oversee contracts, direct resources and enrich others.
What happens if it is discovered donors to the NERD fund financially benefited from city contracts? These city contracts can now be unilaterally approved by Gov. Snyder’s appointees. Did Jones Day, Kevyn Orr’s old law firm, contribute to the NERD fund?
Detroit taxpayers are currently paying millions of dollars to consultants — who aren’t accountable to the same standards as public officials. We have created an opportunity for corruption to fester and spread.
Billions of dollars are managed by the Snyder administration. Let’s make sure this administration is accountable. Gov. Snyder must shut down the NERD fund.
There is no end to public corruption in Detroit.
Michigan Citizen |
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Sun May 25, 2014 8:00 am |
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