How goverment works

[THE KOD]

Payroll audit shows workers ripped off city

By TY TAGAMI
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/16/06
A new audit of Atlanta's payroll system uncovered errors that cost taxpayers $1.8 million from the beginning of 2002 until mid-2004.

Poor record-keeping and lax oversight led the city to overpay employees, giving them money for leave or overtime that they did not earn, said Atlanta's internal auditor, Leslie Ward.

The errors went undetected because the city lacked computerized controls in its payroll system, Ward said.

Employees were able to claim more vacation than they had coming, for instance, because their vacation allotments and claims were recorded on paper, she said.

Employees' hours are entered into a computer system, but little other information is, she said. "It's all been put on manual records and no one checks it."

The review began in late 2004 and was presented to City Council's finance committee Wednesday. It covered the first 2 1/2 years of Mayor Shirley Franklin's administration. Franklin, who sits on the audit committee that oversees Ward, could not be reached for comment.

Ward said the city likely lost more money than her audit found because she did not review the public safety payroll. She said she presented her findings to the administration, "and it was hard for the management staff to accept."

But she said officials have tried to find solutions, including the installation of a computerized payroll system expected to be operational by next year.
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You mean there are computers that can take care of this ? Lets see one computer 1400 as compared to 1.8 million in stolen taxpayer money.

 

[THE KOD]

Campbell seeks dismissal of tax conviction
Attorneys claim jury error on mail fraud finding

Published on: 03/22/06
Attorneys for former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell filed a motion with U.S. District Judge Richard Story to dismiss Campbell's conviction for three felony tax crimes and toss out a jury finding that he also had committed mail fraud.

Depending on how Story applies federal sentencing guidelines, Campbell, 52, could serve less than a year in prison or up to 27 months, according to legal experts. He may be sentenced as early as May, said his attorney Billy Martin, who is expected to ask for probation.

Martin said he asked Story to remove the mail fraud act because it was part of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and Campbell was acquitted of that.

To convict on RICO, Campbell had to be found guilty of two of the 11 acts he was accused of. The jury determined he had committed only one act ? mail fraud. Martin said the jury filled out its verdict form wrong.

Because the jury did not find Campbell guilty of two or more of the RICO acts, the jury should not have indicated in its verdict form that Campbell had committed mail fraud, said Martin. Speaking publicly after the verdict, federal prosecutors have referred to the mail fraud finding as an indication that Campbell, who was Atlanta mayor from 1994 to 2002, was found guilty of corruption and tax violations.

? Jeffry Scott
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Campbell gets probation, what a joke trial. A waste of money. And the crook gets to pay for his fancy lawyer with taxpayers money.

Jurors said dates were confused. What a friggin joke. These people are idiots. Is there no justice in America.

 

[THE KOD]

By Mike Stuckey
Senior news editor
MSNBC
Updated: 4:01 p.m. ET March 22, 2006

Mike Stuckey
Senior news editor

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


In a move that appears to flout the U.S. Senate?s Ethics Manual, a former Senate staff member has repeatedly passed through Capitol Hill?s so-called ?revolving door,? moving between public jobs intended to help oversee and regulate U.S. nuclear firms and lobbying posts in which he pushes the industry?s interests.

As Congress eyes legislation aimed at reining in lobbying excesses in the wake of the Jack Abramoff and Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham scandals, critics say the case of Alex Flint is a prime example of what's wrong with current lobbying rules and unlikely to be truly fixed by current reform efforts.

Most recently, Flint left his job as majority staff director for the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, where he was a key player in legislation that provided billions in subsidies to the nuclear industry, to become the chief lobbyist for the industry?s largest trade group, the Nuclear Energy Institute.

Flint was hired for the Senate post in 2003 after spending several years as a lobbyist representing a number of large firms with deep interests in the nuclear power field, as well as the NEI. Flint?s boss on the committee was Chairman Pete Domenici, R-N.M., an unabashed booster of the nuclear power industry who has received thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from employees of the companies that Flint represents.

As a lobbyist, Flint was himself a frequent donor to Domenici?s campaigns before being rehired by the senator. And many of Flint?s qualifications to lobby for the nuclear industry in the first place were acquired through earlier jobs working for Domenici as a staff assistant, legislative aide and clerk of an energy subcommittee chaired by the senator.

Nobody alleges that Flint did anything illegal. Neither the law nor Senate rules prohibited Flint from leaving the Energy Committee post after three years in which he helped develop policy and shepherd legislation on nuclear issues and going directly to work as NEI?s senior vice president for governmental affairs.

'Stepping stone to riches'
And one Washington watchdog says Flint?s career path is hardly surprising in today?s environment, where congressional staff jobs are viewed by many as a ?stepping stone to riches.?

Critics like Gary Kalman of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, which opposes expansion of nuclear power generation, say Flint's case is especially troubling in light of the fact that the Senate panel had recently finished work on legislation that included billions of dollars in research, construction and operating subsidies, and billions more in tax breaks for the well-heeled nuclear energy industry. In its press release heralding Flint?s arrival, the NEI trumpeted the fact that ?Flint was a key adviser to Sen. Domenici during Senate consideration and passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.?

(A major player in the U.S. nuclear energy industry, and an NEI member, is General Electric Corp. GE owns NBC, a partner with Microsoft in the joint venture MSNBC.com).

Also of great concern to Kalman and others is this: Nothing in the current law prohibited Flint from remaining in his post for more than two months after announcing he would go to work for NEI.

In that time, Kalman pointed out, Flint ?continued to serve a committee that is absolutely every day dealing with nuclear power.? Flint can say, as he did, that he recused himself from nuclear issues, but ?it strains credibility,? Kalman said.

For instance, ?Mr. Flint served as the spokesperson during the release of the committee?s white paper on global warming, which discusses how to regulate the energy industry," he said. "The policy questions raised in the white paper have implications for the nuclear power industry.?

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A stepping stone to richs. ?!!!!! wtf

dirty rat bastids !

 

[THE KOD]

Powder Springs pie lady's kitchen shut down
State says license needed to sell food to the public

By JENNIFER BRETT
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/24/06
Willie Watts, the pie lady of Powder springs, has brought out the sweetness in hundreds of people.

Her phone started ringing before 8 a.m. Friday and rarely stopped all day. Friends and strangers called to offer support and donations after reading that the state shut down Watts' homemade pie operation on Thursday. Watts has been making the crescent-shaped, fruit filled pies and selling them to neighbors and a local restaurant for about 20 years. Thursday, after a feature on Watts appeared in the AJC's Cobb section, the state department of agriculture shut Watts' simple enterprise down.


"This is a long-standing problem," State Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin said Friday morning. "Our commitment is to make sure food is prepared in very sanitary conditions. In this case, we had not inspected the home or ascertained whether it is clean and wholesome. Most people have sanitary kitchens, but a few don't so she has to be inspected."

Hundreds of readers responded to an AJC story about the situation, many insisting the government has better things to do than run a senior citizen out of business. Watts used the profit of about $100 per week to pay for her husband's heart medication.

Irvin said he is supporting legislation sponsored by Rep. Tom Graves (R-Ranger), that would allow people to sell up to $2,000 worth of homemade products without being licensed or inspected he said.

"The bill has already passed the House and we're urging the Senate to take up the bill and pass it this session," said Irvin, who is up for re-election this year. "We think this is a good compromise to allow people to cook these fried pies ? which I love."

Even without the legislation, Watts may be back in the pie business soon. The owner of the restaurant she supplies each week has offered to let her cook her sweet, crisp delicacies there.

"Or else he's going to have some mad people," Watts laughed.

A family friend is also setting up an account a local bank for people who'd like to help the Wattses, who live on fixed incomes. Lionel Watts, 66, retired from a job at a cement plant due to heart problems. All the excitement got to him Friday, and he rested in the Watts' small bedroom while his wife made pies for television cameras. She stressed that the pies were for demonstration, not for profit.

"We're not trying to do anything illegal," she said.

A retired seamstress, Willie Watts was overwhelmed by all the attention Friday.

"I started to cry a while ago," she said. "I said, Lord have mercy, Jesus. It's like it's just pouring down from heaven. I told my husband, the Lord didn't bring us this far to leave us. The Lord always works things out for you when you're trying to do good. He knows our hearts."

An anonymous tipster called the state department of agriculture Thursday, which in turn told Watts she'd have to halt the pie operation.

"God bless him," Watts said of the unknown caller. "What they meant for bad, the Lord meant for good."

A bank account has been established to accept donations for the Wattses. Donors can go to any Regions bank and make a contribution for the Watts Donation Fund. A list of branches with addresses and phone numbers is available on the Regions web site: ..................................................................................

I just have several comments. The first is the goverment stepping in and shutting her down. If you want to find unhealthy conditions in food go to Krystal or Burger King. This woman is no threat to our health.

But the other sad thing is how they immediately try to profit off the coverage by setting up a foundation to send donations. Holy Geezus .

We are turning into a world of greed at every corner. Money rules our every decision.

Its sickening

 

[THE KOD]

Texas arresting people in bars for being drunk
Undercover agents pursue inebriates in a pre-emptive strategy

Updated: 1:37 p.m. ET March 24, 2006

SAN ANTONIO, Texas - Texas has begun sending undercover agents into bars to arrest drinkers for being drunk, a spokeswoman for the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission said on Wednesday.

The first sting operation was conducted recently in a Dallas suburb where agents infiltrated 36 bars and arrested 30 people for public intoxication, said the commission?s Carolyn Beck.

Being in a bar does not exempt one from the state laws against public drunkenness, Beck said.

The goal, she said, was to detain drunks before they leave a bar and go do something dangerous like drive a car.

?We feel that the only way we?re going to get at the drunk driving problem and the problem of people hurting each other while drunk is by crackdowns like this,? she said.

?There are a lot of dangerous and stupid things people do when they?re intoxicated, other than get behind the wheel of a car,? Beck said. ?People walk out into traffic and get run over, people jump off of balconies trying to reach a swimming pool and miss.?

She said the sting operations would continue throughout the state.
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So they are arresting people that are drunk in bars. I thought you went to bars to get drunk. Why not just close the fawking bars so you dont have to worry about it in the first place.

our goverment at work.

 

[THE KOD]

I may just be get cynical but our goverment is a piece of work.

 

[djv]

It really does work better when there is grid lock. Not as it is now green light on everything. Including inventing new laws. To much power always leads to corruption.

 

[JCDunkDogs]

SAN ANTONIO, Texas - Texas has begun sending undercover agents into bars to arrest drinkers for being drunk, a spokeswoman for the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission said on Wednesday.

WOW! Texas cops are getting in people's faces at bars? So what are they using for probable cause to stop someone, slurred speech? Bad jokes? Bad dancing? Sounds like a huge WASTE of police time, unless they like hassling partiers (which some of them do).

In California, its a misdemeanor to serve alcohol to a drunk person. Like the Texas approach, this is a giant buzz kill, if it were enforced by roving police squads going from bar to bar. The drafters of the California law figured that the bartender is in a better position to gauge who is "drunk" or not. The onus gets put where it belongs, on the server. :com:

 

[THE KOD]

Lobbyists shower legislator with party
Nancy Badertscher, Ann Hardie - Staff
Friday, March 24, 2006

The engagement party invitation let guests know that the loving couple could use a set of martini glasses and a place setting for 12 of their china.

Nothing out of the ordinary there --- except that the bridegroom is a state legislator and the 21 people hosting the wedding shower are lobbyists, many with interests in some of the biggest bills under consideration by the Georgia General Assembly.

The betrothed, Rep. Stacey Reece (R-Gainesville), called the event held in his honor Tuesday night at the private, upscale 191 Club in downtown Atlanta "appropriate."

"Whether someone buys you a vase or a dish towel has no more bearing than if a lobbyist takes you out to a committee dinner and pays for that," Reece said.

Others thought the event crossed the line. House Republican leaders noted the distinction between a committee dinner and an engagement party and questioned Reece privately about the appropriateness of having lobbyists pay for such a personal affair.

"I would have handled it differently," said House Majority Leader Jerry Keen (R-St. Simons Island). "But I accept Rep. Reece at his word that he viewed this as friends wanting to do something for him and nothing more."

Public watchdogs said most Georgians don't see it that way. Jill Johnson of the Georgia Public Interest Research Group said the party feeds the perception that lobbyists and legislators have too cozy a relationship.

And Emmet Bondurant, former chairman of Common Cause Georgia, said the event "raises serious questions of appearance of undue influence."

Friendships between lobbyists and lawmakers are a fact of life under Georgia's Gold Dome. They are cemented over the many dinners and events that the two groups share after the daily debates and committee meetings --- mostly on the lobbyists' tabs. In 2005, lobbyists spent $1.1 million on meals, tickets to sporting events, and other gifts for lawmakers.

Freddi Hagin, the lobbyist who organized the party, said every lobbyist asked to host the shower is a friend of Reece's. "We gave him a little party to celebrate his happiness," Hagin said.

Lobbyists said Reece met his bride-to-be, Amanda Wilson, at the Capitol where she had volunteered to take blood pressure readings one day. Wilson is a professor at Mercer University's Southern School of Pharmacy.

When lobbyists approached him about throwing a shower, Reece said, he told them they could do so "as friends," not as lobbyists representing clients.

"I don't think we should be precluded as elected officials from being able to enjoy things that our constituents enjoy," he said.

Although all 180 House members received an invitation, Hagin said, there weren't many among the three dozen guests who dined on beer and wine, fruit and cheese, bacon-wrapped scallops and cream cheese and artichoke pastry.

Some lawmakers said they didn't go because they disapproved of lobbyists hosting such a personal affair. And some said they didn't like the invitation hinting that gifts were expected by directing them to Reece's bridal registries at Belk and Bed, Bath & Beyond.

State Rep. Ben Bridges (R-Cleveland) stopped by the party but said he wasn't aware lobbyists were hosting it. "My district is next to his," Bridges said. "I just did it out of respect for him."

Among the lobbyists hosting Reece's party were those involved in some of the more controversial issues of the session, including proposed reforms to the title pawn industry and construction of a natural gas pipeline from the coast to Atlanta.

Reece, who was elected to the Legislature in 2003, recently was appointed by House Speaker Glenn Richardson as one of a small group of important "hawks," legislators who can swoop into any committee and cast a vote.

Hagin, whose clients include the Georgia Council of Public Libraries and the Assisted Living Association of Georgia, said that she "has no political dealings" with Reece. "He has never carried any of my bills," she said.

But Hagin acknowledged that Reece does vote on legislation that comes before the full House.

Hagin said the party cost $1,091, about $52 per lobbyist/host. About half of the three dozen guests brought gifts, those who attended the party said.

Trip Martin, whose lobbying firm represents a company advocating for the pipeline, was not a gift giver. "We're happy for Stacey and his fiancee," he said. "We'll disclose the expenditure."

Although lobbyists hosting the party called it a private affair, all said they plan to disclose their portion of the cost on reports they file with the State Ethics Commission. State law requires that lobbyists report any expenditure they make on behalf of a lawmaker.

Reece said that his wedding next month will be private.

There will be, however, a post-wedding reception planned for 350 guests. Although Jim Walters, owner of one of Georgia's largest small-loan chains, has offered his Gainesville farm for the event at no cost, Reece says that he will be paying for his own party.

Walters networks with regulators, makes campaign contributions and tracks the work of legislative committees that deal with lending issues.

"Jim is a personal friend of mine, a constituent," Reece said. "Must be a slow news day."

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[THE KOD]

Sentencing date set for Bill Campbell

From staff reports
Published on: 03/28/06
U.S. District Judge Richard Story on Tuesday set a sentencing date of June 13 for former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell, who was convicted on March 10 of three tax evasion charges.

Campbell was acquitted on charges of corruption and racketeering.

U.S. Attorney David Nahmias said the maximum sentence for the three tax violations is nine years in prison and $300,000 in fines. Legal experts, however, said Campbell, 52, could serve less than a year in prison or up to 27 months, depending how Story interprets federal sentencing guidelines.
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I will be shocked if Campbell gets anything more than probation.

27 months sounds about right to me.

 

[THE KOD]

Affidavit: $90,000 found in congressman's freezer
FBI wraps up search of Jefferson's office in bribery probe

Monday, May 22, 2006 Posted: 0143 GMT (0943 HKT)


In a 95-page affidavit used to obtain a warrant for the office search, investigators stated that an August 2005 search of Democratic Rep. William Jefferson's home turned up the cash sum in a freezer.

The money was divided among various frozen food containers, according to the heavily redacted affidavit.

Agents told a judge the money was part of a $100,000 payment that had been delivered by an informant in the bribery probe, which already has led to guilty pleas by a Kentucky businessman and a former Jefferson aide.

The Justice Department has been investigating Jefferson's relationship to telecommunications deals in Africa and elsewhere, and the House Ethics Committee launched an investigation of him last week.

The eight-term congressman, whose district includes New Orleans and some of its suburbs, has denied any wrongdoing and vowed to remain in office to battle any criminal charges he may face.

But the affidavit states that investigators have collected evidence linking Jefferson to at least seven other cases in which he "sought things of value in return for his performance of official acts."

Robert Trout, the congressman's lawyer, decried the release of the affidavit. In a statement issued Sunday night, he said it served "no legitimate investigative purpose."

"This disclosure by the prosecutors is part of a public relations agenda and an obvious attempt to embarrass Congressman Jefferson," Trout said. "The affidavit itself is just one side of the story, which has not been tested in court."

He said Jefferson would respond "at the appropriate time" if charged with any wrongdoing.

FBI agents searched Jefferson's office in the Rayburn House Office Building from Saturday evening to early Sunday afternoon, bureau spokeswoman Debra Weierman said. One government official told CNN the search marked the first time FBI agents have searched a lawmaker's Capitol Hill office.

Weierman would not comment on what agents removed from Jefferson's office. But in the papers released Sunday, investigators stated they were searching for faxes, notes, telephone records and other forms of communication, as well as ledgers and computer files related to meetings and travel.

In an earlier statement, Trout called the search of Jefferson's office "outrageous" and said it was not necessary.

"There were no exigent circumstances necessitating this action. The government knew that the documents were being appropriately preserved while proper procedures were being followed. We are dismayed by this action -- the documents weren't going anywhere and the prosecutors knew it," he said.

However, a redacted copy of the search warrant and affidavit stated that federal investigators were unable to obtain the records relevant to the investigation inside Jefferson's office and, "left with no other method," proceeded with the search.

A government official close to the investigation told CNN the search was executed over the weekend when few people are on Capitol Hill because they believed that time would "be appropriate."

Agents had previously searched Jefferson's home in New Orleans. The cash found in his Washington residence was part of a $100,000 payment delivered by a cooperating witness, according to the affidavit, which said the delivery was videotaped by the FBI.

The FBI began investigating Jefferson in March 2005 stemming from accusations made by the witness, a Virginia resident who owns an investment firm.

He told the FBI that he was "a victim of a fraud and bribery scheme" involving Jefferson; Vernon Jackson, CEO of the Louisville, Kentucky-based company iGate; and Brett Pfeffer, the president of the investment firm owned by the unnamed witness and a former Jefferson aide.

According to the affidavit, Jefferson had asked the witness for a percentage ownership interest in his ******** broadband company in exchange for the congressman "using his official acts to support the the ******** business venture."

Guilty pleas
Jackson pleaded guilty in federal court earlier this month to bribing the congressman with more than $400,000 in payments, company stock and a share of the profits in order to promote iGate's high-tech business ventures in Africa. (Full story)

Pfeffer, of Herndon, Virginia, pleaded guilty in January to aiding and abetting bribery of a public official.

Both have agreed to cooperate with authorities as part of their plea agreements.

The affidavit states Jefferson "attempted to use his position as a United States Congressman" to promote other iGate business ventures in Nigeria, Ghana and possibly other African nations.

"In exchange for his official acts supporting the proposed business ventures," the affidavit said, Jefferson has received a 30 percent equity stake in the witness' ******** company and more than $400,000 in payments from iGate.

The 30 percent equity, in the form of stocks, was placed in the name of a ******** limited liability corporation held by the congressman's children, the affidavit said.

The cloud over Jefferson comes as Democratic leaders have been attacking what they call a "culture of corruption" surrounding the Republican leadership in Congress.

With midterm elections in November, Democrats are trying to highlight GOP ties to the influence-peddling investigation surrounding lobbyist Jack Abramoff, the indictment of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay in a Texas court, and last year's guilty plea of California Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, now serving an eight-year stretch for taking bribes from defense contractors.

In a news conference last week, Jefferson said he was innocent and that he would remain in office while he fights any charges. (Full story)

"I wish to say emphatically that in all of my actions that are here under scrutiny, that I have never intended to dishonor my office, or you, the public, and I certainly did not sell my office," Jefferson told reporters.

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[THE KOD]

By BILL MONTGOMERY
HASH(0x5f72c8)

Published on: 06/13/06

Former Atlanta mayor Bill Campbell, wearing a dark blue suit, arrived at the federal courthouse at 8:28 a.m. today, accompanied by his wife, Sharon, and his brother, Ralph.

"Good morning," Campbell said to the assembled media as he entered the courthouse through a rear door. He said nothing else.

Campbell, 52, is scheduled to be sentenced on three counts of tax evasion and one count of defrauding his mayoral re-election campaign.

Campbell's lawyers are hoping the two-term mayor will receive probation, while federal prosecutors are pushing for U. S. District Judge Richard Story to give Campbell the maximum prison time allowed under federal guidelines.

"The mayor deserves probation," said one of his lawyers, Billy Martin, who arrived at the courthouse about 8:15.

We hope the judge will view this case for what it is ? the government has gone out of its way" to make the convictions look like corruption.

Campbell's trial lasted two months. When jurors announced their verdict in March, they acquitted him of racketeering charges and taking thousands of dollars in kickbacks and bribes.

Both sides claimed victory.

During the trial, the jury heard from more than 70 witnesses. Campbell's personal life was tarred by two former girlfriends who testified about romantic trips and gambling junkets around the world that Campbell, who is married, paid for with wads of cash.

Probation would be a huge victory for the defense and a shattering defeat for the U.S. attorney's office, which, during its six-year-probe, convicted 10 people, including some of Campbell's closest friends who subsequently testified against him.

Campbell's personal attorney, Michael Coleman, said Monday, "They [the government] are pushing as hard as they can to maximize the sentence. I think they are overreaching. They're trying to throw in everything."

In considering the sentence, Story can use information from a pre-sentencing report as well as any evidence presented at the trial.

Whether Campbell gets probation or prison depends on whether Story believes what a jury did not: that Campbell was guilty of corruption and took more than $160,000 in payoffs that he did not report on his taxes.

Campbell attorney Fred Orr has said that Campbell only failed to pay about $10,000 in taxes over a three-year period ending in 1999. Defense attorneys argued during trial that Campbell's unreported income came from speeches and gambling winnings and not from bribes.

Since the jury found Campbell innocent of taking bribes, his attorneys have said the amount of unreported income claimed by the prosecution should not be factored into his sentence.

Minutes after he was convicted, Campbell stood on the courthouse steps and claimed the unreported income occurred because of "sloppy bookkeeping."

However, if Story believes Campbell took the bribes, he can include the bribe money in his calculations when he passes sentence.

The dispute over the amount of income Campbell failed to report will likely be argued in today's hearing, along with any discrepancies discovered during a post-trial investigation conducted by the U.S. Probation Office, according to attorneys familiar with the case.

Defense attorney Orr, who has reviewed the post-trial sentencing recommendation, said he believes there is a chance Campbell will get probation. "Is it likely? I just don't know," he said.

Several local attorneys on Monday said probation is a long shot in a case involving misdeeds by a public official.

"Making an argument for probation poses some danger or risk," said Steve Sadow, one of Campbell's former attorneys. "The judge might not react favorably to it. You should try to find a middle ground."

Sadow, an expert in federal sentencing guidelines, has estimated that Campbell could receive less than a year behind bars or up to 27 months.

If Campbell is sentenced to serve time, his attorneys could lobby to have him placed in a facility in Georgia, such as the work camp attached to the federal prison in Atlanta, or they could ask that he be sent to a Florida facility in order to be closer to his family.

The judge can recommend where Campbell might serve, but the federal Bureau of Prisons has the final decision.

Campbell maintained a high profile in Atlanta during his trial, attending local churches, appearing on a radio station and holding impromptu news conferences on the courthouse steps. Since then, he has quietly begun preparing for life after sentencing, his attorneys said.

As soon as he is sentenced ? whether to probation or prison ? he will automatically lose his license to practice law in Georgia and Florida. He moved three years ago to Stuart to join the law firm of high-flying attorney Willie Gary.

According to defense attorney Jerry Froelich, Campbell has already stopped representing clients.

In December, Campbell and his wife paid $692,000 for a home in West Palm Beach, according to county tax records. Geoffrey Simmons, a friend of Campbell's since the two attended Duke law school together, said the couple had sold a more upscale residence in favor of a smaller home.

Simmons said Campbell still enjoys public support, even from strangers.

Earlier this month, an Atlanta couple vacationing in West Palm Beach approached Campbell to shake his hand and wish him well. "They said: 'We just wanted you to know you have our support and we wish the best for you,'" Simmons recalled. "It really makes him feel good; keeps him upbeat."
................................................................................

Well, today we will see if our Goverment will punish stealing corrupt mayors or allow them off with a slap of probation.

Cheating on wifes, taking bribes, tax evasion, gambling all over the world with tax payers money. What a great story for Atlanta.

 

[THE KOD]

Campbell sentenced to 30 months in prison
Former Atlanta mayor promises to appeal "abomination"

By BILL TORPY, BETH WARREN, JEFFRY SCOTT, SHEILA POOLE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 06/13/06

Former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell was sentenced today to 30 months in prison on charges of tax evasion. He will also serve a year on probation, pay a $6,000 fine, and pay more than $60,000 in back taxes.

U.S. District Court Judge Richard Story went beyond the findings of the jury and said the former two-term mayor obstructed justice and took bribes. The jury had acquitted Campbell of the bribery charge at trial, where the government's burden of proof is beyond a reasonable doubt. During sentencing, the government burden of proof is lower.

Immediately after learning his fate, Campbell labelled the sentence an "abomination."

"This is not justice, we will appeal," he told reporters outside the federal courthouse. "I never betrayed the public trust and the jury found that way. I think what we saw today was an attempt to undo what the jury had done."

The judge said there was enough evidence to find that Campbell, Atlanta's mayor from 1994-2002, accepted more than $50,000 in bribes in 1999 from his longtime friend and golfing buddy Dan DeBardelaben. In exchange, DeBardelaben and an associate wanted a lucrative deal to prepare the city's computers for Y2K.

The obstruction of justice charge was added after the government called one of Campbell's former friends back to the stand today.

Gabe Pascarella testified that early in the government's corruption investigation, Campbell had interfered. Campbell had asked Pascarella to tape record an FBI and IRS interview about the mayor's gambling activities. Pascarella later gave a transcript of the recording to Campbell.

Pascarella also told the judge during a sentencing hearing that he gave Campbell some records detailing the former mayor's spending and travel after learning investigators were asking questions about those subjects.

Federal sentencing guidlines called for a 37-month sentence. At today's sentencing hearing, prosecutors tried to add to that total, while defense attorneys tried to chip away at it.

Campbell attorney Fred Orr argued that the judge should dip below the sentencing guidelines because of his client's lengthy political career. Orr said Campbell could have made much more money in the private sector.

"Mayor Campbell always found time for the unfortunate in our community," he said. Campbell replaced "disgraceful ghettos with vibrant mixed public housing."

Orr also reminded U.S. District Judge Richard Story of the oft-told story of Campbell integrating the Raleigh school system alone while he was a first grader.

Prosecutor Russell Vineyard acknowledged that while Campbell may have done some good while in office, he also "fostered a culture of corruption," making a reference to several top ranking officials in Campbell's administration that have been convicted or pleaded guilty to crimes."

Campbell's trial lasted two months. When jurors announced their verdict in March, they acquitted him of racketeering charges and taking thousands of dollars in kickbacks and bribes.

Both sides claimed victory.

During the trial, the jury heard from more than 70 witnesses. Campbell's personal life was tarred by two former girlfriends who testified about romantic trips and gambling junkets around the world that Campbell, who is married, paid for with wads of cash.

The government's investigation began in 1999, almost six years after Campbell took office. Less than five years later, in August 2004, Campbell was indicted. During the 5-year probe, 11 other city officials and contractors were charged and convicted, including Atlanta's former chief operating officer, deputy chief operating officer and chief administrative officer
........................................................................

Justice is served.

 

[THE KOD]

Arguing for probation instead of prison time, Campbell's attorneys on Tuesday attempted to minimize the tax evasion ? at one point claiming, for the first time, the former mayor got $20,000 from his mother before she died. The suggestion was that the unreported income in his bank accounts did not come from gambling winnings. But prosecutors dismissed the notion, saying his mother could not have afforded to leave her son that much.

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Even brings his dead mother into it .

Does it never end.

 

[THE KOD]

By BILL TORPY, JEFFRY SCOTT and BETH WARREN
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 06/14/06

Former mayor Bill Campbell complained Wednesday that the federal prosecutors? ability to bring up counts on which he was acquitted led to the "harsh" 30-month federal prison sentence he received on Tuesday.

Campbell, 52, was convicted by a jury in March of three counts of tax evasion. He was cleared of charges he lined his pockets with payoffs as he guided Atlanta during the 1990s, including the 1996 Summer Olympics. But he was found guilty of failing to pay taxes on what prosecutors said were his ill-gotten gains.

?Yesterday, I think we saw in essence an effort to retry this case,? Campbell said today by telephone on the "Frank and Wanda Morning Show" on V-103 FM. "It?s not right. It?s not fair and It?s not justice."

The program has been a haven for Campbell over the years to get his message out, especially during the six years federal authorities investigated his activities.

?When we had a level palying field of the jury making those decisions, I was acquitted of those charges,? Campbell said.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Richard Story scolded Campbell for leading an office riddled with corruption, then sentenced him to 30 months in prison.

"As the trial progressed, I was overcome, almost appalled, by the breadth of misconduct in your administration," U.S. District Judge Richard Story told Campbell on Tuesday during the sentencing hearing in federal court. Later, Story looked Campbell in the eye and said, "I am going to send you to prison, and I do not take that lightly. Within my heart I am not sure you have accepted responsibility for what has transpired."


BRANT SANDERLIN / Staff

With the sentence, the judge put the final stamp on a six-year-long federal investigation into Campbell's behavior while he was mayor. Prosecutors claimed he ran his office as a corrupt enterprise, taking cash bribes to fund a lavish lifestyle of gambling and international trips with girlfriends.

Campbell remained stoic as the sentence was handed down. The 52-year-old, who served two terms as Atlanta's mayor from 1994 to 2002, was convicted in March on three counts of tax evasion but acquitted on racketeering charges and taking thousands of dollars in bribes.

Under federal law in determining the sentence, Story was able to consider evidence and testimony presented during the trial about Campbell taking bribes, even though he was acquitted on those charges.

In addition to prison time, Story ordered Campbell to pay the government almost $63,000 in back taxes, a $6,000 fine and to serve a year on probation following his prison term. Prosecutors contended Campbell had evaded paying taxes on about $200,000.

Story alluded to the frequent, impromptu news conferences Campbell held on the courthouse steps during his trial in which he proclaimed his innocence and disputed the testimony of government witnesses in detail. The judge implied that Campbell's lack of contrition was one reason he gave the former mayor such a stiff sentence.

Campbell, who did not speak in court, called the sentence an "abomination" as he left the courthouse. He also claimed the judge was trying to undo the jury's verdict. "This is not justice," he said.

Campbell has frequently called the federal investigation into his dealings "racist," "an inquisition" and a "witch hunt."

Campbell vowed to file an appeal, which he must do in the next 10 days.

If the judge grants him an appeal bond, he will stay out of prison while his appeal is pending. Otherwise, he will report to a federal facility when ordered by the federal Bureau of Prisons.

Mark Kadish, professor at Georgia State University's College of Law, said Story seemed to follow federal guidelines. "I don't think Campbell will have much of an issue of appeal," he said, "and I don't think the judge will give him an appellate bond."

He said Campbell will probably serve his time in a minimum-security prison camp.

U.S. attorney responds

U.S. Attorney David Nahmias, radiant with victory, said Campbell would have gotten a lighter sentence if he had accepted responsibility for his actions in office. Nahmias said a finding Tuesday by the judge that Campbell obstructed justice probably resulted in an extra six months of prison time.

He also responded to charges that his office was out to get Campbell.

 

[THE KOD]

"Bill Campbell may believe that he has been the center of our universe, and his case was indeed important because of the position he held and the conduct he engaged in," Nahmias said. But to give some "perspective," Nahmias said that his office had prosecuted and convicted over 6,000 people since 1999, when the Campbell investigation began.

"Like them, Bill Campbell broke the law, and like most of them, he is going to prison. And we are going back to work," Nahmias said.

Campbell supporters were horrified at the sentence. When court was adjourned, many gathered in the federal courthouse and formed a prayer circle.

Steve Labovitz, an attorney who served as Campbell's chief of staff and testified for the defense, said he was shocked the former mayor got so much jail time.

"I absolutely do not think it's fair," he said. "Michael Childs, the one who started this whole investigation, who committed arson, was only given 33 months."

Before the trial, Childs told investigators he paid thousands of dollars in bribes to a Campbell aide because he was promised the mayor would get him a liquor license for his strip club. But prosecutors feared that Childs, who had pleaded guilty to arson in another case, would be a liability, and never called him to the stand.

Labovitz noted that Campbell was acquitted on all the substantive charges, except for tax evasion. "All the government witnesses who testified against Campbell had tax issues. None of them are going to jail," Labovitz said.

Although Campbell's attorneys claimed any failure to pay taxes resulted from "sloppy bookkeeping," prosecutors told the judge this wasn't a case of a man forgetting to pay his taxes. They contended that Campbell worked hard to conceal his illegal activities and then tried to obstruct the investigation.

Gabe Pascarella, once a close friend and gambling buddy of Campbell's, testified Tuesday he gave Campbell records detailing the former mayor's spending and travel after learning investigators were asking about those subjects. He also secretly taped investigators when they questioned him and turned over to Campbell a rough transcript of the interview.

Pascarella owned a travel agency and kept a credit card account to pay for some of Campbell's travels with girlfriends. During the trial, he testified that Campbell repaid him in cash for those expenses. The arrangement was set up to keep the affairs from Campbell's wife, he said.

Judge finds bribery

Prosecutors hammered at Campbell's voracious appetite for spending cash, which nearly tripled from 1996 to 1999, when he spent $23,600. At the same time, cash withdrawals from his personal bank accounts shrank each year to just $69 for all of 1999.

Prosecutor Sally Yates, who led the Campbell investigation from the beginning, told the judge that Campbell failed to pay taxes on thousands of dollars in speaking fees, rent from former aide Dewey Clark, who lived in Campbell's basement, and the campaign funds he used for personal expenses. Campbell paid bills ranging from electricity to school tuition in cash to hide his ill-gotten gains, she said.

Outside the courthouse, Yates shook her head and said, "He [Campbell] still seems to be placing blame on others."

Though the jury found Campbell not guilty of corruption, Story didn't, saying he believed Campbell accepted $55,000 in illegal bribes from city subcontractor Dan DeBardelaben. The jurors were confused by different dates given for the DeBardelaben bribe. After the trial, several jurors said they would have convicted Campbell on racketeering if they had known the dates were not contradictory.

Juror Renita L. Stowers said she and fellow jurors believed Campbell was corrupt, but couldn't put the money in his hands.

"I'm pleased with how it turned out," Stowers said. "He deserves his punishment like everybody else. Just because he was the mayor doesn't mean he should get away with what he done. I think the judge done good."

Lead defense attorney Billy Martin, who argued for a probated sentence, called the government's arguments "outrageous" and "desperate."

Defense attorneys tried to show that Campbell won money at casinos and in high-stakes Friday night poker games with friends, including Pascarella.

Defense attorney Jerry Froelich criticized prosecutors for speculating about how much cash Campbell had and how he got it.

"Winning at a casino is not illegal and I don't know anyone prosecuted for Friday night card games," Froelich said. He later said that no one knows how much Campbell won. "Gamblers just don't keep track," he said. "It's just bad luck."

According to defense calculations, Campbell owed the government $11,346 in back taxes, based on about $40,500 of unreported income, Martin said.

For the first time, Campbell attorneys argued that one of the sources of cash he used to fuel his lifestyle was his late mother, June, who, they said, gave Campbell $20,000 in cash while he was in office. They included a letter from Campbell's mother in the pre-sentencing report as evidence that she gave her son money.

Yates said that the $20,000 gift from June Campbell would have taken about "half her income" in a given two-year period, and therefore it was incredible to think Campbell's mother provided him with that much cash.

Defense attorney Martin retorted: "It's not for them [prosecutors] to say that his mother is so poor she can't afford to give her son $20,000."

After the sentencing, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, Campbell's successor in office, wished the former mayor's family well. She added that it was unfortunate that there was "a sense that people can't trust the government."

Angelo Fuster, who served two years as Campbell's communications director, said the sentencing "seems like a sad, inevitable ending to a story that should have ended so differently. It's a cautionary tale that no matter how talented you are you need to keep a sense of reality. I thought he was the leader of the future. But it came to a crashing end."

Former Atlanta police Deputy Chief Lou Arcangeli was blunt when he commented on the sentence.

"The words that come to mind are sordid, hedonistic, squalid, self-centered and selfish ? and I voted for him," Arcangeli said. "There's a Dirty Dozen of convicted city officials [during his years in office] and he's the chairman of the board. What a legacy."
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I dont think he listened when he was told to take his medicine like a man.