Tag Archives: corruption

DeSantis Steered Millions In Contracts To Old Employer

The Daily Beast reports: According to records reviewed by The Daily Beast, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration has steered millions of dollars in state business to two outside law firms with ties to him — including his old employer. Republican election law powerhouse Holtzman Vogel PLLC, has received more than $4 million in contracts from Florida agencies over the last …

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Cop In Stormy Daniels Case Guilty Of Planting Drugs

The Columbus Dispatch reports: A former Columbus police vice officer was sentenced in federal court to 18 months in prison Thursday for conspiring to violate a man’s constitutional rights by framing an owner of a gentlemen’s club for cocaine possession in 2018. A federal jury in Columbus convicted Steven G. Rosser, 46, of Delaware, in February while acquitting fellow vice …

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FL Grants Massive State Contracts To DeSantis Donors

The Intercept reports: Under the leadership of Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron Desantis, a Missouri-based railroad and transport company that contributed generously in support of his campaign saw an astonishing 280-fold increase in its Florida state government contract awards. A construction aggregates firm that contributed $82,500 was awarded $30 million in new contracts. And a highway and civil site contracting firm …

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South Dakota Gov Took State Plane To Her Son’s Prom

ABC News reports: South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem was returning from an official appearance in Rapid City in 2019 when she faced a decision: Overnight in the capital of Pierre, where another trip would start the next day, or head home and see her son attend his high school prom? The Republican governor chose the latter, a decision that eventually …

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Ex-Mississippi Gov Accused Of Cutting Welfare Funding Of Nonprofit Because It Supported His Dem Challenger

Mississippi Today reports: A former professional wrestler and defendant in the Mississippi welfare scandal is alleging that he personally witnessed Republican Gov. Phil Bryant instruct an appointee to cut welfare funding to a nonprofit because its director supported Democrat Jim Hood in the 2019 governor’s race. The allegation that Bryant leveraged his control of welfare spending to punish a political …

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EU Proposes €7.5B Cut To Hungary Over Corruption

Reuters reports: The European Union executive recommended on Sunday suspending some 7.5 billion euros in funding for Hungary over corruption, the first such case in the 27-nation bloc under a new sanction meant to better protect the rule of law. The EU introduced the new financial sanction two years ago precisely in response to what it says amounts to the …

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Mississippi Alleges Former GOP Gov Helped Brett Favre Channel $5M In Welfare Funds Into Volleyball Stadium

Mississippi Today reports: Text messages entered Monday into the state’s ongoing civil lawsuit over the welfare scandal reveal that former Gov. Phil Bryant pushed to make NFL legend Brett Favre’s volleyball idea a reality. The texts show that the then-governor even guided Favre on how to write a funding proposal so that it could be accepted by the Mississippi Department …

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Former TN GOP House Speaker Charged With Bribery

The Associated Press reports: Tennessee’s disgraced former House Speaker Glen Casada and his top aide were arrested Tuesday on federal charges including bribery, kickbacks and conspiracy to commit money laundering with federal funds. Their indictments come months after Republican Rep. Robin Smith abruptly resigned when faced with federal wire fraud charges involving Casada. While Casada was not directly named at …

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Judges In “Kids-For-Cash” Scandal Told To Pay $206M

The Associated Press reports: Two former Pennsylvania judges who orchestrated a scheme to send children to for-profit jails in exchange for kickbacks were ordered to pay more than $200 million to hundreds of people they victimized in one of the worst judicial scandals in U.S. history. U.S. District Judge Christopher Conner awarded $106 million in compensatory damages and $100 million …

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Florida Sheriff Accused Of Offering Jobs To Multiple Candidates In Return For Dropping Out Of Their Races

Florida Today reports: In the weeks since two Republican candidates said that Wayne Ivey offered to land them political jobs worth up to $50,000 a year if they left their races and backed his favored contenders, the Brevard County Sheriff’s election meddling controversy has widened. Now, another candidate has come forward, saying that Sheriff Ivey also tried to interfere in …

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Probe Widens In FL GOP “Ghost Candidates” Scheme

The Miami Herald reports: Prosecutors have subpoenaed records related to a $600,000 money transfer between dark money organizations tied to an ongoing Miami-Dade criminal case surrounding “ghost candidates” in the 2020 election, according to court records unveiled Friday. Data Targeting also paid former Republican state Sen. Frank Artiles, who is facing several charges related to the no-party candidate who ran …

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Texas AG Bans Staff Lawyers From State Bar Events

The Texas Tribune reports: Attorney General Ken Paxton is escalating his feud with the State Bar of Texas by banning his office’s lawyers from speaking at any events organized by the bar. Paxton’s office also will not pay for any attorneys to attend bar-sponsored events. The state bar is suing Paxton over his 2020 lawsuit challenging the presidential election results …

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Emails Link Putin To “Network” With Billions In Assets

The Guardian reports: Palaces, yachts and vineyards reportedly provided to Vladimir Putin by friends and oligarchs can now be linked to what appears to be an informal network holding assets worth more than $4.5bn (£3.7bn). A digital paper trail appears to suggest that an array of holiday homes and other assets reportedly used by the Russian president, which according to …

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Cultist Anaheim Mayor Resigns Amid Corruption Probe

The Voice Of OC reports: Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu abruptly resigned Monday, following a tough week that saw the Angel Stadium land sale temporarily halted following damning allegations stemming from the unveiling of an FBI corruption probe into city hall. In an official affidavit, FBI agents wrote that Sidhu shared city information with the Angels and tried to ram the …

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Mississippi Sues Brett Favre In Massive “Welfare Scam”

ESPN reports: The Mississippi Department of Human Services on Monday sued retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre, three former pro wrestlers and several other people and businesses to try to recover millions of misspent welfare dollars that were intended to help some of the poorest people in the United States. The lawsuit says the defendants “squandered” more than $20 million in …

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Corrupt Ex-EPA Chief Scott Pruitt Launches Senate Bid

The Tulsa World reports: Former Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt is running for U.S. Senate. Also the former head of the EPA appointed by Donald Trump, Pruitt has filed to campaign for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Jim Inhofe. Pruitt represented Tulsa and Wagoner counties in the Oklahoma Senate from 1998 until 2006. He served two terms …

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TN Republicans Subpoenaed In FBI Corruption Probe

Nashville’s CBS News affiliate reports: Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton has been subpoenaed to appear before a federal grand jury as part of an ongoing FBI investigation into Capitol Hill corruption. Legislative sources said they believe that as many as 10-12 other House Republicans were also served Tuesday with grand jury subpoenas. This dramatic development follows the recent guilty plea …

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Cultist Former NYPD Union Chief Arrested By Feds

The New York Daily News reports: Firebrand former NYPD union boss Ed Mullins surrendered to federal authorities Wednesday after being hit with federal criminal charges for allegedly plundering his union’s bank accounts, the Daily News has learned. The charges, which have not been officially presented, center around Mullins’ alleged misuse of union funds as president of the Sergeant’s Benevolent Association, …

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Watchdog: Trump Cabinet Member Flouted Ethics Rules

The Washington Post reports: While serving as Interior Department secretary under Donald Trump, Ryan Zinke broke federal ethics rules repeatedly by improperly participating in real estate negotiations with the chairman of the energy giant Halliburton at the time and other developers, according to a government official with knowledge of an inspector general investigation to be released Wednesday. Interior Department IG …

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Corrupt NY Dem Sheldon Silver Dies In Prison At 77

The Associated Press reports: Former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, one of the most powerful figures in state government for two decades before his conviction on corruption charges, has died in federal custody. He was 77. Silver died Monday, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. The person could not discuss the matter publicly and spoke …

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