Mr. Slavin,
Per your request, our IT Department has furnished us with the e-mails regarding the St. Augustine Record cartoon you mentioned. We have them on disc and you are welcome to pick it up or we can mail it to you.
In regard to Question 5, we have no documents on that subject. In regard to Question 9, the School Board counsel has not given us legal advice on this situation or training on First Amendment rights.
Dr. Joyner informed me that he spoke with you on the telephone concerning the other questions you posed.
Please let us know how you prefer to receive the disc. Attached is an invoice for the charges.
Margie Davidson
Director of Community Relations
904-547-7504 (phone)
904-547-7523 (fax)
All correspondence sent to and from St. Johns County School District is subject to the Public Records Law of the State of Florida. This law provides that any records made or received by any public agency in the course of its official business are available for inspection, unless specifically exempted by the Legislature
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
School Board Employees Play Scrooge With Cartoonist's Civil and Constitutional Rights
You've got to hand it to PHIL McDANIEL, TOMMY BLEDSOE, SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT JOSPEH JOYNER and the St. AUGUSTINE RECORD -- when it comes to playing Scrooge, they've got it covered. Because they were "tired of listening" to criticism, even of other school districts, these mindless lugubrious goobers got cartoonist Ed Hall fired, after years of distinguished service with the Record.
They expect reporters and cartoonists to be servile units.
They expect cartoonists to "research" according to their tastes.
Do these boorish Philistines with chips on their shoulders have any taste?
Have they ever published anything in a peer-reviwed journal?
Have they ever created any art that was in a juried competition?
What arts publications to they read?
Do they know anything about political cartooning -- an art form, not reportage?
Do they know the history of powerful figures like Senator Joseph R. McCarthy, whom the cartoonist Herbert Block (Herblock) brought down for his abuse of citizens' rights?
Do they read any publication other than the St. Augustine Record?
Do they read the NY Times?
Do they see a resemblance between themselves and Sarah Palin, who sought to censor books in Wakilla, Alaska?
Do they not sound like a bunch of cronies, inbred, self-referential, self-absorbed, discussing the merits of "Diane" from the Board of County Commissioners, daring to insult her behind her back because there is democracy there?
They remind me of Henry II, saying "who will rid me of this meddlesome priest? Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Beckett was murdered as a result.
In the words of the great American lawyer, Joseph Welch, at the Army-McCarthy hearings, "at long last, have [they] no sense of decency?"
What do you reckon? Is the School Board, School Supt JOSEPH JOYNER, PHIL THE SHILL McDANIEL, et al. too big for their britches? What do they have to hide that they are willing to get a cartoonist fired at Christmastime?
School Board E-mails Show Confederacy of Scrooges Out to "Get" Cartoonist Ed Hall for Cartoon
Message
Joseph Joyner
Tue, Nov 25, 2008 10:49 AMMessage
Message Tue, Nov 25, 2008 10:49 AM
From: Tommy Bledsoe
To: Joseph Joyner
Subject: Re(2): Fwd: Editorial Cartoon
The more serious issue is why the Record would touch this cartoon in the first place. As I said, the agenda seems to be heat, not light.
Tommy Bledsoe
Arts and Foreign Language Program Specialist
St. Johns County School District
40 Orange Street
St. Augustine, FL 32084
904-547-7565 fax: 904-547-7544 cell: 904-806-3921
http://www.stjohns.k12.fl.us/depts/is/art/
Joseph Joyner on Tuesday, November 25, 2008 at 9:23 AM -0500 wrote:
Thanks Tommy. I appreciate the support and after reading the blog this guy disgusts me even more.
Tommy Bledsoe writes:
Dr. Joyner, I was compelled to address the artist about his editorial cartoon, so I sent the email below directly to him (halltoons@aol.com). I also ran across this posting on his blog (http://www.halltoons.blogspot.com/) that seems to be the rationale for the cartoon:
I'm getting a little tired of listening to over-paid school board administrators tell how if they "don't get some help soon" they're going to have to eliminate a school day. Uh huh. Maybe they should take a hint from some of these fat cat bankers and insurance executives and give up their bonuses for a year. Let some of that cash trickle back into the school budget. Right, like that's gonna happen. Is it Monday? Feels like a Monday - I'm a little more snarky than usual.
Tommy Bledsoe
Arts and Foreign Language Program Specialist
St. Johns County School District
40 Orange Street
St. Augustine, FL 32084
904-547-7565 fax: 904-547-7544 cell: 904-806-3921
http://www.stjohns.k12.fl.us/depts/is/art/
----- Original Message -----
Mr. Hall, I saw your editorial artwork in the St. Augustine Record on Saturday, Nov. 22 depicting a bloated, greedy school administrator threatening to cut art, music and athletics while protecting his paid leave. I have seen your cartoons in the past and they usually hold truth as the guiding principle, however broadly represented. This one is an exception...it is ill-informed, distorts truth, and is mean-spirited. This is especially disturbing in light of the current and upcoming cutbacks in education funding resulting from the global economic meltdown and priorities at the state level.
Here are some facts. Florida is 50th out of all the states in money spent on school administration. That is last and least. St. Johns County School District's administrative budget is 64th out of 67 counties in Florida, with only only three counties spending less than we do. In spite of this, we have art and music teachers in all 18 elementary schools, 8 middle schools and 6 high schools. We also have the St. Johns County Center for the Arts at both middle and high school levels, where students can take sequential courses, not only in art and music, but in dance, drama and guitar, and master classes in all disciplines for career track students. A charter school also provides art and music integrated into the curriculum.
Athletics have not been cut and are unlikely to be cut. Look at the local sports page and you will see that our soccer, basketball, football, baseball, softball, swimming, diving, track, cross country, etc. are active and growing. This year, the district has begun implementation of a mandatory physical education program, an unfunded mandate from the state which creates even more challenges to funding in the classroom, including elective courses.
Our district faced over $11 million of cutbacks for the 2008-09 school year. We are told that we are facing over $20 million additional cuts. When the cuts come, there are no sacred (administrative) cows. When a school district is required to cut 15% of it's budget, something's going to suffer. There may have to be cuts in electives, like arts and music, but it will not be so that Dr. Joyner or the administrative staff will deploy golden parachutes or lounge in Caribbean resorts. Cuts will be made in every department, but our priority will be providing service to the student and teacher in the classroom .
There are reasons that our district consistently scores near the top of the state in FCAT scores and School Ratings (which are based partly on student learning gains, especially among lowest performing students, and reducing dropout rates). One of the reasons is a leadership that has set priorities of quality education, including electives, and fiscal responsibility.
The citizens of St. Johns County expect children to enter a safe learning environment with high standards, a relatively low student-teacher ratio, and available electives, like art and music. That requires teachers in the classroom with support in everything from transportation to facility maintenance, service of special needs children, and administrative support at all levels to ensure the teachers can teach. We are the county's largest employer, but it is not because we hire too many administrators. There has been a freeze on administrative hiring for 2 years, causing many departments to be understaffed.
Continue your important work of bringing attention to ineptitude and injustice through art and humor. However, make sure you do the critical research and fact checking before using too broad a brush. Here is a source for some information on the district http://www.stjohns.k12.fl.us/admin/supt/stateofschools0809
Tommy Bledsoe
Arts and Foreign Language Program Specialist
St. Johns County School District
40 Orange Street
St. Augustine, FL 32084
904-547-7565 fax: 904-547-7544 cell: 904-806-3921
http://www.stjohns.k12.fl.us/depts/is/art/
Joseph G. Joyner, Ed. D.
Superintendent of Schools
St. Johns County School District
(904) 547-7502 Phone
(904) 547-7515 Fax
"All correspondence sent to and from St. Johns County School District is subject to the public records law of Florida. This law provides that any records made or received by any public agency in the course of its official business are available for inspection, unless specifically exempted by the Legislature."
---------------
Message
Joseph Joyner
Tue, Nov 25, 2008 10:49 AMMessage
Message Tue, Nov 25, 2008 10:49 AM
From: Tommy Bledsoe
To: Joseph Joyner
Subject: Re(2): Fwd: Editorial Cartoon
The more serious issue is why the Record would touch this cartoon in the first place. As I said, the agenda seems to be heat, not light.
Tommy Bledsoe
Arts and Foreign Language Program Specialist
St. Johns County School District
40 Orange Street
St. Augustine, FL 32084
904-547-7565 fax: 904-547-7544 cell: 904-806-3921
http://www.stjohns.k12.fl.us/depts/is/art/
Joseph Joyner on Tuesday, November 25, 2008 at 9:23 AM -0500 wrote:
Thanks Tommy. I appreciate the support and after reading the blog this guy disgusts me even more.
Tommy Bledsoe writes:
Dr. Joyner, I was compelled to address the artist about his editorial cartoon, so I sent the email below directly to him (halltoons@aol.com). I also ran across this posting on his blog (http://www.halltoons.blogspot.com/) that seems to be the rationale for the cartoon:
I'm getting a little tired of listening to over-paid school board administrators tell how if they "don't get some help soon" they're going to have to eliminate a school day. Uh huh. Maybe they should take a hint from some of these fat cat bankers and insurance executives and give up their bonuses for a year. Let some of that cash trickle back into the school budget. Right, like that's gonna happen. Is it Monday? Feels like a Monday - I'm a little more snarky than usual.
Tommy Bledsoe
Arts and Foreign Language Program Specialist
St. Johns County School District
40 Orange Street
St. Augustine, FL 32084
904-547-7565 fax: 904-547-7544 cell: 904-806-3921
http://www.stjohns.k12.fl.us/depts/is/art/
----- Original Message -----
Mr. Hall, I saw your editorial artwork in the St. Augustine Record on Saturday, Nov. 22 depicting a bloated, greedy school administrator threatening to cut art, music and athletics while protecting his paid leave. I have seen your cartoons in the past and they usually hold truth as the guiding principle, however broadly represented. This one is an exception...it is ill-informed, distorts truth, and is mean-spirited. This is especially disturbing in light of the current and upcoming cutbacks in education funding resulting from the global economic meltdown and priorities at the state level.
Here are some facts. Florida is 50th out of all the states in money spent on school administration. That is last and least. St. Johns County School District's administrative budget is 64th out of 67 counties in Florida, with only only three counties spending less than we do. In spite of this, we have art and music teachers in all 18 elementary schools, 8 middle schools and 6 high schools. We also have the St. Johns County Center for the Arts at both middle and high school levels, where students can take sequential courses, not only in art and music, but in dance, drama and guitar, and master classes in all disciplines for career track students. A charter school also provides art and music integrated into the curriculum.
Athletics have not been cut and are unlikely to be cut. Look at the local sports page and you will see that our soccer, basketball, football, baseball, softball, swimming, diving, track, cross country, etc. are active and growing. This year, the district has begun implementation of a mandatory physical education program, an unfunded mandate from the state which creates even more challenges to funding in the classroom, including elective courses.
Our district faced over $11 million of cutbacks for the 2008-09 school year. We are told that we are facing over $20 million additional cuts. When the cuts come, there are no sacred (administrative) cows. When a school district is required to cut 15% of it's budget, something's going to suffer. There may have to be cuts in electives, like arts and music, but it will not be so that Dr. Joyner or the administrative staff will deploy golden parachutes or lounge in Caribbean resorts. Cuts will be made in every department, but our priority will be providing service to the student and teacher in the classroom .
There are reasons that our district consistently scores near the top of the state in FCAT scores and School Ratings (which are based partly on student learning gains, especially among lowest performing students, and reducing dropout rates). One of the reasons is a leadership that has set priorities of quality education, including electives, and fiscal responsibility.
The citizens of St. Johns County expect children to enter a safe learning environment with high standards, a relatively low student-teacher ratio, and available electives, like art and music. That requires teachers in the classroom with support in everything from transportation to facility maintenance, service of special needs children, and administrative support at all levels to ensure the teachers can teach. We are the county's largest employer, but it is not because we hire too many administrators. There has been a freeze on administrative hiring for 2 years, causing many departments to be understaffed.
Continue your important work of bringing attention to ineptitude and injustice through art and humor. However, make sure you do the critical research and fact checking before using too broad a brush. Here is a source for some information on the district http://www.stjohns.k12.fl.us/admin/supt/stateofschools0809
Tommy Bledsoe
Arts and Foreign Language Program Specialist
St. Johns County School District
40 Orange Street
St. Augustine, FL 32084
904-547-7565 fax: 904-547-7544 cell: 904-806-3921
http://www.stjohns.k12.fl.us/depts/is/art/
Joseph G. Joyner, Ed. D.
Superintendent of Schools
St. Johns County School District
(904) 547-7502 Phone
(904) 547-7515 Fax
"All correspondence sent to and from St. Johns County School District is subject to the public records law of Florida. This law provides that any records made or received by any public agency in the course of its official business are available for inspection, unless specifically exempted by the Legislature."
--------------------------
Message
Philip McDaniel
Mon, Dec 01, 2008 7:48 AMMessage
Message Mon, Dec 01, 2008 7:48 AM
From: Joseph Joyner
To: "Philip McDaniel"
Subject: Re: FW: disagree
WOW. I have no problem with Political satire........I only think that it should be based in some part in fact. I wonder what she thinks after seeing the editorial Sunday that reiterated the truth about administrators and the budget. Perhaps too much time with the BCC??????
"Philip McDaniel" writes:
A guy can’t win for losing. This from the secretary of the Board of County Commissioners. She has assumed so much and is wrong on nearly all of her points. Ahhhhhh… I would never survive the scrutiny and barbs that accompany public life.
You make it look so easy!
Best
PM
-----------------
From: Diane [mailto:stayinput@bellsouth.net]
Sent: Sunday, November 30, 2008 6:35 PM
To: philip@mcdaniel.net
Subject: disagree
Importance: High
Phil,
One of the amazing gifts we are given as citizens of the United States of America is the gift of free speech. I am appalled that you chose to use a satirical cartoon for political gain. I I know we are very close in age, and honestly, I cannot believe you would speak out against an artist publicly and cause the artist to be suspended. Andy Warhol? Lou Reed? Playboy Magazine? Political satire has been around for centuries, it is part of our heritage. If I cannot paint or draw or sculpt with the freedom to create, what is the point? I'm disappointed with your letter to the editor and disgusted with the St. Augustine Record's response.
Diane
Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail
Joseph G. Joyner, Ed. D.
Superintendent of Schools
St. Johns County School District
(904) 547-7502 Phone
(904) 547-7515 Fax
"All correspondence sent to and from St. Johns County School District is subject to the public records law of Florida. This law provides that any records made or received by any public agency in the course of its official business are available for inspection, unless specifically exempted by the Legislature."
----------------------------------
Message
Philip McDaniel
Mon, Dec 01, 2008 9:53 AMMessage
Message Mon, Dec 01, 2008 9:53 AM
From: "Philip McDaniel"
To: Joseph Joyner
Subject: RE: FW: disagree
Attachments:
Agree 100%. It appears her thinking may have been, through all the craziness at the BCC in the last 24 months, jaded by the people she worked with. Hopefully with some new blood in there, she will come back to her senses. I certainly want to give her the benefit of the doubt.
Best – PM
-----------------
From: Joseph Joyner [mailto:joynerj@stjohns.k12.fl.us]
Sent: Monday, December 01, 2008 7:49 AM
To: Philip McDaniel
Subject: Re: FW: disagree
WOW. I have no problem with Political satire........I only think that it should be based in some part in fact. I wonder what she thinks after seeing the editorial Sunday that reiterated the truth about administrators and the budget. Perhaps too much time with the BCC??????
"Philip McDaniel" writes:
A guy can’t win for losing. This from the secretary of the Board of County Commissioners. She has assumed so much and is wrong on nearly all of her points. Ahhhhhh… I would never survive the scrutiny and barbs that accompany public life.
You make it look so easy!
Best
PM
-----------------
From: Diane [mailto:stayinput@bellsouth.net]
Sent: Sunday, November 30, 2008 6:35 PM
To: philip@mcdaniel.net
Subject: disagree
Importance: High
Phil,
One of the amazing gifts we are given as citizens of the United States of America is the gift of free speech. I am appalled that you chose to use a satirical cartoon for political gain. I I know we are very close in age, and honestly, I cannot believe you would speak out against an artist publicly and cause the artist to be suspended. Andy Warhol? Lou Reed? Playboy Magazine? Political satire has been around for centuries, it is part of our heritage. If I cannot paint or draw or sculpt with the freedom to create, what is the point? I'm disappointed with your letter to the editor and disgusted with the St. Augustine Record's response.
Diane
-------------------
Message
Philip McDaniel
Thu, Dec 04, 2008 11:32 AMUrgent: Message
Urgent: Message Thu, Dec 04, 2008 11:32 AM
From: "Philip McDaniel"Administratorjoe.joyner@att.blackberry.netJoseph Joynerroot@stjohns.k12.fl.us"Philip McDaniel" Administratorjoe.joyner@att.blackberry.netJoseph Joynerroot@stjohns.k12.fl.us"Philip McDaniel" Administratorjoe.joyner@att.blackberry.netJoseph Joynerroot@stjohns.k12.fl.us"Philip McDaniel" Administratorjoe.joyner@att.blackberry.netJoseph Joynerroot@stjohns.k12.fl.us"Philip McDaniel" Administratorjoe.joyner@att.blackberry.netJoseph Joynerroot@stjohns.k12.fl.us
To: Brandon BillingsleyAdministratorarchiver@arcmail.stjohns.k12.fl.usjoe.joyner@att.blackberry.net"Margo Pope"Brandon BillingsleyAdministratorarchiver@arcmail.stjohns.k12.fl.usjoe.joyner@att.blackberry.net"Margo Pope" Brandon BillingsleyAdministratorarchiver@arcmail.stjohns.k12.fl.usjoe.joyner@att.blackberry.net"Margo Pope" Brandon BillingsleyAdministratorarchiver@arcmail.stjohns.k12.fl.usjoe.joyner@att.blackberry.net"Margo Pope" Brandon BillingsleyAdministratorarchiver@arcmail.stjohns.k12.fl.usjoe.joyner@att.blackberry.net"Margo Pope" Brandon BillingsleyAdministratorarchiver@arcmail.stjohns.k12.fl.usjoe.joyner@att.blackberry.net"Margo Pope" Brandon BillingsleyAdministratorarchiver@arcmail.stjohns.k12.fl.usjoe.joyner@att.blackberry.net"Margo Pope"
Subject: [Defender Restored] Margo - Can you please try to get editorial in soon.... Happy
Attachments:
Cartoon Needs to be Re-Drawn
I was saddened and disappointed to see the cartoon in Sunday’s Record regarding the school district administration. The image was as offensive as it was inaccurate.
Since well before my involvement with the St. Johns Cultural Council, I have known and admired Dr. Joe Joyner. We met in the Leadership St. Johns class of 2004. From our very first conversation, I knew that Joe understood and valued visual and performing arts as an integral part of a high-quality, public education.
For your information, every elementary school in the district offers art and music, along with all our middle and high schools. National studies confirm the correlation between strong arts curriculum and academic achievement. I firmly believe that this one of the main reasons why St. Johns County schools consistently rank in the top three counties (out of 67) in the state.
To further the point of the district’s support of arts and music, we are perhaps the only county of our size in the state to have not one, but two specialized centers for arts learning: St. Augustine High and Murray Middle School Centers for the Arts.
While we may be in for some rough times in the next 12 – 24 months, I sleep well at night knowing our school district’s administration will continue to protect and support student access to arts, music, and theater.
On behalf of the St. Johns County Cultural Council, we are proud of our partnership with the county’s artists, cultural organizations and, in particular, our school district.
Please check your facts next time before you mislead the public with a rendering as erroneous as the one in question. It’s ironic that you would have used your artistic skills in defamation of the very subject that is one the most valued in our school district.
Philip McDaniel is a 15-year resident of St. Augustine and has been associated with several quality of life projects including Project S.W.I.N.G., the New Davis Shores Park, and the restoration of the Cultural Center at St. Augustine Beach Pier. He currently serves as board president for the St. Johns County Cultural Council, the local arts agency for St. Johns County.
Philip
Philip McDaniel
St. Augustine, FL 32084
Tel: 904-806-1440
E Mail: philip@mcdaniel.net
Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail
Joseph G. Joyner, Ed. D.
Superintendent of Schools
St. Johns County School District
(904) 547-7502 Phone
(904) 547-7515 Fax
"All correspondence sent to and from St. Johns County School District is subject to the public records law of Florida. This law provides that any records made or received by any public agency in the course of its official business are available for inspection, unless specifically exempted by the Legislature."
---------------------------------
Joseph Joyner
Tue, Nov 25, 2008 10:49 AMMessage
Message Tue, Nov 25, 2008 10:49 AM
From: Tommy Bledsoe
To: Joseph Joyner
Subject: Re(2): Fwd: Editorial Cartoon
The more serious issue is why the Record would touch this cartoon in the first place. As I said, the agenda seems to be heat, not light.
Tommy Bledsoe
Arts and Foreign Language Program Specialist
St. Johns County School District
40 Orange Street
St. Augustine, FL 32084
904-547-7565 fax: 904-547-7544 cell: 904-806-3921
http://www.stjohns.k12.fl.us/depts/is/art/
Joseph Joyner on Tuesday, November 25, 2008 at 9:23 AM -0500 wrote:
Thanks Tommy. I appreciate the support and after reading the blog this guy disgusts me even more.
Tommy Bledsoe writes:
Dr. Joyner, I was compelled to address the artist about his editorial cartoon, so I sent the email below directly to him (halltoons@aol.com). I also ran across this posting on his blog (http://www.halltoons.blogspot.com/) that seems to be the rationale for the cartoon:
I'm getting a little tired of listening to over-paid school board administrators tell how if they "don't get some help soon" they're going to have to eliminate a school day. Uh huh. Maybe they should take a hint from some of these fat cat bankers and insurance executives and give up their bonuses for a year. Let some of that cash trickle back into the school budget. Right, like that's gonna happen. Is it Monday? Feels like a Monday - I'm a little more snarky than usual.
Tommy Bledsoe
Arts and Foreign Language Program Specialist
St. Johns County School District
40 Orange Street
St. Augustine, FL 32084
904-547-7565 fax: 904-547-7544 cell: 904-806-3921
http://www.stjohns.k12.fl.us/depts/is/art/
----- Original Message -----
Mr. Hall, I saw your editorial artwork in the St. Augustine Record on Saturday, Nov. 22 depicting a bloated, greedy school administrator threatening to cut art, music and athletics while protecting his paid leave. I have seen your cartoons in the past and they usually hold truth as the guiding principle, however broadly represented. This one is an exception...it is ill-informed, distorts truth, and is mean-spirited. This is especially disturbing in light of the current and upcoming cutbacks in education funding resulting from the global economic meltdown and priorities at the state level.
Here are some facts. Florida is 50th out of all the states in money spent on school administration. That is last and least. St. Johns County School District's administrative budget is 64th out of 67 counties in Florida, with only only three counties spending less than we do. In spite of this, we have art and music teachers in all 18 elementary schools, 8 middle schools and 6 high schools. We also have the St. Johns County Center for the Arts at both middle and high school levels, where students can take sequential courses, not only in art and music, but in dance, drama and guitar, and master classes in all disciplines for career track students. A charter school also provides art and music integrated into the curriculum.
Athletics have not been cut and are unlikely to be cut. Look at the local sports page and you will see that our soccer, basketball, football, baseball, softball, swimming, diving, track, cross country, etc. are active and growing. This year, the district has begun implementation of a mandatory physical education program, an unfunded mandate from the state which creates even more challenges to funding in the classroom, including elective courses.
Our district faced over $11 million of cutbacks for the 2008-09 school year. We are told that we are facing over $20 million additional cuts. When the cuts come, there are no sacred (administrative) cows. When a school district is required to cut 15% of it's budget, something's going to suffer. There may have to be cuts in electives, like arts and music, but it will not be so that Dr. Joyner or the administrative staff will deploy golden parachutes or lounge in Caribbean resorts. Cuts will be made in every department, but our priority will be providing service to the student and teacher in the classroom .
There are reasons that our district consistently scores near the top of the state in FCAT scores and School Ratings (which are based partly on student learning gains, especially among lowest performing students, and reducing dropout rates). One of the reasons is a leadership that has set priorities of quality education, including electives, and fiscal responsibility.
The citizens of St. Johns County expect children to enter a safe learning environment with high standards, a relatively low student-teacher ratio, and available electives, like art and music. That requires teachers in the classroom with support in everything from transportation to facility maintenance, service of special needs children, and administrative support at all levels to ensure the teachers can teach. We are the county's largest employer, but it is not because we hire too many administrators. There has been a freeze on administrative hiring for 2 years, causing many departments to be understaffed.
Continue your important work of bringing attention to ineptitude and injustice through art and humor. However, make sure you do the critical research and fact checking before using too broad a brush. Here is a source for some information on the district http://www.stjohns.k12.fl.us/admin/supt/stateofschools0809
Tommy Bledsoe
Arts and Foreign Language Program Specialist
St. Johns County School District
40 Orange Street
St. Augustine, FL 32084
904-547-7565 fax: 904-547-7544 cell: 904-806-3921
http://www.stjohns.k12.fl.us/depts/is/art/
Joseph G. Joyner, Ed. D.
Superintendent of Schools
St. Johns County School District
(904) 547-7502 Phone
(904) 547-7515 Fax
"All correspondence sent to and from St. Johns County School District is subject to the public records law of Florida. This law provides that any records made or received by any public agency in the course of its official business are available for inspection, unless specifically exempted by the Legislature."
---------------
Message
Joseph Joyner
Tue, Nov 25, 2008 10:49 AMMessage
Message Tue, Nov 25, 2008 10:49 AM
From: Tommy Bledsoe
To: Joseph Joyner
Subject: Re(2): Fwd: Editorial Cartoon
The more serious issue is why the Record would touch this cartoon in the first place. As I said, the agenda seems to be heat, not light.
Tommy Bledsoe
Arts and Foreign Language Program Specialist
St. Johns County School District
40 Orange Street
St. Augustine, FL 32084
904-547-7565 fax: 904-547-7544 cell: 904-806-3921
http://www.stjohns.k12.fl.us/depts/is/art/
Joseph Joyner on Tuesday, November 25, 2008 at 9:23 AM -0500 wrote:
Thanks Tommy. I appreciate the support and after reading the blog this guy disgusts me even more.
Tommy Bledsoe writes:
Dr. Joyner, I was compelled to address the artist about his editorial cartoon, so I sent the email below directly to him (halltoons@aol.com). I also ran across this posting on his blog (http://www.halltoons.blogspot.com/) that seems to be the rationale for the cartoon:
I'm getting a little tired of listening to over-paid school board administrators tell how if they "don't get some help soon" they're going to have to eliminate a school day. Uh huh. Maybe they should take a hint from some of these fat cat bankers and insurance executives and give up their bonuses for a year. Let some of that cash trickle back into the school budget. Right, like that's gonna happen. Is it Monday? Feels like a Monday - I'm a little more snarky than usual.
Tommy Bledsoe
Arts and Foreign Language Program Specialist
St. Johns County School District
40 Orange Street
St. Augustine, FL 32084
904-547-7565 fax: 904-547-7544 cell: 904-806-3921
http://www.stjohns.k12.fl.us/depts/is/art/
----- Original Message -----
Mr. Hall, I saw your editorial artwork in the St. Augustine Record on Saturday, Nov. 22 depicting a bloated, greedy school administrator threatening to cut art, music and athletics while protecting his paid leave. I have seen your cartoons in the past and they usually hold truth as the guiding principle, however broadly represented. This one is an exception...it is ill-informed, distorts truth, and is mean-spirited. This is especially disturbing in light of the current and upcoming cutbacks in education funding resulting from the global economic meltdown and priorities at the state level.
Here are some facts. Florida is 50th out of all the states in money spent on school administration. That is last and least. St. Johns County School District's administrative budget is 64th out of 67 counties in Florida, with only only three counties spending less than we do. In spite of this, we have art and music teachers in all 18 elementary schools, 8 middle schools and 6 high schools. We also have the St. Johns County Center for the Arts at both middle and high school levels, where students can take sequential courses, not only in art and music, but in dance, drama and guitar, and master classes in all disciplines for career track students. A charter school also provides art and music integrated into the curriculum.
Athletics have not been cut and are unlikely to be cut. Look at the local sports page and you will see that our soccer, basketball, football, baseball, softball, swimming, diving, track, cross country, etc. are active and growing. This year, the district has begun implementation of a mandatory physical education program, an unfunded mandate from the state which creates even more challenges to funding in the classroom, including elective courses.
Our district faced over $11 million of cutbacks for the 2008-09 school year. We are told that we are facing over $20 million additional cuts. When the cuts come, there are no sacred (administrative) cows. When a school district is required to cut 15% of it's budget, something's going to suffer. There may have to be cuts in electives, like arts and music, but it will not be so that Dr. Joyner or the administrative staff will deploy golden parachutes or lounge in Caribbean resorts. Cuts will be made in every department, but our priority will be providing service to the student and teacher in the classroom .
There are reasons that our district consistently scores near the top of the state in FCAT scores and School Ratings (which are based partly on student learning gains, especially among lowest performing students, and reducing dropout rates). One of the reasons is a leadership that has set priorities of quality education, including electives, and fiscal responsibility.
The citizens of St. Johns County expect children to enter a safe learning environment with high standards, a relatively low student-teacher ratio, and available electives, like art and music. That requires teachers in the classroom with support in everything from transportation to facility maintenance, service of special needs children, and administrative support at all levels to ensure the teachers can teach. We are the county's largest employer, but it is not because we hire too many administrators. There has been a freeze on administrative hiring for 2 years, causing many departments to be understaffed.
Continue your important work of bringing attention to ineptitude and injustice through art and humor. However, make sure you do the critical research and fact checking before using too broad a brush. Here is a source for some information on the district http://www.stjohns.k12.fl.us/admin/supt/stateofschools0809
Tommy Bledsoe
Arts and Foreign Language Program Specialist
St. Johns County School District
40 Orange Street
St. Augustine, FL 32084
904-547-7565 fax: 904-547-7544 cell: 904-806-3921
http://www.stjohns.k12.fl.us/depts/is/art/
Joseph G. Joyner, Ed. D.
Superintendent of Schools
St. Johns County School District
(904) 547-7502 Phone
(904) 547-7515 Fax
"All correspondence sent to and from St. Johns County School District is subject to the public records law of Florida. This law provides that any records made or received by any public agency in the course of its official business are available for inspection, unless specifically exempted by the Legislature."
--------------------------
Message
Philip McDaniel
Mon, Dec 01, 2008 7:48 AMMessage
Message Mon, Dec 01, 2008 7:48 AM
From: Joseph Joyner
To: "Philip McDaniel"
Subject: Re: FW: disagree
WOW. I have no problem with Political satire........I only think that it should be based in some part in fact. I wonder what she thinks after seeing the editorial Sunday that reiterated the truth about administrators and the budget. Perhaps too much time with the BCC??????
"Philip McDaniel"
A guy can’t win for losing. This from the secretary of the Board of County Commissioners. She has assumed so much and is wrong on nearly all of her points. Ahhhhhh… I would never survive the scrutiny and barbs that accompany public life.
You make it look so easy!
Best
PM
-----------------
From: Diane [mailto:stayinput@bellsouth.net]
Sent: Sunday, November 30, 2008 6:35 PM
To: philip@mcdaniel.net
Subject: disagree
Importance: High
Phil,
One of the amazing gifts we are given as citizens of the United States of America is the gift of free speech. I am appalled that you chose to use a satirical cartoon for political gain. I I know we are very close in age, and honestly, I cannot believe you would speak out against an artist publicly and cause the artist to be suspended. Andy Warhol? Lou Reed? Playboy Magazine? Political satire has been around for centuries, it is part of our heritage. If I cannot paint or draw or sculpt with the freedom to create, what is the point? I'm disappointed with your letter to the editor and disgusted with the St. Augustine Record's response.
Diane
Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail
Joseph G. Joyner, Ed. D.
Superintendent of Schools
St. Johns County School District
(904) 547-7502 Phone
(904) 547-7515 Fax
"All correspondence sent to and from St. Johns County School District is subject to the public records law of Florida. This law provides that any records made or received by any public agency in the course of its official business are available for inspection, unless specifically exempted by the Legislature."
----------------------------------
Message
Philip McDaniel
Mon, Dec 01, 2008 9:53 AMMessage
Message Mon, Dec 01, 2008 9:53 AM
From: "Philip McDaniel"
To: Joseph Joyner
Subject: RE: FW: disagree
Attachments:
Agree 100%. It appears her thinking may have been, through all the craziness at the BCC in the last 24 months, jaded by the people she worked with. Hopefully with some new blood in there, she will come back to her senses. I certainly want to give her the benefit of the doubt.
Best – PM
-----------------
From: Joseph Joyner [mailto:joynerj@stjohns.k12.fl.us]
Sent: Monday, December 01, 2008 7:49 AM
To: Philip McDaniel
Subject: Re: FW: disagree
WOW. I have no problem with Political satire........I only think that it should be based in some part in fact. I wonder what she thinks after seeing the editorial Sunday that reiterated the truth about administrators and the budget. Perhaps too much time with the BCC??????
"Philip McDaniel"
A guy can’t win for losing. This from the secretary of the Board of County Commissioners. She has assumed so much and is wrong on nearly all of her points. Ahhhhhh… I would never survive the scrutiny and barbs that accompany public life.
You make it look so easy!
Best
PM
-----------------
From: Diane [mailto:stayinput@bellsouth.net]
Sent: Sunday, November 30, 2008 6:35 PM
To: philip@mcdaniel.net
Subject: disagree
Importance: High
Phil,
One of the amazing gifts we are given as citizens of the United States of America is the gift of free speech. I am appalled that you chose to use a satirical cartoon for political gain. I I know we are very close in age, and honestly, I cannot believe you would speak out against an artist publicly and cause the artist to be suspended. Andy Warhol? Lou Reed? Playboy Magazine? Political satire has been around for centuries, it is part of our heritage. If I cannot paint or draw or sculpt with the freedom to create, what is the point? I'm disappointed with your letter to the editor and disgusted with the St. Augustine Record's response.
Diane
-------------------
Message
Philip McDaniel
Thu, Dec 04, 2008 11:32 AMUrgent: Message
Urgent: Message Thu, Dec 04, 2008 11:32 AM
From: "Philip McDaniel"
To: Brandon BillingsleyAdministratorarchiver@arcmail.stjohns.k12.fl.usjoe.joyner@att.blackberry.net"Margo Pope"
Subject: [Defender Restored] Margo - Can you please try to get editorial in soon.... Happy
Attachments:
Cartoon Needs to be Re-Drawn
I was saddened and disappointed to see the cartoon in Sunday’s Record regarding the school district administration. The image was as offensive as it was inaccurate.
Since well before my involvement with the St. Johns Cultural Council, I have known and admired Dr. Joe Joyner. We met in the Leadership St. Johns class of 2004. From our very first conversation, I knew that Joe understood and valued visual and performing arts as an integral part of a high-quality, public education.
For your information, every elementary school in the district offers art and music, along with all our middle and high schools. National studies confirm the correlation between strong arts curriculum and academic achievement. I firmly believe that this one of the main reasons why St. Johns County schools consistently rank in the top three counties (out of 67) in the state.
To further the point of the district’s support of arts and music, we are perhaps the only county of our size in the state to have not one, but two specialized centers for arts learning: St. Augustine High and Murray Middle School Centers for the Arts.
While we may be in for some rough times in the next 12 – 24 months, I sleep well at night knowing our school district’s administration will continue to protect and support student access to arts, music, and theater.
On behalf of the St. Johns County Cultural Council, we are proud of our partnership with the county’s artists, cultural organizations and, in particular, our school district.
Please check your facts next time before you mislead the public with a rendering as erroneous as the one in question. It’s ironic that you would have used your artistic skills in defamation of the very subject that is one the most valued in our school district.
Philip McDaniel is a 15-year resident of St. Augustine and has been associated with several quality of life projects including Project S.W.I.N.G., the New Davis Shores Park, and the restoration of the Cultural Center at St. Augustine Beach Pier. He currently serves as board president for the St. Johns County Cultural Council, the local arts agency for St. Johns County.
Philip
Philip McDaniel
St. Augustine, FL 32084
Tel: 904-806-1440
E Mail: philip@mcdaniel.net
Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail
Joseph G. Joyner, Ed. D.
Superintendent of Schools
St. Johns County School District
(904) 547-7502 Phone
(904) 547-7515 Fax
"All correspondence sent to and from St. Johns County School District is subject to the public records law of Florida. This law provides that any records made or received by any public agency in the course of its official business are available for inspection, unless specifically exempted by the Legislature."
---------------------------------
USDOJ Press Release: Corrupt German Corporation to Pay $1.6 Billion for International Corporate Bribery in Violation of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, December 15, 2008
CRM
(202) 514-2007
TDD (202) 514-1888
Siemens AG and Three Subsidiaries Plead Guilty to Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Violations and Agree to Pay $450 Million in Combined Criminal Fines
Coordinated Enforcement Actions by DOJ, SEC and German Authorities Result in Penalties of $1.6 Billion
WASHINGTON—Siemens Aktiengesellschaft (Siemens AG), a German corporation, and three of its subsidiaries today pleaded guilty to violations of and charges related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the Department of Justice and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced.
At a hearing before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon in the District of Columbia, Siemens AG pleaded guilty to a two-count information charging criminal violations of the FCPA’s internal controls and books and records provisions. Siemens S.A.- Argentina (Siemens Argentina) pleaded guilty to a one-count information charging conspiracy to violate the books and records provisions of the FCPA. Siemens Bangladesh Limited (Siemens Bangladesh) and Siemens S.A. - Venezuela (Siemens Venezuela), each pleaded guilty to separate one-count informations charging conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery and books and records provisions of the FCPA. As part of the plea agreements, Siemens AG agreed to pay a $448.5 million fine; and Siemens Argentina, Bangladesh , and Venezuela each agreed to pay a $500,000 fine, for a combined total criminal fine of $450 million.
According to court documents, beginning in the mid-1990s, Siemens AG engaged in systematic efforts to falsify its corporate books and records and knowingly failed to implement and circumvent existing internal controls. As a result of Siemens AG’s knowing failures in and circumvention of internal controls, from the time of its listing on the New York Stock Exchange on March 12, 2001, through approximately 2007, Siemens AG made payments totaling approximately $1.36 billion through various mechanisms. Of this amount, approximately $554.5 million was paid for unknown purposes, including approximately $341 million in direct payments to business consultants for unknown purposes. The remaining $805.5 million of this amount was intended in whole or in part as corrupt payments to foreign officials through the payment mechanisms, which included cash desks and slush funds.
From 2000 to 2002, four Siemens AG subsidiaries—Siemens S.A.S. of France (Siemens France), Siemens Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. of Turkey (Siemens Turkey), Osram Middle East FZE (Osram Middle East) and Gas Turbine Technologies S.p.A. (GTT)—each wholly owned by Siemens AG or one of its subsidiaries, were awarded 42 contracts with a combined value of more than $80 million with the Ministries of Electricity and Oil of the government of the Republic of Iraq under the United Nations Oil for Food Program. To obtain these contracts, Siemens France, Siemens Turkey, Osram Middle East and GTT paid a total of at least $1,736,076 in kickbacks to the Iraqi government, and they collectively earned more $38 million in profits on those 42 contracts. Siemens France, Siemens Turkey, Osram Middle East and GTT inflated the price of the contracts by approximately 10 percent before submitting them to the United Nations for approval and improperly characterized payments to purported business consultants, part of which were paid as kickbacks to the Iraqi government as “commissions” to the business consultants. For the relevant years, the books and records of Siemens France, Siemens Turkey, Osram Middle East and GTT, including those containing false characterizations of the kickbacks paid to the Iraqi government, were part of the books and records of Siemens AG.
As the charging and plea documents reflect, beginning around September 1998 and continuing until 2007, Siemens Argentina made and caused to be made significant payments to various Argentine officials, both directly and indirectly, in exchange for favorable business treatment in connection with a $1 billion national identity card project. From the date that Siemens AG became listed on the New York Stock Exchange on March 12, 2001, through approximately January 2007, Siemens Argentina made approximately $31,263,000 in corrupt payments to various Argentine officials through purported consultants and other conduit entities, and improperly characterized those corrupt payments in its books and records as legitimate payments for “consulting fees” or “legal fees.” Siemens Argentina’s books and records, including those containing the false characterizations of the corrupt payments, were part of the books and records of Siemens AG.
According to court documents, beginning around November 2001 and continuing until approximately May 2007, Siemens Venezuela admitted it made and caused to be made corrupt payments of at least $18,782,965 to various Venezuelan officials, indirectly through purported business consultants, in exchange for favorable business treatment in connection with two major metropolitan mass transit projects called Metro Valencia and Metro Maracaibo. Some of those payments were made using U.S. bank accounts controlled by the purported business consultants.
In the charging and plea documents, Siemens Bangladesh admitted that from May 2001 to August 2006, it caused corrupt payments of at least $5,319,839 to be made through purported business consultants to various Bangladeshi officials in exchange for favorable treatment during the bidding process on a mobile telephone project. At least one payment to each of these purported consultants was paid from a U.S. bank account.
“Today’s filings make clear that for much of its operations across the globe, bribery was nothing less than standard operating procedure for Siemens. It should be equally clear that Siemens has undertaken significant remedial measures, instituted real reforms and cooperated from the inception of this investigation,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Friedrich. “The Department and our international colleagues will continue our efforts to level the business playing field, making it free from corruption and fair to those who seek to participate in it.”
“The coordinated efforts of U.S. and German law enforcement authorities in this case set the standard for multi-national cooperation in the fight against corrupt business practices,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeffrey A. Taylor. “To its credit, Siemens has taken extraordinary steps to reveal its long-standing, systemic criminal conduct and it has fundamentally restructured its operations to make them transparent and honest going forward.”
“This pattern of bribery by Siemens was unprecedented in scale and geographic reach. The corruption involved more than $1.4 billion in bribes to government officials in Asia , Africa , Europe , the Middle East and the Americas ,” said Linda Chatman Thomsen, Director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement. “Our success in bringing the company to justice is a testament to the close, coordinated working relationship among the SEC, the U.S. Department of Justice, and other U.S. and international law enforcement, particularly the Office of the Prosecutor General in Munich .”
“Today’s announcement of the guilty pleas entered by Siemens AG and several of its regional companies reflects the FBI’s dedication to enforce the provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act,” said Joseph Persichini Jr., Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office. “Simply stated, it is a federal crime for U.S. citizens and companies traded on U.S. markets to pay bribes in return for business. The FBI will continue to assist its law enforcement partners to ensure that the corporate and business communities are not tarnished with violations of the kind we are presenting here today.”
“Complicated schemes involving high finance, bribery and corruption, particularly in the international arena, are often solved most efficiently through a multiple-agency approach to crime fighting,” said Eileen Mayer, Chief of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigation Division. “As the IRS expands its international presence and impact, we are proud to lend our financial investigative expertise to this formidable multi-agency approach that has culminated with today’s guilty pleas.”
The resolution of the U.S. criminal investigation of Siemens AG and its subsidiaries reflects, in large part, the actions of Siemens AG and its audit committee in disclosing potential FCPA violations to the Department after the Munich Public Prosecutor’s Office initiated searches of multiple Siemens AG offices and homes of Siemens AG employees. Siemens AG and its subsidiaries disclosed these violations after initiating an internal FCPA investigation of unprecedented scope; shared the results of that investigation with the Department efficiently and continuously; cooperated extensively and authentically with the Department in its ongoing investigation; took appropriate disciplinary action against individual wrongdoers, including senior management with involvement in or knowledge of the violations; and took remedial action, including the complete restructuring of Siemens AG and the implementation of a sophisticated compliance program and organization.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, Siemens AG agreed to retain an independent compliance monitor for a four-year period to oversee the continued implementation and maintenance of a robust compliance program and to make reports to the company and the Department of Justice. Siemens AG also agreed to continue fully cooperating with the Department in ongoing investigations of corrupt payments by company employees and agents.
Today, Siemens AG also reached a settlement of a related civil complaint filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), charging Siemens AG with violating the FCPA’s anti-bribery, books and records, and internal controls provisions in connection with many of its international operations including those discussed in the criminal charges. Siemens AG agreed to pay $350 million in disgorgement of profits relating to those violations.
Also today, Siemens AG agreed to a disposition resolving an ongoing investigation by the Munich Public Prosecutor’s Office of Siemens AG’s operating groups other than the Telecommunications group. The charges were based on corporate failure to supervise its officers and employees, and in connection with those charges Siemens AG agreed to pay €395 million or approximately $569 million, including a €250,000 corporate fine and €394.75 million in disgorgement of profits. In October 2007, in connection with charges related to corrupt payments to foreign officials by Siemens AG’s Telecommunications operating group, the Munich Public Prosecutor’s Office announced a settlement with Siemens AG under which Siemens AG agreed to pay €201 million, or approximately $287 million, including a €1 million fine and €200 million in disgorgement of profits.
In connection with the cases brought by the Department, the SEC and the Munich Public Prosecutor’s Office, Siemens AG will pay a combined total of more than $1.6 billion in fines, penalties and disgorgement of profits, including $800 million to U.S. authorities, making the combined U.S. penalties the largest monetary sanction ever imposed in an FCPA case since the act was passed by Congress in 1977.
The Department and the SEC closely collaborated with the Munich Public Prosecutor’s Office in bringing these cases. The high level of cooperation, including sharing information and evidence, was made possible by the use of mutual legal assistance provisions of the 1997 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, which entered into force on Feb. 15, 1999 .
The criminal case is being prosecuted by Deputy Chief Mark F. Mendelsohn and Trial Attorney Lori A. Weinstein of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, and by Assistant U.S. Attorney John D. Griffith from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia . The criminal case was investigated by FBI agents who are part of the Washington Field Office’s dedicated FCPA squad. Investigative assistance also was provided by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation.
The Department acknowledges and expresses its appreciation of the significant assistance provided by the staff of the SEC during the course of this investigation. The Department also acknowledges the exceptional help provided, in the form of mutual legal assistance, by the authorities of Germany , including in particular by the Munich Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Monday, December 15, 2008
CRM
(202) 514-2007
TDD (202) 514-1888
Siemens AG and Three Subsidiaries Plead Guilty to Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Violations and Agree to Pay $450 Million in Combined Criminal Fines
Coordinated Enforcement Actions by DOJ, SEC and German Authorities Result in Penalties of $1.6 Billion
WASHINGTON—Siemens Aktiengesellschaft (Siemens AG), a German corporation, and three of its subsidiaries today pleaded guilty to violations of and charges related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the Department of Justice and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced.
At a hearing before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon in the District of Columbia, Siemens AG pleaded guilty to a two-count information charging criminal violations of the FCPA’s internal controls and books and records provisions. Siemens S.A.- Argentina (Siemens Argentina) pleaded guilty to a one-count information charging conspiracy to violate the books and records provisions of the FCPA. Siemens Bangladesh Limited (Siemens Bangladesh) and Siemens S.A. - Venezuela (Siemens Venezuela), each pleaded guilty to separate one-count informations charging conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery and books and records provisions of the FCPA. As part of the plea agreements, Siemens AG agreed to pay a $448.5 million fine; and Siemens Argentina, Bangladesh , and Venezuela each agreed to pay a $500,000 fine, for a combined total criminal fine of $450 million.
According to court documents, beginning in the mid-1990s, Siemens AG engaged in systematic efforts to falsify its corporate books and records and knowingly failed to implement and circumvent existing internal controls. As a result of Siemens AG’s knowing failures in and circumvention of internal controls, from the time of its listing on the New York Stock Exchange on March 12, 2001, through approximately 2007, Siemens AG made payments totaling approximately $1.36 billion through various mechanisms. Of this amount, approximately $554.5 million was paid for unknown purposes, including approximately $341 million in direct payments to business consultants for unknown purposes. The remaining $805.5 million of this amount was intended in whole or in part as corrupt payments to foreign officials through the payment mechanisms, which included cash desks and slush funds.
From 2000 to 2002, four Siemens AG subsidiaries—Siemens S.A.S. of France (Siemens France), Siemens Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. of Turkey (Siemens Turkey), Osram Middle East FZE (Osram Middle East) and Gas Turbine Technologies S.p.A. (GTT)—each wholly owned by Siemens AG or one of its subsidiaries, were awarded 42 contracts with a combined value of more than $80 million with the Ministries of Electricity and Oil of the government of the Republic of Iraq under the United Nations Oil for Food Program. To obtain these contracts, Siemens France, Siemens Turkey, Osram Middle East and GTT paid a total of at least $1,736,076 in kickbacks to the Iraqi government, and they collectively earned more $38 million in profits on those 42 contracts. Siemens France, Siemens Turkey, Osram Middle East and GTT inflated the price of the contracts by approximately 10 percent before submitting them to the United Nations for approval and improperly characterized payments to purported business consultants, part of which were paid as kickbacks to the Iraqi government as “commissions” to the business consultants. For the relevant years, the books and records of Siemens France, Siemens Turkey, Osram Middle East and GTT, including those containing false characterizations of the kickbacks paid to the Iraqi government, were part of the books and records of Siemens AG.
As the charging and plea documents reflect, beginning around September 1998 and continuing until 2007, Siemens Argentina made and caused to be made significant payments to various Argentine officials, both directly and indirectly, in exchange for favorable business treatment in connection with a $1 billion national identity card project. From the date that Siemens AG became listed on the New York Stock Exchange on March 12, 2001, through approximately January 2007, Siemens Argentina made approximately $31,263,000 in corrupt payments to various Argentine officials through purported consultants and other conduit entities, and improperly characterized those corrupt payments in its books and records as legitimate payments for “consulting fees” or “legal fees.” Siemens Argentina’s books and records, including those containing the false characterizations of the corrupt payments, were part of the books and records of Siemens AG.
According to court documents, beginning around November 2001 and continuing until approximately May 2007, Siemens Venezuela admitted it made and caused to be made corrupt payments of at least $18,782,965 to various Venezuelan officials, indirectly through purported business consultants, in exchange for favorable business treatment in connection with two major metropolitan mass transit projects called Metro Valencia and Metro Maracaibo. Some of those payments were made using U.S. bank accounts controlled by the purported business consultants.
In the charging and plea documents, Siemens Bangladesh admitted that from May 2001 to August 2006, it caused corrupt payments of at least $5,319,839 to be made through purported business consultants to various Bangladeshi officials in exchange for favorable treatment during the bidding process on a mobile telephone project. At least one payment to each of these purported consultants was paid from a U.S. bank account.
“Today’s filings make clear that for much of its operations across the globe, bribery was nothing less than standard operating procedure for Siemens. It should be equally clear that Siemens has undertaken significant remedial measures, instituted real reforms and cooperated from the inception of this investigation,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Friedrich. “The Department and our international colleagues will continue our efforts to level the business playing field, making it free from corruption and fair to those who seek to participate in it.”
“The coordinated efforts of U.S. and German law enforcement authorities in this case set the standard for multi-national cooperation in the fight against corrupt business practices,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeffrey A. Taylor. “To its credit, Siemens has taken extraordinary steps to reveal its long-standing, systemic criminal conduct and it has fundamentally restructured its operations to make them transparent and honest going forward.”
“This pattern of bribery by Siemens was unprecedented in scale and geographic reach. The corruption involved more than $1.4 billion in bribes to government officials in Asia , Africa , Europe , the Middle East and the Americas ,” said Linda Chatman Thomsen, Director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement. “Our success in bringing the company to justice is a testament to the close, coordinated working relationship among the SEC, the U.S. Department of Justice, and other U.S. and international law enforcement, particularly the Office of the Prosecutor General in Munich .”
“Today’s announcement of the guilty pleas entered by Siemens AG and several of its regional companies reflects the FBI’s dedication to enforce the provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act,” said Joseph Persichini Jr., Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office. “Simply stated, it is a federal crime for U.S. citizens and companies traded on U.S. markets to pay bribes in return for business. The FBI will continue to assist its law enforcement partners to ensure that the corporate and business communities are not tarnished with violations of the kind we are presenting here today.”
“Complicated schemes involving high finance, bribery and corruption, particularly in the international arena, are often solved most efficiently through a multiple-agency approach to crime fighting,” said Eileen Mayer, Chief of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigation Division. “As the IRS expands its international presence and impact, we are proud to lend our financial investigative expertise to this formidable multi-agency approach that has culminated with today’s guilty pleas.”
The resolution of the U.S. criminal investigation of Siemens AG and its subsidiaries reflects, in large part, the actions of Siemens AG and its audit committee in disclosing potential FCPA violations to the Department after the Munich Public Prosecutor’s Office initiated searches of multiple Siemens AG offices and homes of Siemens AG employees. Siemens AG and its subsidiaries disclosed these violations after initiating an internal FCPA investigation of unprecedented scope; shared the results of that investigation with the Department efficiently and continuously; cooperated extensively and authentically with the Department in its ongoing investigation; took appropriate disciplinary action against individual wrongdoers, including senior management with involvement in or knowledge of the violations; and took remedial action, including the complete restructuring of Siemens AG and the implementation of a sophisticated compliance program and organization.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, Siemens AG agreed to retain an independent compliance monitor for a four-year period to oversee the continued implementation and maintenance of a robust compliance program and to make reports to the company and the Department of Justice. Siemens AG also agreed to continue fully cooperating with the Department in ongoing investigations of corrupt payments by company employees and agents.
Today, Siemens AG also reached a settlement of a related civil complaint filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), charging Siemens AG with violating the FCPA’s anti-bribery, books and records, and internal controls provisions in connection with many of its international operations including those discussed in the criminal charges. Siemens AG agreed to pay $350 million in disgorgement of profits relating to those violations.
Also today, Siemens AG agreed to a disposition resolving an ongoing investigation by the Munich Public Prosecutor’s Office of Siemens AG’s operating groups other than the Telecommunications group. The charges were based on corporate failure to supervise its officers and employees, and in connection with those charges Siemens AG agreed to pay €395 million or approximately $569 million, including a €250,000 corporate fine and €394.75 million in disgorgement of profits. In October 2007, in connection with charges related to corrupt payments to foreign officials by Siemens AG’s Telecommunications operating group, the Munich Public Prosecutor’s Office announced a settlement with Siemens AG under which Siemens AG agreed to pay €201 million, or approximately $287 million, including a €1 million fine and €200 million in disgorgement of profits.
In connection with the cases brought by the Department, the SEC and the Munich Public Prosecutor’s Office, Siemens AG will pay a combined total of more than $1.6 billion in fines, penalties and disgorgement of profits, including $800 million to U.S. authorities, making the combined U.S. penalties the largest monetary sanction ever imposed in an FCPA case since the act was passed by Congress in 1977.
The Department and the SEC closely collaborated with the Munich Public Prosecutor’s Office in bringing these cases. The high level of cooperation, including sharing information and evidence, was made possible by the use of mutual legal assistance provisions of the 1997 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, which entered into force on Feb. 15, 1999 .
The criminal case is being prosecuted by Deputy Chief Mark F. Mendelsohn and Trial Attorney Lori A. Weinstein of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, and by Assistant U.S. Attorney John D. Griffith from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia . The criminal case was investigated by FBI agents who are part of the Washington Field Office’s dedicated FCPA squad. Investigative assistance also was provided by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation.
The Department acknowledges and expresses its appreciation of the significant assistance provided by the staff of the SEC during the course of this investigation. The Department also acknowledges the exceptional help provided, in the form of mutual legal assistance, by the authorities of Germany , including in particular by the Munich Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Friday, December 12, 2008
It was not a good week for crooked politicians, lawmen and executives
See below.
The long arm of the law reached out and arrested a corrupt governor and took other actions against corrupt businessmen and lawmen.
Meanwhile, how deeply and thoroughly are federal officials scrutinizing St. Augustine and St. Johns County?
How soon will indictments be handed up?
(Yes, indictments are handed "up" -- to the judge, by the grand jury foreperson or court clerk or courtroom deputy. Of course, many American journalists don't know up from down and don't report it thattaway -- they say indictments are handed "down."
Will any white collar criminals in City Hall, the Courthouse or State Capital go unscathed?
The long arm of the law reached out and arrested a corrupt governor and took other actions against corrupt businessmen and lawmen.
Meanwhile, how deeply and thoroughly are federal officials scrutinizing St. Augustine and St. Johns County?
How soon will indictments be handed up?
(Yes, indictments are handed "up" -- to the judge, by the grand jury foreperson or court clerk or courtroom deputy. Of course, many American journalists don't know up from down and don't report it thattaway -- they say indictments are handed "down."
Will any white collar criminals in City Hall, the Courthouse or State Capital go unscathed?
USDOJ Press Release: Former Jailers Sentenced to Prison for Civil Rights Conspiracy, Causing Rape of Teenage Traffic Offender By Inmates
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, December 8, 2008
WWW.USDOJ.GOV
(202) 514-2007
TDD (202) 514-1888
Former Grant County, Kentucky Detention Center Officers Sentenced for Civil Rights Violations in Teenager Rape Case
WASHINGTON—Wesley Lanham, 31, and Shawn Freeman, 36, both former deputy jailers at Grant County Detention Center in Kentucky, were sentenced today on federal civil rights, conspiracy, and obstruction charges. Lanham was sentenced to 15 years in prison and 3 years of supervised release, and Freeman was sentenced to 14 years in prison and 3 years of supervised release. Both defendants were found guilty of conspiring to violate the civil rights of a teenaged traffic offender by arranging for him to be raped by inmates. The jury convicted the defendants on all charges and specifically found that the defendants were responsible for the aggravated sexual assault carried out by the inmates.
"Although nothing can fully heal the wounds inflicted on this teenager, hopefully the defendants’ sentences today will bring closure to this young man and his family," said Grace Chung Becker, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "His courage in coming forward helps to ensure that egregious acts such as this one will be appropriately punished, and facilitates the Justice Department’s efforts to ensure the integrity of law enforcement."
The case stemmed from an incident that occurred on Feb. 14, 2003, when the defendants, along with their supervisor, former Sergeant Shawn Sydnor, taunted an 18-year-old high school student who had been brought to the detention center on a speeding charge. The deputies teased the teenager about his physical appearance and told him that he would make a good "girlfriend" for the other inmates. The defendants then solicited a group of convicted felons housed in a general population cell to scare and "mess with" the teenager. After eliciting an agreement from the inmates, the officers left the teenager in the cell where he was sexually assaulted by the other inmates.
When the teenager’s father reported the incident and demanded an investigation, the defendants falsified their official reports relating to the treatment of the teenager.
A third defendant, former Sergeant at the jail, Clint Shawn Sydnor, previously pleaded guilty to civil rights and conspiracy charges and was sentenced earlier today to 90 months in prison.
This case was prosecuted by Special Litigation Counsel Kristy L. Parker and Trial Attorney Forrest Christian of the Criminal Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
###
08-1075
Monday, December 8, 2008
WWW.USDOJ.GOV
(202) 514-2007
TDD (202) 514-1888
Former Grant County, Kentucky Detention Center Officers Sentenced for Civil Rights Violations in Teenager Rape Case
WASHINGTON—Wesley Lanham, 31, and Shawn Freeman, 36, both former deputy jailers at Grant County Detention Center in Kentucky, were sentenced today on federal civil rights, conspiracy, and obstruction charges. Lanham was sentenced to 15 years in prison and 3 years of supervised release, and Freeman was sentenced to 14 years in prison and 3 years of supervised release. Both defendants were found guilty of conspiring to violate the civil rights of a teenaged traffic offender by arranging for him to be raped by inmates. The jury convicted the defendants on all charges and specifically found that the defendants were responsible for the aggravated sexual assault carried out by the inmates.
"Although nothing can fully heal the wounds inflicted on this teenager, hopefully the defendants’ sentences today will bring closure to this young man and his family," said Grace Chung Becker, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "His courage in coming forward helps to ensure that egregious acts such as this one will be appropriately punished, and facilitates the Justice Department’s efforts to ensure the integrity of law enforcement."
The case stemmed from an incident that occurred on Feb. 14, 2003, when the defendants, along with their supervisor, former Sergeant Shawn Sydnor, taunted an 18-year-old high school student who had been brought to the detention center on a speeding charge. The deputies teased the teenager about his physical appearance and told him that he would make a good "girlfriend" for the other inmates. The defendants then solicited a group of convicted felons housed in a general population cell to scare and "mess with" the teenager. After eliciting an agreement from the inmates, the officers left the teenager in the cell where he was sexually assaulted by the other inmates.
When the teenager’s father reported the incident and demanded an investigation, the defendants falsified their official reports relating to the treatment of the teenager.
A third defendant, former Sergeant at the jail, Clint Shawn Sydnor, previously pleaded guilty to civil rights and conspiracy charges and was sentenced earlier today to 90 months in prison.
This case was prosecuted by Special Litigation Counsel Kristy L. Parker and Trial Attorney Forrest Christian of the Criminal Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
###
08-1075
USDOJ Press Release: CEO Sentenced to 97 Months in Federal Prison in $3 billion fraud
For Immediate Release
December 11, 2008 Karen P. Hewitt, United States Attorney
Southern District of California
(619) 557-5610
Former Peregrine Systems, Inc. CEO to Serve 97 Months in Federal Prison
San Diego, CA - United States Attorney Karen P. Hewitt announced that Stephen Parker Gardner, former Chief Executive Officer of Peregrine Systems, Inc. (“Peregrine”), was sentenced today in federal court in San Diego by United States District Court Judge Thomas J. Whelan to serve 97 months in custody, based on his conviction on charges of conspiracy, securities fraud, and obstruction of justice, arising out of his participation in a scheme to defraud Peregrine’s shareholders between 1999 and 2002. Judge Whelan cited Gardner’s cooperation with federal authorities following his guilty plea in March 2007 and his testimony during the trial of his co-defendants as reasons that supported the sentence.
Judge Whelan ordered Gardner to serve a three-year term of supervised release following his release from prison. Judge Whelan also ordered Gardner to forfeit to the United States the proceeds from the sale of three parcels of real estate in Maine, approximately $970,032 from the sale of a fourth parcel of real estate, plus approximately $384,652 seized from his brokerage accounts. Judge Whelan will address restitution at a hearing on February 23, 2009.
According to evidence introduced in Gardner’s case, Peregrine was a business software company formerly headquartered in San Diego, California and had been one of the region’s most celebrated technology companies. Shares of Peregrine were publicly traded on the NASDAQ and for ten consecutive quarters between 1999 and 2001, Gardner and his co-schemers declared that Peregrine had met or exceeded Wall Street expectations for revenue and earnings. In truth, Gardner and others fraudulently manipulated Peregrine’s financial statements in order to deceptively meet these numbers, thereby fraudulently inflating and sustaining the price of Peregrine’s stock. The scheme employed a number of fraudulent practices designed to manipulate Peregrine’s revenue and earnings figures, including: (1) improperly keeping Peregrine’s books “open” past the end of the fiscal quarter and deceptively including in the prior fiscal period backdated contracts that had actually closed in later periods; (2) improperly recording revenue on contracts that were subject to oral and written side agreements and promises; and (3) concealing from Wall Street the fact that Peregrine counted revenue on “barter deals” – that is, sales that were dependent on Peregrine’s providing the purchaser with cash, equity, or orders for products or services.
According to court documents, in an effort to avoid restating revenues that had already been reported to Wall Street, Gardner and his co-schemers took steps to conceal from investors the fact that millions of dollars of Peregrine’s accounts receivable had not been collected. In addition, in an effort to avoid scrutiny from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), Gardner gave false and misleading testimony to the SEC about whether a series of “barter deals” booked by Peregrine were directly linked and predicated upon each other.
According to court files, Gardner was hired by Peregrine in 1997 as Vice President of Strategic Acquisitions, was promoted to President and Chief Executive Officer in April 1998, and accepted the title of Chairman of the Board of Directors in July 2000. During his time at the company, Gardner exercised stock options and sold thousands of shares of Peregrine stock, reaping approximately $8.2 million in net proceeds.
Gardner also took annual bonuses from Peregrine that at one point exceeded $1 million. When Peregrine publicly disclosed its accounting improprieties in May 2002, the company’s stock price collapsed. Peregrine later sought federal bankruptcy protection and eventually sold itself to Hewlett-Packard Company.
Shareholders have claimed losses in excess of $3 billion resulting from the fraudulent activities of Gardner and others.
United States Attorney Karen P. Hewitt stated, “The sentencing of former CEO Stephen Gardner is an important milestone demonstrating the commitment of the United States Attorney’s Office to combat corporate fraud in San Diego. Gardner and other top executives caused Peregrine to falsify its numbers to investors and took affirmative steps to hide the truth from the public and the authorities. They did so for financial gain and to advance their careers. This case should leave no doubt that stiff penalties await those tempted to engage in corporate fraud and cheat investors.”
FBI Special Agent in Charge Keith Slotter commented, “Today's sentencing is a testament to the criminal justice system at work for the American people. Those at Peregrine who were involved with these gross misrepresentations affected thousands of shareholders and workers throughout the country. These types of actions destroy confidence in our financial system and undermine efforts to convince corporate America to play by the rules. This sentencing should assure shareholders, Wall Street, and taxpayers that the FBI and our partners are committed to pursuing those who engage in these types of criminal activities.”
United States Attorney Hewitt praised the outstanding efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s San Diego Division and thanked the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement for working cooperatively with investigators and attorneys throughout this process.
Gardner was ordered to begin serving his sentence by February 20, 2009.
DEFENDANT Case Number: 04CR2605-W
Stephen Parker Gardner Age: 55
Maine
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Count 1: Conspiracy - Title 18, United States Code, Section 371
Count 2: Securities Fraud - Title 15, United States Code, Sections 78j(b) and 78ff, and Title 17, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 240.10b-5.
Count 46: Obstruction of Proceedings Before Departments, Agencies, and Committees -Title 18, United States Code, Section 1505.
AGENCIES
Federal Bureau of Investigation
United States Securities and Exchange Commission
December 11, 2008 Karen P. Hewitt, United States Attorney
Southern District of California
(619) 557-5610
Former Peregrine Systems, Inc. CEO to Serve 97 Months in Federal Prison
San Diego, CA - United States Attorney Karen P. Hewitt announced that Stephen Parker Gardner, former Chief Executive Officer of Peregrine Systems, Inc. (“Peregrine”), was sentenced today in federal court in San Diego by United States District Court Judge Thomas J. Whelan to serve 97 months in custody, based on his conviction on charges of conspiracy, securities fraud, and obstruction of justice, arising out of his participation in a scheme to defraud Peregrine’s shareholders between 1999 and 2002. Judge Whelan cited Gardner’s cooperation with federal authorities following his guilty plea in March 2007 and his testimony during the trial of his co-defendants as reasons that supported the sentence.
Judge Whelan ordered Gardner to serve a three-year term of supervised release following his release from prison. Judge Whelan also ordered Gardner to forfeit to the United States the proceeds from the sale of three parcels of real estate in Maine, approximately $970,032 from the sale of a fourth parcel of real estate, plus approximately $384,652 seized from his brokerage accounts. Judge Whelan will address restitution at a hearing on February 23, 2009.
According to evidence introduced in Gardner’s case, Peregrine was a business software company formerly headquartered in San Diego, California and had been one of the region’s most celebrated technology companies. Shares of Peregrine were publicly traded on the NASDAQ and for ten consecutive quarters between 1999 and 2001, Gardner and his co-schemers declared that Peregrine had met or exceeded Wall Street expectations for revenue and earnings. In truth, Gardner and others fraudulently manipulated Peregrine’s financial statements in order to deceptively meet these numbers, thereby fraudulently inflating and sustaining the price of Peregrine’s stock. The scheme employed a number of fraudulent practices designed to manipulate Peregrine’s revenue and earnings figures, including: (1) improperly keeping Peregrine’s books “open” past the end of the fiscal quarter and deceptively including in the prior fiscal period backdated contracts that had actually closed in later periods; (2) improperly recording revenue on contracts that were subject to oral and written side agreements and promises; and (3) concealing from Wall Street the fact that Peregrine counted revenue on “barter deals” – that is, sales that were dependent on Peregrine’s providing the purchaser with cash, equity, or orders for products or services.
According to court documents, in an effort to avoid restating revenues that had already been reported to Wall Street, Gardner and his co-schemers took steps to conceal from investors the fact that millions of dollars of Peregrine’s accounts receivable had not been collected. In addition, in an effort to avoid scrutiny from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), Gardner gave false and misleading testimony to the SEC about whether a series of “barter deals” booked by Peregrine were directly linked and predicated upon each other.
According to court files, Gardner was hired by Peregrine in 1997 as Vice President of Strategic Acquisitions, was promoted to President and Chief Executive Officer in April 1998, and accepted the title of Chairman of the Board of Directors in July 2000. During his time at the company, Gardner exercised stock options and sold thousands of shares of Peregrine stock, reaping approximately $8.2 million in net proceeds.
Gardner also took annual bonuses from Peregrine that at one point exceeded $1 million. When Peregrine publicly disclosed its accounting improprieties in May 2002, the company’s stock price collapsed. Peregrine later sought federal bankruptcy protection and eventually sold itself to Hewlett-Packard Company.
Shareholders have claimed losses in excess of $3 billion resulting from the fraudulent activities of Gardner and others.
United States Attorney Karen P. Hewitt stated, “The sentencing of former CEO Stephen Gardner is an important milestone demonstrating the commitment of the United States Attorney’s Office to combat corporate fraud in San Diego. Gardner and other top executives caused Peregrine to falsify its numbers to investors and took affirmative steps to hide the truth from the public and the authorities. They did so for financial gain and to advance their careers. This case should leave no doubt that stiff penalties await those tempted to engage in corporate fraud and cheat investors.”
FBI Special Agent in Charge Keith Slotter commented, “Today's sentencing is a testament to the criminal justice system at work for the American people. Those at Peregrine who were involved with these gross misrepresentations affected thousands of shareholders and workers throughout the country. These types of actions destroy confidence in our financial system and undermine efforts to convince corporate America to play by the rules. This sentencing should assure shareholders, Wall Street, and taxpayers that the FBI and our partners are committed to pursuing those who engage in these types of criminal activities.”
United States Attorney Hewitt praised the outstanding efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s San Diego Division and thanked the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement for working cooperatively with investigators and attorneys throughout this process.
Gardner was ordered to begin serving his sentence by February 20, 2009.
DEFENDANT Case Number: 04CR2605-W
Stephen Parker Gardner Age: 55
Maine
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Count 1: Conspiracy - Title 18, United States Code, Section 371
Count 2: Securities Fraud - Title 15, United States Code, Sections 78j(b) and 78ff, and Title 17, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 240.10b-5.
Count 46: Obstruction of Proceedings Before Departments, Agencies, and Committees -Title 18, United States Code, Section 1505.
AGENCIES
Federal Bureau of Investigation
United States Securities and Exchange Commission
USDOJ Press Release: Cleveland City Council Member Charged With Bribery
News Release
December 8, 2008
U.S. Department of Justice
United States Attorney
Northern District of Ohio
William J. Edwards
United States Attorney
Dean M. Valore
Assistant United States Attorney
216-622-3689
Cleveland City Council Member Charged With Bribery
William J. Edwards, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio and C. Frank Figliuzzi, Special Agent in Charge of the Cleveland Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, today announced that a one-count information was filed charging Cleveland City Council Member Robert J. White, III, age 47, of Cleveland, Ohio, with one count of bribery in violation of the Hobbs Act.
Count 1 of the information alleges that in or about late 2007, White accepted a $500 bribe from an unnamed Cleveland businessman who was cooperating with the FBI in exchange for the performance of his official duties as Ward 2 Councilman for the City of Cleveland.
The maximum potential penalty for conviction under the Hobbs Act violation is 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release following any period of incarceration. The court may determine the actual sentence under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which depend upon a number of factors unique to each case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, his role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation. The actual sentence may be less than the statutory maximum.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dean M. Valore following an investigation initiated by the Cleveland Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
An information is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
December 8, 2008
U.S. Department of Justice
United States Attorney
Northern District of Ohio
William J. Edwards
United States Attorney
Dean M. Valore
Assistant United States Attorney
216-622-3689
Cleveland City Council Member Charged With Bribery
William J. Edwards, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio and C. Frank Figliuzzi, Special Agent in Charge of the Cleveland Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, today announced that a one-count information was filed charging Cleveland City Council Member Robert J. White, III, age 47, of Cleveland, Ohio, with one count of bribery in violation of the Hobbs Act.
Count 1 of the information alleges that in or about late 2007, White accepted a $500 bribe from an unnamed Cleveland businessman who was cooperating with the FBI in exchange for the performance of his official duties as Ward 2 Councilman for the City of Cleveland.
The maximum potential penalty for conviction under the Hobbs Act violation is 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release following any period of incarceration. The court may determine the actual sentence under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which depend upon a number of factors unique to each case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, his role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation. The actual sentence may be less than the statutory maximum.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dean M. Valore following an investigation initiated by the Cleveland Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
An information is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
USDOJ Press Release: FORMER SENATOR WILKERSON AND CITY COUNCILOR TURNER INDICTED IN PUBLIC CORRUPTION CONSPIRACY
The United States Attorney's Office
District of Massachusetts
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 9, 2008
WWW.USDOJ.GOV/USAO/MA
CONTACT: CHRISTINA DiIORIO-STERLING
PHONE: (617) 748-3356
CHRISTINA.STERLING@USDOJ.GOV
FORMER SENATOR WILKERSON AND CITY COUNCILOR TURNER INDICTED IN PUBLIC CORRUPTION CONSPIRACY
BOSTON, MA—Former Massachusetts State Senator DIANNE WILKERSON and Boston City Councilor CHUCK TURNER were indicted this afternoon as co-conspirators on a federal public corruption charge.
United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan, Warren T. Bamford, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Boston Field Office and Police Commissioner Edward Davis of the Boston Police Department announced today that DIANNE WILKERSON, 53, of 74 Howland Street in Boston, Massachusetts, and CHARLES “CHUCK” TURNER, 68, of 63 Beech Glen Street, Boston, Massachusetts were charged by federal indictment this afternoon.
WILKERSON and TURNER were charged with conspiring to extort cash under color of official right. TURNER is also charged with one count of attempted extortion under color of official right in connection with his acceptance of $1,000 in cash to assist a Boston-area businessman obtain a liquor license, and three counts of false statements to FBI agents. In total, the indictment handed down today charges WILKERSON with nine federal felonies and TURNER with five federal felonies. The indictment also seeks forfeiture of the funds paid to WILKERSON and TURNER by undercover agents and a cooperating witness as part of an 18-month covert investigation into their alleged corrupt activities.
If convicted WILKERSON faces up to 20 years imprisonment, 3 years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine on each of the nine charges. If convicted TURNER faces up to 20 years imprisonment, 3 years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine on each of the two extortion charges. He faces up to 5 years imprisonment, 3 years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine on each of the three false statement charges
The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Boston Field Office, in conjunction with the Boston Police Department Anti-Corruption Unit and the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation - Boston Field Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John T. McNeil in Sullivan’s Public Corruption and Special Prosecutions Unit.
The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendants are presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
District of Massachusetts
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 9, 2008
WWW.USDOJ.GOV/USAO/MA
CONTACT: CHRISTINA DiIORIO-STERLING
PHONE: (617) 748-3356
CHRISTINA.STERLING@USDOJ.GOV
FORMER SENATOR WILKERSON AND CITY COUNCILOR TURNER INDICTED IN PUBLIC CORRUPTION CONSPIRACY
BOSTON, MA—Former Massachusetts State Senator DIANNE WILKERSON and Boston City Councilor CHUCK TURNER were indicted this afternoon as co-conspirators on a federal public corruption charge.
United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan, Warren T. Bamford, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Boston Field Office and Police Commissioner Edward Davis of the Boston Police Department announced today that DIANNE WILKERSON, 53, of 74 Howland Street in Boston, Massachusetts, and CHARLES “CHUCK” TURNER, 68, of 63 Beech Glen Street, Boston, Massachusetts were charged by federal indictment this afternoon.
WILKERSON and TURNER were charged with conspiring to extort cash under color of official right. TURNER is also charged with one count of attempted extortion under color of official right in connection with his acceptance of $1,000 in cash to assist a Boston-area businessman obtain a liquor license, and three counts of false statements to FBI agents. In total, the indictment handed down today charges WILKERSON with nine federal felonies and TURNER with five federal felonies. The indictment also seeks forfeiture of the funds paid to WILKERSON and TURNER by undercover agents and a cooperating witness as part of an 18-month covert investigation into their alleged corrupt activities.
If convicted WILKERSON faces up to 20 years imprisonment, 3 years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine on each of the nine charges. If convicted TURNER faces up to 20 years imprisonment, 3 years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine on each of the two extortion charges. He faces up to 5 years imprisonment, 3 years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine on each of the three false statement charges
The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Boston Field Office, in conjunction with the Boston Police Department Anti-Corruption Unit and the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation - Boston Field Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John T. McNeil in Sullivan’s Public Corruption and Special Prosecutions Unit.
The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendants are presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
USDOJ Press Release: INVESTMENT ADVISER AND FORMER CHAIRMAN OF NASDAQ STOCK MARKET ARRESTED FOR MULTIBILLION DOLLAR PONZI SCHEME
United States Attorney
Southern District of New York
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DECEMBER 11, 2008
WWW.USDOJ.GOV/USAO/NYS/
CONTACT: U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
YUSILL SCRIBNER
REBEKAH CARMICHAEL
(212) 637-2600
INVESTMENT ADVISER AND FORMER CHAIRMAN OF NASDAQ STOCK MARKET ARRESTED FOR MULTIBILLION DOLLAR PONZI SCHEME
NEW YORK - Bernard L. Madoff, the founder of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, a registered investment adviser, and former Chairman of the NASDAQ Stock Market, was arrested today and charged with one count of securities fraud, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Lev L. Dassin and Assistant Director-in-Charge of the FBI's New York Office Mark J. Mershon announced.
According to the complaint filed in Manhattan federal court, Bernard L. Madoff is the founder of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (the Firm), a securities broker dealer with its principal office in New York City. According to the Firm's website, the Firm: (a) "is a leading international market maker. The firm has been providing quality executions for broker-dealers, banks and financial institutions since its inception in 1960"; (b) "[w]ith more than $700 million in firm capital, Madoff currently ranks among the top 1% of U.S. Securities firms; and (c) "Clients know that Bernard Madoff has a personal interest in maintaining an unblemished record of value, fair-dealing, and high ethical standards that has always been the firm's hallmark."
According to two senior employees of the Firm (the Senior Employees), Madoff conducts certain investment advisory business for clients that is separate from the firm's proprietary trading and market making activities. According to the Senior Employees, Madoff ran his investment adviser business from a separate floor in the New York City offices of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC. According to a Senior Employee, Madoff kept the financial statements for the firm under lock and key, and Madoff was "cryptic" about the firm's investment advisory business.
According to a document filed by Madoff with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Jan.7, 2008, Madoff's investment advisory business served between 11 and 25 clients and had a total of approximately $17.1 billion in assets under management.
On Dec. 10, 2008, Madoff informed the Senior Employees, in substance, that his investment advisory business was a fraud. Madoff stated that he was "finished," that he had "absolutely nothing," that "it's all just one big lie," and that it was "basically, a giant Ponzi scheme. Madoff stated that the business was insolvent, and that it had been for years. Madoff also stated that he estimated the losses from this fraud to be at least approximately $50 billion. Madoff further informed the Senior Employees that, in approximately one week, he planned to surrender to authorities, but before he did that, he had approximately $200-300 million left, and he planned to use that money to make payments to certain selected employees, family and friends. Madoff, 70, currently resides in New York City.
The securities fraud charge in the complaint carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $5,000,000. Madoff is expected to be presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas F. Eaton today.
Mr. Dassin praised the investigative work of the FBI and thanked the SEC for its assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Litt is in charge of the prosecution. The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
###
Southern District of New York
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DECEMBER 11, 2008
WWW.USDOJ.GOV/USAO/NYS/
CONTACT: U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
YUSILL SCRIBNER
REBEKAH CARMICHAEL
(212) 637-2600
INVESTMENT ADVISER AND FORMER CHAIRMAN OF NASDAQ STOCK MARKET ARRESTED FOR MULTIBILLION DOLLAR PONZI SCHEME
NEW YORK - Bernard L. Madoff, the founder of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, a registered investment adviser, and former Chairman of the NASDAQ Stock Market, was arrested today and charged with one count of securities fraud, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Lev L. Dassin and Assistant Director-in-Charge of the FBI's New York Office Mark J. Mershon announced.
According to the complaint filed in Manhattan federal court, Bernard L. Madoff is the founder of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (the Firm), a securities broker dealer with its principal office in New York City. According to the Firm's website, the Firm: (a) "is a leading international market maker. The firm has been providing quality executions for broker-dealers, banks and financial institutions since its inception in 1960"; (b) "[w]ith more than $700 million in firm capital, Madoff currently ranks among the top 1% of U.S. Securities firms; and (c) "Clients know that Bernard Madoff has a personal interest in maintaining an unblemished record of value, fair-dealing, and high ethical standards that has always been the firm's hallmark."
According to two senior employees of the Firm (the Senior Employees), Madoff conducts certain investment advisory business for clients that is separate from the firm's proprietary trading and market making activities. According to the Senior Employees, Madoff ran his investment adviser business from a separate floor in the New York City offices of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC. According to a Senior Employee, Madoff kept the financial statements for the firm under lock and key, and Madoff was "cryptic" about the firm's investment advisory business.
According to a document filed by Madoff with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Jan.7, 2008, Madoff's investment advisory business served between 11 and 25 clients and had a total of approximately $17.1 billion in assets under management.
On Dec. 10, 2008, Madoff informed the Senior Employees, in substance, that his investment advisory business was a fraud. Madoff stated that he was "finished," that he had "absolutely nothing," that "it's all just one big lie," and that it was "basically, a giant Ponzi scheme. Madoff stated that the business was insolvent, and that it had been for years. Madoff also stated that he estimated the losses from this fraud to be at least approximately $50 billion. Madoff further informed the Senior Employees that, in approximately one week, he planned to surrender to authorities, but before he did that, he had approximately $200-300 million left, and he planned to use that money to make payments to certain selected employees, family and friends. Madoff, 70, currently resides in New York City.
The securities fraud charge in the complaint carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $5,000,000. Madoff is expected to be presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas F. Eaton today.
Mr. Dassin praised the investigative work of the FBI and thanked the SEC for its assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Litt is in charge of the prosecution. The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
###
A Modest Proposal: Letter to THOMAS GLAIZE MANUEL, Suggesting That He Release Transcripts and Video/Audio Tapes of FBI Surveillance in Bribery Case
Dear Tom:
May I suggest that you release all of the transcripts and tapes now? This would promote transparency and help uncover the truth. If you are the victim of entrapment, nothing could prove it swifter than opening it all to the public -- just as you did your interviews of County Administrator candidates. Wouldn't it be novel and newsworthy if a white collar defendant exercised his right to share discovery materials with the people and the press? This could help your attorney and investigators and pursue leads, helping lead to the "just, speedy and inexpensive determination" of your case. Compare F.R.Civ. P. Rule 1.
As Justice Louis Dembitz Brandeis said, "sunlight is the best disinfectant and electric light the best policeman."
With kindest regards, I am,
Sincerely yours,
Ed Slavin
Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida
www.cleanupcityofstaugutine.blogspot.com
P.O. Box 3084
St. Augustine, Florida 32085-3084
May I suggest that you release all of the transcripts and tapes now? This would promote transparency and help uncover the truth. If you are the victim of entrapment, nothing could prove it swifter than opening it all to the public -- just as you did your interviews of County Administrator candidates. Wouldn't it be novel and newsworthy if a white collar defendant exercised his right to share discovery materials with the people and the press? This could help your attorney and investigators and pursue leads, helping lead to the "just, speedy and inexpensive determination" of your case. Compare F.R.Civ. P. Rule 1.
As Justice Louis Dembitz Brandeis said, "sunlight is the best disinfectant and electric light the best policeman."
With kindest regards, I am,
Sincerely yours,
Ed Slavin
Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida
www.cleanupcityofstaugutine.blogspot.com
P.O. Box 3084
St. Augustine, Florida 32085-3084
DOJ PRESS RELEASE: NY State Legislator Indicted for Corruption
United States Attorney Southern District of New York
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DECEMBER 10, 2008
CONTACT:
U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
YUSILL SCRIBNER
REBEKAH CARMICHAEL
JANICE OH
PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
(212) 637-2600
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLYMAN INDICTED FOR HONEST SERVICES MAIL FRAUD
LEV L. DASSIN, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that a federal grand jury in Manhattan returned an Indictment today charging ANTHONY SEMINERIO, a New York State Assemblyman, with one count of honest services mail fraud. SEMINERIO, who has served as a member of the Assembly representing New York's 38th Assembly district in Queens since approximately 1978, was previously charged in a criminal Complaint filed in federal court on September 9, 2008. According to the Indictment filed today in Manhattan federal court:
From approximately April 2000 through September 2008, SEMINERIO defrauded the public of his honest services as a member of the Assembly by using an alleged consulting firm, Marc Consultants, to solicit and receive “consulting” payments from persons and entities having business before the State of New York.
SEMINERIO, however, did little or no consulting work. Instead, SEMINERIO received approximately $1 million from various entities with business before the State of New York, in connection with his position as a member of the Assembly and with the performance of his official duties, resulting in favorable treatment for those entities in New York State Government. The entities that made these payments included hospitals and related entities; a consulting firm associated with an educational institution; and a firm engaged in marketing supplemental insurance packages to public institutions.
SEMINERIO, 73, of Queens, New York, faces a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment on the charge set forth in the indictment.
This case is assigned to United States District Judge JOHN G. KOELTL.
Mr. DASSIN praised the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys DANIEL STEIN and WILLIAM HARRINGTON are in charge of the prosecution.
The charge contained in the Indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DECEMBER 10, 2008
CONTACT:
U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
YUSILL SCRIBNER
REBEKAH CARMICHAEL
JANICE OH
PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
(212) 637-2600
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLYMAN INDICTED FOR HONEST SERVICES MAIL FRAUD
LEV L. DASSIN, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that a federal grand jury in Manhattan returned an Indictment today charging ANTHONY SEMINERIO, a New York State Assemblyman, with one count of honest services mail fraud. SEMINERIO, who has served as a member of the Assembly representing New York's 38th Assembly district in Queens since approximately 1978, was previously charged in a criminal Complaint filed in federal court on September 9, 2008. According to the Indictment filed today in Manhattan federal court:
From approximately April 2000 through September 2008, SEMINERIO defrauded the public of his honest services as a member of the Assembly by using an alleged consulting firm, Marc Consultants, to solicit and receive “consulting” payments from persons and entities having business before the State of New York.
SEMINERIO, however, did little or no consulting work. Instead, SEMINERIO received approximately $1 million from various entities with business before the State of New York, in connection with his position as a member of the Assembly and with the performance of his official duties, resulting in favorable treatment for those entities in New York State Government. The entities that made these payments included hospitals and related entities; a consulting firm associated with an educational institution; and a firm engaged in marketing supplemental insurance packages to public institutions.
SEMINERIO, 73, of Queens, New York, faces a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment on the charge set forth in the indictment.
This case is assigned to United States District Judge JOHN G. KOELTL.
Mr. DASSIN praised the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys DANIEL STEIN and WILLIAM HARRINGTON are in charge of the prosecution.
The charge contained in the Indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Schiller Park Blog: Why More and More Politicians Are Rotten to the Core
Why More and More Politicians Are Rotten to the Core
by Matt Towery
That the governor of Illinois would attempt to sell a U.S. Senate seat didn’t shock me. Across America, there is a growing sense of entitlement among more and more elected officials. Not all, of course, but too many.
From city councils to Congress, elected positions have evolved from their intended part-time status to full-time obsessions. And as governments have grown, so have their access to big money. Political leaders now hold life-and-death fiscal power over people and businesses.
Most states’ legislatures were designed to be part-time, citizens’ deliberative bodies. The harvest schedules of old agrarian societies were a reason. So were comparatively modest government budgets.
Now most state legislators, no matter how green, are approached from the start of their terms by genuflecting lobbyists, business leaders and civic groups. These legislators understand that their new jobs are essentially year-round ones. Committee meetings, special sessions and the like are essentially gimmickry to keep elected officials in their respective capital cities as often as possible.
How do these people make a living? There’s the hitch. Some are independently wealthy. Some own companies they don’t run. Others have understanding bosses. But in way too many cases, elected officials are drawn to elective or appointed office for the power and prestige. Only later do they realize they’ve got no way to pay for the necessities of life, much less for the conspicuous consumption they continually see as part of the world of elected officials.
This explains why someone as powerful as Illinois Governor Rod “They Owe Me” Blagojevich can feel that his salary just isn’t enough, and that maybe he and his wife should be paid handsomely so that some lucky person can replace Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate.
Please know that there are countless decent and hardworking people holding elected office in America. But their numbers are dwindling. Too many talented people work in the private sector instead of the public one. It’s simply about economic security.
Too many people are attracted to elective office to satisfy their own egos. They’re willing to sacrifice family and personal economic responsibility so that they can regularly get their rear ends kissed. It’s sad, but it’s true. Believe me.
Some states have gotten smart. Florida has a total ban on gifts and gratuities to its elected officials. That helps. But efforts like these don’t eliminate the arrogance and sense of entitlement that make some part-time public officials feel entitled to honor and tribute at every turn.
Things have just gotten out of control, folks. Now, in many states, an election for a legislative position that pays under $20,000 can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to win. That’s appalling and absurd.
I’ve spent my entire adult life either around elected officials or, for several years, as one myself. I’ve watched as what was meant to be temporary public service turned into unending self-service. I can’t tell you how many elected officials now expect the finest meals, tickets to prestigious events and so on. Some completely neglect their families, both financially and emotionally.
Something must be done to make public service a reality and not just a campaign slogan. Either let’s pay these people what it takes to attract the kind of talent really good leadership demands; or let’s put more limitations on their power. Otherwise, the Illinois governor may be the vanguard of a long train of public service felons to come in the years ahead.
by Matt Towery
That the governor of Illinois would attempt to sell a U.S. Senate seat didn’t shock me. Across America, there is a growing sense of entitlement among more and more elected officials. Not all, of course, but too many.
From city councils to Congress, elected positions have evolved from their intended part-time status to full-time obsessions. And as governments have grown, so have their access to big money. Political leaders now hold life-and-death fiscal power over people and businesses.
Most states’ legislatures were designed to be part-time, citizens’ deliberative bodies. The harvest schedules of old agrarian societies were a reason. So were comparatively modest government budgets.
Now most state legislators, no matter how green, are approached from the start of their terms by genuflecting lobbyists, business leaders and civic groups. These legislators understand that their new jobs are essentially year-round ones. Committee meetings, special sessions and the like are essentially gimmickry to keep elected officials in their respective capital cities as often as possible.
How do these people make a living? There’s the hitch. Some are independently wealthy. Some own companies they don’t run. Others have understanding bosses. But in way too many cases, elected officials are drawn to elective or appointed office for the power and prestige. Only later do they realize they’ve got no way to pay for the necessities of life, much less for the conspicuous consumption they continually see as part of the world of elected officials.
This explains why someone as powerful as Illinois Governor Rod “They Owe Me” Blagojevich can feel that his salary just isn’t enough, and that maybe he and his wife should be paid handsomely so that some lucky person can replace Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate.
Please know that there are countless decent and hardworking people holding elected office in America. But their numbers are dwindling. Too many talented people work in the private sector instead of the public one. It’s simply about economic security.
Too many people are attracted to elective office to satisfy their own egos. They’re willing to sacrifice family and personal economic responsibility so that they can regularly get their rear ends kissed. It’s sad, but it’s true. Believe me.
Some states have gotten smart. Florida has a total ban on gifts and gratuities to its elected officials. That helps. But efforts like these don’t eliminate the arrogance and sense of entitlement that make some part-time public officials feel entitled to honor and tribute at every turn.
Things have just gotten out of control, folks. Now, in many states, an election for a legislative position that pays under $20,000 can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to win. That’s appalling and absurd.
I’ve spent my entire adult life either around elected officials or, for several years, as one myself. I’ve watched as what was meant to be temporary public service turned into unending self-service. I can’t tell you how many elected officials now expect the finest meals, tickets to prestigious events and so on. Some completely neglect their families, both financially and emotionally.
Something must be done to make public service a reality and not just a campaign slogan. Either let’s pay these people what it takes to attract the kind of talent really good leadership demands; or let’s put more limitations on their power. Otherwise, the Illinois governor may be the vanguard of a long train of public service felons to come in the years ahead.
Manuel trial delay granted
Manuel trial delay granted
Judge postpones it until April 6
From staff
Publication Date: 12/12/08
U.S. District Judge Marcia Morales Howard on Thursday ordered that former St. Johns County Commissioner Tom Manuel's federal bribery trial will be postponed until April 6.
Howard had previously turned down an earlier motion by Manuel's lawyers, William Sheppard and D. Gray Thomas of Jacksonville, to delay the trial for six months.
The two attorneys refiled the motion Wednesday, and it was approved Thursday morning.
Manuel is accused of accepting $60,000 in cash from two undercover informants during an 18-month investigation by the FBI.
In the course of that investigation, the FBI made more than 42 video or audio recordings of Manuel. Manuel's attorneys argued that the sheer number of recordings and other evidence made it impossible to be ready for trial on Jan. 6.
The judge agreed, saying, "This case is stricken from the January 2009 calendar."
Click here to return to story:
http://staugustine.com/stories/121208/news_1212_035.shtml
© The St. Augustine Record
Judge postpones it until April 6
From staff
Publication Date: 12/12/08
U.S. District Judge Marcia Morales Howard on Thursday ordered that former St. Johns County Commissioner Tom Manuel's federal bribery trial will be postponed until April 6.
Howard had previously turned down an earlier motion by Manuel's lawyers, William Sheppard and D. Gray Thomas of Jacksonville, to delay the trial for six months.
The two attorneys refiled the motion Wednesday, and it was approved Thursday morning.
Manuel is accused of accepting $60,000 in cash from two undercover informants during an 18-month investigation by the FBI.
In the course of that investigation, the FBI made more than 42 video or audio recordings of Manuel. Manuel's attorneys argued that the sheer number of recordings and other evidence made it impossible to be ready for trial on Jan. 6.
The judge agreed, saying, "This case is stricken from the January 2009 calendar."
Click here to return to story:
http://staugustine.com/stories/121208/news_1212_035.shtml
© The St. Augustine Record
ABA Journal: No Bright Line Between Political Favors and Illegal ‘Personal Piggery’
Government Law
No Bright Line Between Political Favors and Illegal ‘Personal Piggery’
Posted Dec 11, 2008, 04:59 pm CST
By Martha Neil
Concerning the accusation by federal prosecutors that Ill. Gov. Rod Blagojevich, in effect, tried to sell President-elect Barack Obama's vacant U.S. Senate seat to the highest bidder, it isn't difficult to see the legal issue that is posed by such alleged conduct.
But both in criminal cases and the court of public opinion, such claimed "personal piggery" is viewed quite differently from ordinary political favors, crisis management specialist Eric Dezenhall tells the Associated Press. (see below)
"Taking money in exchange for official government action is clearly illegal. But it may be just savvy politics when a governor names his political rival a state judge so she won't oppose him next election," the news agency writes in a lengthy article seeking to define what does and does not fall into the prohibited category.
AP: A crime or just politics _ where's the line?
December 11, 2008
A crime or just politics _ where's the line?
By NANCY BENAC
Associated Press Writer
Politicians make deals every day. They do favors and ask them in return. They kowtow to campaign contributors.
It may be unsavory, but it's often perfectly legal.
The prosecutors who arrested Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich say his conduct went far beyond politics-as-usual into a shocking pattern of corruption. But where's the line?
There's a vast gray area in which political dealmaking flourishes.
President-elect Barack Obama acknowledged as much Thursday, speaking of wheelers and dealers who ask "what's in it for me?"
The charges against Blagojevich represent "the far end of the spectrum of that business mentality of politics," Obama said. "But there are more subtle examples of it, right, that are within the lines of legality but still don't fulfill the spirit of service."
Joseph diGenova, a former prosecutor now in private practice, said political corruption can be a bit like obscenity — hard to describe, but "you know it when you see it."
He said it's especially hard to prove criminal behavior involving campaign contributions, as opposed to personal enrichment.
"It's not like, 'Gimme $50,000 in a black bag and I'll give you the nomination,'" diGenova said.
"People give campaign contributions and expect things in exchange," he said. "It's all perfectly legal."
So it's a given that politicians sometimes indulge in a form of give-and-take.
"Deals are made all the time in politics," said Daniel Lowenstein, a professor at UCLA Law School. "Our system couldn't operate without it."
Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, announcing the criminal complaint against Blagojevich, said he wasn't "trying to criminalize people making political horse trades on policies or that sort of thing. But it is criminal when people are doing it for their personal enrichment."
The line is crossed, diGenova said, when an official act is paid for with money or something else of value. Some of the proposed dealmaking discussed by Blagojevich in his taped conversations might make people gasp, he said, but isn't necessarily criminal.
Some others agree.
"A lot of these issues do fall into a gray area, where it may be hard to distinguish between politics as usual, practices that go on in statehouses all over the country, and criminal conduct," said defense attorney Ross Garber, who was counsel to Connecticut Gov. John G. Rowland during an FBI investigation. "There's an ambiguous area between this political horse trading and improper conduct."
Rowland pleaded guilty to a federal corruption charge and served 10 months in prison. He admitted trading access to his office for more than $100,000 in vacations, charter airline trips and home repairs.
Taking money in exchange for official government action is clearly illegal. But it may be just savvy politics when a governor names his political rival a state judge so she won't oppose him next election.
What about when Hillary Rodham Clinton endorses Barack Obama, who helps pay off her campaign debt and then names her secretary of state? No allegations of a crime there.
The Blagojevich case offers a lot to look at.
"I want to make money," Blagojevich said in a taped conversation, according to prosecutors.
If it's proven that Blagojevich tried to sell a Senate seat for personal gain, that's clearly illegal.
But offering to appoint Obama's favored candidate to the seat in exchange for a Cabinet position sounds more like the kind of deal that happens all the time.
"When a governor says that a political appointment is valuable, well, that's true," Garber said. "A political appointment is valuable. But in this case, prosecutors say the governor was talking about monetary value and that's the problem."
In at least one of the allegations, prosecutors say the governor and aide John Harris obtained financial gain for Blagojevich, his family and his campaign in exchange for appointments to state boards and access to state contracts.
Eric Dezenhall, a crisis management specialist who advises corporations and high-profile people who get in hot water, said the problem with Blagojevich, based upon initial reports, is that "his behavior appears to be a nakedly self-aggrandizing cash proposition."
"Both in the courts and in the media, the crux of his defense must be differentiating between garden-variety quid pro quo and personal piggery," Dezenhall said. "People understand politicians being politicians; they don't understand politicians mugging old ladies for a loaf of marble rye."
Or, as in Blagojevich's case, allegedly threatening to withhold government money for a children's hospital because its CEO hadn't coughed up enough campaign contributions.
Former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo said Blagojevich's situation is more a case of "politics as absurd" than politics as usual.
"Normally, there is subtlety in these attempts at self-serving, but here there was no subtlety," he said. "The fact that it was attended by colorful, disgusting language made it even more insulting to the public."
Stripping away all of that drama, Cuomo said, "the basic question is one that's omnipresent. It's the quid pro quo situation," suggesting an exchange of this for that.
Prosecutors called Blagojevich's conduct "appalling," a characterization that drew little argument. Next comes the challenge of proving it illegal.
___
Associated Press Writer Matt Apuzzo contributed to this story.
A crime or just politics _ where's the line?
By NANCY BENAC
Associated Press Writer
Politicians make deals every day. They do favors and ask them in return. They kowtow to campaign contributors.
It may be unsavory, but it's often perfectly legal.
The prosecutors who arrested Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich say his conduct went far beyond politics-as-usual into a shocking pattern of corruption. But where's the line?
There's a vast gray area in which political dealmaking flourishes.
President-elect Barack Obama acknowledged as much Thursday, speaking of wheelers and dealers who ask "what's in it for me?"
The charges against Blagojevich represent "the far end of the spectrum of that business mentality of politics," Obama said. "But there are more subtle examples of it, right, that are within the lines of legality but still don't fulfill the spirit of service."
Joseph diGenova, a former prosecutor now in private practice, said political corruption can be a bit like obscenity — hard to describe, but "you know it when you see it."
He said it's especially hard to prove criminal behavior involving campaign contributions, as opposed to personal enrichment.
"It's not like, 'Gimme $50,000 in a black bag and I'll give you the nomination,'" diGenova said.
"People give campaign contributions and expect things in exchange," he said. "It's all perfectly legal."
So it's a given that politicians sometimes indulge in a form of give-and-take.
"Deals are made all the time in politics," said Daniel Lowenstein, a professor at UCLA Law School. "Our system couldn't operate without it."
Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, announcing the criminal complaint against Blagojevich, said he wasn't "trying to criminalize people making political horse trades on policies or that sort of thing. But it is criminal when people are doing it for their personal enrichment."
The line is crossed, diGenova said, when an official act is paid for with money or something else of value. Some of the proposed dealmaking discussed by Blagojevich in his taped conversations might make people gasp, he said, but isn't necessarily criminal.
Some others agree.
"A lot of these issues do fall into a gray area, where it may be hard to distinguish between politics as usual, practices that go on in statehouses all over the country, and criminal conduct," said defense attorney Ross Garber, who was counsel to Connecticut Gov. John G. Rowland during an FBI investigation. "There's an ambiguous area between this political horse trading and improper conduct."
Rowland pleaded guilty to a federal corruption charge and served 10 months in prison. He admitted trading access to his office for more than $100,000 in vacations, charter airline trips and home repairs.
Taking money in exchange for official government action is clearly illegal. But it may be just savvy politics when a governor names his political rival a state judge so she won't oppose him next election.
What about when Hillary Rodham Clinton endorses Barack Obama, who helps pay off her campaign debt and then names her secretary of state? No allegations of a crime there.
The Blagojevich case offers a lot to look at.
"I want to make money," Blagojevich said in a taped conversation, according to prosecutors.
If it's proven that Blagojevich tried to sell a Senate seat for personal gain, that's clearly illegal.
But offering to appoint Obama's favored candidate to the seat in exchange for a Cabinet position sounds more like the kind of deal that happens all the time.
"When a governor says that a political appointment is valuable, well, that's true," Garber said. "A political appointment is valuable. But in this case, prosecutors say the governor was talking about monetary value and that's the problem."
In at least one of the allegations, prosecutors say the governor and aide John Harris obtained financial gain for Blagojevich, his family and his campaign in exchange for appointments to state boards and access to state contracts.
Eric Dezenhall, a crisis management specialist who advises corporations and high-profile people who get in hot water, said the problem with Blagojevich, based upon initial reports, is that "his behavior appears to be a nakedly self-aggrandizing cash proposition."
"Both in the courts and in the media, the crux of his defense must be differentiating between garden-variety quid pro quo and personal piggery," Dezenhall said. "People understand politicians being politicians; they don't understand politicians mugging old ladies for a loaf of marble rye."
Or, as in Blagojevich's case, allegedly threatening to withhold government money for a children's hospital because its CEO hadn't coughed up enough campaign contributions.
Former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo said Blagojevich's situation is more a case of "politics as absurd" than politics as usual.
"Normally, there is subtlety in these attempts at self-serving, but here there was no subtlety," he said. "The fact that it was attended by colorful, disgusting language made it even more insulting to the public."
Stripping away all of that drama, Cuomo said, "the basic question is one that's omnipresent. It's the quid pro quo situation," suggesting an exchange of this for that.
Prosecutors called Blagojevich's conduct "appalling," a characterization that drew little argument. Next comes the challenge of proving it illegal.
___
Associated Press Writer Matt Apuzzo contributed to this story.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
IN HAEC VERBA: INDICTED REPUBLICAN COUNTY COMMISSION CHAIRMAN THOMAS GLAIZE MANUEL'S BRIBERY TRIAL SET FOR APRIL 2009 TERM OF FEDERAL COURT IN JAX
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
JACKSONVILLE DIVISION
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
v.
THOMAS G. MANUEL
_________________________________
Case No. 3:08-cr-370-J-34HTS
O R D E R
This cause is before the Court on Defendant Thomas G. Manuel’s Amended
Unopposed Second Motion for Continuance (Dkt. No. 48; Motion) filed on December 10,
2008. In the Motion, Defendant requests that the Court continue the trial and other
proceedings in this matter for three months. See Motion at 1. In support of the Motion, defense counsel asserts that this case involves approximately 42 lengthy audio and/or audio/video recordings that need to be transcribed, reviewed and analyzed, and that a significant amount of legal work and investigation needs to be done in order to properly advise Defendant on how to proceed with this matter. See id. at 1-2. Defense counsel represents to the Court that Defendant consents to the requested continuance and that counsel for the government does not object to the relief requested in the Motion. See id. at 2. After due consideration, it is
ORDERED:
1. Defendant Thomas G. Manuel’s Amended Unopposed Second Motion for
Continuance (Dkt. No. 48) is GRANTED.
2. This case is continued to the April 2009 trial term, commencing on April 6,
2009. In light of the voluminous and lengthy recordings and defense counsel’s
representation that a significant amount of legal work and investigation must be done in order to properly advise Defendant on how to proceed with this matter, the Court finds that “the ends of justice served by the granting of such continuance outweigh the best interests of the public and the defendant in a speedy trial.” 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(8)(A). The Court, therefore, determines that the time from today until the end of the April 2009 trial term shall be "excludable time" pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h).
3. This case is stricken from the January 2009 trial calendar and defense
counsel is relieved of the obligation of attending the status conference previously scheduled for December 15, 2008, at 3:00 p.m. Another status conference is scheduled for March 23, 2009, at 3:00 p.m. before the undersigned in Courtroom 10B, Tenth Floor, United States Courthouse, 300 North Hogan Street, Jacksonville, Florida.
DONE AND ORDERED at Jacksonville, Florida, this 11th day of December, 2008.
MARCIA MORALES HOWARD
United States District Judge
ja
Copies to:
Counsel of Record
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
JACKSONVILLE DIVISION
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
v.
THOMAS G. MANUEL
_________________________________
Case No. 3:08-cr-370-J-34HTS
O R D E R
This cause is before the Court on Defendant Thomas G. Manuel’s Amended
Unopposed Second Motion for Continuance (Dkt. No. 48; Motion) filed on December 10,
2008. In the Motion, Defendant requests that the Court continue the trial and other
proceedings in this matter for three months. See Motion at 1. In support of the Motion, defense counsel asserts that this case involves approximately 42 lengthy audio and/or audio/video recordings that need to be transcribed, reviewed and analyzed, and that a significant amount of legal work and investigation needs to be done in order to properly advise Defendant on how to proceed with this matter. See id. at 1-2. Defense counsel represents to the Court that Defendant consents to the requested continuance and that counsel for the government does not object to the relief requested in the Motion. See id. at 2. After due consideration, it is
ORDERED:
1. Defendant Thomas G. Manuel’s Amended Unopposed Second Motion for
Continuance (Dkt. No. 48) is GRANTED.
2. This case is continued to the April 2009 trial term, commencing on April 6,
2009. In light of the voluminous and lengthy recordings and defense counsel’s
representation that a significant amount of legal work and investigation must be done in order to properly advise Defendant on how to proceed with this matter, the Court finds that “the ends of justice served by the granting of such continuance outweigh the best interests of the public and the defendant in a speedy trial.” 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(8)(A). The Court, therefore, determines that the time from today until the end of the April 2009 trial term shall be "excludable time" pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h).
3. This case is stricken from the January 2009 trial calendar and defense
counsel is relieved of the obligation of attending the status conference previously scheduled for December 15, 2008, at 3:00 p.m. Another status conference is scheduled for March 23, 2009, at 3:00 p.m. before the undersigned in Courtroom 10B, Tenth Floor, United States Courthouse, 300 North Hogan Street, Jacksonville, Florida.
DONE AND ORDERED at Jacksonville, Florida, this 11th day of December, 2008.
MARCIA MORALES HOWARD
United States District Judge
ja
Copies to:
Counsel of Record
Possible Local Nominees for Next Year's :Falsies Awards" (See below)
1. PLAZABUM.COM, where disreputable local public officials, their families, entourages and government contractors (pay-to-play or otherwise) trash-talk anyone who criticizes them, hiding behind anonymity, except for NANCY SIKES-KLINE (long BullG8R Lady on Talk of the Town and Plazabum.com), who has posted in her own name. The "Anonymice" are a disgrace to the human race with their threats at protected activity and their constant, lying, "anonymice" spin.
2. FIRST COAST NEWS, for its antitrust-violating, FCC-rubberstamped combination of the newsrooms of both ABC and NBC affiliates, decreasing competition in news.
3. MORRIS COMMUNICATIONS, for its too-frequent "spin" and coverups, culminating in the firing of cartoonist Ed Hall. For more, see the Daily Cartoonist website.
4. CULTURAL COUNCIL PHILIP A. MCDANIEL, for pressuring the Record to fire Ed Hall with his slashing, emotional attack on Ed Hall's November 30, 2008 political cartoon.
5. THOMAS GLAIZE MANUEL, County Commission Chairman, for portraying himself as a reformer, while allegedly taking $60,000 in cash bribes from lawyer GEORGE McCLURE and a developer.
6. ST. JOHNS COUNTY REPUBLICANS, for stealing signs in the dark of night while the State's Attorney (defeated Republican JOHN TANNER) offered a $500 reward for their arrest.
7. ST. AUGUSTINE CITY GOVERNMENT, for covering up environmental violations, resulting in two consent orders for illegal dumping (of solid waste in the Old City Reservoir and of sewage effluent into our saltwater marsh), with no criminal charges by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Meanwhile, our Nation's Oddest (and Oldest) City is still refusing to post pertinent documents on its website -- not even Commission meeting agenda item background (which is already posted by our County and our Water Management District).
2. FIRST COAST NEWS, for its antitrust-violating, FCC-rubberstamped combination of the newsrooms of both ABC and NBC affiliates, decreasing competition in news.
3. MORRIS COMMUNICATIONS, for its too-frequent "spin" and coverups, culminating in the firing of cartoonist Ed Hall. For more, see the Daily Cartoonist website.
4. CULTURAL COUNCIL PHILIP A. MCDANIEL, for pressuring the Record to fire Ed Hall with his slashing, emotional attack on Ed Hall's November 30, 2008 political cartoon.
5. THOMAS GLAIZE MANUEL, County Commission Chairman, for portraying himself as a reformer, while allegedly taking $60,000 in cash bribes from lawyer GEORGE McCLURE and a developer.
6. ST. JOHNS COUNTY REPUBLICANS, for stealing signs in the dark of night while the State's Attorney (defeated Republican JOHN TANNER) offered a $500 reward for their arrest.
7. ST. AUGUSTINE CITY GOVERNMENT, for covering up environmental violations, resulting in two consent orders for illegal dumping (of solid waste in the Old City Reservoir and of sewage effluent into our saltwater marsh), with no criminal charges by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Meanwhile, our Nation's Oddest (and Oldest) City is still refusing to post pertinent documents on its website -- not even Commission meeting agenda item background (which is already posted by our County and our Water Management District).
Center for Media and Democracy: 2008 Falsies Awards Target Deceptive "News," PR, Propaganda
Published on Center for Media and Democracy (http://www.prwatch.org)
http://www.prwatch.org/node/8055/print
The 2008 Falsies Awards: In Memory of the First Casualty
By Diane Farsetta
Created 12/10/2008 - 16:07
There's nothing quite like a hotly contested election. The candidates have their devoted supporters and angry detractors. Then there are vigorous debates over the issues, while some people question the integrity of the entire process.
We speak, of course, of the Falsies Awards.
Part of the coveted AwardsThis year marks the Center for Media and Democracy's (CMD's) fifth annual Falsies Awards. The Falsies are our attempt to shine an unflattering light on those responsible for polluting the information environment over the past year. We're happy to report that more people -- nearly 1,450 -- voted in this year's Falsies survey than ever before! We're also bestowing special recognition on one of this year's "winners."
Falsies recipients can collect their prizes -- a pair of Groucho Marx glasses, our two cents and a chance to atone for their spinning ways by making a detailed public apology -- by visiting CMD's office in Madison, Wisconsin. This year's Gold and Silver Falsies go to masters of war deception, while the Bronze Falsie recognizes a massive greenwash campaign. The first-ever Lifetime Achievement Falsie goes to a serial corporate front man, while a determined (if at times laughable) attempt at nation re-branding wins dishonorable mention. Then there are the Readers' Choice Falsies and Win Against Spin Awards, nominated by our survey participants.
That's a lot to cover, so without further ado, the winners of the 2008 Falsies Awards are ...
Golden Falsie: The Propaganda Pundits
You could call it General (ret.) Misinformation -- the Pentagon's successful effort to turn retired military officers into the Bush Administration's "message force multipliers," mostly on broadcast and cable television. "You could see that they were messaging," one former Defense Department official explained to New York Times [1] journalist David Barstow, who first reported on the covert program. "You could see they were taking verbatim what the [Defense] secretary was saying ... and they were saying it over and over."
Pentagon pundit Ken Allard [2]In the public relations world, putting your words into someone else's mouth is known as the third party technique [3]. When it's secretly carried out with taxpayer funds to influence domestic public opinion, it's illegal propaganda [4]. (Three investigations into the Pentagon pundit program [5], by the Pentagon's own Inspector General, the Government Accountability Office and the Federal Communications Commission, are still pending.)
But wait -- there's more! Not only did the 75 Pentagon pundits dutifully parrot Administration talking points on Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay and warrantless wiretapping, in exchange for high-level Pentagon access, special briefings and free trips to those locations. Many of the pundits also had ties to military contractors, via side gigs as industry executives, board members, consultants and/or lobbyists [6]. These private-enterprise pundits used their Pentagon and media access to attract new clients, benefit current clients and enrich themselves.
This "deeply opaque world," where "privileged access to senior government officials" and "war commentary can fit hand in glove with undisclosed commercial interests" is exemplified by one spectacularly conflicted Pentagon pundit, Barry McCaffrey [7], argued Barstow in his recent follow-up article [8]. McCaffrey heads his own consulting firm [9] and holds lucrative positions with numerous military and security contractors, including Veritas Capital [10], DynCorp [11] and HNTB Federal Services.
McCaffrey used his Pentagon-funded overseas trips, his access to Defense Department officials and his media appearances on NBC and its cable affiliates to benefit his corporate clients. Yet, neither McCaffrey nor NBC disclosed those clients to viewers. Worse, NBC has yet to report on the Pentagon pundit program. (The same is true of nearly every other implicated network; CNN [12] and NPR are the sole exceptions [13]. PBS, the only other national network that reported on the Pentagon program [14], did not have paid analysts who participated in it.)
Barry McCaffrey [15]NBC News anchor Brian Williams has defended McCaffrey as a friend [16]. Evidently he thinks a little propaganda between friends (and their viewers) is no big deal, even though it results in misleading coverage. Several Pentagon pundits have admitted they publicly gave rosy assessments of the war in Iraq while harboring secret doubts, because they were afraid of losing Pentagon access or military contracts.
If NBC and the other networks had disclosed their pundits' conflicts -- or, better yet, featured truly independent commentators, from military and non-military backgrounds -- perhaps the Administration's Iraq war plans would have gone the way of its Social Security privatization [17] deal.
Silver Falsie: Disputing the Count of the Dead
Shortly after the Pentagon pundits' "military-industrial-media complex" helped lead the United States into war, the debate over the cost of the Iraq war began. Nearly six years later, there's still disagreement over whether the final bill will be in the hundreds of billions or trillions of U.S. dollars [18]. More important, of course, is the human cost. We know that more than 4,200 U.S. service members [19] have been killed. But how many Iraqis have lost their lives?
In 2004 and 2006, public health researchers used the best available method in a war zone -- surveying households in randomly distributed clusters -- to answer that question. Both studies were published in the peer-reviewed British medical journal The Lancet. The more recent study estimated that, as of July 2006, there had been more than 650,000 Iraqi "excess deaths," from violent and non-violent causes. War supporters rejected the Lancet studies, questioning the researchers' methods and their motives [20].
Wounded Iraqi child (U.S. Army picture [21])In early 2008 -- more than a year after the later study appeared -- a spate of editorials heaped more scorn on the Lancet studies. These "Swift Boat [22] editorials" (as one of the co-authors of the 2004 Lancet study called them) were based on a January 2008 National Journal article titled "Data Bomb [23]." The article threw several kitchen sinks' worth of accusations at the Lancet studies and their authors: one Iraqi researcher was a Saddam Hussein stooge, the data was questionable, and the political leanings of the researchers and their funders biased their findings. None of the charges hold up under scrutiny [24].
When another study [25], authored by the Iraqi Health Ministry and World Health Organization, estimated that 151,000 Iraqis had died since March 2003, the critics of the Lancet studies declared victory. When examined carefully, however, this study's findings are actually similar to those of the 2006 Lancet study. For example, its 151,000 figure is for Iraqi deaths from violent causes only. The study data actually predicts more than 430,000 Iraqi deaths, from both violent and non-violent causes.
While it's not surprising that conservative commentators would seek to defend the Iraq war, mainstream media outlets have often failed to fully and accurately report on Iraqi casualties. For example, in an October 2008 action alert [26], the media watchdog group Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting challenged the Washington Post's practice of reporting the fewer than 100,000 Iraqi deaths confirmed by media reports as the "maximum count." The Post responded by changing its labeling [27] but keeping the numbers.
As one of our survey respondents asked, who actually wins this Falsie? Good question. Since there's enough blame to go around, we jointly award this year's Silver Falsie to the conservative reporters and commentators who placed ideology over accuracy, when discussing the Lancet studies; to the Iraqi Health Ministry and World Health Organization, for very curiously writing up only part of their data; and to the mainstream reporters unable or unwilling to admit that the best evidence suggests that some 650,000 Iraqis had died as of mid-2006 -- a number that may be more than one million [28] by now.
Bronze Falsie: Coal Is the New Green
Think of the Bronze Falsie as a little lump of you-know-what placed in the coal industry's Christmas stocking.
Increased public awareness of the threats posed by global warming [29], along with new evidence that significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions must be made soon, before global "tipping points" are reached, have made it difficult to build new coal-burning power plants. Since mid-2007, plans for 82 coal plants across the United States have been cancelled, abandoned or placed on hold [30].
A coalition of environmental groups [31] is using ads to challenge "clean coal"The coal industry responded by ramping up its public relations and marketing efforts. Americans for Balanced Energy Choices [32] (ABEC), an industry front group [33] formed by coal, mining, electric and railroad companies, nearly quadrupled its budget for PR, advertising and "grassroots" organizing, from 2007 to 2008. ABEC sought to influence the U.S. presidential election with a $35 million campaign touting "clean coal [34]" in key primary and caucus states. The front group paid CNN $5 million, for advertising and co-sponsorship of at least six presidential debates. ABEC also paid people to walk around "as human billboards" outside the January 2008 Democratic debate, handing out leaflets "with questions for voters to ask the candidates."
ABEC -- since renamed the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity [35] (ACCCE) -- also increased its lobbying efforts. It opposed the Lieberman / Warner climate change bill [36], seeking allies by misrepresenting itself to grassroots activists as an environmental group with no industry ties. During the first half of 2008, ABEC / ACCCE spent $4.7 million on federal lobbying, "more than any other organization ... devoted exclusively to influencing climate change legislation," reported the Center for Public Integrity [37].
Former vice-president and climate change activist Al Gore [38] recently criticized "clean coal," calling it "too imaginary to make a difference [39] in protecting either our national security or the global climate." However, President-Elect Barack Obama [40] lists as one of his administration's energy goals [41] to "develop and deploy clean coal technology."
While the Bronze Falsie goes to the coal industry and its front groups, the public relations firms behind the ABEC / ACCCE "clean coal" campaign merit mention: MGA Communications [42] and R&R Partners [43]. Although the Edelman [44] firm did not work on the "clean coal" campaign, it also deserves recognition, for defending the massive expansion of a coal-burning plant in Britain [45] while promoting its Canada office for going "carbon neutral."
Lifetime Achievement Falsie: The Center for Consumer Fiefdom
It seems like just yesterday, when industry lobbyist and anti-labor lawyer Rick Berman [46] was helping tobacco giant Philip Morris [47] (PM) defend itself against pesky public health advocates. In 1995, Berman urged PM to create a front group called the "Guest Choice Network," to foster "a proactive, aggressive mentality" against smoking bans in restaurants and other public places. An "additional benefit," he explained in a letter to PM [48], would be if the group were "externally perceived as driven by restaurant owners," giving it "more flexibility and creativity allowed than if it is 'owned' by Philip Morris."
"60 Minutes" profiled Rick Berman in a segment titled "Meet Dr. Evil [49]"Today, the Guest Choice Network is known as the Center for Consumer Freedom [50] (CCF). While CCF is perhaps Berman's best-known industry front group, he certainly doesn't limit himself to fighting public health advocates on behalf of the tobacco, alcohol and chain restaurant industries. In 2008 alone, Berman's Center for Union Facts [51] lobbied against labor rights legislation, claiming it would allow "union bosses" to "use coercion." Just before the U.S. election, Berman's Employment Policies Institute [52] took out a full-page ad in the New York Times, calling ACORN [53] "rotten," for supposed hypocrisy while organizing and advocating for workers and low-income communities. Berman also defended the tanning industry, claiming its critics were part of a "sunscam industry."
Indeed, no one exemplifies the spirit of the Falsie quite like Rick Berman. It takes a special -- um, something -- to champion the payday loan, pesticide and alcohol industries, by taking on such dangerously principled foes as Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
For all his jaw-dropping spin over the years, Rick Berman truly deserves a Lifetime Achievement Falsie. Of course, that's in addition to the millions of dollars [54] he's circulated through his front groups and into his for-profit lobbying and PR firms. Consider the Lifetime Achievement Falsie an extra dot of icing on top of Berman's rather rich cake.
Dishonorable Mention: China Goes for the Gold Falsie (But Misses)
Monks holding a Tibet protestPoor China [55] thought that hosting the 2008 Summer Olympics would burnish its international image. With help from the PR firm Hill & Knowlton [56], the Beijing Olympics were supposed to showcase China as a modern, well-run and prosperous country. Then human rights activists started using the international attention to criticize China's occupation of Tibet and its support of the Sudanese government. Corporate sponsors of the Olympics became nervous. Steven Spielberg resigned as an artistic adviser to the Olympics, citing China's stance on Darfur. Tibetan monks held protests across China. The Olympics torch relay was accompanied by demonstrations around the world, leading some to call it a "public relations nightmare [57]."
During the Olympics Games, China failed to make good on some of its promises about press freedom. Another PR disaster happened when Chinese officials didn't allow anyone to use the designated "protest zones" around Beijing. The Games' opening ceremony comically exposed China's attention to image over substance. They digitally faked the "footprint" fireworks display for television viewers, and had one young girl lip-sync a patriotic song that was actually sung by another, supposedly less attractive girl.
Instead of improving China's image, the Olympics reinforced many widely-held criticisms of its government. However, according to at least one account [58], the Games did help China boost national pride.
Readers' Choice Falsie Awards
Not surprisingly, many survey participants nominated politicians for an election year Falsie. John McCain [59] was nominated, for "his campaign suspension to deal with the economic crisis" and his ad claiming that Barack Obama [60] "wanted to teach sex ed to kindergartners." Obama was nominated, for "saying that hiring a bunch of retread foreign policy and money people would be 'Change that we could believe in.'" George W. Bush [61], Karl Rove [62], Nancy Pelosi [63] and "Joe the Plumber" also made the list, along with Rupert Murdoch [64], the "major media" and the Center for Media and Democracy (for being "a far left leaning organization" whose founder "is / was actually a communist").
The three most popular nominees among our comrades -- um, survey participants -- win our 2008 Readers' Choice Falsie Awards:
Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin [65], for taking "election spin to new lows," for "fak[ing] being a viable candidate," for "whipping up fear over 'the other'" and accusing Obama of "palling around with terrorists";
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson [66] and Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke [67], for their "'handling' [of] the financial debacle" and the financial industry, for its "spinning and lobbying around the bank (and now auto industry) bailouts"; and
Fox News [68], for "excellence in distortion," for "relentlessly and slavishly hewing to the Republican Party line" and for their "economic 'experts' [who] tell the nation we were not in a recession."
Win Against Spin Awards
The simple act of calling out something as "spin" means that we haven't allowed slick messaging to define our understanding of the world. There are many people, organizations and institutions who work hard to provide accurate, independent reporting on and analyses of the important issues of our time. The Win Against Spin Awards -- the one sincere part of our annual Falsies -- are designed to honor them.
Many survey participants nominated people and groups who received Win Against Spin Awards just last year [69], namely Amy Goodman and her colleagues at "Democracy Now!" and the Center for Media and Democracy. While the nominations are a sign of continued good work, our panel of judges decided to disqualify previous winners. Other popular nominees this year included reporter and author Naomi Klein [70], consumer advocate and frequent presidential candidate Ralph Nader [71], iconoclastic politicians Dennis Kucinich [72] and Ron Paul [73], and Comedy Central's Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.
Kudos to the winners of the 2008 Win Against Spin Awards, who are:
FactCheck.org [74], a nonpartisan "'consumer advocate' for voters" run by the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania;
Bill Moyers [75], for being "the most trustworthy journalist of our time" and "get[ting] to the heart of the stories"; and
Media Matters for America [76], for its "consistent quality work" and "excellent website [77]."
What Will 2009 Bring?
As 2008 draws to a close, we not only review the past year but also look to the future. Will 2009 bring a more responsive U.S. government and an international agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions [78]? Will militarism continue to grow, or will diplomacy once again become a respected way to deal with international disagreements?
Ultimately, it's up to us, to be informed and active citizens. Stay tuned to our PR Watch website [79] for reports on deceptive PR tactics and campaigns throughout the year, and subscribe to our Weekly Spin email [80] and Weekly Radio Spin podcast [81]. Better yet, become an editor [82] on our SourceWatch [83] website, our collaborative online encyclopedia of the "people, organizations and issues shaping the pubic agenda." If you're concerned about global warming, take a look at our new Climate Change portal [84] on SourceWatch.
To deceptive PR people, politicians and corporate shills, you can't say that we never gave you anything. To our readers, volunteers and other supporters, many thanks from all of us here at CMD.
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Diane Farsetta is the Center for Media and Democracy's Senior Researcher. Thanks to CMD Associate Director Judith Siers-Poisson for her help with the Falsies Award survey.
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Source URL:
http://www.prwatch.org/node/8055
Links:
[1] http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/washington/20generals.html
[2] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Ken_Allard
[3] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=third_party_technique
[4] http://www.prwatch.org/node/7261
[5] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Pentagon_military_analyst_program
[6] http://www.prwatch.org/node/7282
[7] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Barry_McCaffrey
[8] http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/washington/30general.html
[9] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=BR_McCaffrey_Associates,_LLC
[10] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Veritas_Capital
[11] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=DynCorp
[12] http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0804/27/rs.01.html
[13] http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=3568
[14] http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/media/jan-june08/tvgenerals_04-24.html
[15] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Barry_McCaffrey
[16] http://dailynightly.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/04/29/958477.aspx
[17] http://www.prwatch.org/node/3343
[18] http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0310/p16s01-wmgn.html
[19] http://icasualties.org/oif/BY_DOD.aspx
[20] http://www.prwatch.org/node/7034
[21] http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Army.mil-2007-03-27-114351.jpg
[22] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Swift_Boat_Veterans_for_Truth
[23] http://nationaljournal.com/about/njweekly/stories/2008/0104nj1.htm
[24] http://www.prwatch.org/node/7034
[25] http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/358/5/484
[26] http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=3636
[27] http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=3654
[28] http://www.opinion.co.uk/Newsroom_details.aspx?NewsId=78
[29] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=global_warming
[30] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=What_happened_to_the_151_proposed_coal_plants?
[31] http://action.thisisreality.org/about
[32] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Americans_for_Balanced_Energy_Choices
[33] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=front_group
[34] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=clean_coal
[35] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=American_Coalition_for_Clean_Coal_Electricity
[36] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=America
[37] http://www.publicintegrity.org/blog/entry/686/
[38] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Al_Gore
[39] http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/09/opinion/09gore.html
[40] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Barack_Obama
[41] http://change.gov/agenda/energy_and_environment_agenda/
[42] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=MGA_Communications
[43] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=R%26R_Partners
[44] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Edelman
[45] http://www.prwatch.org/node/7614
[46] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Rick_Berman
[47] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Philip_Morris
[48] http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/ewk06c00
[49] http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=2661990n
[50] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Center_for_Consumer_Freedom
[51] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Center_for_Union_Facts
[52] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Employment_Policies_Institute
[53] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=ACORN
[54] http://www.citizensforethics.org/node/19131
[55] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=China
[56] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Hill_%26_Knowlton
[57] http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/04/07/olympic.wrap/index.html
[58] http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/comment/-Olympics-The-gold-medal.4421928.jp
[59] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=John_McCain
[60] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Barack_Obama
[61] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=George_W._Bush
[62] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Karl_Rove
[63] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Nancy_Pelosi
[64] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Rupert_Murdoch
[65] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Sarah_Palin
[66] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Henry_Paulson
[67] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Ben_Bernanke
[68] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Fox_News
[69] http://www.prwatch.org/falsies2007
[70] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Naomi_Klein
[71] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Ralph_Nader
[72] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Dennis_Kucinich
[73] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Ron_Paul
[74] http://www.factcheck.org
[75] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Bill_Moyers
[76] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Media_Matters_for_America
[77] http://mediamatters.org/
[78] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=COP15
[79] http://www.prwatch.org
[80] http://www.prwatch.org/cmd/subscribe_sotd.html
[81] http://www.prwatch.org/taxonomy/term/247
[82] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=SourceWatch:Contributing
[83] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=SourceWatch
[84] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Portal:Climate_Change
http://www.prwatch.org/node/8055/print
The 2008 Falsies Awards: In Memory of the First Casualty
By Diane Farsetta
Created 12/10/2008 - 16:07
There's nothing quite like a hotly contested election. The candidates have their devoted supporters and angry detractors. Then there are vigorous debates over the issues, while some people question the integrity of the entire process.
We speak, of course, of the Falsies Awards.
Part of the coveted AwardsThis year marks the Center for Media and Democracy's (CMD's) fifth annual Falsies Awards. The Falsies are our attempt to shine an unflattering light on those responsible for polluting the information environment over the past year. We're happy to report that more people -- nearly 1,450 -- voted in this year's Falsies survey than ever before! We're also bestowing special recognition on one of this year's "winners."
Falsies recipients can collect their prizes -- a pair of Groucho Marx glasses, our two cents and a chance to atone for their spinning ways by making a detailed public apology -- by visiting CMD's office in Madison, Wisconsin. This year's Gold and Silver Falsies go to masters of war deception, while the Bronze Falsie recognizes a massive greenwash campaign. The first-ever Lifetime Achievement Falsie goes to a serial corporate front man, while a determined (if at times laughable) attempt at nation re-branding wins dishonorable mention. Then there are the Readers' Choice Falsies and Win Against Spin Awards, nominated by our survey participants.
That's a lot to cover, so without further ado, the winners of the 2008 Falsies Awards are ...
Golden Falsie: The Propaganda Pundits
You could call it General (ret.) Misinformation -- the Pentagon's successful effort to turn retired military officers into the Bush Administration's "message force multipliers," mostly on broadcast and cable television. "You could see that they were messaging," one former Defense Department official explained to New York Times [1] journalist David Barstow, who first reported on the covert program. "You could see they were taking verbatim what the [Defense] secretary was saying ... and they were saying it over and over."
Pentagon pundit Ken Allard [2]In the public relations world, putting your words into someone else's mouth is known as the third party technique [3]. When it's secretly carried out with taxpayer funds to influence domestic public opinion, it's illegal propaganda [4]. (Three investigations into the Pentagon pundit program [5], by the Pentagon's own Inspector General, the Government Accountability Office and the Federal Communications Commission, are still pending.)
But wait -- there's more! Not only did the 75 Pentagon pundits dutifully parrot Administration talking points on Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay and warrantless wiretapping, in exchange for high-level Pentagon access, special briefings and free trips to those locations. Many of the pundits also had ties to military contractors, via side gigs as industry executives, board members, consultants and/or lobbyists [6]. These private-enterprise pundits used their Pentagon and media access to attract new clients, benefit current clients and enrich themselves.
This "deeply opaque world," where "privileged access to senior government officials" and "war commentary can fit hand in glove with undisclosed commercial interests" is exemplified by one spectacularly conflicted Pentagon pundit, Barry McCaffrey [7], argued Barstow in his recent follow-up article [8]. McCaffrey heads his own consulting firm [9] and holds lucrative positions with numerous military and security contractors, including Veritas Capital [10], DynCorp [11] and HNTB Federal Services.
McCaffrey used his Pentagon-funded overseas trips, his access to Defense Department officials and his media appearances on NBC and its cable affiliates to benefit his corporate clients. Yet, neither McCaffrey nor NBC disclosed those clients to viewers. Worse, NBC has yet to report on the Pentagon pundit program. (The same is true of nearly every other implicated network; CNN [12] and NPR are the sole exceptions [13]. PBS, the only other national network that reported on the Pentagon program [14], did not have paid analysts who participated in it.)
Barry McCaffrey [15]NBC News anchor Brian Williams has defended McCaffrey as a friend [16]. Evidently he thinks a little propaganda between friends (and their viewers) is no big deal, even though it results in misleading coverage. Several Pentagon pundits have admitted they publicly gave rosy assessments of the war in Iraq while harboring secret doubts, because they were afraid of losing Pentagon access or military contracts.
If NBC and the other networks had disclosed their pundits' conflicts -- or, better yet, featured truly independent commentators, from military and non-military backgrounds -- perhaps the Administration's Iraq war plans would have gone the way of its Social Security privatization [17] deal.
Silver Falsie: Disputing the Count of the Dead
Shortly after the Pentagon pundits' "military-industrial-media complex" helped lead the United States into war, the debate over the cost of the Iraq war began. Nearly six years later, there's still disagreement over whether the final bill will be in the hundreds of billions or trillions of U.S. dollars [18]. More important, of course, is the human cost. We know that more than 4,200 U.S. service members [19] have been killed. But how many Iraqis have lost their lives?
In 2004 and 2006, public health researchers used the best available method in a war zone -- surveying households in randomly distributed clusters -- to answer that question. Both studies were published in the peer-reviewed British medical journal The Lancet. The more recent study estimated that, as of July 2006, there had been more than 650,000 Iraqi "excess deaths," from violent and non-violent causes. War supporters rejected the Lancet studies, questioning the researchers' methods and their motives [20].
Wounded Iraqi child (U.S. Army picture [21])In early 2008 -- more than a year after the later study appeared -- a spate of editorials heaped more scorn on the Lancet studies. These "Swift Boat [22] editorials" (as one of the co-authors of the 2004 Lancet study called them) were based on a January 2008 National Journal article titled "Data Bomb [23]." The article threw several kitchen sinks' worth of accusations at the Lancet studies and their authors: one Iraqi researcher was a Saddam Hussein stooge, the data was questionable, and the political leanings of the researchers and their funders biased their findings. None of the charges hold up under scrutiny [24].
When another study [25], authored by the Iraqi Health Ministry and World Health Organization, estimated that 151,000 Iraqis had died since March 2003, the critics of the Lancet studies declared victory. When examined carefully, however, this study's findings are actually similar to those of the 2006 Lancet study. For example, its 151,000 figure is for Iraqi deaths from violent causes only. The study data actually predicts more than 430,000 Iraqi deaths, from both violent and non-violent causes.
While it's not surprising that conservative commentators would seek to defend the Iraq war, mainstream media outlets have often failed to fully and accurately report on Iraqi casualties. For example, in an October 2008 action alert [26], the media watchdog group Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting challenged the Washington Post's practice of reporting the fewer than 100,000 Iraqi deaths confirmed by media reports as the "maximum count." The Post responded by changing its labeling [27] but keeping the numbers.
As one of our survey respondents asked, who actually wins this Falsie? Good question. Since there's enough blame to go around, we jointly award this year's Silver Falsie to the conservative reporters and commentators who placed ideology over accuracy, when discussing the Lancet studies; to the Iraqi Health Ministry and World Health Organization, for very curiously writing up only part of their data; and to the mainstream reporters unable or unwilling to admit that the best evidence suggests that some 650,000 Iraqis had died as of mid-2006 -- a number that may be more than one million [28] by now.
Bronze Falsie: Coal Is the New Green
Think of the Bronze Falsie as a little lump of you-know-what placed in the coal industry's Christmas stocking.
Increased public awareness of the threats posed by global warming [29], along with new evidence that significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions must be made soon, before global "tipping points" are reached, have made it difficult to build new coal-burning power plants. Since mid-2007, plans for 82 coal plants across the United States have been cancelled, abandoned or placed on hold [30].
A coalition of environmental groups [31] is using ads to challenge "clean coal"The coal industry responded by ramping up its public relations and marketing efforts. Americans for Balanced Energy Choices [32] (ABEC), an industry front group [33] formed by coal, mining, electric and railroad companies, nearly quadrupled its budget for PR, advertising and "grassroots" organizing, from 2007 to 2008. ABEC sought to influence the U.S. presidential election with a $35 million campaign touting "clean coal [34]" in key primary and caucus states. The front group paid CNN $5 million, for advertising and co-sponsorship of at least six presidential debates. ABEC also paid people to walk around "as human billboards" outside the January 2008 Democratic debate, handing out leaflets "with questions for voters to ask the candidates."
ABEC -- since renamed the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity [35] (ACCCE) -- also increased its lobbying efforts. It opposed the Lieberman / Warner climate change bill [36], seeking allies by misrepresenting itself to grassroots activists as an environmental group with no industry ties. During the first half of 2008, ABEC / ACCCE spent $4.7 million on federal lobbying, "more than any other organization ... devoted exclusively to influencing climate change legislation," reported the Center for Public Integrity [37].
Former vice-president and climate change activist Al Gore [38] recently criticized "clean coal," calling it "too imaginary to make a difference [39] in protecting either our national security or the global climate." However, President-Elect Barack Obama [40] lists as one of his administration's energy goals [41] to "develop and deploy clean coal technology."
While the Bronze Falsie goes to the coal industry and its front groups, the public relations firms behind the ABEC / ACCCE "clean coal" campaign merit mention: MGA Communications [42] and R&R Partners [43]. Although the Edelman [44] firm did not work on the "clean coal" campaign, it also deserves recognition, for defending the massive expansion of a coal-burning plant in Britain [45] while promoting its Canada office for going "carbon neutral."
Lifetime Achievement Falsie: The Center for Consumer Fiefdom
It seems like just yesterday, when industry lobbyist and anti-labor lawyer Rick Berman [46] was helping tobacco giant Philip Morris [47] (PM) defend itself against pesky public health advocates. In 1995, Berman urged PM to create a front group called the "Guest Choice Network," to foster "a proactive, aggressive mentality" against smoking bans in restaurants and other public places. An "additional benefit," he explained in a letter to PM [48], would be if the group were "externally perceived as driven by restaurant owners," giving it "more flexibility and creativity allowed than if it is 'owned' by Philip Morris."
"60 Minutes" profiled Rick Berman in a segment titled "Meet Dr. Evil [49]"Today, the Guest Choice Network is known as the Center for Consumer Freedom [50] (CCF). While CCF is perhaps Berman's best-known industry front group, he certainly doesn't limit himself to fighting public health advocates on behalf of the tobacco, alcohol and chain restaurant industries. In 2008 alone, Berman's Center for Union Facts [51] lobbied against labor rights legislation, claiming it would allow "union bosses" to "use coercion." Just before the U.S. election, Berman's Employment Policies Institute [52] took out a full-page ad in the New York Times, calling ACORN [53] "rotten," for supposed hypocrisy while organizing and advocating for workers and low-income communities. Berman also defended the tanning industry, claiming its critics were part of a "sunscam industry."
Indeed, no one exemplifies the spirit of the Falsie quite like Rick Berman. It takes a special -- um, something -- to champion the payday loan, pesticide and alcohol industries, by taking on such dangerously principled foes as Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
For all his jaw-dropping spin over the years, Rick Berman truly deserves a Lifetime Achievement Falsie. Of course, that's in addition to the millions of dollars [54] he's circulated through his front groups and into his for-profit lobbying and PR firms. Consider the Lifetime Achievement Falsie an extra dot of icing on top of Berman's rather rich cake.
Dishonorable Mention: China Goes for the Gold Falsie (But Misses)
Monks holding a Tibet protestPoor China [55] thought that hosting the 2008 Summer Olympics would burnish its international image. With help from the PR firm Hill & Knowlton [56], the Beijing Olympics were supposed to showcase China as a modern, well-run and prosperous country. Then human rights activists started using the international attention to criticize China's occupation of Tibet and its support of the Sudanese government. Corporate sponsors of the Olympics became nervous. Steven Spielberg resigned as an artistic adviser to the Olympics, citing China's stance on Darfur. Tibetan monks held protests across China. The Olympics torch relay was accompanied by demonstrations around the world, leading some to call it a "public relations nightmare [57]."
During the Olympics Games, China failed to make good on some of its promises about press freedom. Another PR disaster happened when Chinese officials didn't allow anyone to use the designated "protest zones" around Beijing. The Games' opening ceremony comically exposed China's attention to image over substance. They digitally faked the "footprint" fireworks display for television viewers, and had one young girl lip-sync a patriotic song that was actually sung by another, supposedly less attractive girl.
Instead of improving China's image, the Olympics reinforced many widely-held criticisms of its government. However, according to at least one account [58], the Games did help China boost national pride.
Readers' Choice Falsie Awards
Not surprisingly, many survey participants nominated politicians for an election year Falsie. John McCain [59] was nominated, for "his campaign suspension to deal with the economic crisis" and his ad claiming that Barack Obama [60] "wanted to teach sex ed to kindergartners." Obama was nominated, for "saying that hiring a bunch of retread foreign policy and money people would be 'Change that we could believe in.'" George W. Bush [61], Karl Rove [62], Nancy Pelosi [63] and "Joe the Plumber" also made the list, along with Rupert Murdoch [64], the "major media" and the Center for Media and Democracy (for being "a far left leaning organization" whose founder "is / was actually a communist").
The three most popular nominees among our comrades -- um, survey participants -- win our 2008 Readers' Choice Falsie Awards:
Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin [65], for taking "election spin to new lows," for "fak[ing] being a viable candidate," for "whipping up fear over 'the other'" and accusing Obama of "palling around with terrorists";
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson [66] and Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke [67], for their "'handling' [of] the financial debacle" and the financial industry, for its "spinning and lobbying around the bank (and now auto industry) bailouts"; and
Fox News [68], for "excellence in distortion," for "relentlessly and slavishly hewing to the Republican Party line" and for their "economic 'experts' [who] tell the nation we were not in a recession."
Win Against Spin Awards
The simple act of calling out something as "spin" means that we haven't allowed slick messaging to define our understanding of the world. There are many people, organizations and institutions who work hard to provide accurate, independent reporting on and analyses of the important issues of our time. The Win Against Spin Awards -- the one sincere part of our annual Falsies -- are designed to honor them.
Many survey participants nominated people and groups who received Win Against Spin Awards just last year [69], namely Amy Goodman and her colleagues at "Democracy Now!" and the Center for Media and Democracy. While the nominations are a sign of continued good work, our panel of judges decided to disqualify previous winners. Other popular nominees this year included reporter and author Naomi Klein [70], consumer advocate and frequent presidential candidate Ralph Nader [71], iconoclastic politicians Dennis Kucinich [72] and Ron Paul [73], and Comedy Central's Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.
Kudos to the winners of the 2008 Win Against Spin Awards, who are:
FactCheck.org [74], a nonpartisan "'consumer advocate' for voters" run by the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania;
Bill Moyers [75], for being "the most trustworthy journalist of our time" and "get[ting] to the heart of the stories"; and
Media Matters for America [76], for its "consistent quality work" and "excellent website [77]."
What Will 2009 Bring?
As 2008 draws to a close, we not only review the past year but also look to the future. Will 2009 bring a more responsive U.S. government and an international agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions [78]? Will militarism continue to grow, or will diplomacy once again become a respected way to deal with international disagreements?
Ultimately, it's up to us, to be informed and active citizens. Stay tuned to our PR Watch website [79] for reports on deceptive PR tactics and campaigns throughout the year, and subscribe to our Weekly Spin email [80] and Weekly Radio Spin podcast [81]. Better yet, become an editor [82] on our SourceWatch [83] website, our collaborative online encyclopedia of the "people, organizations and issues shaping the pubic agenda." If you're concerned about global warming, take a look at our new Climate Change portal [84] on SourceWatch.
To deceptive PR people, politicians and corporate shills, you can't say that we never gave you anything. To our readers, volunteers and other supporters, many thanks from all of us here at CMD.
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Diane Farsetta is the Center for Media and Democracy's Senior Researcher. Thanks to CMD Associate Director Judith Siers-Poisson for her help with the Falsies Award survey.
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Source URL:
http://www.prwatch.org/node/8055
Links:
[1] http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/washington/20generals.html
[2] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Ken_Allard
[3] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=third_party_technique
[4] http://www.prwatch.org/node/7261
[5] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Pentagon_military_analyst_program
[6] http://www.prwatch.org/node/7282
[7] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Barry_McCaffrey
[8] http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/washington/30general.html
[9] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=BR_McCaffrey_Associates,_LLC
[10] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Veritas_Capital
[11] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=DynCorp
[12] http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0804/27/rs.01.html
[13] http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=3568
[14] http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/media/jan-june08/tvgenerals_04-24.html
[15] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Barry_McCaffrey
[16] http://dailynightly.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/04/29/958477.aspx
[17] http://www.prwatch.org/node/3343
[18] http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0310/p16s01-wmgn.html
[19] http://icasualties.org/oif/BY_DOD.aspx
[20] http://www.prwatch.org/node/7034
[21] http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Army.mil-2007-03-27-114351.jpg
[22] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Swift_Boat_Veterans_for_Truth
[23] http://nationaljournal.com/about/njweekly/stories/2008/0104nj1.htm
[24] http://www.prwatch.org/node/7034
[25] http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/358/5/484
[26] http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=3636
[27] http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=3654
[28] http://www.opinion.co.uk/Newsroom_details.aspx?NewsId=78
[29] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=global_warming
[30] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=What_happened_to_the_151_proposed_coal_plants?
[31] http://action.thisisreality.org/about
[32] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Americans_for_Balanced_Energy_Choices
[33] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=front_group
[34] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=clean_coal
[35] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=American_Coalition_for_Clean_Coal_Electricity
[36] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=America
[37] http://www.publicintegrity.org/blog/entry/686/
[38] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Al_Gore
[39] http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/09/opinion/09gore.html
[40] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Barack_Obama
[41] http://change.gov/agenda/energy_and_environment_agenda/
[42] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=MGA_Communications
[43] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=R%26R_Partners
[44] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Edelman
[45] http://www.prwatch.org/node/7614
[46] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Rick_Berman
[47] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Philip_Morris
[48] http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/ewk06c00
[49] http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=2661990n
[50] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Center_for_Consumer_Freedom
[51] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Center_for_Union_Facts
[52] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Employment_Policies_Institute
[53] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=ACORN
[54] http://www.citizensforethics.org/node/19131
[55] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=China
[56] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Hill_%26_Knowlton
[57] http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/04/07/olympic.wrap/index.html
[58] http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/comment/-Olympics-The-gold-medal.4421928.jp
[59] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=John_McCain
[60] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Barack_Obama
[61] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=George_W._Bush
[62] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Karl_Rove
[63] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Nancy_Pelosi
[64] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Rupert_Murdoch
[65] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Sarah_Palin
[66] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Henry_Paulson
[67] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Ben_Bernanke
[68] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Fox_News
[69] http://www.prwatch.org/falsies2007
[70] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Naomi_Klein
[71] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Ralph_Nader
[72] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Dennis_Kucinich
[73] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Ron_Paul
[74] http://www.factcheck.org
[75] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Bill_Moyers
[76] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Media_Matters_for_America
[77] http://mediamatters.org/
[78] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=COP15
[79] http://www.prwatch.org
[80] http://www.prwatch.org/cmd/subscribe_sotd.html
[81] http://www.prwatch.org/taxonomy/term/247
[82] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=SourceWatch:Contributing
[83] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=SourceWatch
[84] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Portal:Climate_Change
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