Posted on 01/21/2009 4:54:04 AM PST by Quaker
The mayor of Racine, Wisconsin., resigned Tuesday. Gary Becker resigned in a one-sentence letter that made no reference to the six felonies he faces.
(Excerpt) Read more at stuckon-stupid.com ...
Baltimore Mayor Sheila A. Dixon was charged today with 12 counts of felony theft, perjury, fraud and misconduct in office, becoming the city's first sitting mayor to be criminally indicted. The case stems in part from at least $15,348 in gifts Dixon allegedly received from her former boyfriend, prominent city developer Ronald H. Lipscomb, while she was City Council president. She also is accused of using as much as $3,400 in gift cards, some donated to her office for distribution to "needy families," to purchase Best Buy electronics and other items for herself and her staff. If convicted on all charges, the 55-year-old former teacher and mother of two could be sentenced to 85 years in prison. The most serious charges, two counts of felony theft, each carry a possible 15-year prison term .
This FBI photo allegedly shows Massachusetts state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson, D-Boston, stuffing bribe money under her sweater on June 18, 2007. BOSTON — Sen. Dianne Wilkerson, who cuts a glittering, energetic figure around the Massachusetts Statehouse, stood alone and soberly attired in federal court Tuesday after being charged with accepting $23,500 in bribes — including $10,000 to fund her write-in campaign next week. The Democrat was freed on a $50,000 unsecured bond. FBI agents arrested her at her Boston home earlier in the day on charges of attempted extortion as a public official and theft of honest services as a state senator. An FBI affidavit includes a series of still photographs from video recordings allegedly showing Wilkerson accepting money from undercover agents, in one case stuffing cash under her sweater and inside her bra. Some meetings to discuss her assistance in obtaining a liquor license and pushing legislation on behalf of a developer took place in the Statehouse, according to the complaint. Wilkerson also allegedly took the write-in payment earlier this month outside her district office in Roxbury. "Public service is a privilege, and voters and taxpayers expect that elected officials will do what's right for their constituents, not what is financially best for themselves," U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan said. "The citizens of the commonwealth deserve honest and faithful services from elected officials, uncompromised by secret payments of cash." While the complaint detailed political horse-trading, Sullivan said he did not believe any other public official took a bribe. Wilkerson did not enter a plea. She has a pre-trial hearing in Worcester on Nov. 17. She faces up to 20 years in prison and $250,000 in fines on each count.
Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was charged with perjury and other offenses Monday -- and got a stern lecture about the importance of telling the truth -- after a trove of raunchy text messages contradicted his sworn denials of an affair with his chief aide. The 37-year-old "Hip-Hop Mayor" who brought youth and vitality to the job in this struggling city of 900,000 could get up to 15 years in prison for perjury alone and would be automatically expelled from office if convicted.
At least the former mayor resigned. We should give him credit for that.
Nah, it was a male intern he had sex with. He’s being pressured to resign...but I have to wonder why Portland would even care if their officials lie to them....repeatedly.
Nice thread.
bttt
-PJ
When I originally saw this I knew he must be a Democrat because not one story mentioned his political affiliation, and I sifted through stories from at least 10 different sources. Also, the city of Racine apparently took down his public web site when the story broke.
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