Posted on 04/14/2004 3:42:26 PM PDT by ninenot
Gas receipts raise questions about attorney general's use of state car Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager gassed up her state car in Racine just hours after attending a political fund-raiser in the same city, state fuel receipts show. < Yet she insists she didn't use the state car to get to the local Democratic Party fund-raiser, which could have violated state law. < The incident is one of several involving gas receipts that raise questions about whether the attorney general used her state car for personal or political events beyond what the state Ethics Board determined in its investigation into the matter. < "I have never taken a (state) car to a state political event," Lautenschlager said two weeks ago, when first asked about an initial batch of fuel receipts the Wisconsin State Journal compared to her work calendar. < "On any of those events where there were political things," Lautenschlager said, "I always used my personal car or somebody else's." < The State Journal obtained 59 gas receipts from purchases Lautenschlager made at filling stations across Wisconsin. She bought the gas between Feb. 1, 2003, and Feb. 17, 2004, using her state-issued fuel purchasing card. Lautenschlager said she always kept the card with her state-issued car, typically a 1999 Buick Park Avenue. < The Ethics Board didn't look at the gas receipts when it tried to piece together how many miles the attorney general owed taxpayers for commuting to and from her Fond du Lac home in her state car. < Late last month, the board fined Lautenschlager $250 and charged her $672 for 1,969 personal miles of travel. The investigation followed Lautenschlager's drunken driving conviction after she drove her state car into a ditch. < Lautenschlager has refused in recent days to answer questions about specific trips that correspond to gas purchases. She did say previously she sometimes drove to meetings not listed on her calendar. < "I can't really reconstruct any of this because I don't have the proper records to,"; she said. "And that's where we ran into problems."The gas receipts show Lautenschlager filled up her state car at least 21 times in Fond du Lac. On or around only three of those dates did her work calendar show state business in the vicinity of Fond du Lac. < In addition, the attorney general filled up her state car five times in cities between Fond du Lac and Madison or Milwaukee, such as Beaver Dam, Waupun and Slinger. These could be more commutes, because her calendar showed no state business to explain the routes. < Twenty-one Fond du Lac fill-ups, minus three for state business, plus five additional commutes would equal 23. If Lautenschlager commuted 23 times, she would have owed the state about $470 more than she paid. < The attorney general put 14.5 gallons of gas in her state car at 3 p.m. on Christmas Day in Fond du Lac, even though her calendar shows no state business that day. Ethics Board attorney Jonathan Becker said she told investigators she didn't use her state car for official business for several days surrounding the holiday. < Lautenschlager put 12.6 gallons of gas in her state car at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, June 13, 2003, in Fond du Lac. Her schedule that day included several Milwaukee events at a crime lab, then a reception for Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, a speech at the state Democratic convention and finally a meeting with then-presidential candidate Howard Dean. < State rules forbid taking a state car to a political event, said Administration Department attorney John Rothschild. Even if she switched cars in Milwaukee and took a private car to the political events, state law might require her to pay a portion of the mileage on her state car.Lautenschlager purchased 13 gallons of gas at 7:08 a.m. on Monday, March 17, 2003, in Racine. Her work calendar shows she was a featured speaker at the Racine County Democratic Dinner at the Roma Lodge in Racine the night before from about 5 to 8 p.m. The county party raised several hundred dollars, after expenses, by charging $25 at the door. < Lautenschlager's calendar lists no other events in Racine on those days or in previous weeks. A local Web site has a picture of Lautenschlager mingling at the lodge in front of what appears to be a campaign lawn sign. < Lautenschlager originally said Fond du Lac County Board member Todd Schmitz drove her in a Grand Prix to and from the Racine political event. < "I just remember it very, very clearly,"; she said, noting her husband had just had a medical procedure and thoughts of that distracted her during her speech. < Days after that comment, when additional state records showed the exact date and time of the Racine gas purchase, Lautenschlager's staff hedged on how she got to the fund-raiser. It's possible Schmitz drove her, said Lautenschlager aide Vaughn Vance. But that would have required a Fond du Lac-Racine round trip on Sunday night, followed by a return trip to Racine in her state car early the next morning after only a few hours of sleep. < In an interview Tuesday, Schmitz said he couldn't find the trip on his calendar. He may have volunteered to drive the attorney general that night because he remembers taking her to a Racine political event, he said. But he can't remember when or which car he drove. < Another possibility, Vance said, is that the attorney general drove her state car to Milwaukee for state business. She then would have ridden in a private vehicle to and from the Racine fund-raiser Sunday night, only to drive her state car back to Racine that same night to stay at a co-worker's house. She then would have had the state car Monday to work on a confidential legal matter in the Racine area, Vance said. < But Lautenschlager told the state Ethics Board she didn't use her state car for any state business that Sunday or Monday, Becker said. And her calendar doesn't list any events in Milwaukee. < Contact Scott Milfred at smilfred@madison.com or 252-6129. <
10:41 PM 4/13/04
Scott Milfred Wisconsin State Journal
Watching this spokesboy play verbal Twister is just a hoot! :-)
And come fall we can show (at least some of these bums) the door IMO
at least 21 times in Fond du Lac. On or around only three of those dates did her work calendar show state business in the vicinity of Fond du Lac.
I steal so much I cant remember actual specific thefts.....BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
IMO
A number of high profile scandals in the legislature have stripped the bark off of that lie. And an incompetent Governor appointing half wits to major state posts hasn't helped things. Along comes Peg Lautenschlager - with a very undistinguished record (successful only at garnering patronage appointments in efficient succession), and she manages to perform a DUI in a state vehicle.
Here in Georgia a veteran GBI agent was arrested for DUI recently - and he told the arresting officers "there goes my job" as he was placed in the squad car. The next day he was dismissed. That's the proper action to take in such a situation - and the standard should be no different for Attorney General of Wisconsin. There are a lot more competent lawyers who would gladly take over in her wake. If she has any sense of propriety she will resign. If she doesn't the Wisconsin Bar Association should start the effort to get her to step down.
"I just remember it very, very clearly,"; she said, noting her husband had just had a medical procedure and thoughts of that distracted her during her speech.
Either that, or she was drunk again.
And that is precisely why former state Senator and one-time front-runner for the Attorney General job Brian Burke (D-Milwaukee) is facing a jury for doing much the same as what Peggy Goldschlager did.
Also note the Journtinel decided to say that the dates were "indeterminate" instead of mentioning Christmas Day, the Racine debacle, et al. Question; who investigates the investigators?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.