both TonyRo76 and LasVegasDave.
Posted on 11/20/2008 10:25:52 AM PST by buccaneer81
Inspector general says Joe the Plumber's files searched improperly Thursday, November 20, 2008 12:47 PM By Randy Ludlow THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
A state agency director had no legitimate reasons to check state computer systems for confidential information on "Joe the Plumber," according to a report released this afternoon by Ohio's inspector general.
Helen Jones-Kelley, the suspended director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, "had no legitimate agency function to purpose to support her decision" to check on the newly minted political figure, the report states.
The investigation by the office of Inspector General Thomas P. Charles found that the reasons that Jones-Kelley offered for the checks "were not credible and they included contradictions, ambiguity, and inconsistencies."
The report also faults other agency employees for their role in the computer checks on Toledo-area resident Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, who was popularized as "Joe the Plumber" by Republican presidential candidate John McCain.
Democrat Gov. Ted Strickland placed Jones-Kelley on paid leave Nov. 7 after e-mails requested by The Dispatch revealed she used her state e-mail account to help raise campaign funds for President-Elect Barack Obama.
The Dispatch reported earlier that Jones-Kelley had ordered a check on Wurzelbacher through her agency's child-support computer system.
She later revealed that checks on "Joe" also were run in public-assistance and unemployment-compensation-tax databases, but stressed that none of the confidential information was made public.
Wuzelbacher became a national political fixture after he questioned Obama's tax policies during the Democrat's campaign appearance in the man's neighborhood. Republican John McCain then frequently referred to "Joe the Plumber" during his Oct. 15 debate with Obama.
Jones-Kelley said there were no political motives behind the checks run the day after the debate. Jones-Kelley had contributed $5,000 to Obama campaign funds in late July.
She later wrote that the computer checks were "consistent with past departmental practice" of checking on persons thrust into the pubic spotlight, amid suggestions they may have money, to determine if are receiving public assistance or owe taxes or child support. Wurzelbacher, who expressed outrage at the checks, had said he was considering buying a plumbing business.
The agency has no such policy in writing or records documenting such checks on the newly famous or rich, but state officials said the inspector general was provided with several examples of the practice from recent years.
The checks on Wurzelbacher became a national story, with McCain mentioning them on the campaign trail and Republicans claiming they were political retaliation over Wurzelbacher's questioning of Obama's tax policies.
The Dispatch also revealed three improper inquiries on secured computer systems into Wurzelbacher's driving and vehicle registration information at the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
The checks were traced to a state contractor who has been fired, a Toledo Police Department clerk who faces discipline and a computer at the Cuyahoga County Child Support Enforcement Agency in Cleveland.
http://www.sonyclassics.com/thelivesofothers/swf/index.html
The lives of others
Coming soon to a government near you.
Rent the DVD today!
I’ve been meaning to see it.
Get ready for more of this.
A lot more.
The appropriate prosecutor for that area should be filing charges for abuse or misuse of state property for what they did to that man. Not just one agency checked but several did. Seems like a coordinated effort to me to harass the guy. Someone should be made an example of on this to stop this from happening to this scale in the future.
I live in Ohio. Years ago, during my divorce, my (ex)wife, a state employee, used state equipment in her office to send paperwork to her attorney. I got copies as exhibits in the filing papers. I saw the banner of the state office on the top with the date and time stamp. I contacted this very same inspector general's office, and my low-level (35k/yr) spouse got five days off without pay and a written reprimand.
I was impressed.
Last year, he refused to prosecute the Columbus Mayor's wife for documented theft in office (over $35,000) from her state job.
And Obama has 2 million internet geeks ready to do his bidding. We are so screwed.
And I’ll bet my payheck that this woman and her ilk are for repealing the Patriot Act. Paid leave? I hope Joe sues her and the state.
I'm surprised the Rats didn't give her a bonus.
Painfully obvious but the square had to be colored in before the appropriate action can be taken.
Thirty day unpaid suspension.
Unbelievable.
The search of Joe’s record was illegal.
How illegal would it be to cut off the money given to millions of freeloaders in this state? I know of millions of taxpayers who scream to the top of their lungs everyday to do this. But no, let’s go look in to a hard-working taxpayer who we don’t like cause he didn’t vote for That One.
Amazing!
Reporting from the welfare capital of America.......
I'm surprised the Rats didn't give her a bonus.
Sounds like a vacation to me. They pay her not to come to work.
What a deal?! She can look for a new job while get paid for her old job.
No wonder so many people want government jobs. How can you loose.
Am I wrong in assuming that the majority of government workers are Democrats? If so what a sorry state of affairs. The apparatus from top to bottom is stinking, corrupt and slanted heavily against anyone but democrats.
Well at the end of those thirty days I’ll bet she’ll wish she had the $2300 that she donated to O’s campaign.
Todays Cincinnati Enquirer had the AP story datelined Toledo titled 'Records search deemed improper' buried (excuse the pun) in the obituaries on page B4 bottom left hand side. There was small picture of Jones-Kelly accompanying the article.
The rank and file are almost all unionized, so there's a conclusion to be drawn there.
I’m bumping this 2008 article to the top.
Perhaps it has relevance to the IRS scandal.
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.