Posted on 01/10/2012 6:10:26 PM PST by SmithL
The good news for Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi is she won't face felony charges for shoplifting a pair of leather pants and other clothing from Neiman Marcus.
The bad news is a San Francisco judge did not buy the Hayward Democrat's excuse that she had accidentally stuffed $2,445 worth of clothes into a shopping back and waltzed out of the Union Square store without paying because she'd been distracted by her cell phone.
Last Friday, Hayashi pleaded no contest to misdemeanor grand theft. She was sentenced to three years probation, fined $180 and ordered to stay at least 50 feet away from Neiman Marcus.
The three-term assemblywoman's shoplifting conviction has placed a huge cloud over any plans she may have had to run for state senate -- regardless of the $800,000 war chest that she had amassed.
If you ask me, Hayashi's handlers helped nudge her even closer to the political graveyard by the contradictory signals they sent after her sentencing.
After Hayashi hastily left court Friday, refusing to take questions from reporters, her lawyer made a stunning announcement. Douglas Rappaport suggested that a brain tumor may have impaired Hayashi's mental faculties, playing a role in the shoplifting.
Yet Hayashi spokesman Sam Singer immediately denied that was the case. He said the brain tumor "did not play a role in her forgetfulness and distraction in accidentally walking out."
So which was it?
On Monday, Hayashi
"I accept responsibility and I offer apologies, not excuses," Hayashi said in a written statement.
Yet in the same statement, Hayashi vaguely suggests that her health may have been a factor, though she didn't offer any specifics about the severity of her condition. "My medical condition may have complicated the situation," she said, "however, I want to be clear that I take full personal responsibility for my actions."
Her medical condition "may have complicated the situation?" What does that mean, exactly?
Hayashi needs to stop bobbing and weaving and give voters the honest explanation they deserve.
The suggestion that a health condition may have played a role in Hayashi's criminal behavior will raise even more questions in the minds of her constituents in the 18th District (Hayward, San Leandro, Castro Valley and Dublin) about her fitness for office.
A brain tumor is obviously a very serious illness.
Depending on its location, there is a possibility that it could have affected the assemblywoman's behavior -- though I have personally never heard of a brain tumor causing a person to shoplift.
It was not very wise to publicly reveal that Hayashi had a brain tumor right after her sentencing.
Prosecutors say Hayashi's health didn't even figure into their decision to reduce her felony to a misdemeanor.
They did so because she had no prior criminal record and admitted taking the merchandise.
Was this supposed to be a public sympathy ploy? If so, it backfired. Horribly.
How can an individual who allegedly suffers from a medical condition that could potentially cause her to make unsound decisions be trusted with the public's business?
Team Hayashi should have stuck with the first story about the cell phone, instead of muddying the water with the revelations about her health condition.
I doubt very many voters will buy it, especially given that Neiman Marcus' security was already on the lookout for Hayashi when she entered the store because a clerk had suspected her of having stolen a dress the week before.
But it was a lot less politically radioactive than even hinting that a brain tumor may have been a factor in the commission of the crime.
It is what some are lambasting as a new Twinkie defense.
Assembly Speaker John Perez has said that Hayashi has provided assurances that she is medically fit to continue serving as a legislator.
He might consider the case closed.
Yet I doubt that voters will be happy with Hayashi's unsatisfying explanation.
She’s a commie ‘RAT. She’ll be okay. No harm done.
$2,400 theft is a felony in the real world. The FIX is in.
She walked out with under $100 worth of stuff.
Another reason I don't shop at Neiman Marcus
This lib fool is a demonrat, correct? How can she have a brain tumor, if there is no brain? What am I missing here?
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