Recently in Corruption Category

This time it's Finance Department employees stealing your money:

Finance Department employees may have stolen as much as $1 million in the last two years using an intricate fraud scheme targeting refunds for unclaimed stock certificates, bank accounts and other abandoned assets that revert to state ownership.

Abandoned financial property -- known as escheat -- is one of the state's largest revenue sources, bringing in about $364.9 million last year alone. Money comes from abandoned assets that have been dormant for five or more years or unredeemed retail store gift cards.

As an aside - gift cards? Looks like they glossed over another type of theft. Next time I'm giving cash.

State Auditor R. Thomas Wagner Jr. says, "This could be the largest case of government fraud we've ever had...".

More later...

Update (11/06/07 10:58AM): Good Question.

Anyone who really believed that the left would behave better that the right regarding pork and spending discipline need look no further than Nancy Pelosi over the next two years to see if that faith was deserved:

"There's a long tradition where not only can you bring back your average pork as a member of Congress, but speaker pork gives you a lot of money, a lot of influence over the purse," said Julian E. Zelizer, a congressional historian at Boston University.

Pelosi, a Democrat, will be the first Californian to hold the post, and congressional watchdogs say they'll be observing her new spending clout with great interest.

There are "a lot of peeping chicks everywhere," said Tim Ransdell, executive director of the California Institute for Federal Policy Research in Washington, D.C. "And implicitly the House speaker has a nice war chest to start with."

Aides to Pelosi don't dispute that the state will benefit from a changing of the guard at the Capitol. "From the speaker's chair to committee chairs, Californians in Congress will have additional clout to help the home state," said Pelosi spokeswoman Jennifer Crider.

While it's possible that Rep. Pelosi has indeed repaired and will become the champion of responsible budgeting, Pelosi's own aides hint at the misplaced faith of the electorate. And the history of the California Representative suggests the type of pattern that politicians rarely abandon.

As a reminder, Pelosi verbally pandered on earmark reform but was too too busy picking out drapes to study for the test. And the watchdog group Citizens Against Government Waste gives her a lifetime score of 13.

And with President Bush's reluctance to use his veto power... well, all I gotta say is get ready for the spending spree.

The Johnstown Tribune-Democrat weighed in yesterday with their thoughts on the Murtha - Irey Congressional race, and it's not pretty (H/T Irey campaign). Unlike the NYT editorial endorsing Lamont, this one actually talks about the candidate they endorse - and they have little nice to say about him besides approving of his "cut and run" war stance. Emphasis added:

On his famous love for pork:

While we endorse the local congressman in his re-election bid, we fear the spending spree that might result from a shift in power...

On his smearing of the troops, which has made him very unpopular with the military:

We would also urge Murtha to sit down with area veterans who clearly have different views on the Iraq conflict than he does.

On his alignment with the moonbat wing of the Democratic Party:

We are frightened by Murtha’s willingness to align himself with California Democrat Nancy Pelosi. Clearly, Murtha is hoping that relationship paves the way for his ascension to a position of higher power in the House. But we don’t believe our region’s values match well with Pelosi’s, and we don’t see much good coming for the 12th district – even if the relationship benefits the congressman.

Beyond that, Murtha has endeared himself to liberals on both coasts – raising money for his allies in California, New England and elsewhere. We hope he can keep these “friends” and their spending ways in check if the Democrats retake the House.

They even acknowlege how corrupt he is, hoping he can restrain his urges:

But we urge him to remain faithful to his fiscally and socially conservative western Pennsylvania roots – even if it costs him in personal gain and national influence.

Read the whole editorial. It's painfully clear what the Tribune-Democrat is saying here - "Murtha sucks, but vote for him anyway 'cause he's a Democrat."

The Tribune-Democrat's editorial staff has surely reached new lows when their bias toward the left causes them to endorse a candidate whom they acknowlege is unsuitable in most ways. Do they really believe the voters in Johnstown are dense enough to buy it?

Update: Those troops that Murtha rushes to condemn have a few thoughts about cutting and running (H/T Captain's Quarters). The Tribune-Democrat is right, the troops simply don't agree with Murtha.

With only a week to go until election day, this would be a good day for these two to come out of hiding.

That's two houses you shouldn't take your kids to. Neither is a treat.

Of course, we know where they aren't:

Jack Carter has tried to reach out to Nevada voters who the Carters say 2004 Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry ignored. He talks openly about his Baptist faith, and appeared last weekend with his father at a black church in Las Vegas.

But it's okay when they do it....

Harold Ford shoots a campaign commercial in a church. Seems like material support to me...

Think Melanie Sloan will notice?

Yes, CREW gave me a visit. I didn't believe it at first, so I emailed CREW through their contact page and received confirmation that the comment was genuine. I'll have to admit to being very surprised - I'm not usually kind in my posts about CREW.

I posted a few days ago about CREW's complaint to the DOJ concerning Curt Weldon. A comment was posted by Naomi Seligman Steiner, CREW's Deputy Director, taking issue with what I posted. Here's her comment:

In response to your wrongful assertion, CREW did recieve the e-mails as they appear. They were redacted upon receipt. CREW did not edit them in any way.

Naomi Seligman Steiner
CREW

The statement challenged by Ms. Stein was this sentence following the images of the emails:

"All of the dark line redacting was CREW's doing, I smudged out a few names they left in place."

I wrote this to explain the two visually different types of editing done on the images - the heavy black lines vs the smudging I added. No other point was intended by the statement. However, I should have worded it differently. CREW's letter to the DOJ states that the emails were provided to them in pre-redacted form:

"Although the emails CREW received were heavily redacted, we have been able to authenticate them."

My apologies to CREW for the error, and the original post has been corrected.

The remainder of the post stays as is - please note that no other portions of the post were challenged in any way.

And the Democrats are outraged. How do we know they are outraged? Because they leaked it:

A conference call to the committee's nine Democrats on Wednesday to inform them of the aide's suspension prompted outrage, said two congressional officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about internal committee business.

The officials said that the National Intelligence Estimate was marked "secret," rather than "top secret" or another more restrictive classification. As a result, thousands of people would have had access to it, including the intelligence, armed services and international relations committees of the House.

While I'm encouraged that some effort is being made to determine the sources of the leaks, this story is near zero for me. Why? 'Cause there is nothing but suspicion here so far. The Democrats correctly state that a large number of people have access to the NIE, and we don't know if the staffer ordered the report for someone else or for himself.

What I still don't get is why Congress ignores the press (and their role) in all of this. Classified information requires controls and boundaries. Once it crosses outside of those boundaries, it's no longer classified information - it's stolen classified information. One would think the government could leverage this to compell reporters to reveal the leakers as part of a criminal investigation, since receiving stolen goods is a crime. Until we do, the leaks will never stop. And while the left may think it's cute to leak classified data for political purposes, the fact is that it harms our country when they do so.

So until I see someone being prosecuted, I'm going to have to assume that this staffer suspension (along with all of the promises of investigation for past leaks) is simply intended to be eyewash - red meat for the base.

For me, though, it's a flavorless meal that leaves me not just unsatified, but starving.

A press release this morning from Harry Reid:

To: Assignment Desk, Daybook Editor

Contact: The Office of Sen. Harry Reid, 702-388-5020

News Advisory:

WHO:

-- Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.)

-- Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco

-- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

-- Citibank

-- Nevada State Bank

-- ACORN Housing

WHAT: Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, (FHLBank San Francisco) will co-host a homebuyer fair to increase first-time homebuyers in the Las Vegas valley. The fair will include English and Spanish language workshops to provide valuable information that will help first- time homebuyers.

Participants will learn how to qualify for home loans, repair their credit, and access up to $25,000 in down payment assistance. The fair is a collaborative effort of the FHLBank San Francisco in partnership with financial services and housing community leaders to increase first-time homebuyers through education and access to affordable housing programs. Since 1990, the FHLBank San Francisco has awarded more than $12 million to 55 affordable housing projects in Nevada to increase the supply of affordable housing. The event is free and open to the public. Activities for children will also be available.

WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 21 (Light lunch will be provided to program participants) 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. (Doors will open at 9:30 a.m.)

WHERE: Advance Technology Academy, 2501 Vegas Dr., Las Vegas, NV 89106

Makes sense to me. After all, he's an expert on creative real estate strategies!

Thanks, AllahPundit! Welcome, Hot Air readers!

A terrific column about the Harry Reid real estate scandal by Ed Morrissey (of Captain's Quarters fame): Reid's Smelly Windfall.

Yesterday I wrote about left-wing McClatchy Newspapers pushing the story of an alleged FBI investigation of Representative Curt Weldon regarding some business dealings of his daughter. Today the story is getting drawn into the mainstream news cycle:

WASHINGTON - The FBI is investigating whether Rep. Curt Weldon (news, bio, voting record), R-Pa., used his influence to secure lobbying and consulting contracts for his daughter, two people familiar with the inquiry said Saturday.

The story contains all the elements that we've come to expect from the left when any issue is used by them for political gain - shadowy informants and Democratic party knowledge of a supposedly secret investigation pre-dating the leak to the media:

...They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the confidentiality of the criminal investigation.

...This account cited two individuals with specific knowledge of the existence of the investigation; they declined to be identified because of the confidentiality of criminal investigations.

...Over the last few days, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has mailed fliers to voters in Weldon's district accusing Karen Weldon of getting help from her father on lobbying projects.

Well, it's not confidential now, is it?

As I said yesterday, if Rep. Weldon has done something wrong, I'll be the first to wave goodbye. No room in my party for that kind of shenanigans. Unlike the left, though, I prefer that the FBI come to the right conclusion in their investigation. Depending on the reason they kept it confidential, that goal no longer be attainable. Obstructing justice for political gain - is this the kind of political party you want in power?

That said, the actions of the left in this matter are disgusting. The investigation was apparently secret enough so that Weldon's office wasn't informed, and now it has been compromised by the left for political gain. The fact that leakers went to the DCCC prior to approaching the media shows all you need to know. Presumably the two "people familiar with the investigation" approached the DCCC and the media for the most cynical of reasons - It had become evident to them that the investigation would not be complete in time for the election. So a decision was made to sacrifice the FBI's sleuthing in favor of politics.

Truly vile.

Update: A reader (name withheld by request) points out correctly that Weldon has been accused by the left over his daughter's contracts for a couple of years, and the story is not new. However, the FBI's involvement, along with the apparent interferance in that investigation by left operatives/sympathizers, is new and newsworthy. It's ironic that the left claims to stand for accountability when the leak and opportunistic use of it may actually prevent that accountability that they pretend to want.

I had to read it twice, as this is the most dramatic departure from established Democratic Party patterns that I've ever seen:

BATON ROUGE, La. - The Louisiana Democratic Party turned down eight-term U.S. Rep. William Jefferson (news, bio, voting record) on Saturday and endorsed state Rep. Karen Carter, one of a dozen challengers who emerged after Jefferson became the target of a federal bribery investigation.

The State Central Committee's 69-53 vote, at a special meeting to decide whom to endorse in Louisiana's open primaries Nov. 7, was the first time in recent memory that an incumbent had failed to win the state party's endorsement.

Of course, he still has endorsements of labor and local Dem committees. Still, it's a start. Color me shocked. Maybe the left is starting to look inward a little.

While everyone is still reflecting on today's death of Kenneth Lay and the Enron scandal he was recently convicted in, it's worthwhile to note that most people in business act responsibly - it just doesn't make the news.

Here's a rare case of someone doing something right making the news - and Kudos to PepsiCo and the ethics of their employees:

ATLANTA - Three people were charged by federal prosecutors on Wednesday with stealing confidential information, including a sample of a new drink, from The Coca-Cola Co. and trying to sell it to rival PepsiCo Inc.

The suspects include a Coke executive's administrative assistant, Joya Williams, who is accused of rifling through corporate files and stuffing documents and a new Coca-Cola product into a personal bag.

Williams, 41, of Norcross, Ga., and 30-year-old Ibrahim Dimson of New York and 43-year-old Edmund Duhaney of Decatur, Ga., were arrested on charges of wire fraud and unlawfully stealing and selling Coke trade secrets, federal prosecutors said.

OK, kinda ordinary so far. The real story is that the corporate culture at PepsiCo resisted temptation and helped nab the bad guys:

According to prosecutors, on May 19, Purchase, N.Y.-based PepsiCo provided Coke with a copy of a letter mailed to PepsiCo in an official Coca-Cola business envelope. The letter, postmarked from the Bronx in New York, was from an individual identifying himself as "Dirk," who claimed to be employed at a high level with Coca-Cola and offered "very detailed and confidential information." "Dirk" was later identified as Dimson, the FBI says.

Coca-Cola immediately contacted the FBI and an undercover FBI investigation began.

Prosecutors say Williams was the source of the information Dimson offered to provided Pepsi. They say that "Dirk" provided an FBI undercover agent 14 pages of Coca-Cola documents marked classified and confidential. The company confirmed that the documents were valid and highly confidential and were considered trade secrets. Williams works for a senior Coke manager, though the company would not say Wednesday which one. The company also would not say if she has been fired.

Prosecutors say "Dirk" requested $10,000 for the documents.

Later "Dirk" produced other documents that Coca-Cola confirmed were valid trade secrets of Coca-Cola and highly confidential. He also agreed to be paid $75,000 for the purchase of a highly confidential product sample from a new Coca Cola project, prosecutors said.

Then on June 27, an undercover FBI agent offered to buy other trade secret items for $1.5 million from "Dirk." The same day a bank account was opened under the names of Duhaney and Dimson, and the address used on the account was that of Duhaney's Decatur residence, prosecutors said.

Video surveillance showed Williams at her desk at Coke headquarters going through multiple files looking for documents and stuffing them into bags. She also was observed holding a liquid container with a white label, which resembled the description of new Coca-Cola product sample before placing it into her personal bag, prosecutors say, adding that Coca-Cola later verified the sample was genuine and is in fact a product being developed by the company.

Dimson, Williams and Duhaney were arrested in Atlanta on Wednesday, the day the $1.5 million deal was to take place, prosecutors say.

I sincerely hope that the person at Pepsi who received that letter and did the right thing is getting some serious reward - in today's world where business is highly competitive and far too often cutthroat, this individual is an ethics hero.

After all that bluster about the search of Jefferson's office comes this about Speaker Hastert:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Dennis Hastert, is under investigation by the FBI, which is probing corruption in Congress, ABC News reported on Wednesday.

ABC, citing high level Justice Department sources, said information implicating Hastert was developed from convicted lobbyists who are now cooperating with the government.

Part of the investigation involves a letter Hastert wrote three years ago, urging the Secretary of the Interior to block a casino on an Indian reservation that would have competed with those of other tribes.

Hastert's Press Secretary told ABC in a statement: "We are not aware of this." Hastert's spokespeople were not immediately available for comment.

Of course, the implication is that Abramoff has fingered Hastert. This will be interesting to watch as it develops. And since Abramoff's generosity touched lots in Congress, Democrat and Republican alike, I wouldn't at all be surprised if we hear of more investigations.

I'm with Glenn - Search 'em all.