Transparency News 1/24/14

Friday, January 24, 2014
 
State and Local Stories

 

Representatives for The Free Lance–Star Publishing Co. will Fridayask a bankruptcy court judge in Richmond to allow the company to keep operating as normal. The FLS is now considered a debtor in possession, meaning it will continue to publish newspaper and Web content, operate radio stations and more as it restructures in bankruptcy court.
Free Lance-Star

Maureen McDonnell relayed to federal prosecutors last summer that she felt responsible for the relationship with a wealthy businessman who had drawn legal scrutiny to Virginia’s first family, and her attorney asked whether the case could be resolved without charges for her husband. But prosecutors showed no interest, according to people familiar with the conversation. Instead, months later, authorities proposed that then-Gov. Robert F. McDonnell plead guilty to one felony fraud charge that had nothing to do with corruption in office and his wife would avoid charges altogether. The governor rejected the offer, the people with knowledge of the conversations said.
Washington Post

Va. Beach senator's party nomination bill tabled for year Legislation to limit political parties to candidate nomination methods that don't exclude military members appeared to have traction this year until a Senate version of the proposal was tabled this week amid objections from conservatives. As drafted, Sen. Frank Wagner's SB 507 said political parties can't select candidates for statewide office or the General Assembly in a way that could leave out active-duty military, reservists and other defense personnel.
Virginian-Pilot

Current and former members of the local political delegation reacted to the 14-count federal indictment of former governor Bob McDonnell and his wife, Maureen McDonnell, and suggested ways to avoid similar situations in the future. “It’s like being kicked in the gut,” former delegate Don Merricks said when describing his reaction to the indictment issued Tuesday. To prevent similar occurrences in the future, Merricks said, legislators need to “shore up the requirements for reporting” gifts. “We have a good group in Richmond, but unfortunately when you’re there for a while, you kind of get used to the power,” he added. Common sense also should be used, he said. Unlike some, Stanley said he does not support new or more stringent ethics rules because “I don’t think there are any new ethics rules that we could pass that would prevent that from happening.” The incident, he said, involved “transactions between two people in regard for a loan. You need to look beyond the indictment” and the charges to realize that the government has a hard case to prove.
Martinsville Bulletin

Middletown's former treasurer says she blew the whistle that prompted a police probe into possible embezzlement of town money. Stacey Harrison spoke to the Northern Virginia Daily on Thursday and issued a statement in response to an article about the town's efforts to replace her. In the emailed statement and on the phone, Harrison said she contacted police after finding inconsistencies in the town's financial records that occurred before her hiring in October. "I was contacted by the Virginia State Police after reporting funds that were missing from time periods prior to my employment," Harrison said. "I have fully cooperated and I am not a suspect." Shortly after police confirmed their investigation into possible embezzlement of town funds, council voted at a meeting Jan. 13 to fire Harrison. Council met three days later to seek legal advice from Town Attorney J. David Griffin, and the closed session lasted nearly two hours. The subject of the discussion has not been disclosed.
Northern Virginia Daily

The U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General’s office is once again taking aim at the management practices at the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. In a report released last week, the inspector general’s office said that the authority’s poor financial management practices allowed MWAA to receive federal dollars for items that were not eligible for federal reimbursement, such as payments to lobbyists and expenses related to the second phase of the project. The report also criticizes MWAA for being unable to supply requested documentation in a timely fashion.
Fairfax Times

How would you like to report government fraud, waste or abuse, protect more of your hard-earned taxpayer dollars and, on top of that, earn a reward? Well, it could happen, if a bill by Republican Delegate James LeMunyon from Chantilly passes to expand whistle-blower protections and privileges to all Virginia citizens. As current law stands, legal protections — and an up to a 10 percent reward — only apply to state government employees who report tangible evidence or eye-witness testimony information that leads to the state recovering misused money.
Watchdog.org Virginia Bureau

After the Haymarket town council voted on Monday night to impose 60-day suspensions without pay on their police chief, deputy police chief and one officer, the mayor on Thursday vetoed the suspensions, saying the investigation was improperly done and that the penalties on two of the three officers were “harsh and unfair.” And so Chief James E. Roop, Chief Deputy Gregory A. Breeden and Officer Jacob T. Davis were returned to the six-officer force Thursday evening, pending a possible override of the mayor’s veto when the town council meets again. We still don’t know what the three officers did to earn their two months off, slicing the size of the Haymarket Police Department in half. All six town council members declined to comment, saying the council had a policy of not discussing personnel matters.
Washington Post

National Stories

Delaware Chancery Court’s effort to revive its secret business arbitration process by taking the matter to the U.S. Supreme Court faces long odds, even according to supporters of the controversial program. The U.S. Supreme Court gets about 9,000 petitions every year, and the justices only review about 80 cases, according to the court, or less than 1 percent. Columbia Law Professor John C. Coffee Jr., a business law expert and close observer of Delaware’s Chancery Court, said if the U.S. Supreme Court accepts the petition filed late Tuesday, the justices are “very likely” to reinstate the arbitration process.
Delaware Online

The Pentagon’s chief historian asked contractor employees to babysit a child, promised a deputy job to two workers and speculated about a subordinate’s sexual orientation, the Defense Department’s inspector general has concluded in an investigation. Erin Mahan, the chief historian of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, “used her public office for private gain,” according to the investigation report, which stemmed from a number of allegations made against Mahan. It was released Thursday in response to a Freedom of Information Act request from POLITICO.
Politico

State lawmakers are hoping to bring some order to the controversial practice of builders pocketing the mineral rights beneath Florida homes. Rep. Ross Spano, R-Dover, and state Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, are sponsoring legislation that would force home sellers to alert prospective buyers in advance if they intend to keep the rights to drill underground.
Tampa Bay Times
 

Editorials/Columns

Herald-Progress: Well, Virginia’s in the news again, and not for being the top state for business or having the most public universities atop the national rankings. Tuesday, the boulder hanging over former Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife Maureen finally dropped. The McDonnells each face 14 criminal charges alleging they violated federal anti-corruption laws by using their office and the power that comes with it to benefit themselves and the wealthy businessman lavishing them with gifts. If convicted, the McDonnells face the reality of decades of prison time and millions of dollars of fines. McDonnell contends he did nothing illegal. But during his farewell address, he apologized for pain caused by the scandal, which consumed his final year in office. We don’t accept it. Corruption, or in this case, “alleged corruption,” doesn’t belong in the commonwealth. We’re not New Jersey, which is enjoying its own time in the national spotlight for a recent scandal. Virginia is for Lovers, remember.

Kerry Dougherty, Virginian-Pilot: No sooner had news broken Tuesday that Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife had been indicted on 14 felony corruption charges, than social media exploded. Unfortunately, most of the reactions seemed to fall into one of two equally unattractive camps: The gloaters. And the excuse-makers.