IS IT TRUE? December 13, 2011
IS IT TRUE that money laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources?…that this confuses some people into thinking that Illegal sources means money that was gotten from illegal activities like selling drugs, stealing, gun running, or whoring?…that illegal sources is not the same as illegally acquired and can apply to lots of transactions that are deemed to be ethically challenged or sneaky?…that illegal sources are usually recognized by a chain of transactions that circumvents some law or procedure that is inconvenient?
IS IT TRUE that If any politician were to write his campaign fund a check from the government it would clearly be an illegal source of money and may lead this guy to the fate of several former Governor’s of Illinois?…If that same politician pulls the strings and provides the support to get the government to write a check to a crony who then makes a campaign contribution to the very politician that brokered the deal, that the money is magically transformed into a perfectly legal campaign contribution ?…that it seems as though such circular transactions meet is the very definition of money laundering?…that when money that is clearly an illegal source passes through a set of hands via a contract with a government and then winds up in the campaign coffers of a politician that the honest intent for that money has been circumvented?
IS IT TRUE that in the case of the McCurdy, the City County Observer believes that in the beginning that the Weinzapfel Administration and City Centre Properties both had honorable intentions?…that the CCO in no way believes this was a set-up to transfer money from the get go?…the fact that CCPLLC failed, did not pay their taxes regularly, and that the City of Evansville received no benefit at all is what makes the campaign contributions so blatantly offensive to the taxpayers of Evansville?…that every transaction was carefully SNEGAL and no one will be jailed but the only winner in this little money triangle is the Weinzapfel for Mayor campaign?…that the City of Evansville lost money and the Evansville Redevelopment Commission looks like buffoons over this series of events?…that thus far City Centre Properties has lost money and unless a buyer comes through at a price from heaven CCP LLC appears to have taken a beating from this little experiment?…that the only entity that benefitted financially from the whole McCurdy debacle is the Weinzapfel for Mayor campaign fund?…that Mayor Weinzapfel’s campaign fund came out with cash in the bank for doing nothing and everyone else associated with this deal came out a loser?
IS IT TRUE that for these reasons the City County Observer calls upon Mayor Weinzapfel and any other local politician to return all of the contributions that any campaign fund that benefits their political careers has received as a result of the McCurdy debacle?…that these contributions started in 2007 and continued through 2010 per public record?…that we have no idea about 2011?…that one would have to wonder about the judgment and ethical challenges associated with any individual that did not see this situation as tainted?
IS IT TRUE that we get it that if some law firm or construction company earns a couple of million bucks on a project that went well and benefitted the community like the Ford Center that it is standard practice and in some circles even expected that a political contribution will be forthcoming?…that these are contributions that raise interests but this is not the same as benefitting from a failed project where everyone else loses?…that while we do not approve or condone private money buying influence through campaign contributions we do understand how everyone involved can come out a winner in such transactions?…that such things simply serve to raise the price of public works in much the same way that the strings attached to government dollars do?…that once again it is a singular politician benefitting financially from a completely failed project in which every investor and the taxpayers lost that rises to the level that the contributions should reimburse the losing taxpayers to the level of the total of the contributions?
IS IT TRUE that in a case like Solyndra where a fundraiser for President Obama was a shareholder of Solyndra that legal or not, the deal stunk to high heaven?…that at least Solyndra actually employed some people for a time and tried to make a go of the business?…that it would also be appropriate for President Obama’s campaign fund to give any political contributions that it received as a result of Solyndra and failed deals like it back to the taxpayers of the United States of America?…that the Solyndra mess and the McCurdy debacle are too alike for comfort except the McCurdy’s numbers are smaller?
Welcome to the Hotel Solyndra
Such a Lovely Place
The ERC lost their Face
They’re Livin it up at the Hotel Solyndra
Its only been four years
Now they act like Steers
Okay folks finish the song please.
It would be better if the states AG would investigate this and other criminal acts by King John and his gang of cronies!!!!
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2007/oct/09/mccurdy-deal-defended-mayor-developer-say-needed/
“City Council candidate Andrew Smith, a Republican at-large, said Monday the city’s decision to buy the property “fundamentally calls into question the transparency and accountability of the redevelopment commission … the complaint seems to be that they had to pay too much money for this, but they have only themselves to blame for that because of the way that they went about putting together this deal.
“If they had done the smart thing and tried to acquire these parcels together before announcing the project, then they would have had more bargaining leverage. Instead, in a rush to make an announcement about Downtown development, they seem to be engaging in the kind of fiscal mismanagement that I think has typified this administration.”
Weinzapfel dismissed that suggestion, saying the realtor representing the city who approached Dunn about buying the parking lot did not tell him who he represented.
Smith sent a letter Monday to Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter, asking his office to investigate the details of the transaction history of the parking lot.
After reviewing the letter, Weinzapfel said: “If (Smith) wants to have a policy discussion about whether we should encourage Downtown development, whether that is important to this community, whether we should incentivize residential housing construction — that is another point worth having a discussion about. But that’s not what he’s doing here.”
Weinzapfel said the McCurdy renovation is a “great project” and a building that, because of the operational costs of sustaining it, was at risk of becoming vacant before the city and Scott-Hilliard-Kosene reached a deal to redevelop it. “That would (have been) the worst thing that could have happened,” he said.
© 2007 Evansville Courier & Press
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Mr. Smith nailed it back in 2007!
the ag has been notified of our fair city on several occassions ,i know this for a fact because i called ,,proof of a crime is needed tho
Last two verses….
Mirrors on the ceiling,
Opus One on ice
And she said we are all just visitors here, with our own vice
And in the councils chambers,
They gathered for the feast
The stab it with their steely eyes,
But they just can’t kill the beast
Last thing I remember, I was
Running for the door
I had to find the passage back
To the place I was before
relax, said the councilman,
We are programmed to receive.
You can optout any time you like,
But you can never leave!
Where’s Glenn Frey when you need him? 😉
First verse……
On a dark deserted roadway, cool wind in my hair
Warm smell of bee slough, rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance, I saw a glimmering light
My heart grew heavy and my sight grew grim
I had to stop for the fight
There they stood in the hallway;
I heard the council tell
And I was thinking to myself,
this could be heaven or this could be hell
When they vote up the measure and it showed me the way
There were voices down the corridor,
I thought I heard them say…
JMHO
Second verse…..
their minds are definitely-twisted, they got the campaign funds
they got a lot of pretty, pretty boys, that they call sons
now they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer feat.
Some dance to move forward, some dance to retreat.
JMHO
Blanger,
Didn’t you state awhile back that you were starting a new business? If so, how do you have time to write song lyrics and make so many comments? Not that we don’t enjoy wondering where your next scattered yet interesting thought is going to come from, but usually starting a business takes a lot of time. On another topic, are you someone’s long lost half brother?
292…
Nope working my business (which has been around a very long time)(but my wife’s business is somewhat new), it’s just a little slow today and I have a full crew of young-ins’ to keep busy, multitasking isn’t very difficult, its when I have six or eight things all at the same time that my mind starts to get over taxed.
Long lost half-brother?, not that I’m aware of….but you do have my attention, do they have money or assets?
JMHO
Minimal money and assets compared to some in town. Mostly just interested in finding a family that he just learned he had. Intelligent, nice guy, hard worker. But no money for you. Sorry. Just a long shot on my part.
LOL….I understand, but don’t really see the correlation, my parents have been dead for a very long time…20+ years.
JMHO
Close to the same sense of humor. Don’t know your age but he is in his early 60s. Like I said, just a long shot. Life is strange.
292…
All of us old guys have a cynical sense of humor, it comes with the age and territory. 😉
JMHO
third verse…..
so I called up the new chaplain,
please give back my dime
he said, we haven’t any money here since two thousand and nine
and still those voices are calling from far, far away,
they wake you up in the middle of the night
just to hear them say…
This is exactly why I strongly advocate an Option C for Roberts Stadium – and all other such situations like the McCurdy. Selling the property on the open market in a transparent, open auction with no strings attached is the only surefire way to shield taxpayers from the fallout of cronyism, which is the allure that attracts so many into politics in the first place.
The number of politicians with an eye toward public service and principle is minuscule; therefore, only a principle of trust in free markets can shine a light on the dark dealings of cronyism in politics.
And for those, banking on a Winnecke administration being any different fundamentally from the outgoing Weinzapfel administration, I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you. Changing the letter following the name from “D” to “R” is usually only a superficial difference. I’d be very surprised if the cronyism ceased.
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