Cuyahoga Co. Elections Director Resigns (OH)

[OhioChick]

POSTED: 11:37 am EST February 6, 2007
UPDATED: 1:30 pm EST February 6, 2007

CLEVELAND -- NewsChannel5 has confirmed that embattled elections chief in Cuyahoga County has resigned.

Executive director Michael Vu's ouster marks the end of a tense term that thrust Cuyahoga County and its voters in the national spotlight. Under Vu, the county weathered a botched primary election and convictions of two workers who mishandled the 2004 presidential recount.

Bob Bennett, chairman of the county Elections Board and head of the state Republican Party, said the board negotiated the departure with Vu.

"Yes, Michael is going to be leaving. But we need to have a transition period, and it's very important to us that Michael agrees to stay around and help with the (new) director, particularly having a new system, and get his feet on the ground," Bennett told The Associated Press. "We're pretty close to being finished."

Bennett would not say why the deal was being crafted or whose idea it was for Vu to leave.

http://www.newsnet5.com/politics/10943511/detail.html

[Ian David]

1. He's resigning to spend more time disenfranchising his family. n/t

[Forkboy]

107. LMFAO!

:rofl:

[loudsue]

108. The article is dated FEBRUARY 6.

Isn't that a mistake??

:kick:

[tblue]

2. May the doorknob hit him where the good Lord split him

[WCGreen]

3. The guy was only like 27 years old....

I don't know why they hired him in the firs place....

Not enough experience to handle the 10th largest county in the country...

[L. Coyote]

7. What is Vu's history? Any good links PLEASE

Wasn't he working in Utah before Cleveland? Lake resources?

What of academic credentials, etc.?

Past employers?

From the article: "...A Democrat who learned the elections business in Republican-dominated Utah, Vu has a black belt in martial arts and has a political science degree from the University of Utah. He worked for seven years for the Salt Lake County Elections Division in various administrative and research roles...."

[L. Coyote]

39. UTAH PRESS 2004: "... Vu Wins Praise in Ohio...."

http://www.utahpolicy.com/pages/newsletters/daily128.htm

When he left the Salt Lake County elections office for Cuyahoga,Ohio, Michael Vu probably had no clue what he was getting in to. But today he’s winning high praise for his performance under severe pressure.

... excerpts from a Friday, Nov. 5 story in the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

"It was like getting 15 minutes of martial arts training and being thrown to the lions at the Colosseum - hungry lions - and he handled it," said Vu's running buddy, Cuyahoga Common Pleas Judge Timothy McGinty.

Even more surprising is the transformation Vu has made in the oh-so-political agency he took over one year and three months ago today. For years, the place had been a joke. There was a time when staffers watched soap operas, slept at their desks or spent the day working on local candidates' campaigns.

So why did he resign as election manager in Salt Lake County, Utah, to take the job? Vu laughs. "I didn't know what I was getting myself into," he says. .... And he's only 28.

"When I first saw Michael Vu, I thought 'This has got to be a mistake,'" said Roger Synenberg, a Cleveland lawyer and Republican who was on the elections board when Vu was hired. "I mean, he was my son's age."
.....
"It became quite clear to me, and I know to other members of the board, that this was a person who could not be judged chronologically," Synenberg said.

Tom Hayes, director of the Ohio Department of Job & Family Services and another of Vu's running buddies, calls the director "an elections savant.".....

[Javaman]

92. The question now is: who is replacing him? nt

[EFerrari]

12. That's astonishing. Or, maybe not. Maybe a 27 yr is easier to manipulate

than a 47 year old. :tinfoilhat:

[cosmicdot]

16. "loyalty first and expertise second"

perhaps it's a local example of this philosophy ...

(I can just see and hear someone like Karl Rove briefing the brown shirts re M.O.)

The blueprint for Bush-era governance was laid out in a January 2001 manifesto from the Heritage Foundation, titled “Taking Charge of Federal Personnel.” The manifesto’s message, in brief, was that the professional civil service should be regarded as the enemy of the new administration’s conservative agenda. And there’s no question that Heritage’s thinking reflected that of many people on the Bush team.

How should the civil service be defeated? First and foremost, Heritage demanded that politics take precedence over know-how: the new administration “must make appointment decisions based on loyalty first and expertise second.” - Paul Krugman, "The Green-Zoning of America"

http://wealthyfrenchman.blogspot.com/2007/02/green-zoning-of-america.html

"loyalty first and expertise second"

link to the Heritage 'Taking Charge of Federal Personnel' page
http://www.heritage.org/Research/GovernmentReform/BG1404.cfm


Herr Robert Moffit, author of the manifesto

http://www.heritage.org/about/staff/RobertMoffit.cfm

[texpatriot2004]

4. Good Riddance nm

[Kelvin Mace]

5. FINALLY!!!

Someone loses their job for their incompetence and treachery.

[L. Coyote]

6. DU Jan. 28, released: OHIO 2004: 6.15% Kerry-Bush vote-switch found...

That didn't take long, only a week. Guess who all are resigning next.

Discussion here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=203&topic_id=466044&mesg_id=466044

Defining the vote outcome probabilities of wrong-precinct voting has revealed, in a sample of 166,953 votes (1/34th of the Ohio vote), the Kerry-Bush margin changes 6.15% when the population is sorted by probable outcomes of wrong-precinct voting.

The Kerry to Bush 6.15% vote-switch differential is seen when the large sample is sorted by probability a Kerry wrong-precinct vote counts for Bush. When the same large voter sample is sorted by the probability Kerry votes count for third-party candidates, Kerry votes are instead equal in both subsets.

Read the revised article with graphs of new findings:

The 2004 Ohio Presidential Election: Cuyahoga County Analysis
How Kerry Votes Were Switched to Bush Votes

http://jqjacobs.net/politics/ohio.html

[L. Coyote]

8. "... board meeting scheduled later .." NEWS ANYONE?

Bennett would not say why the deal was being crafted or whose idea it was for Vu to leave.

"I'm not going to get into that. I think that would be inappropriate. We'll be able to talk about that later this afternoon," he said, referring to a board meeting scheduled later.

Any follow-up news appreciated.

[L. Coyote]

9. It's happening very fast. Out in just 90 minutes.. Watch the video

http://www.newsnet5.com/politics/10943511/detail.html

[L. Coyote]

10. Bob Bennett and Jennifer Brunner? Lunch at Lindey's yesterday!

rightangleblog.com has this tidbit:

" ...Submitted by Matthew on January 4, 2007 - 2:30pm. Tags: Democrats, Republicans

Here is the question of the day: Why was Ohio GOP Chairman Bob Bennett having lunch with Jennifer Brunner yesterday at Lindey's?

Maybe Jennifer wants to switch parties? Heh..."

Or maybe she iwas doing her duty as Ohio Secretary of State. And now we have some idea of what that involved.

http://www.rightangleblog.com/story/bob_bennett_and_jennifer_brunner

[L. Coyote]

11. Link to this thread in Election Reform

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x466951

[L. Coyote]

13. Board Of Elections Statement On Michael Vu's Resignation

Board Of Elections Statement On Michael Vu's Resignation
NewsNet5.com, OH - 22 minutes ago

"Michael Vu has chosen to pursue future career growth and will resign as director of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections March 1 of this year..."

http://www.newsnet5.com/news/10945922/detail.html

[L. Coyote]

14. AP Early today: Cuyahoga County's election problems

Cuyahoga County's election problems
Associated Press Posted on Tue, Feb. 06, 2007

http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/news/state/16635649.htm

The Cuyahoga County Board of Elections has experienced many problems during executive director Michael Vu's tenure. ..."

"Lingering issues:

" Two election workers were convicted last month of illegally rigging the 2004 presidential election recount ..."

" Commissioners are considering getting rid of touch-screen voting machines ....first used in the May primary, cost $17 million....."

[L. Coyote]

15. toledoblade.com: "...after a nearly two-hour closed-door meeting ..."

"... Vu, 30, was hired at $119,000 a year in 2003 to take over the largest and arguably most problematic elections system in the bellwether state during a hard-fought and close presidential campaign...."

"After the meeting, board chairman Bob Bennett, also the leader of the state Republican Party, said the board realized that Vu had a tough job ..... The board is happy Vu is staying for a few more months as a consultant, Bennett said. .... Gwendolyn Dillingham, the board’s assistant director, also is leaving...."

more in later editions of The Blade and toledoblade.com
http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070206/NEWS09/70206038

[L. Coyote]

17. DU Aug-08-06 Ballot Manager For Cuyahoga Co. BOE Resigns

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2444851

"The county's elections review panel described Robert Baker as too inexperienced and very unfocused, and that he "lacked the passionate concern for voting integrity," NewsChannel5 reported...."

http://www.newsnet5.com/news/9649982/detail.html

[L. Coyote]

18. AP Full Story: Elections chief in Ohio's largest county resigns

http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/news/state/16635046.htm

"... Under Vu, the county had a botched primary election and saw the convictions of two workers who mishandled the 2004 presidential recount...."

"... In November 2004, Cuyahoga was among the counties with long lines and complaints over provisional ballots. The election ended with Ohio giving President Bush the electoral votes needed to narrowly win the White House over Democratic U.S. Sen. John Kerry...."

Nothing quite like the condensed version, especially in the Cuyahoga context.

"... board chairman Bob Bennett, also the leader of the state Republican Party, said the board realized that Vu had a tough job .... The board is happy Vu is staying for a few more months as a consultant, Bennett said. He said Vu will continue to collect his director's salary during that time...."

"... Vu, 30, was hired at about $119,000 a year in 2003 ..."

[L. Coyote]

19. Help bring democracy to Cuyahoga County! from Vicki Lovegren:

Help bring democracy to Cuyahoga County!
From Vicki Lovegren:

"... Cuyahoga County is the LAST county one should trust with unverifiable secret vote counting. Mother Jones (Sept/Oct issue) named it one of the "worst places to vote and have your vote counted!" ..."

"... Cuyahoga BOE chairman, Bob Bennett, is head of the Ohio Republican Party (Many believe he brought in Michael Vu to implement Diebold voting technology.) ..."

"... Cuyahoga BOE has a record of lying, secrecy and disdain for public opinion, pushing through Diebold e-voting despite overwhelming public opposition, denying public records and access, among other things...."

http://markcrispinmiller.blogspot.com/2006/10/help-bring-democracy-to-cuyahoga.html

[jamesinca]

20. This says it all for me

"Bob Bennett, chairman of the county Elections Board and head of the state Republican Party"

[L. Coyote]

21. In charge: Head of the State Republican Party

This really is an important point and has been overlooked. There has been a real effort to spin Cuyahoga as "lazy Dem workers, nothing more" "no fraud to see here, move on, nothing here." Meanwhile, the Ohio Republican chairman is running the show. Reminds me of when the US AG was involved in Watergate and that cover-up. Of course, they were only stealing Dem papers and doing the usual illegal wiretapping, etc., not rigging a Presidential election!

[jamesinca]

25. Dare I say, I long for the days of Nixon NT

[L. Coyote]

22. THE SPIN: "... But this WON'T Shut the Stupid Leftist Pukes Up...."

Jakthehammer wrote:

**** IT'S OFFICIAL...BUSH REALLY WON IN 2004...****
Yup........But this WON'T Shut the Stupid Leftist Pukes Up........The
Poor Bastards are INSANE..........

"Cleveland-Area Elections Chief Resigns ......

From: http://bbs.whatpissesyouoff.com/showthread.php?t=190471

Please comment there.

[L. Coyote]

71. “Spreadsheet wielding conspiracy theorists”

No Paper Trail Left Behind: the Theft of the 2004 Presidential Election*
By Dennis Loo, Ph.D.
Cal Poly Pomona
http://www.projectcensored.org/newsflash/voter_fraud.html

Alice laughed: "There's no use trying," she said; "one can't believe impossible things."

......

“Spreadsheet wielding conspiracy theorists”

In November 2004 major U.S. media gave headline news treatment to the Ukrainian Presidential election fraud, explicitly citing the exit polls as definitive evidence of fraud. At the very same time major U.S. media dismissed anyone who pointed out this same evidence of likely fraud in the U.S. elections as “conspiracy theory” crazies. A November 11, 2004 Washington Post article, for example, described people raising the question of fraud as “mortally wounded party loyalists and … spreadsheet-wielding conspiracy theorists.”26 Tom Zeller, Jr. handled it similarly, writing in the November 12, 2004 issue of the New York Times (“Vote Fraud Theories, Spread by Blogs, Are Quickly Buried”): “he email messages and Web postings had all the twitchy cloak-and-dagger thrust of a Hollywood blockbuster. ‘Evidence mounts that the vote may have been hacked,’ trumpeted a headline on the Web site CommonDreams.org. ‘Fraud took place in the 2004 election through electronic voting machines,’ declared BlackBoxVoting.org.”27

Neither of these articles bothered to address even a fraction of the evidence of irregularities. The Washington Post passed off the exit polls discrepancy as “not being based on statistics” .......

[L. Coyote]

23. VIDEO: Vicki Lovegren Exposes Duplicity of Michael Vu and .. BOE

"This is well worth watching if you want to understand why pollworkers in Cleveland will not be allowed to post precinct results. That is because there is no reason. No acceptable reason in a Democracy, that is. Vicki Lovegren of Ohio Vigilance lays it out in plain, clear irrefutable language. Pollworkers need to perform an extremely simple two-step process. The BOE agreed to do this procedure in the spring, and now -- due to pressure from superiors -- may not do the posting."

http://eda-tv.blip.tv/file/94962/

[L. Coyote]

24. Committee on House Administration: Testimony By L. Michael Vu

on the topic of the 2004 General Election and the Help America Vote Act.

"My name is Michael Vu, Director of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections. I have been serving in my capacity with the Board of Elections since August of 2003 ....

"Overall, we believe the election in Cuyahoga County was well handled. Like in every election, separate and unique problems generally present themselves. This past election was no different. Considering the massive scrutiny and challenges that faced the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, it is my belief the election was conducted in the most professional manner possible...."

http://cha.house.gov/hearings/Testimony.aspx?TID=669

[L. Coyote]

26. AUG: 2006: Push By Dems to oust Vu blocked again by Republicans

Vote on Cuyahoga election chief tied
Tuesday, August 08, 2006 - Joseph L. Wagner - Plain Dealer Reporter

Democrats made a second attempt Monday to oust Michael Vu as Cuyahoga County elections director, but their bid to demote him was blocked -- at least for now -- by Republicans who again deadlocked the vote at 2-2.

Board members Edward Coaxum and Loree Soggs sought to replace Vu with an interim director. They recommended Joseph Nolan, personnel director under former Cleveland Mayor Michael White and currently a Cleveland State University vice president.

Coaxum and Soggs demanded the resignation, forced if necessary, of Vu's deputy, Gwen Dillingham. The Elections Review Panel blamed both of them for most of the problems of the botched May primary........

http://www.cleveland.com/open/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1155025854105190.xml&coll=2

[L. Coyote]

43. NOV 2006: Key Ohio Democrats Call For Changes At BOE

Cuyahoga Prosecutor Wants To 'Clean House' After Election Day Problems
UPDATED: 6:20 pm EST November 8, 2006
http://www.newsnet5.com/politics/10276175/detail.html

CLEVELAND -- There is a call for change Cuyahoga County Board of Elections following the events of Tuesday's election, and that call is coming from two key Ohio Democrats.

The head of Ohio's Democratic party and Cuyahoga County's prosecutor said they have had enough with the voting problems, and when both should have been celebrating victories Wednesday, they instead went on the attack, reported 5 On Your Side's Duane Pohlman.

"For anyone to suggest that the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections has done their job well is akin to sticking your head in the sand," said Chris Redfern, the head of the Ohio Democratic Party.

In Columbus, Redfern took direct aim at Cuyahoga County for what he called numerous problems with voting.

"There is change that is desperately needed," Redfern said.

.....

(Republican State Party boss and) Board Chairman Bob Bennett also defended what happened.

"I think Michael Vu, Gwen Dillingham, and I think the entire staff did an outstanding job in bringing this election together," he said.

MORE...

[L. Coyote]

53. "... if you need a lawyer to help negotiate the departure...."

Finally, someone questions the BOE about it's responsibilities. Here is an insightful comment from cleveland.com's weblog:

"Naturally no one on the actual Board of Elections is stepping down or resigning. Why should they? They are only in charge of the whole mess and hired the people that are getting all the blame. It's not like the system has always been a screwed up mess of political patronage and incompetence."

http://www.cleveland.com/weblogs/neobabble/index.ssf?/mtlogs/cleve_neobabble/archives/2007_02.html

Cuyahoga County elections chief Michael Vu today announced this resignation, ending a turbulent term ..... Deputy Director Gwen Dillingham also will resign, ..... But details of her departure haven’t been set because her lawyer is on vacation.

So resignation might not be the right term to describe what happened if you need a lawyer to help negotiate the departure. Nice severance package for 4 months as a paid consultant. I'm sure they will be leaning heavily on him for advice .....

I essentially agreed back in July after the report that Vu would have to go, but not until after the November election. I can't believe it has taken to this point.

[L. Coyote]

54. Either way Blackwell goes "the voters of Cuyahoga County ... are likely to be screwed again."

July 21st, 2006
Callahan’s Cleveland Diary - Thinking about economics, politics and real life in Cleveland, Ohio
http://www.callahansclevelanddiary.com/?p=20

At the Board’s meeting this morning, the votes on a motion to demand Vu’s resignation split along party lines: Democrats Loree Soggs and Edward Coaxum for, Republicans Robert Bennett and Sally Florkiewicz against. This apparently leaves the question up to Blackwell. ...

What would you do if you were the Secretary of State — aside from chortling at this lovely turn of events?

You could decline to vote, deliver a little lecture on local responsibility, and sit back while a diseased agency writhes on the public stage and the county’s election process stumbles toward chaos in November.

Or you could play the white knight, take personal credit for getting rid of (Democrat) Vu and setting the stage for reform, look nonpartisan and decisive, and still collect the political benefits of chaos in a Democratic stronghold — because who’s going to be able to step into Vu’s shoes and get the election machinery on track in just over three months?

Blackwell gets to choose. Either way he goes, he wins. And either way, the voters of Cuyahoga County — who just want to cast our ballots normally and have them counted honestly and competently — are likely to be screwed again.

[tom_paine]

78. Don't you just love the double enterdres of these Bushevik monsters

"I think Michael Vu, Gwen Dillingham, and I think the entire staff did an outstanding job in bringing this election together," (Bennett) saud.

Yeah, they did do a fantastic job, disenfranchising a hundred thousand or more as well as making "Mr. Diebold's" contention that he was going to deliver Ohio's electoral votes to Herr Chimpler.

And the LOVE sticking in our faces with these kinds of comments.

[L. Coyote]

61. “Voter suppression is being done through mismanagement,”

Election reform demanded in Cuyahoga County
By Judy Johnson - People's Weekly World Newspaper, 08/03/06
http://www.pww.org/article/articleprint/9601/

CLEVELAND — At a spirited rally July 28 some 120 union members, retirees and community activists demanded the resignation of Cuyahoga County Board of Elections Director Michael Vu and Deputy Director Gwen Dillingham.

Chanting “Who must go? Vu must go!” the demonstrators were angry ....

North Shore Federation of Labor administrator Mike Murphy cited an independent study released last week that squarely blamed the board leadership for the problems and delay.

Chris Nance, representing Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-Ohio), said, “As regrettable as it may be, we have to say that Vu and Dillingham have demonstrated incompetence in their roles, and that, in the interest of fair and honestly run elections, the two must go.”

The Rev. Tony Minor said the primary elections debacle and the role of the Ohio secretary of state amounted to suppression of the African American vote. “Voter suppression is being done through mismanagement,” he said.

... At the meeting of the board, Judy Gallo, executive committee member of the Greater Cleveland Voter Coalition, a watchdog nonpartisan group that monitors elections in Cuyahoga County, urged voters not to stay home because of the flawed election process and the board’s past failures. “It is important,” she said, “that the turnout be as big as possible, and that citizens pressure the board to conduct honest and secure elections.”

......

[L. Coyote]

27. As the Plot Thickens: Defense attorney also former Republican Boss

Thanks to "Algorem" for spotting this and posting in Election Reform News.

Apparently, Vu was the original target of the 'Blame the Dems' recount trial, now unraveling as new details emerge.

======
From: "More Elections Board Misadventures" - Blog by Denise Grollmus http://www.clevescene.com/blogs/?p=640

Dreamer hired lawyer Roger Synenberg to represent her. After all, Synenberg knew the faulty workings of the board all too well.

In 1992, Synenberg, who served as the board’s Republican chairman, was also accused of rigging the vote. “There was never any rigging back then at all,” Synenberg says. “In some respects, it wasn’t much different from what these ladies did.”

On the night of the 1992 primary election, ballots from a Glenville precinct went missing. By 1 a.m., they were still nowhere to be found and board member Kenneth Fisher was looking awfully tired. In order to let Fisher go home, Synenberg ordered the board to run a header card through the computer, which would trick the machine into thinking that it had counted all the ballots. A few days later, the Glenville ballots were found lying in a desk drawer.

People cried conspiracy. “It was seized by The Plain Dealer as a reason for massive change at the board,” Synenberg says. “It just snow balled and grew into an avalanche.”

======
From: "Inside the Election Board Convictions" – Blog by Denise Grollmus http://www.clevescene.com/blogs/?p=641

Maiden and Dreamer were simply collateral damage. Their names never appear in the following documents. In fact, the main target of the investigation was none other than director Michael Vu, who announced his resignation yesterday.

Document 1: In this memo, Oradini gives a timeline of events that lead up to his decision to have an outside prosecutor conduct a larger investigation of the Board. Maiden and Dreamer are never named. Instead, Oradini writes that on several occasions Vu told him, “he wants to eliminate the human error factor, which would cause a total hand-recount of all votes cast, and that he thinks such recount is unnecessary because the election results would not change.”

Document 2: This is a more in depth timeline of conversations between Vu and Oradini. Oradini again refers to Vu’s desire to “eliminate human error.” Oradini also likes to point out how much Vu “babbles” and how often Oradini, himself, says “I don’t know.”

Document 3: This is a board meeting agenda from February 8, 2005. It is the first time that Jacquie Maiden’s name appears. According to Oradini’s handwritten notes, she simply confirms what Vu says – that the board had always presorted ballots for recounts. Ironically, it was Oradini who told them to follow past practice. He claims he never knew that presorting was part of those procedures. Dreamer’s name is still no where to be found.

[L. Coyote]

49. ".. Then came Roger Synenberg, philosopher king....."

Roger Synenberg
Philosopher of the Year
http://www.clevescene.com/2002-12-25/news/the-art-modell-awards/

There was a day when it was all but impossible to achieve the label "courageous." One had to storm a beach under enemy fire, take a bullet for the president, or serve as legal counsel for Wilma Smith's plastic surgeon.

Then came Roger Synenberg, philosopher king.

We begin our tale with Synenberg's client, Frank Gruttadauria, a stockbroker who keenly understood that rich people have money, and it would be fun to take it. So he did. By schmoozing up to his many elderly clients, playing the role of devoted-son-they-never-had, Gruttadauria was able to steal hundreds of millions of dollars. Then, when he was about to be discovered, he took it on the lam before finally turning himself in.

At an initial hearing, Synenberg urged a U.S. magistrate to grant bail. "Frank Gruttadauria is a courageous man, and because he's a courageous man, we stand before you today and tell you he does not pose a risk of flight."

The earth shook, for it was a dramatic shift of paradigms. Under previous rules, a guy who stole from old people would have been formally designated a "scumbag." Likewise, Gruttadauria's pathetic attempt to flee might be regarded as "candy-assed."

Yet Synenberg was giving us all permission to find courage in our own unique, special way. He was essentially saying, "Let's not get hung up on the details, people. So long as you, say, don't carve up small children with a chainsaw, I think it's safe to say you're courageous."

Upon that day, everyone in Cleveland decided to courageously rob their grandmothers at gunpoint. It was not only liberating, but financially beneficial. Thanks, Roger, for allowing us to see theft in a refreshing new light.

[L. Coyote]

83. Prosecutor Kevin Baxter, controversy and accusations swirl in Ohio

Erie County Prosecutor Kevin Baxter, the prosecutor of this trial, is not without controversy, a seemingly common commodity in Cuyahoga County. Here are excerpts from a long article that also links other related articles. What is really going on in Cuyahga County sems like a circus of corruption.


Erie Voices Too - http://erievoicestoo.blogspot.com/2006/11/sumary-of-what-started-it-all.html

In late January 2006 www.erievoices.com was shut down due pressure from Ohio officials concerned with publication of evidence proving pay to play in the judicial system of Ohio. This site seeks to republish key stories updating them where possible in an effort to speak truth to power and correct grave injustice.

.....

“Who is Elsebeth Baumgartner?” You’ve probably seen her name in the newspaper and probably wondered why certain public officials in Erie and Ottawa County are so determined to shut this woman up. You’ve seen newspaper articles that make her sound “crazy” or “nuts” but since as a society we’re learning not to take the media’s spin on everything – many of you are probably wondering when we’ll hear her side of the story.

Baumgartner was an Attorney, Scientist and Pharmacist before she started butting heads with the legal system in Northwest Ohio. She is the CEO of Cleveland Genomics – A DNA Analysis Company based in Cleveland. She has a background in accounting, federal grants, intellectual property law, and biotech patent transfer.


The Baumgartner family in May 2005. Joe Baumgartner was on the Benton Carroll Salem School Board for 12 years and runs The Medicine Shoppe in Pemberville. Jackie just graduated from UT.

As we’re seeing with the Tom Noe case in Toledo, Ohio is a hub of financial corruption. Federal investigators have discovered that over $12 million is missing from the coiffeurs of Prominent Toledo Republican Tom Noe, and five Ohio Supreme Court Justices have had to recuse themselves from hearing a case that involves him.

....

The Public Statement That Started It All.

Click on the above link to see Dr. Elsebeth Baumgartner’s statement before the Port Clinton City Council in January of 2002.

Baumgartner urged the City of Port Clinton not to enter into a public contract with Island Express Boat Lines – the company owned by public official Erie County Prosecutor Kevin Baxter. The company is now defunct but still owes the taxpayers in Erie County over $100,000.


Erie County Prosecutor Kevin Baxter

Baumgartner made that public statement after being contacted by two other people who were targeted by Kevin Baxter in order to silence their criticism of his office: Kevin’s brother Ejay, and Sanduskian Krista Harris.

........

Krista Harris: The “Black Monica Lewinski”

According to sworn affidavits, Krista Harris met the Erie County Prosecutor in 1994 when she served as a witness in the murder trial of Vivian Johnson. Johnson was murdered in a drive by shooting on Parrish Street in Sandusky. According to Harris’s sworn affidavits Kevin Baxter encouraged her to perjure herself in order that Baxter could obtain murder convictions on the three black males who were on the scene at the murder. According to Harris, while the murder trial was ongoing, Erie County Prosecutor Kevin Baxter invited Krista Harris to his residence at 1630 Willow Drive on the Cedar Point Chausee.

While at Baxter’s residence Krista alleges that they drank wine while “going over her testimony.” She claims that one thing led to another and they ended up having sex. Harris claims that after a time, Baxter needed her testimony to secure another conviction on one of the suspects involved in the murder. Harris refused to perjure herself again, which resulted in the release of the admitted shooter Shawn Caston.

Caston left prison while his accomplices remained incarcerated.

According to Harris’s attorney, this likely embarrassed the prosecutor.

Harris cut Baxter off sexually after the statute of limitations ran on the perjury charges Baxter threatened her with in order to keep her in line, but while speaking with Harris’s family Baxter learned of a domestic dispute between Krista and her Aunt Mary Belle Taylor. Sandusky Police Detective Mark Voltz “investigated” Harris for “theft,” and Baxter arranged to have a special prosecutor assigned to the civil matter in order to criminally prosecute Harris. Harris ended up being railroaded on sham theft charges. She is currently in the Trumbull County Correctional Facility.

.....

[L. Coyote]

28. "Two women are sacrificed for the election board's incompetence...."

"Guilt by Association" by Denise Grollmus
Article Published Jan 31, 2007
http://www.clevescene.com/Issues/2007-01-31/news/news.html

"They look more like a sewing circle than a gang of convicts. But the three Cuyahoga County Board of Elections employees face seven charges each, accused of rigging the 2004 presidential election recount...."

"Yet a closer examination reveals just another triumph for county government as usual. As Cuyahoga County dealt with record turnout in the 2004 election, liberals fretted over voter suppression and missing ballots. John Kerry may have won the county by an astounding 227,000 votes, but the election board had built a sturdy reputation for chaos and ineptitude. Suspicions were natural. ..."

"Director Michael Vu ... went to Assistant County Prosecutor Reno Oradini, the board's lawyer, for legal advice. ...Oradini apparently never bothered to research the matter; otherwise he'd have known his advice was illegal. ..."

As attorneys prepare appeals, litigant Robert Rotatori is quoted: "In my opinion, it's all an attempt to make sure that Mason's office did not get any egg on its face. They OK'd everything. And here are these three lifelong civil servants who get indicted. Not the director, assistant director, or board members. None of the people who have all the decision-making authority, but these women who were just following orders. They are scapegoats. That's exactly what they are."

It's a good long story with more details.

[L. Coyote]

42. "Gwen Dillingham ... pled the 5th at the Grand Jury hearings ..." opednews

The Story Behind The Story of the Cuyahoga County Recount Trial
by Kathleen Wynne - January 30, 2007 - http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_kathleen_070130_the_story_behind_the.htm

Points Not Brought Out in The Trial

An interesting point about the defense's case that should be noted and may be the reason why defense counsel chose not to call any further witnesses on their client's behalf. I was informed by Mark Demarino of Fox TV in Cleveland, who attended the entire trial, that the reason defense counsel, Roger Synenberg, may not have called Elections Director, Michael Vu, nor Deputy Director, Gwen Dillingham, is because Dillingham had pled the 5th at the Grand Jury hearings and Vu, who, although hadn't been called to testify at the Grand Jury hearings, would have pled the 5th too. Synenberg couldn't risk this kind of information getting out for media consumption, because it could very well open the door to more calls for suspicion that what these three women did during the recount was done with the consent and knowledge of their superiors, and perhaps call into question his defense strategy.

.....

More Indictments?

This trial may not be the last we see of this recount, though. Baxter mentioned that there may be more indictments. He wouldn't say any more than that, but I'm hopeful that everyone responsible for helping to facilitate this kind of corrupt environment in an elections department, and for such a long period of time without detection, will be put on trial and held accountable. Otherwise, neither justice nor the truth will have been served in the end. ...

LOTS MORE ...

[L. Coyote]

29. "Prosecutor Bill Mason opposes nepotism -- unless it's his friends and family."

Mason and Oradini were law partners! The relationships of the players in the Cuyahoga County BOE-gate are interesting, to say the least. Here is a part of that thread:

"Mason has a long history of nepotism himself. Back in 1991, just after being elected a Parma councilman, Mason secured a choice job for his brother, Michael, as city tax commissioner; he is now making $66,742 in that position. And up until 2004, Mason's niece, Kim Kowalski, handled his PR, pulling in $36,912 a year.

"But Mason doesn't hire only his own kin; he also rewards friends and loyal patrons of his political machine. His employees include Dominic Sforzo, who used to host Democratic fund-raisers at his Old Brooklyn restaurant and now works as a supervisor making $41,200, and Mason's former law partner, Reno Oradini, who earns $84,239 as lawyer for the elections board.

"Mason declined an interview, but defended his hiring practices in a statement issued through his spokeswoman. "The law says that you cannot hire sons or daughters or brothers and sisters or any relative living within your house," Jamie Dalton says. "Other than that, you're free to employ anyone you want to." ..."

Friends and Family Plan
The county prosecutor gets tough on suburban nepotism, but ignores it in his own backyard.
By Jared Klaus Article Published May 31, 2006

MORE: http://www.clevescene.com/Issues/2006-05-31/news/news.html

[L. Coyote]

45. William Mason had been the target of the blog's allegations.

Nov. 14, 2005
Judge Jails Ohio Blogger Baumgartner Without Stating Reason
http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:8AtOZo2Kqn0J:www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/111405Baumgartner.html

CUYAHOGA COUNTY, OHIO---In one of the most egregious displays of abuse of power and bias from the bench, Cuyahoga County Court Judge Shirley Strickland Saffold has revoked the bond of former attorney and pharmacist Elsebeth Baumgartner and sent her back to jail.....
... a blog which focuses on judicial and political corruption in northern Ohio, ..... charged this summer with multiple felonies in a secret indictment obtained by Daniel Kasaris whose boss, Cuyahoga County prosecutor Bill Mason had been the target of the blog's allegations. ..."

March 25, 2006.
Ohio Free Speech Case, More Charges Lodged
http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:ECKWyHSiONMJ:www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/032506Baumgartner.html

"One of the nation’s most important cases dealing in judicial corruption and First Amendment issues .... Judicial whistleblower Elsebeth Baumgartner of Oak Harbor, former attorney and pharmacist until the powers-that-be, angered by her allegations and substantiation of public corruption, stripped her of her professional licenses, is scheduled to begin trial on 18 criminal charges of intimidation, retaliation, falsification and possession of a criminal tool--a laptop computer--based on the complaint of retired visiting judge Richard Markus for criticizing him."

Long articles. Keywords: Bryan DuBois, Richard Olivito, Ohioan government, grant fraud, abuses of power, Erie County district attorney Kevin Baxter, judges in northern Ohio, Richard Markus, Chief Judge Thomas Moyer.

[L. Coyote]

46. COMMENTARY - Quid Pro Quo Relationship Of Baumgartner Judge Warrants Probe

"Kind of like the fox guarding the hen house, isn't it?"
http://www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/100406QuidProQuo.html

"Cuyahoga County Prosecutor William Mason appointed Erie County prosecutor Kevin Baxter as a special prosecutor in the case because the Cuyahoga board of elections is a client of Mason's."

Judge this opinion piece for yourself. A Google search of the names involved in Cuyahoga BOE and the criminal trial is leading to quite unexpected allegations and incredible cases and relationships of the characters.

[L. Coyote]

52. County Prosecutor Bill Mason announced the second, and larger, of two mortgage fraud cases

To make sure the biased opinion pieces do not dominate consideration of the actors, here's what has been keeping Bill Mason busy when not defending county workers.

Cuyahoga (OH) prosecutor announces 2nd mortgage fraud case ....
Posted on Friday, January 5, 2007 at 12:15PM by the Editor - Ian Shuter
http://www.mortgagefraud.org/journal/2007/1/5/cuyahoga-oh-prosecutor-announces-2nd-mortgage-fraud-case.html

On January 4, 2007 Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason announced the second, and larger, of two mortgage fraud cases the events behind which took place in 2004 and 2005. A total of 61 defendants were indicted, totaling 269 counts of forgery and theft offenses, telecommunications fraud, and engaging in a pattern corrupt activity, which entailed a fraudulent down-payment scheme and kickbacks to buyers. This case involves 38 properties purchased in Cleveland, East Cleveland, and Garfield Heights with 2.85 million dollars in loans. It comprises 14 key individuals and companies, plus 45 buyers and sellers and other involved parties. In addition, an appraiser falsified two appraisals. Details of the first case can be found in the next article

Prosecutor Bill Mason said, “It’s time to deal with these sham financial and brokerage institutions as they really are – criminals. You predators are now put on notice – those of you who engage in deception in the lending process will face criminal charges in the court room for your duplicity and greed in the board room.”

.......

[L. Coyote]

30. Robert T. Bennett, Long Time Republican Boss in Ohio (not the Utah Senator)

Who is the boss of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections? Here is what the Republican Party has to say about their man in Cleveland:

"Robert T. Bennett is currently serving his eighth term as full-time chairman of the Ohio Republican Party, a position he has held since 1988 when he also became a committeeman and voting member of the Republican National Committee (RNC). Throughout his 14-year career as state chairman, Mr. Bennett has established a reputation as one of the most effective party leaders in the nation...."

Bennett, Robert T. — also known as Bob Bennett — of Ohio. Republican. Member of Ohio Republican State Central Committee, 1974-; delegate to Republican National Convention from Ohio, 1976, 1984, 1988, 1992, 2000; Ohio Republican state chair, 1988-.

=====

Not to be confused with Robert F. "Bob" Bennett, the junior Republican Senator from Utah. R. F. Bennett was first elected to the Senate in 1992. Bennett was the son of U.S. Senator Wallace F. Bennett and the grandson of Mormon president Heber J. Grant. In 1957, he received a B.S. from the University of Utah, Vu's alma mater. He was Chief Executive Officer of Franklin International Instititute.

[L. Coyote]

32. Bush and Rove persuaded Bennett to stay on as Ohio’s GOP chairman...

Record-setting Ohio chairman hailed as a top national strategist despite ’06 election
Friday, January 12, 2007 - Joe Hallett - THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2007/01/12/20070112-E6-02.html

"President Bush and Karl Rove persuaded Robert T. Bennett to stay on as Ohio’s GOP chairman for Bush’s 2004 campaign."

"Bennett almost bowed out before the 2004 presidential race, but he was persuaded to serve another term by President Bush and his chief political adviser, Karl Rove. Ohio gave Bush a 2-point victory that sealed his re-election.

"In an interview yesterday, Bennett said he decided to run again to ensure that the party remains stable in the aftermath of a demoralizing election that saw Democrats wrest from Republicans the governor’s office and three of the four other statewide executive offices. ..."

[L. Coyote]

33. "... As for Vu, he could earn about $40,000 as a consultant, Bennett said..."

By Ken Baka, Staff Writer � http://www.sunnews.com/news/2007/part1/0208/ACVU.htm

��"... Board members spent about eight hours behind closed doors this week before chairman Robert T. Bennett announced the resignations. Bennett said he didn't want Vu to leave .... most vocal was member Edward Coaxum Jr., who said, "This is not about people, but about process."

"... Dillingham , a 16-year employee, was prepared for the talks with an attorney. ..."

[L. Coyote]

47. Wiki: Bennett appointed to BOE by Blackwell until 2010, worked for Taft in 1970

Robert T. Bennett (born 1939) is the chairman of the Ohio Republican Party, having served in that post since 1988.

He managed Robert Taft, Jr.'s successful U.S. Senate campaign in 1970, in which he defeated Howard Metzenbaum to replace retiring Senator Stephen M. Young. The next year he managed the campaign of Ralph Perk for Mayor of Cleveland. From 1974 to 1988, he served as Vice-Chairman of the Cuyahoga County Republican Party. Bennett has been very successful in winning elections as Chairman of the Ohio Republican Party. As of 2006, all major statewide offices sans one Supreme Court seat is held by Republicans. When Bennett took over in the late 1980's, the Ohio Democratic Party held most of the important statewide offices and held majorities in the Ohio House of Representatives and on the Ohio Supreme Court.

Under Bennett's leadership, however, Ohio Republicans suffered disastrous defeats in the November, 2006 elections. While Republicans won the complete control of the Ohio Supreme Court, they lost the races for Senator, Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, and Treasurer.

Robert T. Bennett is also Chairman of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, having been appointed by Ohio Secretary of State and 2006 Republican candidate for Governor, J. Kenneth Blackwell to serve in this capacity until February 2010.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_T._Bennett

[L. Coyote]

79. Bennett on Ohio GOP donors: "They’re buying a philosophy of government.”

"Bob Bennett, the chairman of the Ohio Republican Party, said it’s a stretch to connect state contracts to campaign donations.
“Why is it wrong?” he said. “What makes it wrong? You assume that these people are buying something, and they’re not. They’re buying good government. They’re buying a philosophy of government.”

It seems Bill has taken all the mystery out of this for us."

on Monday, October 31, 2005
http://miaculpa.blogspot.com/2005/10/bill-bennett-on-ohio-gop-donors.html

[L. Coyote]

31. "...foolish inconsistency is the hobgoblin of disgruntled minds..."

"The Interpretation of Randomness"
By James Renner, The Cleveland Free Times Volume 14, Issue 34, Published December 13th, 2006
http://www.freetimes.com/story/4509

"Next Month's 'Rigged Recount' Trial Is Sure To Be As Contentious As the '04 Election That Sparked It.."

"As people begin to complain, the camera zooms in close on BOE Executive Director Michael Vu. He looks panicky. He moves to the corner of the room with Election Supervisor Jacqueline Maiden and Deputy Director Gwen Dillingham. Vu positions himself so that his back is to the camera as he whispers to his subordinates...."

" THE FIRST THING that is apparent in the transcript of a Board of Election meeting before the 2004 recount is that Michael Vu didn't try to hide what he was doing. At the December 15, 2004 meeting, Vu explained that he intended to conduct a "random" recount by selecting ballots from only the largest precincts in Cuyahoga County. The larger precincts in Cuyahoga County, it's worth noting, are disproportionately Republican.

When a local activist pointed out that this was not technically random, a mad-tea-party debate began, featuring board members deconstructing the essence of the word "random."

"Again, that was a question in all of our minds … what this term 'random' meant," Vu said. "And there were various ways of looking at it."

"I think what we are really talking about is the interpretation of randomness," said BOE Chairman Bob Bennett, also Ohio's GOP party leader. "Don't get me wrong, but I think, you know, the interpretation of randomness is not going to change how we conduct recounts."

"A foolish inconsistency is the hobgoblin of disgruntled minds," said the stunned activist, paraphrasing Ralph Waldo Emerson. "I know you all have fine minds. If there is a problem with it is appropriate to correct it now and not just say, 'Just because we have been doing this, we will continue.' The appearance of impropriety is a problem. I don't want Ohio or Cuyahoga smeared the way Florida was."

But Vu explained that the BOE had been instructed by County Prosecutor Bill Mason's office to conduct the recount the way it always had been.....

[L. Coyote]

34. Bob Bennett GOP chairman "... pulls down a full-time salary ($143,000+), a car, plus $84,000 ..."

http://www.rightangleblog.com/story/in_defense_of_bob_bennett
Submitted by pullinsreport on January 12, 2007 - 7:55pm.

"I fault Bob Bennett for a couple of things. First, and most importantly, he failed to call on Taft to resign after his ethics convictions. He did do the right thing on Ney, albeit to late in the process. I also fault him for having too many hands in too many projects. When he first ran for state chairman, in 1988 I believe, he won on the basis that he would be a full time chairman. Now he pulls down a full-time salary ($143,000+), a car, plus $84,000 a year in expense and housing allowances. That would be fine if he weren't trying to squeeze every dollar out of every other project or appointment that he can get his hands on. That said, there is no clear successor at this point. My guess is that he steps down early when a successor is found."

Scott A. Pullins - www.pullinsreport.com

[L. Coyote]

48. Cuyahoga BOE/GOP Chair Bennett "sought to invalidate the registrations of 35,427 voters"

"Was the 2004 Election Stolen?
Republicans prevented more than 350,000 voters in Ohio from casting ballots or having their votes counted -- enough to have put John Kerry in the White House.

ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR.
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/10432334/was_the_2004_election_stolen

"... during the summer of 2004, the GOP targeted minority voters in Ohio by zip code, sending registered letters to more than 200,000 newly registered voters(64) in sixty-five counties.(65) On October 22nd, a mere eleven days before the election, Ohio Republican Party Chairman Bob Bennett -- who also chairs the board of elections in Cuyahoga County -- sought to invalidate the registrations of 35,427 voters who had refused to sign for the letters or whose mail came back as undeliverable.(66) Almost half of the challenged voters were from Democratic strongholds in and around Cleveland.(67)..."

What conflict of interest???

[L. Coyote]

57. Comment: "Vu was Bennett's waterboy..."

Bob Bennett needs a room with a Vu
Submitted by bryan on Sat, 02/10/2007 - 10:43am.
http://www.buckeyestateblog.com/bob_bennett_needs_a_room_with_a_vu

"... what about Ohio GOP Chair and Cuyahoga County BoE chair Bob Bennett? .....

Here’s what I don’t get, though. Why in the hell would Democrats stand by while the Chair of the Ohio GOP also chairs the Cuyahoga County BoE?! Seriously. It’s the Democratic breadbasket of Ohio. Now, I’m not saying Bennett has broken any law or acted unethically, but the very appearance is enough to send this Democrat into partisan fits.

If we’re serious about fixing election problems in Ohio, I have a simple first step – if you’re the chair of a party (state or county), you can’t serve as chair of any BoE in Ohio. We should start with Bob Bennett. Might ruffle some feathers, but voter confidence in our elections is just more important.

====
Comment: Vu was Bennett's waterboy
Submitted by AmberCat on Sun, 02/11/2007 - 7:51pm.

"and he'll just get a new one, unless he's dumped. I did hear a couple of months ago from someone within Jennifer Brunner's camp that that was in the works. Let's see. Vu was a scapegoat for a lot of things beyond his control. It was obvious from attending a couple of board meeting that Vu (and all the other board members) just sort of cowered in Bennett's presence."

[L. Coyote]

70. Blackwell to Bennett OCT 2004: "direct violation of" ORS ..cynical conduct

Interesting letter in image file. Blackwell is telling Bennet he is not following the law.

[L. Coyote]

64. BENNETT: "biggest disappointment I had was the loss by [attorney general candidate.."

Sunday, December 10, 2006
Bob Bennett on the 2006 elections

In today's Plain Dealer, Mark Naymik interviewed Bob Bennett about the 2006 elections, amongst other things. While Bennett has some good things to say, some of them are just...well, stupid. I'm going to take this question-by-question:

You have presided over winners for more than a decade. What does it feel like to be on the losing side?

"Obviously, it doesn't feel good. But Election Day brought a sense of relief because it wasn't as bad as some people in Washington said it was going to be, at least as far as our congressional delegation was concerned. The biggest disappointment I had was the loss by Betty Montgomery. ...."

MORE: http://vikingspirit.blogspot.com/2006/12/bob-bennett-on-2006-elections.html

[L. Coyote]

65. President Bush: "I appreciate the chairman of the party, Bob Bennett..."

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/07/20040731-5.html

Don't you love the way taxpayer money is used to politicize and interpret the "AUDIENCE" as a single unified voice !!!! Here is part of the text, with Bush, Taft, Nye, and Bennett (he better show up for that salary!).

President Bush's Remarks in Cambridge, Ohio
Cambridge City Park - Don Coss Field - Cambridge, Ohio - 2:16 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very much. Thanks for coming out today. Thanks for inviting me to Cambridge, it's an honor to be here. (Applause.) I always feel comfortable being in the middle of a ball diamond. (Applause.) I appreciate so many taking time out of your Saturday to come by and say hello, and to welcome us on what we call the Heart and Soul of America tour. (Applause.)

There seems to be a difference of opinion about the heart and soul. I'm running against a fellow who thinks you can find the heart and soul in Hollywood.

THE AUDIENCE: Booo!

THE PRESIDENT: No, I know where you find the heart and soul of America, right here in places like Cambridge, Ohio. (Applause.)

Thanks for coming out. I'm here to ask for the vote. (Applause.) I'm ready to lead for four more years, and I want your help. (Applause.)

THE AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!

THE PRESIDENT: I'm glad to be amongst my fellow Republicans, discerning Democrats and wise independents. (Applause.) I'd like to ask you to volunteer to register voters. See, we have a duty in this country to vote. We have a duty in a land of free to exercise our individual choices in the ballot box. So please register your neighbors to vote. Make sure you tell them after they register to vote, and when you get them heading toward the polls, why don't you nudge them our way? (Applause.)

Thanks for coming. My regret is that Laura isn't with me today.

THE AUDIENCE: Awww!

.....

I'm proud to be traveling on this bus with Governor Bob Taft. Thank you for coming, Governor. (Applause.) Senator Mike DeWine, and his wife, Fran. (Applause.) By the way, Voinovich was with me a little earlier -- you need to put him back into office, he's a great United States senator. (Applause.) He's a good man. He's a good man.

I appreciate Congressman Bob Ney being with us today. Congressman, I'm proud you're here. (Applause.) Mr. Mayor -- I appreciate the mayor coming, Mayor Sam is with us today. I'm honored you're here, Mayor. (Applause.) Thank you, Mayor. I was walking by, he said, you get a chance, put in a good word for me. He said he's going to fill the potholes. I said, all right. (Applause.)

I want to thank all the other state and local officials. I appreciate the chairman of the party, Bob Bennett. I want to thank all the grassroots activists who are here. (Applause.) Those are the people who are putting up the signs and manning the phones and getting your neighbors to show up to the polls on Election Day and I want to thank you for your hard work, I really do. My job is to set the vision, your job is to get the people to the polls.

.....

[L. Coyote]

66. "... It sure reads like a mob tale, doesn't it?"

Post from Eric Vessels's Blog:
Niquette/Dispatch Shill for Bennett, GOP
http://www.progressohio.org/page/community/post/ericvessels/Bhv

...... There was clearly a genial banter between a seated Noe and Montgomery.

...but I'm just a lowly blogger, so...

Hell, at least back in '05 you MENTION Betty's name. Today, we only get this:

Rothenberg said there was discussion about a video that Mrs. Noe had of a 2004 roast of her husband during which several prominent Ohio Republicans -- including Gov. Bob Taft, U.S. Sen. George V. Voinovich and others -- are seen praising Noe.

"and others"? Are you kidding me? Shill, baby. Shill!

Everyone is in full-on Betty protection mode, including Bob Bennett who claims the Noe's were conning the video viewers. The only ones who got duped were the readers of the Dispatch - because they rely on Niquette and company to tell them the whole story - and the people of Ohio who were seriously betrayed by Bennett and the GOP, who set up a scheme to bilk them of millions of dollars.

So Bob Bennett wants an investigation? Into what? Does he want the prosecutor to stand up and walk the 3 feet necessary to get to their file cabinet to view the notes they already had? Smells like shill to me.

It sure reads like a mob tale, doesn't it?

[L. Coyote]

35. OHIO SOS Brunner fires Blackwell lawyers "... trying to stop the bleeding."

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Associated Press
http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/news/state/16622716.htm

"The state's Democratic attorney general fired nine private lawyers who were handling cases for Republican former Secretary of State Ken Blackwell,"

"The fired attorneys, among them prominent GOP contributors, include William Todd, who plans to run for Columbus mayor this year against two-term Democratic incumbent Michael Coleman. The others were Richard Lillie of Cleveland; Donald Brey, Larry James, Mark Kerns and Jonathan Downes of Columbus; David Langdon and George Vincent of Cincinnati; and Robert Destro of Arlington, Va."

" "This is about cost," Brunner said. "The fees from many of these legal counselors are beyond what their contracts called for. We still will have outstanding fees we owe these firms. We're just trying to stop the bleeding." ...."

[L. Coyote]

67. Secretary Brunner has publicly announced her willingness to settle ....

The Nation's Interest in Ohio's New Secretary of State

February 13, 2007 - by Edward B. "Ned" Foley
Director, Election Law - Moritz College of Law
http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/comments/articles.php?ID=117

Ohio has a new Secretary of State, and that fact has potential implications for the nation as well as the state......

....

Because of the problems that occurred in Ohio in 2004, the League of Women Voters filed a major lawsuit against her predecessor, claiming that administration of the voting process in the state pervasively violated Equal Protection and asking the federal court to supervise top-to-bottom reform. Citing Bush v. Gore, the trial-level federal judge rejected then-Secretary Blackwell’s motion to dismiss the case. Because of its importance, the case is now pending before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in advance of the scheduled trial of the League’s factual allegations, and any decision reached by Sixth Circuit would set an important legal precedent not just for Ohio and the other states within its jurisdiction (Michigan, Kentucky, and Tennessee) but nationwide, as it would be the first to consider the application of the Equal Protection principle in Bush v. Gore to the overall operation of a state’s voting system.

Secretary Brunner has publicly announced her willingness to settle the case, a fact that in itself is newsworthy and would prevent the Sixth Circuit from creating a nationally important judicial precedent. Moreover, the terms of the settlement she reaches will be nationally significant. Not only will they govern Ohio’s voting procedures in the presidential election next year, but they also will set a kind of litigation-avoidance precedent that may serve as a benchmark for voting administration practices in other states.

MUCH MORE

[L. Coyote]

36. "... who is to blame for the failures at the Cuyahoga County BOE...

In defense of Michael Vu — Blogged by: Wendell on February 7, 2007
http://wendellrobinson.com/wenBLOG/2007/02/07/54/

"So who is to blame for the failures at the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections..... the appointed members of the Cuyahoga County Elections Board certainly ... members (appointed through the most partisan of practices - equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans, chosen by their respective parties) are responsible for oversite of the Director and in turn the organization as a whole. They are meant to safeguard the public’s trust and during as well as prior to Vu’s tenure did little to deserve that trust. Throughout this fiasco, they have consistently sought scapegoats .."

"... following the May primary debacle, it was the two Democrat appointees, Ed Coaxum and Loree Soggs, that sought Vu’s dismissal and the two Republican appointees, Chairman Bob Bennett and Sally Florkiewicz, that voted to keep Vu on… what’s even more ironic about this is that Vu is a registered Democrat). ..."

[L. Coyote]

56. "... something certainly doesn't smell right in this investigation..."

Third Cuyahoga County Election Official Indicted
Author = Kathleen Wynne
Posted on Wednesday, March 08, 2006
http://www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/72/19537.html?1141836261

"... a third election employee in Cuyahoga County, Ohio being indicted regarding their alleged involvement in the pre-count of ballots ...Jacqui Maiden.

I ... got to know Jacqui Maiden during my foray into the election reform movement ... she was the primary person I dealt with at the Board of Elections. It is my opinion that she would not do anything that wasn't sanctioned by the Director of the Cuyahoga BOE, Michael Vu. I videotaped the Certification of the Recount meeting of the Cuyahoga BOE and both Micahel and Jacqui, when asked, admitted that the ballots had indeed been counted before the day of the recount and Michael Vu added, "they did so in order to facilitate it for the observers." That hardly sounds like a person who had no idea that this was being done by his subordinates ....

I sent the videotape of this meeting (along with two other tapes which contains events that certainly calls into question Michael Vu's involvement, whether directly or indirectly) to Kevin Baxter ... prosecuting attorney hand-picked by the Cuyahoga County Attorney Bill Mason (also a personal friend of Baxter's) to avoid a "conflict of interest". In any event, after sending the tapes to Baxter, I fully expected Michael Vu to be included in the next indictments, if there were to be any, but he wasn't. Why is he being passed over and Maiden is the only higher level official being indicted?

... (Baxter) "hasn't subpoened all election employees, who may have further information as to what went on and who was involved leading up to the pre-count of the ballots.

... all have plead the Fifth, when questioned by Baxter.

My concern is whether they are being asked to remain silent and not tell what they know in hopes of avoiding any arrests, particularly of the higher ups on the Board, such as Michael Vu and Deputy Director Gwen Dillingham?

Have other employees in the Election Division been passed over from answering questions because Baxter wants to drag this investigation out and take the "wait and see" approach in hopes that this investigation will be forgotten by the citizen of Cuyahoga and no one be held accountable -- particularly, Michael Vu?

This is all speculation, but something certainly doesn't smell right in this investigation and the citizens of Cuyahoga County should put pressure on Baxter to do his job and conduct a thorough and fair investigation.

Otherwise, this will turn out to be nothing more than a "dog and pony show" to appease the people who complained about the total breakdown of procedures and violation of Ohio Election Code by Cuyahoga County election officials. Everything must be done to ensure that no one gets a free pass and that the truth about all who were responsible must come out and they should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. Case Closed."

[L. Coyote]

37. Vu's Waterloo - Brunner neds to "watch this group closely..."

An unwieldy Board of Elections and unwieldy equipment left director no margin for error, then he made mistakes
Friday, February 09, 2007 - The Plain Dealer
http://www.cleveland.com/politics/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/opinion/117101566836680.xml&coll=2

"When Michael Vu arrived at the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, he was a 27-year-old wunderkind charged with overseeing the transition to electronic voting and with professionalizing a historically dysfunctional operation. A little more than three years later, Vu is leaving with neither task complete and with a few splatters on his reputation. Some of that is his fault, but much of it is for reasons beyond his control. ..."

"...Though a registered Democrat, Vu worked so closely with the board's Republican chairman that some party regulars questioned his loyalty - as if partisanship ought to matter in his job. Ohio's now-departed secretary of state, Republican J. Kenneth Blackwell, also complicated life for Vu and elections officials in every other county by ignoring them, then issuing last-minute rulings that stoked confusion at the polls...."

"... New Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner appoints and can remove board members; she needs to watch this group closely. It's ironic that board Chairman Bob Bennett, who also happens to be the state GOP chairman, usually manages to check his party label at the door; ..." ???????

[L. Coyote]

38. "... rampant patronage in county government...." Cuyahoga

Jimmy's Machine - You're paying for the Democratic Party's labor.
First Punch Published: February 7, 2007 http://www.clevescene.com/2007-02-07/news/jimmy-s-machine/

"Under the scapegoats
On January 24, election board employees Jacquie Maiden and Kathy Dreamer were convicted of mishandling the 2004 presidential recount ("Guilty by Association," January 31).

In reality, they were simply following orders from superiors, who in turn were following rules dating back to 1981 -- and approved by Assistant County Prosecutor Reno Oradini. Now the two women face up to 18 months in prison.

But according to investigative memos between Oradini and his boss, Prosecutor Bill Mason, the original plot was to crucify election board director Michael Vu. When they couldn't hit Vu, they took out two lower-level workers. (Vue announced his resignation on Tuesday.)

You can see the documents for yourself -- and how justice is done around here -- in C-Notes at clevescene.com."

[CountAllVotes]

40. K&R!!

:kick:

[L. Coyote]

41. OHIO "... racketeering, theft, money laundering, forgery and election law violations."

It is amazing to see the same cast of politico bosses and lawyers over and over again in these scandals. Does anyone know what election law violations were pleaded guilty to.

Thursday, May 6, 2004
Con man's crimes also taint Deters - State treasurer got big contributions
By Debra Jasper - Columbus Enquirer Bureau
http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/05/06/loc_deters.html

COLUMBUS - State Treasurer Joe Deters insists that nothing is going to stop him from becoming Ohio attorney general in 2006.

But a public corruption probe linked to his office threatens to derail the political ambitions of the former Hamilton County prosecutor.

It's a situation that supporters and critics alike say will be difficult for the 47-year-old Republican as he tries to move from being the state's chief investment officer to its No. 1 law enforcement official.

The source of Deters' trouble is his relationship with Frank Gruttadauria, a former Cleveland stockbroker serving prison time for swindling investors around the country out of $125 million over 15 years. Gruttadauria was introduced to Deters in 1999, shortly after Deters became state treasurer. Gruttadauria was trying to help his employer land the lucrative job of managing some of the state's $150 billion investment portfolio. He succeeded.

...Gruttadauria's two employers, SG Cowen Corp. and Lehman Brothers Inc., did a combined $5.9 billion in investment trades with Deters' office.

Gruttadauria also worked to develop a relationship with Deters, giving him rides on his Lear jet and donating thousands of dollars to Deters' campaign as well as to the Hamilton County Republican Party, which Deters chaired in 2000 and 2001.......

Campaign connections

But the case didn't end there. It caught the attention of William Mason, the Democratic prosecutor in Cleveland, who launched his own investigation.

In March, Gruttadauria, 46, pleaded guilty to bribing an unnamed person from 1999 to 2002 to get state investment business, racketeering, theft, money laundering, forgery and election law violations.

"The supreme irony is that to win a seat as attorney general, you want to be as clean as a hound's tooth. ..."

Gruttadauria's attorney, Roger Synenberg, said his client was asked by prosecutors about the plane rides taken by Deters and about Gruttadauria's political contributions to Deters.

...

Republican Party Chairman Robert Bennett concedes the case is taking its toll. "The headlines in the newspaper look bad," Bennett said. "Right now, I don't think Joe or anyone else thinks this is too helpful for (Deters') career."

He said the case is motivated by politics because Mason, the Cleveland prosecutor who started the probe, is a Democrat who also wants to run for attorney general in 2006.

"Mason has since turned the case over to a special prosecutor, but attorneys in Mason's office are helping to run the investigation. .....

[L. Coyote]

68. Voinovich's accountant and campaign treasurer ..ties to Tom Noe

Cleveland just keeps getting more interesting ..... if that's the word for it!

Questions arise over ties of accountant to Tom Noe
Business transactions not disclosed to state

By JAMES DREW and STEVE EDER - BLADE STAFF WRITERS - February 11, 2007
http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070211/NEWS24/702110322/0/NEWS08

BEREA, Ohio - As George Voinovich's former personal accountant and campaign treasurer, Vince Panichi for decades helped Mr. Voinovich fend off accusations of corruption, from Cleveland City Hall to the governor's office.

Now Mr. Panichi and his wife, Laura, face a series of questions about their financial ties to Tom Noe, a former Republican fund-raiser sentenced to 18 years in state prison for stealing from a $50 million rare-coin fund he managed for the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation....

....

Noe voted to approve a five-year, $384,000 contract for Ciuni & Panichi, the Cleveland-area accounting firm led by Charles Ciuni and Mr. Panichi.

....

Attorney General Marc Dann, who has been invited to join the state and federal task force investigating the operations of the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation, said the financial relationship between Noe and the Panichis raises potential legal questions.

If there is criminal wrongdoing, Mr. Dann said he would pursue charges....

MORE ...

[L. Coyote]

73. our Voinovich Victory Committee "... my party's leaders are too dimwitted..."

Voinovich: I Want Your Money For Nothing! Give Now!
http://www.onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_376.shtml

"... the letter was typical of a self-important Senator: 3 pages of crap that could have been summarized with a few lines: I am scared to death I am going to lose this gig and not get invited to the cool parties anymore. Give me money and I will return your generosity by thumbing my nose at you. That was the gist of it, but I want to publish the fun and excitement here for you, word by word, with the true translation of fundraiser speak along with it. I guess you wonks out there would call this a fisking or something...."

"... you will see the man behind the curtain, Bob Bennett, and we can't implicate him,..."

"... Let's ignore the causes of our defeat (namely me, George Voinovich and people like me who think principles are those guys who paddled you in school..."

MORE entertainment ....

[L. Coyote]

124. Ohio Elections Commission rules Noe violated election law; refers case for possible prosecution

LiberalHeart Thu May-31-07 01:12 PM - http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1013635
Tom Noe of Coingate fame & funneling illegal donations to Bush/Cheney in MORE trouble.

COLUMBUS — Tom Noe’s legal problems continued to mount this morning as the Ohio Elections Commission referred for possible prosecution an allegation that Noe illegally funneled campaign contributions to state candidates through other people. .....

=============================
Article published Thursday, May 31, 2007 - COLUMBUS — (Posted at 12:55 p.m.)
Ohio Elections Commission rules Noe violated election law; refers case for possible prosecution
By JIM PROVANCE - BLADE COLUMBUS BUREAU
http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070531/NEWS02/70531018

.... unanimously found that Noe violated election law by concealing or misrepresenting campaign contributions. By a vote of 6-1, it then asked that the prosecutor in either Lucas County or Franklin County consider pursuing a formal criminal charge

..... 58 assertions of fact submitted by Mr. Brunner in February. Those assertions claimed Noe used others to funnel money to the campaigns of then Gov. Bob Taft, Auditor Betty Montgomery, Attorney General Jim Petro, Supreme Court candidate Judith Lanzinger, Chief Justice Thomas Moyer, Justice Terrence O’Donnell, and other candidates.

The commission, ... given Noe’s lack of response, accepted the assertions as admitted facts in the case against him.............

[L. Coyote]

69. NOV. 2004: High-Tech Jim Crow: Stealing Ohio's Vote ..GOP Dirty Tricks

November 19, 2004, Executive Intelligence Review.
High-Tech Jim Crow: Stealing Ohio's Vote
by Michele Steinberg and Judy DeMarco
http://www.larouchepub.com/other/2004/3145jim_crow_ohio.html

"One day after Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry announced that he conceded the election to George W. Bush, there were at least 300,000 missing votes in Ohio, many of them in the heavily Democratic counties of Cuyahoga and Franklin, which had not been counted. George W. Bush was reportedly leading by only 136,483 votes at the time, and one day later, that lead was cut by about 3,800 votes—falsely recorded on a single machine in Franklin County, Ohio.

The report of this figure on missing votes was compiled by EIR from discussions with elected officials who had been at the polling sites on Nov. 2, from media reports, from discussions with voters and Ohio Board of Elections Offices, and, most important, from discussions with the youth organizers of Lyndon LaRouche's political action committee, LaRouche PAC. The LaRouche PAC organizers spent about six weeks in Ohio, campaigning for a Democratic victory by mobilizing young people, students, and the "forgotten men and women"—the unemployed and lower 80% of the income brackets in the United States.

What emerges is a shameful picture of voter discrimination, using telephone dirty tricks, forged leaflets and e-mails, and postal irregularities such as the non-receipt of absentee ballots requested by voters; and a voter suppression operation that suggests that voter registrations—a record number in Ohio—could have been lost or not processed as they were in other states. And, of course, there were the untraceable electronic voting machines.

It is a high-technology "Jim Crow" that puts the 2004 election on a par with the abuses of the pre-1965 Voting Rights Act discrimination against black voters. In Ohio, the major offenses have been documented against black voters, the poor, and first-time voters, including young people.

.....

Dirty Tricks

Prior to the election, both the Columbus Dispatch and WVKO radio documented that phone calls from people impersonating Board of Elections workers were made to registered voters in Ohio, directing them to different and incorrect polling sites. According to Bob Fitrakis, who worked on vote protection in Ohio, one individual was falsely told not to vote at the polling station across the street from his house, but at a "new" site, four miles away. Under Blackwell's new rules concerning provisional ballots, such a vote would not be counted.

But the biggest single case of such dirty tricks in Ohio was cited by Terry McAuliffe, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, on national television, Oct. 30. Pairing off with Republican National Committee head Ed Gillespie, on ABC's "This Week" talk show, McAuliffe said that 250,000 flyers falsely telling Ohio voters that their registrations were not valid had been distributed, especially to minority group voters. McAuliffe handed a copy to Gillespie on the air, but viewers were not given a chance to see it.

By McAuliffe's description, the leaflet was similar to the forged Board of Elections letter of Oct. 22, sent out on Lake County Board of Elections letterhead, that told voters that they were ineligible to vote on Election Day.

LOTS MORE

[L. Coyote]

74. "Ohio Corruption Scandal Smells a Lot Like Rove and DeLay's Texas" PLUS

This article appears in the July 8, 2005 issue of Executive Intelligence Review.
Ohio Corruption Scandal Smells a Lot Like Rove and DeLay's Texas
by Richard Freeman and Edward Spannaus
http://www.larouchepub.com/other/2005/3227ohio_rovegate.html

The stink of Karl Rove/Tom DeLay-style corruption is getting worse, as more dirt emerges around the Ohio "Coingate," or "pay to play" scandal (see last week's EIR). Ohio is beginning to look more and more like Texas, as run by Bush political guru Karl Rove and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay ....

Additionally, investigators are continuing to examine the links between the Coingate scandal and the theft of the Presidential election last November for the Bush-Cheney ticket in Ohio.

Tom Noe, the rare-coin dealer and top Republican operative who was Rove's man in northwest Ohio, was also, along with his wife, the dominant influence in the Republican Party in Toledo and surrounding Lucas County. His wife, Bernadette, chaired both the Lucas County Board of Elections and the Republican Party.

As Democratic State Sen. Teresa Fedor told the June 20 Toledo Blade: "Connect the dots. Bernadette Noe was the head of the Board of Elections. There is no mistake that Lucas County had the highest of provisional ballots rejected in Ohio. Tom Noe was chairman of the Bush-Cheney campaign in northwest Ohio, a Pioneer.

========

Target the Corrupt Republican Campaign http://corruptrepub.blogspot.com/2005/08/target-corrupt-republican-ohio.html

The extreme corruption of the Ohio Republican Party was one of the earlier stories I covered when I started discussing corruption. Ohio Republicans, along with Missouri and Kentucky Republicans, are among the most corrupt politicians in the nation. From Reps. Oxley and Ney to Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, Attorney General Jim Petro and all the way to Governor Taft, who has been found guilty of ethics violations......

========

Massive Voter Suppression and Corruption in Ohio - http://globalresearch.ca/articles/SOL411A.html
by David Solnit 3 November 2004

Hundreds of angry Ohio residents marched through the streets of Columbus, Ohio's Capital, this evening , and stormed the Ohio State House, defying orders and arrest threats from Ohio State Troopers. "O-H-I-O, Suppressed democracy has got to go," they chanted. After troopers pushed and scuffled with people, nearly a hundred people took over the steps and entrance to the State's giant white column capital building and refused repeated orders to disperse or face arrest.

========
More Ohio Corruption - http://stubbornliberal.blogspot.com/2006/06/more-ohio-corruption.html
Here we go again: In today's Columbus Dispatch, readers are notified that more people associated the the Republican Taft administration have been charged by a federal grand jury investigating the problems in the Ohio's Bureau of Workers' Compensation. The Dispatch lists those people charged during the ongoing investigation of the BWC. For complete details see the Dispatch:

Thomas Noe (Coingate and Republican fundraiser: indicted on 53 felony charges, trial this fall)
Terrence Gasper (former CFO of the BWC: pleaded guilty to state and federal charges)
Ohio Gov. Bob Taft, Republican (ethics charges: pleaded no contest)
Brian Hicks (former chief of staff for Taft: ethics charge, pleaded no contest)
Cherie Carroll (Hick's former assistant: ethics charge: pleaded no contest)
J. Douglas Moorman (former Taft aide: ethics charges, pleaded no contest)
Michael Lewis and Daniel O'Neill (brokers who did business with the BWC: indicted yesterday)

Remember: a suspect is innocent until proven guilty.

========
Ohio Corruption News - http://uspolitics.einnews.com/news/ohio-corruption
Latest News

========

"ohio corruption" makes for an interesting Google search!!

[L. Coyote]

81. Rep. Bob Ney "...hefty payments to their spouses..."

Game tickets, flowers, liquor ‘Just bill my campaign fund’
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Joe Hallett and Darrel Rowland
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
http://www.columbusdispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2007/02/18/20070218-A1-01.html

You find a politician you believe in, so you send along a check — $50, maybe $100 — to help pay for a 30-second TV ad or a yard sign, or just to keep the lights on at campaign headquarters.

But what would you think if that politician took your hard-earned money and spent it on booze at a lavish resort? .....

Recent revelations that former U.S. Rep. Bob Ney of Heath and former state Treasurer Jennette Bradley used campaign funds as they left office to make hefty payments to their spouses have focused attention on campaign spending.

A Dispatch analysis of 2006 campaign-finance reports found that state candidates spent more than $70 million from their campaign funds on everything from the necessary to the extravagant, some even after losing re-election bids or announcing their retirement.

.....

For instance, GOP gubernatorial candidate J. Kenneth Blackwell spent $3,462 in September for "mosquito fogging."

U.S. Rep. Michael G. Oxley of Findlay listed two trips to Congressional Liquors in Washington to buy $278 worth of "food."

.... lots more

[L. Coyote]

84. Ney's top aide ... conspiracy charges stemming from bribery scandal

Former Ney Aide Charged in Bribery Case
The Associated Press - Monday, February 26, 2007; 2:04 PM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/26/AR2007022600669.html

WASHINGTON -- A one-time chief of staff to former Rep. Bob Ney was due in federal court Monday on conspiracy charges stemming from a congressional bribery scandal.

William Heaton served as Ney's top aide until stepping down last year. He traveled with Ney on a trip to Scotland paid for in part by convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

.....

Ney, R-Ohio, was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison in January for trading political favors for golf trips, campaign donations and other gifts in the Abramoff lobbying scandal. He was the first congressman charged in the scandal.

Heaton is a 2000 graduate of the College of William & Mary, according to a congressional directory of House staff members. Before going to work as Ney's chief of staff, Heaton had been a floor assistant to House Speaker Dennis Hastert and worked for the Committee on House Administration, which Ney once chaired.

[L. Coyote]

85. "Guilty your honor." Heaton has agreed to cooperate.. Abramoff investigation

Former Ney aide pleads guilty in scandal
Ex-chief of staff charged in Abramoff lobbying-influence peddling probe

Former Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio has already been sentenced for trading official actions to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff for expensive trips, sports tickets, meals and campaign donations.

By Joel Seidman
Producer - NBC News - Updated: 15 minutes ago
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17348236 /

WASHINGTON - William Heaton, the former chief of staff to convicted Ohio republican congressman Bob Ney pleaded guilty after being charged Monday with a single felony count of conspiracy in the ongoing Washington influence peddling probe of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Heaton, who is 28 years old, worked for Ney until July. When asked how we would plead, he told U.S. District Judge Ellen Huvelle, "guilty your honor."

......

Ney was aided in his dealings with Abramoff by a key staffer, Heaton, according to the criminal information filed in court today......
Heaton worked for Ney from September 2001 until July 2006.

......

Cooperation agreement
Heaton has agreed to cooperate in the Abramoff investigation and faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison and at $250,000 fine. Judge Huvelle indicated that under federal sentencing guidelines, he faces 18-24 months and depending on his cooperation agreement he may spend less time in prison.

[L. Coyote]

82. Corruption cases/individuals investigated by the FBI in Cleveland. LONG LIST

Searching "Cleveland corruption" sure is a fruitful search term! And we are to believe elections were fair in Bribe City? Note that noone in Ohio or city government stopped the corruption.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2006 - WWW.USDOJ.GOV
Ninth Defendant in Multi-District Public Corruption Probe
Pleads Guilty to Mail and Wire Fraud
http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2006/January/06_crm_020.html

WASHINGTON – Floyd Gary Thacker, 50, of Atlanta, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to engage in honest services mail and wire fraud before U.S. District Judge David Hittner in the Southern District of Texas, Assistant Attorney General Alice Fisher of the Justice Department's Criminal Division announced today. Thacker is the owner of Thacker Operating Company, an Atlanta-based construction and building services company which provided energy-related services for municipal governments in Houston and Atlanta.

In his guilty plea, Thacker admitted that he established personal relationships with public officials in Atlanta and the former Director of Building Services in Houston by making secret cash payments, gifts, and meals in exchange for favorable treatment for the award of city contracts to Thacker’s business.

Between December 1998 and July 2000, Thacker provided Atlanta public officials with secret cash payments, meals, entertainment and trips totaling over $55,000, in exchange for favorable influence .....

Thacker faces a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison, a three-year term of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Judge Hittner scheduled Thacker’s sentencing for April 18, 2006.

This case is one of several stemming from a multi-district probe of public corruption by city officials relating to contracting services in Atlanta, Cleveland, East Cleveland (Ohio), Houston, and New Orleans being conducted by the Public Integrity Section of the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in Cleveland and Houston.

Others convicted in the case include: Monique McGilbra, 41, of Houston, ... A Cleveland judge sentenced McGilbra to three years imprisonment and fined her $5,000. In September 2005, McGilbra was sentenced in federal court in Houston to 30 months imprisonment, to run concurrently with the three year term imposed in Cleveland. McGilbra cooperated with the government’s prosecution of others.

Oliver Spellman, 51, former chief of staff to a former mayor of Houston, was sentenced to two years probation and a $10,000 fine following his guilty plea to honest services mail and wire fraud conspiracy charges in Cleveland. Spellman cooperated with the government’s prosecution of others.

Gilbert Jackson, 51, of New Orleans, was sentenced to 82 months imprisonment Dec. 12, 2005, following his convictions in Cleveland for racketeering and conspiracy to commit honest services mail and wire fraud violations. ....

Cleveland businessman Nate Gray, 47, was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment Nov. 16, 2005, and ordered to pay $1.5 million in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service for corruption and tax charges following his conviction in August 2005 in Cleveland.

Brent Jividen, 43, a former employee of Honeywell Corporation was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment following his guilty plea in Cleveland to racketeering conspiracy charges relating to honest services wire and mail fraud. Jividen cooperated in the government’s prosecution of others.

Emmanuel Onunwor, 47, a former mayor of East Cleveland (Ohio), was sentenced to 108 months imprisonment and ordered to pay more than $5.1 million in restitution to the City of East Cleveland. Onunwor was convicted in Cleveland of racketeering conspiracy and other charges related to his corrupt activities with Cleveland businessman Nate Gray. Following his conviction at trial in Cleveland, Onunwor cooperated with the government.

Ricardo Teamor, 59, a former attorney, was sentenced to four months imprisonment and fined $15,000 following his guilty plea in Cleveland to corruption charges. Teamor cooperated in the government’s prosecution of others.

Joseph T. Jones, 37, a former Cleveland city councilman, was sentenced to two years probation following his guilty plea in Cleveland to honest services fraud involving Teamor and Gray. As part of his plea agreement, he resigned from the city council. Jones cooperated in the government’s prosecution of others.

.... The cases in Cleveland are being prosecuted by Butler and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benita Y. Pearson and Steven M. Dettelbach in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Cleveland. ...

These cases are being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Cleveland, Houston and Atlanta, and the IRS Criminal Division in New Orleans and Cleveland.

=========
City for Sale - http://www.clevescene.com/2005-07-20/news/city-for-sale/
A secret FBI document targets Mike White in a widespread extortion scheme.
By Pete Kotz - July 20, 2005

If you believe a secret affidavit authored by the FBI, the City of Cleveland was open for business during the reign of former Mayor Mike White. And that business was extortion.

* The FBI believes Nate Gray served as the
Walter Novak
The FBI believes Nate Gray served as the "bag man" for former Mayor Mike White.
* As soon as White became mayor, Gray mysteriously began making large cash deposits.
Walter Novak
As soon as White became mayor, Gray mysteriously began making large cash deposits.

The affidavit -- sealed by a federal judge but obtained by Scene -- was written in 2002 by FBI Agent Christine Oliver as part of a wiretap request targeting multiple people. Its 64 pages are loaded with damning allegations against White, contending there's "probable cause" to believe the mayor headed an extortion ring, whereby businesses were forced to pay bribes in exchange for city, school, and airport contracts. It also contains confessions of bribery by Cleveland businessmen.

.....

Noted one confidential source: It is "well known in the construction community that, if you do not make the necessary payment to Gray, you are not awarded the contract."

========
http://www.waterwebster.com/ClevelandOhiowaterinvestigation.htm
Cleveland, Ohio water investigation
Two deal brokers with dirty hands manipulated Ohio water contracts

Nate Gray and Gilbert Jackson used a variety of sweeteners to ingratiate themselves with municipal officials: tickets to ballgames and Broadway shows, under-the-table payments, a $700 Louis Vuitton handbag. Gray had especially good connections in the Ohio suburb of East Cleveland. Gray and Jackson helped secure water and sewer contracts in Cleveland and East Cleveland for two of the nation's most prominent engineering firms. Those deals became key elements in a federal racketeering investigation that eventually put the pair in prison.

[L. Coyote]

44. April 2006: "Vu acknowledged that the selection of precincts was not completely random "

Workers accused of fudging ’04 recount - Prosecutor says Cuyahoga skirted rules
Thursday, April 06, 2006 - Joan Mazzolini - Plain Dealer Reporter
http://www.rangevoting.org/PlainDealerOHrec.html

"... observers suspected that the precincts were not randomly chosen and asked a board worker about it, said Toledo attorney Richard Kerger. The worker acknowledged that there had been a precount.

Kerger wrote a letter to Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason, complaining and asking for an investigation. Mason recused himself, and Baxter was appointed special prosecutor. He brought elections workers before a grand jury to find out what happened.

"They screwed with the process and increased the probability, if not the certainty, that there would not be a full countywide hand count," Baxter said.

Everyone expected the recount to "be conducted in accordance of the law," he said.

Vu said the precincts were chosen as they had been in the past, by a Democrat and a Republican in the ballot department.

Because of Baxter's investigation, Vu declined to comment on whether the board's longtime procedures involve precounting precincts before the recount.

Vu acknowledged that the selection of precincts was not completely random because precincts with 550 votes or fewer were not used.

Nor were precincts counted where the number of ballots handed out on Election Day failed to match the number of ballots cast.

Vu said the board also had asked for legal opinions from the prosecutor's office before and after the election to ensure all rules were followed.

Kathleen Martin, who headed the civil division at the prosecutor's office and worked with the board on the issues, has since died.

"If Kathleen Martin was still alive, she could put so much light on this," Vu said.

[L. Coyote]

50. Vu Resigns - Listen to the MP3 -- More News Stories

BOE Director Vu Resigns - Listen to the MP3 - Aired February 7, 2007
http://www.wcpn.org/news/2007/01-03/0207vu.html = Tasha Flournoy 90.3.

Michael Vu, the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections director, announced his resignation yesterday. The decision ends months of speculation about his departure. ideastream's Tasha Flournoy reports.

The embattled chief's exit was widely anticipated. Vu and his Deputy, Gwendolyn Dillingham, received much of the blame for last year's botched May primary....... Bob Bennett, chairman of the elections board, announced the deal after hours of negotiations.

Bob Bennett: "Director Michael Vu has submitted his resignation of his position and the board has accepted his resignation effective March 1, 2007. Director Vu will continue to consult with the board through June of this year into to ease the transition to a new director."

......

Cuyahoga County Commissioner Peter Lawson Jones says Vu's departure comes at the right time. Jones has been critical of the amount of money the county has had to spend, both on touch-screen voting machines and on continued training of poll workers.

Peter Lawson Jones: "Things just did not go well in terms of the conduct of elections. And in addition morale at the board of elections, as a consequence of a number of factors, is down. So we need a change. And it's good that we have it sooner rather than later."

The elections board formed an eight-member search committee to pick Vu's replacement. Bay Village Mayor Deborah Sutherland and Cuyahoga County Democratic Party Chair Jimmy Dimora are among the members.

[L. Coyote]

51. "Board members spent about eight hours behind closed doors..."

Vu resigns as county elections board director
Thursday, February 08, 2007 - By Ken Baka - The Sun Courier
http://www.wcpn.org/news/2007/01-03/0207vu.html

"He denied he is a scapegoat, but Michael Vu is quitting...."

"Board members spent about eight hours behind closed doors this week before chairman Robert T. Bennett announced the resignations. Bennett said he didn't want Vu to leave, but added that other members had "very firm" opposing views."

"The most vocal was member Edward Coaxum Jr., who said, "This is not about people, but about process." Coaxum cited a need to respond to a critical report about the May elections and "reconnect" with voters."

What did they discuss for 8 hours behind closed doors?

Was it this News from Jan 27, 2007?

OHIO 2004: 6.15% Kerry-Bush vote-switch found in probability study.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=103&topic_id=259620&mesg_id=259620

[L. Coyote]

55. Yellow Cab objecting .. solely responsible for the memory cards election night ...

7-21-06: BBV EXCLUSIVE - Cuyahoga B.o.E. members call for Director of Elections Vu's resignation
http://www.netscape.com/viewstory/2006/07/26/cuyahoga-oh-board-of-elections-members-call-for-director-of-elections-vus-resignation/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbvforums.org%2Fcgi-bin%2Fforums%2Fboard-auth.cgi%3Ffile%3D%2F1954%2F32997.html&frame=true

"...
In addition to the indictments, Vu's judgement should be questioned for his bizarre decisions about handling chain of custody for the Diebold electronic ballot boxes on May 2.

Cleveland Fox 8 News found that a letter had been sent by the Yellow Cab company to the Board of Elections objecting to the fact that their cab drivers were made solely responsible for the memory cards getting back to the elections division on election night.

Channel-8 news interviewed one cab driver who confirmed that she was left all by herself with a cab filled with memory cards and other supplies. Chris Nance, Stephanie Tubbs Jones' assistant, has said that he witnessed many yellow cabs driving up delivering supplies with only the driver overseeing the votes during transportation. ..."

[L. Coyote]

58. OCT. 2006, Major Article "... perfect study in how not to run an election..."

This is a major article by Kim Zetter from Oct, 31, 2006
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/1,71999-0.html

"Six years ago the world watched dumbfounded as the Florida 2000 fiasco exposed the messy underbelly of U.S. election administration. Since then states have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on new electronic voting equipment to ensure that the nation would never experience such mishaps again.

"But two recent and lengthy reports examining this year's May primary in Cuyahoga County, Ohio -- a pivotal state where the electoral votes gave President Bush his second win in 2004 -- make it clear that Florida-like fiascos are far from behind us.

"The reports, totaling more than 500 pages, paint a disturbing picture of how million-dollar equipment and security safeguards can quickly be undone by poor product design, improper election procedures and inadequate training. From destroyed ballots and vote totals that didn't add up to lost equipment and breaches in security protocols, Cuyahoga's primary is a perfect study in how not to run an election. .....

"It's going to take time," Vu says. "You can't go from having problems in one election to perfection in the next election." ........

"The county Board of Elections and Board of Commissioners did recently appoint The Center for Election Integrity at Cleveland State University to monitor progress in the implementation of reforms recommended by the two reports, and the group will monitor the county's actual conduct during elections."

[L. Coyote]

59. NPR SEPT 2006: "... 10 percent of the paper ballots sampled were uncountable..."

All Things Considered, September 13, 2006 · Election 2006
Problems Found in Ohio Computer Voting - by Pam Fessler
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6069712

"A report finds several bugs in the new voting system in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. The report says that poll workers were poorly trained in monitoring the new touch-screen voting machines, and there were discrepancies between the new paper-ballot backups and the votes recorded by the machines.

In the first thorough study of a paper-backed system -- often seen as an answer to concerns about touch-screen voting -- the nonpartisan Election Science Intistute found that about 10 percent of the paper ballots sampled were uncountable. And in Ohio, that's a big problem: The paper ballot is the official ballot if there's a recount. ...."

"... Vu thinks that, even with the glitches, the new machines are an improvement over previously used punchcards.

"If you lost the ballots, you lost it for good," Vu says. "There's no way of retrieving those votes. Here in this new environment, you have a backup and redundancy method." .....

MORE

[L. Coyote]

60. Center for Election Integrity Appointed Public Monitor

http://urban.csuohio.edu/cei/

The Cuyahoga County Board of Elections and the County Commissioners have jointly appointed CSU's Center for Election Integrity to serve as the Public Monitor for the County Board of Election's (CCBOE's) conduct of elections. The Center will monitor implementation of the reforms recommended by the Cuyahoga Election Review Panel’s Final Report (July 20, 2006), certain recommendations from other studies, the achievement of CCBOE election preparation plans, and the actual conduct of the County's elections. This last set of monitoring tasks will encompass absentee ballot procedures, Election Day voting, vote tabulation and reconciliation, provisional ballot verification, and recounts.

As Public Monitor, the Center will provide frequent public reports on Cuyahoga County's progress toward election administrative excellence, and on any risks that develop in preparation for its conduct of an election. The Public Monitor will report to the public, as well as to the Boards of both the Cuyahoga County Commission and the Board of Elections, with the goal of ensuring a lawful, equitable, and secure electoral system that produces accurate and verifiable election results. As proposed by the Election Review Panel, the Center for Election Integrity will seek financial assistance from foundations to support the Center’s monitoring activities.

This website will maintain all of the Monitor's reports on Cuyahoga County's election improvements and its implementation of the Cuyahoga Election Review Panel's Final Report. Check back often for updates.

The Election Review Panel’s report can be found at:
Entire Report: (400 pages, PDF) = http://www.cuyahogavoting.org
Report Accessible via separate Chapters (approx. 30 page subunits, PDF):
http://www.law.csuohio.edu/CERP/index.html

[L. Coyote]

72. WHO IS WHO? Fake Voting Rights Groups Tied to the White House

Fake voting rights activists and groups linked to White House
By Bob Fitrakis - Online Journal Guest Writer - Dec 31, 2005
http://www.onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_376.shtml

" Top level Republican operatives with ties to the White House, Senate Majority Leader William Frist and the Republican National Committee (RNC) not only engaged in the suppression of poor and minority voters in the 2004 Ohio presidential election, but they spun the election irregularities into a story linking blacks to cocaine and voter fraud...."

"... Fake Voting Rights Groups Tied to the White House

In March 2005, Congressman Bob Ney held a U.S. House Administrative hearing at the Ohio Statehouse where a general counsel for the brand new voting rights group, the American Center for Voting Rights (ACVR), told the congressional committee that the voting problems in Ohio were the result of the NAACP paying people with crack in order to entice them to register to vote. ACVR's general counsel, Mark F. "Thor" Hearne, turned out to be the former national general counsel for Bush-Cheney '04, Inc., with no history of working in a voting rights organization. Hearne relied on a lawsuit filed against the NAACP in Wood County, Ohio, "alleging fraudulent voter registration under the Ohio Corrupt Practices Act."

Hearne wrote a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice in March 2005 claiming there was "substantial evidence to suggest potential criminal wrongdoing by organizations such as Americans Coming Together ("ACT"), ACORN and the NAACP -- Project Vote."

"We understand that local Ohio law enforcement authorities are pursuing criminal prosecution against some of the individuals involved in this activity, which activities include paying crack cocaine for fraudulent voter registration forms," Hearne wrote.

Cliff Arnebeck, the attorney representing the NAACP, denounces this as a deliberate racist disinformation campaign to divert attention from Ohio's election theft. "

....

"Other Players Tied to Bush-Cheney

While Vogel helped create the voter fraud myth and Hearne acted as the group's general counsel, a man named Jim Dyke acted as spokesperson for the dubious ACVR. Dyke served for many years as Republican National Committee Communications Director. In October, Dyke emerged as a White House spokesperson on National Public Radio pushing the ill-fated nomination of Harriet Miers for the Supreme Court.

Dyke and Hearne incorporated their "nonpartisan" tax-exempt voting rights organization in Dallas, Texas, only three business days prior to the Ney hearings in Ohio's capital. Despite its lack of history, the ACVR was the only "voting rights group" called to testify on election irregularities in Ohio. With a few exceptions, like Raw Story and Bradblog, news organizations have ignored these obvious political connections...."

[L. Coyote]

75. BRAD BLOG: Special Coverage - American Center for Voting Rights

WHEW!!

BRAD BLOG: Special Coverage - American Center for Voting Rights
KEY ARTICLES IN THE SERIES SO FAR...
http://www.bradblog.com/ACVR.htm

· 03/22/05: The First Report Concerning the "American Center for Voting Rights"
Group shows up to testify at phony hearings on "Ohio Election Irregularities" held by House Administrative Comm. Chair Bob Ney (R-OH)

· 03/22/05: New 'Non-Partisan' 'Voting Rights' Org Appears Little More than Republican Front Group!

· 03/23/05: High-Level Republicans from the New 'Non-Partisan' 'American Center for Voting Rights' Explain Themselves...

· 03/24/05: 'Voting Rights' Group Leader Withholds Bush/Cheney/RNC Ties During Congressional Testimony!

· 03/24/05: Mystery Solved! Location of 'American Center for Voting Rights' Found! Exclusive Photographs!

· 03/25/05: Air America Picks up Our Story on the ACVR!

· 03/26/05: Help Counter the ACVR/GOP Disinformation Campaign!

· 03/28/05: 'Non-Partisan' Ring-Leaders of GOP 'Voting Rights' Front Group Currently Very Active Partisans!

· 03/29/05: Bush's 'Hometown' Crawford Paper reports on ACVR!

· 03/30/05: Right-Wing Extremist 'News' Service Attempts to Legitimize Phony GOP 'Voting Rights' Group!

· 03/30/05: RNC Political Director Cites Report by RNC 'Voting Rights' Front Group to RNC Email List!
PLUS: ACVR has the inside skinny on the Baker/Carter Commission! ACVR News Release published just 24 minutes after commission was announced!

· 03/31/05: Revealing More About the Phony 'Voting Rights' Org and the Collusion of the Rightwing Echo Chamber of Friends Who Support It!
GOPUSA Runs CNS Story on GOP Front Group ACVR! The axis-of-evil-acronyms.

· 04/12/05: The ACVR Lands on the Baker/Carter Blue-Ribbon Election Reform Commission!
Anyone surprised?

· 04/14/05: RAW STORY EXPOSÉ FINDS ACVR COLLUDING WITH BAKER/CARTER COMMISSION!
Surprised yet? Story includes loads of other troubling related issues!

· 04/27/05: New ACVR Details from Columbus Free Press
Bob Fitraks connects a few more dots on the phony GOP Front Group.

· 06/22/05: ACVR Continues Attempts at Defrauding American Voters
Issue smokescreen press release in reply to DNC Election 2004 Report.
Preparing to release their own 'Voter Fraud' report even as Exec Director Thor Hearne lies on video tape.

· 08/2/05: ACVR Delivers Onslaught of Disinfo Today!
Releases Report, Six Press Releases Focusing on Democratic 'Election Fraud'
Massive Republican Voter Disenfranchisement Virtually Unmentioned, Phony Quotes by 'Democrat' Used in Releases

· 08/2/05: ACVR Scams American Democracy
GOP Grateful, DNC Still Keeps Head in the Sand

· 08/3/05: Rightwingers, 'News' Sites Fall Hook, Line & Sinker for ACVR Scam Report
Blogs and 'Journalists' Alike Fall Over Themselves to Cover Phony GOP 'Voting Rights' Group Propaganda

· 08/8/05: ACVR Adds a 'Democrat' to Their Team! And he's a Fake too!
Brian Lunde shows up as an ACVR scamster. They claim he's a Democrat, but whaddaya know? He's also works with Karl Rove, and is a donor to Bush/Cheney '04 and to a PAC dedicated to "Maintaining a Republican Majority" -- like all good Democrats, of course!

· 08/15/05: Indicted GOP Moneyman Abramoff Tied To ACVR, the Phony GOP 'Voting Rights' Group!
The DNC Finally Fights Back at the Republican Run 'American Center for Voting Rights' Hoax!
PLUS: Proof that Republicans only pretend to hate Marxists and More on ACVR's Fake 'Democrat'!

· 08/18/05: The Mainstream Media Catches on to the ACVR Fraudsters!
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review calls them and the Pennsylvania Republican Party out for the America and democracy-hating sheisters they are.

· 10/6/05: 'Non-Partisan' 'Voting Rights' Group Founder Works for White House!
ACVR's Jim Dyke Moonlights to Push Bush Supreme Court Nominee
'Honesty and Integrity' in the Bush-Era Now at it's Bushiest Level of All Time!

· 10/11/05: 'Non-Partisan' 'Voting Rights' Group Founder Now Works for Dick Cheney's Office!
Will the "non-partisanship" ever stop?!

· 11/23/05: Ohio's U.S. Rep. Bob Ney Reportedly on Verge of Indictment
Corrupt Ohio Congressman, who gave ACVR their "big break" in Congress, may be headed to slammer!

· 12/15/05: ACVR Frivilous Legal Attacks Against Legit Voting Groups Have All Collapsed

· 12/30/05: Connecting More Dots Between ACVR and More High-Level GOP Officials

· 1/10/06: The Soon-to-be-Indicted Rep. Bob Ney's Connection to Ohio Electoral Fraud and More!
A BRAD BLOG EXPOSÉ: The dots begin to converge -- big time -- between Ney, former staffers turned Diebold lobbyists, Jack Abramoff, the ACVR, HAVA legislation, pay-offs and other top-level GOP operatives!

· 4/10/06: Karl Rove Thanks ACVR's Thor Hearne for Work on 'Clean Elections' in 2000 and 2004

[L. Coyote]

77. three public faces of the nonpartisan group are very partisan Republican operatives

Is this the tip of the spin iceburg? How many groups/activists are more discrete operations trying to control the election fraud dialogue and discourse? And, how much money have you sent them?

The DNC press office had more to say on the ACVR. ....

The American Center for Voting Rights (ACVR) recently presented RNC chairman Ken Mehlman with a report claiming that Democrats had practiced voter fraud and intimidation during the 2004 election. Their findings would be troubling, except for the fact that they are a GOP front group whose officers are all partisan Republicans. In fact, Jim Dyke, the organization's spokesman, was the RNC's communications director during the 2004 elections, where he defended a RNC funded group that was caught tearing up Democratic voter registration forms. ACVR's counsel ran against former Democratic Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, and its Chairman was an associate of Washington super lobbyist, Jack Abramoff. They're not exactly the non-partisan organization they claim to be.

AMERICAN CENTER FOR VOTING RIGHTS IS A FRAUD

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Editorial: ACVR Is A Fraud. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review called the group a "fraud." .... also mentioned that "the three public faces of the nonpartisan group are very partisan Republican operatives --- including one who claims to be a sounding board for senior White House adviser Karl Rove."

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Editorial: Hearne and Lunde Sounded Like Comedy Routine While Trying to Name Donors to Their Group. "When asked to name any contributors to his nonprofit, Hearne claimed he did not know but said Lunde did. When Lunde was asked, he claimed he did not know but said Hearne did."

[L. Coyote]

62. Bev Harris, Reports from Black Box Voting: 2-7-07: = The Vu Memos

Bev Harris - February 7, 2007
More from Ohio: The Vu Memos - Cuyahoga Elections Director conversations with the prosecutor
http://www.bbvforums.org/cgi-bin/forums/board-auth.cgi?file=/1954/46655.html

-----------------------------------------------------------
Black Box Voting : Latest Consumer Reports from Black Box Voting: 2-7-07: The Vu Memos - Cuyahoga Elections Director conversations with the prosecutor
------------------------------------------------------------
(Links to document photocopies at end of this article)

TRANSCRIPT OF ATTORNEY NOTES

KNOWN FACTS:

14. On December 8, 2004, Director Vu contacted this office to discuss the upcoming recount. Director Vu stated that he wants to eliminate the human error factor because a time consuming hand recount should not be required because it will not change the results. Director Vu was advised to send all recount information and procedures to this office for review, and that the Board should stay consistent with the foregoing procedures.

16. December 9, 2004 e-mail from Director Vu: "We will be conducting the Presidential Recount on December 16th and 17th. Before the recount, I would like to discuss with you our procedures and make sure you are aware of how we intend to proceed. There are also several questions we have in conducting the recount that we would like your legal counsel on. I'd like to set up a time tomorrow to ask several questions over the phone and in person. These are questions that I needed answered so the staff can make preparations including notifying the presidential candidates. They are simple questions, but ones which are important." (Exhibit 19)

17. December 10, 2004, phone conference between Director Vu, members of his staff, and attorneys from this office. Director Vu starts the conversation regarding the recount by stating that he wants to eliminate the human error factor, which would cause a total hand-recount of all votes cast, and that he thinks such recount is unnecessary because the election results would not change. The only issue discussed is the "3% random issue" as to what random means. Director Vu states that only precincts with plus 500 voters would be chosen. This office asked Director Vu whether the 500 plus criteria was consistent with prior practice, and Vu stated yes it was consistent. Director Vu was advised that following past Board practice and staying consistent should not be a problem as long as all stated procedures and requirements imposed by statute and the Secretary of State Directive are followed. Director Vu continues to make comments that he is trying to eliminate the human error factor and that the recount is not needed because it will not change the results. This office continually advises during the conference call that the stated procedures should be followed. This office was never informed, at any time, that Director Vu was conducting recount(s) or test runs without witnesses prior to the time of December 16 and 17, 2004, when witnesses were to be present.

22. Prior to the January 3, 2005 meeting, Director Vu admits to counsel that prior to the scheduled official recount of December 16 and 17, 2004, the sealed ballot boxes were opened, ballots were looked at, and recounts occurred. Director Vu was advised that nothing permits the foregoing.

23. On January 5, 2005, in a conference call to this office regarding the allegations of recount irregularities, Director Vu and Jane PLatten stated that they would like to know the prosecutor's position so we are all on the same page, and they would also like to know the prosecutor's position, so they know how to respond to the media. They were advised that there could be no response to such questions, because Director Vu had admitted that prior to the official recount the sealed ballot boxes were opened, the Ballots were looked at, and recounts were conducted prior to the official recount;Director Vu was again advised that it was wrong.

24. On January 15, 2005, Director Vu contacted this office and stated that he wanted to make sure that, what he phrased as the recount mistake, never happened again. Director Vu asked whether the matter was being investigated, and whether the matter would come up at the February meeting. Director Vu was advised that a memo was being prepared, the matter should be addressed at the February meeting, and this matter should be discussed on the record. The conversation then ended.

ALLEGATIONS

Pg. 10, first paragraph

– In regards to the staff members statements at the December 15, 2004 meeting, it should be determined whether these statements were based on a desire not to interfere with a plan to manipulate and/or rig the recount, which may have already occurred by the time of this meeting.

Pg. 11, second paragraph

– An issue to be determined is whether a fewer number of precincts used in the 3% hand recount gives a prior plan to manipulate the recount, a greater chance to balance.

CONCLUSION

The allegations that the recount of Cuyahoga County's presidential vote was conducted in violation of the spirit and letter of Ohio law are serious. When precincts are pre-counted, and discarded by election officials in violation of State law, the Secretary of State's directive, and theBoard's own Standard Procedures, the integrity of the entire process is called into question. In light of this office's statutory representation to the Board, it would be prudent to have this matter further investigated by an outside office or agency.

END OF FILE TRANSCRIPT

Document photocopies:
http://www.bbvdocs.org/OH/cuyahoga1.pdf
(2000 KB)
http://www.bbvdocs.org/OH/cuyahoga2.pdf
(6000 KB)
http://www.bbvdocs.org/OH/cuyahoga2.pdf

Bev Harris is executive director of Black Box Voting, Inc. an advocacy group opposed to electronic voting methods based on non open-source code.

[L. Coyote]

63. U.S. House Ethics Counsel Hires Former Cuyahoga Prosecutor

U.S. House Ethics Counsel Hired: Former Cleveland Prosecutor

Is this why? DU Thread: OHIO 2004: 6.15% Kerry-Bush vote-switch found in probability study
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=103&topic_id=259620&mesg_id=259620

==========

CLEVELAND (TDB) -- A former assistant prosecutor in Cuyahoga County has been hired as chief counsel for the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, the ethics panel which is chaired by Cleveland Democratic Stephanie Tubbs Jones. Dawn Kelley Mobley is a graduate of North Carolina Central School of Law and is licensed to practice in North Carolina and Ohio.

She was a trial lawyer in the Cuyahoga County prosecutor's office and handled rape, homicide and drug cases. She also worked as a supervisor in the felony and juvenile justice sections. Tubbs Jones was the was the county prosecutor in Cleveland before her election to the OH-11 seat.

Mobley has been working for the U.S. Attorney's in Washington. Her new role could make her fairly high-profile if there is any kind of congressional scandal. Democrats has promised an emphasis on ethics. .....

http://thebellwetherdaily.blogspot.com/2007/02/us-house-ethics-counsel-hired-former.html

[Doctor_J]

76. This is a federal crime

These people should be sent to federal prison (per Michael Boulton in Office Space)

[L. Coyote]

80. OH SoS Brunner establishes minimum qualifications for election boards

State pushes standards for election directors
Wednesday, February 21, 2007 - Mark Rollenhagen - Plain Dealer Bureau Chief
http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/117205057944360.xml&coll=2

Columbus - Got a GED? You might qualify to run a county election board in Ohio, although you will probably also need some experience to land the job.

Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, Ohio's top election official, on Tuesday established minimum qualifications for county election boards to use when filling director and deputy director posts.

.....

Current directors or deputy directors who do not meet the minimum requirements won't lose their jobs, but boards will have to provide additional education and training.

Many of the qualifications mirror those in the job description of the Cuyahoga County elections director, including "using, interpreting and applying election law terminology and language" and the ability "to perform in stressful or emergency situations."

Brunner's directive came just three days before the deadline for people to apply for the director and deputy director jobs at the Cuyahoga County board. She said her assistant secretary of state, Chris Nance, serves on a committee that will screen candidates for the post.

[L. Coyote]

86. Outside monitor criticizes election board's security = keys unsecure, etc.

http://www.newarkadvocate.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070228/NEWS01/702280321/1002
Wednesday, February 28, 2007 - CLEVELAND (AP)

The elections board in Ohio's most populous county failed to provide adequate security for the November election in terms of equipment, staffing and electronic voting, an outside monitor said.

The Cuyahoga County elections board failed to secure keys to vote-counting rooms, did not comply with state laws governing bipartisan staffing, left computer users unaccountable by allowing a shared password and experienced an unexplained cable connection to vote-counting computers, according to the critique by Cleveland State University's Center for Election Integrity.

County commissioners hired the center to review the work of the election board after a botched primary in May .........

[OhioChick]

87. Cuyahoga County BOE Names Interim Director

Feb 28, 2007 03:53 PM EST

Cuyahoga County, OH - The Cuyahoga County Board of Elections has selected an interim director.

The BOE announced Wednesday that Jane Platten will take over the position.

Platten is currently the administrator in charge of poll workers, community outreach and administrative service.

She has been with the board since 2004.

The board has also extended their deadline to March 7th at 4PM for both the Director and Deputy Director positions.

http://www.woio.com/Global/story.asp?S=6156751

[L. Coyote]

88. Deputy Director Gwen Dillingham resigned Wed., will earn $9,675 a month

Why do Blackwell and Bennett give Ohio election officals and SoS workers such great parachutes? Let's hope it is for all the correct reasons.

============
Cuyahoga Co. Elections Board needs more time to find chief
Posted by Joan Mazzolini February 28, 2007 20:24PM
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2007/02/cuyahoga_co_ele...

Even though nearly 100 people have applied to be director or deputy director of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, board members voted Wednesday to extend the search until Wednesday..

.....

Wednesday was Director Michael Vu's last day. However, Vu is under contract with the board through the end of June and is being paid $11,250 a month -- equal to the director's monthly salary and benefits.

Deputy Director Gwen Dillingham resigned Wednesday. The board spent hours in executive session with her lawyer, Roger Synenberg, working out a separation package. Dillingham will consult with the board through August and earn $9,675 a month.

MORE

[L. Coyote]

89. Right Wing Blog suggests Republican Director be named. Is that LEGAL??

Is this suggestion so ill-informed that it proposes criminality?

TTBOMK, the decision is based on merit, and the BOE will have to conform to the decision. Statutes require the Chair of the BOE and the Deputy Director cannot be the same party as the Director. To suggest that Bennett resign to make way for a Republican is akin to saying, "Let's break the law and put our party in charge." This decision is not for Republicans to make, or to utilize to gain partisan advantage.

==============

http://kingsrightsite.blogspot.com/2007/03/cuyahoga-board-of-elections-still.html

"Cuyahoga Board of Elections still stumbles in their replacement search ....

Bennett should step down as Board Chairman, to allow a qualified republican be named Director.

Now we will see if he continues to feed his blatantly over sized ego, or if he will be a man of his word and put the best interest of the party and county first!"

[L. Coyote]

90. Michael Vu: Ex-county elections chief predicts more upheaval in 2008

AP Interview: Ex-county elections chief predicts more upheaval
THOMAS J. SHEERAN
Associated Press
http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/news/state/16846053.htm

CLEVELAND - The elections board in the state's most populous county can expect more intense scrutiny in 2008 than it experienced during a 2004 election marked by long voter lines, when Ohio delivered the election to President Bush, the recently resigned director of the board said Tuesday.

"The challenges they face are the same challenges that we faced in 2004's presidential election," Michael Vu told The Associated Press in his first interview since leaving the high-profile job in Cuyahoga County last week while under fire for election foul-ups.

"Even though I thought 2004 was big, I think 2008 is going to be that much greater in terms of size, in terms of controversy, in terms of being at the courthouse often. I think that's one of the things that's disappointing, is how often things are litigated in elections now."

MORE

[L. Coyote]

91. "The sentencing of Jaqui Maiden and Kathy Dreamer was originally scheduled for 2-26."

Friday, March 2, 2007
And what about the sentencing of the two women convicted of felonious election actions?
http://citizensboe.blogspot.com/2007/03/and-what-about-sentencing-of-two-women.html

I just got an email inquring:

Hello All: I have been eagerly anticipating the
sentencing of Ohio BOE workers convicted of
manipulating the 2004 election outcome. Has anyone
heard anything yet? Have these people been sentenced
to jail time? Please advise.

Here was my reply that I thought might be of interest to more:
The sentencing of Jaqui Maiden and Kathy Dreamer was originally scheduled for 2-26. The defense, however filed a motion for a continuance of the sentencing hearing.
It was granted for March 13. (Oddly, the way I, in Cleveland, had to find out about the delayed hearing, was from tireless Kathleen Wynne, formerly of BlackBoxVoting, now living in Texas, and who was a lead testifier for the prosecution.)

So no, they have not been sentenced yet. (They have however, been assigned a probation officer to whom I assume they must report.)

However, happening concurrently in that regard are:
1. The defense has also filed two motions for a new trial -

MORE

[OhioChick]

93. BOE Workers Get 18 Months For Rigging 2004 Recount

Women Free On Bond Pending Appeal

POSTED: 11:57 am EDT March 13, 2007
UPDATED: 1:20 pm EDT March 13, 2007

CLEVELAND -- Two election workers in the state's most populous county were sentenced Tuesday to 18 months in prison for rigging the 2004 presidential election recount so they could avoid a more thorough review of the votes.

Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Peter Corrigan allowed the women to remain free on bond pending appeal. Some of their friends and relatives sobbed as the judge impose the sentence.

Jacqueline Maiden, 60, an election coordinator who was the board's third-highest ranking employee when she was indicted last March, and ballot manager Kathleen Dreamer, 40, each were convicted of a felony count of negligent misconduct of an elections employee.

Maiden and Dreamer also were convicted of one misdemeanor count each of failure of elections employees to perform their duty. Both were acquitted of five other charges and a co-defendant who was an assistant manager of the ballot department was acquitted of all seven counts.

Ohio gave Bush the electoral votes he needed to defeat Democratic Sen. John Kerry in the close election and hold on to the White House in 2004.

http://www.newsnet5.com/news/11241566/detail.html

[L. Coyote]

94. New Ohio SoS calls for Cuyahoga BOE resignations (Bennett, et. all)

See this DU Discussion for insight into what the Ohio SoS office is aware of since January. This may be our first indication of hw their investigation is going!

OHIO 2004: 6.15% Kerry-Bush vote-switch found in probability study
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x259620

========

kster .... Tue Mar-20-07 11:38 AM
Forced resignations and stiff prison sentences intensify the escalating blowback from Ohio's 2004
DU Discussion: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x469386

=======
Requests to resign resisted
Ohio secretary of state asks Cuyahoga voting officials to step down
By Joe Milicia - Associated Press
http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/16938461.htm

CLEVELAND - A request from the Ohio secretary of state that all four members of the Cuyahoga County elections board resign because of a history of problems was met Monday with resistance.

Jennifer Brunner, the state's chief election officer, said her decision was based on her pledge to restore trust to elections in Ohio. She said she will seek the board members' removal through public hearings if they don't leave by the close of business on Wednesday.

Brunner, a newly elected Democrat, called the four board members Sunday night and asked them to step down.

``All of them were pretty shocked,'' Brunner said Monday. ``I wanted to work with this board, but when we have a crisis in public confidence... our state deserves better.''

[L. Coyote]

95. In the MSM: "Secretary of State tightens screws on Elections Board"

The BIG news herein is that the complaint includes 2004!!!!!!!!!!

Secretary of State tightens screws on Elections Board
Friday, March 23, 2007
Joan Mazzolini - Plain Dealer Reporter
http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1174639719208580.xml&coll=2

Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner on Thursday accused two holdouts on the Cuyahoga County Elections Board of violating state election law as part of her move to oust them.

Brunner filed a complaint that also accuses board Chairman Bob Bennett and board member Sally Florkiewicz, both Republicans, of misfeasance and nonfeasance. The 18-page document specifically charges the pair with failing to:

Adopt adequate procedures for election recounts, resulting in the felony convictions of two board employees on charges of rigging a recount. .....

....Ensure the efficient administration of elections from 2004 through 2006........

[L. Coyote]

98. Commentary: Terri L. Enns, Senior Fellow, Election Law @ Moritz

The Secretary of State's Complaint Against the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections
March 27, 2007 - http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/comments/articles.php?ID=129
Commentary by Terri L. Enns
Senior Fellow, Election Law @ Moritz
Associate Clinical Professor of Law
Moritz College of Law


On Monday, March 19, 2007, those who pay attention to such things were startled by the news that on the previous evening, Ohio's new Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner had placed a call to each of the four members of the bipartisan Cuyahoga County Board of Elections asking them to resign by the end of the day Wednesday. ....

....

The "laws" with which the boards of elections’ rules must comply include constitutional, statutory, and case-made law at the federal and state levels, rules found in the Ohio Administrative Code, and Ohio Attorney General opinions. Additionally, the Secretary of State issues "directives and advisories to members of the boards as to the proper methods of conducting elections; repare rules and instructions for the conduct of elections;" as well as provides the boards indexed copies of elections laws. ORC 3501.05. The boards of elections must then convey all of those rules and instructions to precinct level officers, who then guide individual poll workers as to the proper application of all of these layered requirements.

....more...

[L. Coyote]

96. 1972 Humphrey: Cuyahoga BOE the "greatest disgrace I've seen in public life."

We've seen this mess before
Firing the Board of Elections threatens to become a tradition
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Brent Larkin - Plain Dealer Columnist
http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/brent_larkin/index.ssf?/base/opinion/117472535390250.xml&coll=2

The man known far and wide as the "happy warrior" was any thing but when he stormed into the offices of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections on the afternoon of May 2, 1972.

Senator and former Vice President Hubert Humphrey's political future was on the line that day in Ohio. Only a win in this state's presidential primary election would keep alive Humphrey's campaign against the Democratic front-runner, Sen. George McGovern. And to win here, Humphrey needed his many friends in organized labor to deliver a big vote in Cuyahoga County.

For Humphrey, step one of getting a big vote was that the good people of Cuyahoga County be able to vote. And on this particular day, tens of thousands of them were not, prompting Humphrey to sputter that what happened here was the "greatest disgrace I've seen in public life."

... more ...

[L. Coyote]

97. Florkiewicz, former GOP County Chair, also resaigns from BOE

And the County has to pay to defend Bob Bennett!!!! Jeeezzz.

======

Another member quits county elections board
Wednesday, March 28, 2007 - 1 hour ago
Joan Mazzolini - Plain Dealer Reporter
http://www.cleveland.com/open/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/isope/1175079445258360.xml&coll=2

Cuyahoga County elections board member Sally Florkiewicz resigned Tuesday, leaving only the board chairman to fight removal by Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner.

On her way out, Florkiewicz, a Republican whose term was to expire in 2012, accused Brunner, a Democrat, of using the board to "advance a partisan agenda," and said she is "not willing to be used as a political statement."

Board Chairman Bob Bennett said Tuesday that he has no intention of resigning. Instead, he requested that the county prosecutor's office defend him .... Mason said the county would pay for an outside counsel for Bennett.

...more.....

[L. Coyote]

99. AP: Cuyahoga County elections board chairman sues to keep his job

Cuyahoga County elections board chairman sues to keep his job
ASSOCIATED PRESS - Friday, March 30, 2007
http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070330/NEWS09/70330027

CLEVELAND — The chairman of the embattled election board in Ohio’s most populous county has sued the state elections officer to keep his position.

Robert Bennett, head of the state Republican Party, is the lone holdout on the five-member panel in Cuyahoga County, which includes all of Cleveland and has 1 million registered voters.

.....

The lawsuit filed Thursday in Common Pleas Court in Columbus alleges the law that Brunner, a Democrat, is using to remove him is unconstitutionally vague.

The complaint also said Brunner, elected in November, cannot take action to remove Bennett based on conduct that occurred before she took office in January.

...more...

[L. Coyote]

104. Bennett hearing delayed at Bennett's request. April 16, 9 a.m. Euclid City Hall.

Removal hearing for Cuyahoga elections chariman delayed one week
Associated Press - http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/17038596.htm

CLEVELAND - The removal hearing for Cuyahoga County board of elections chairman Bob Bennett has been delayed one week at the request of his attorney.

.... The hearing will take place at 9 a.m. April 16 at Euclid City Hall, Brunner's spokesman Jeff Ortega said....

......

Bennett has argued that Brunner's actions are political harassment and that she is trying the help her party in the 2008 presidential election. The state clinched re-election for President Bush in 2004.

[L. Coyote]

100. Toledo Blade Editorial = "Cleveland's elections mess"

Editorials = Cleveland's elections mess
published Sunday, April 1, 2007 - http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070401/OPINION02/703310319

WRESTLING with the Cuyahoga County board of elections - the 800-pound gorilla of Cleveland politics - has been no small challenge for generations of state officials, so we have to applaud Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner for taking on this thankless task.

Ms. Brunner, part of last November's near-sweep of Democratic state offices, is preparing to fire all four members of the elections board, which has over the years become a particularly vivid symbol of how political hacks can impede efforts to run efficient elections.

Elections in Cleveland are, as usual, in a mess. ....

..more...

[L. Coyote]

101. DUer Judi Lynn: Ohio Elections Chief Takes Over Board

Judi Lynn Mon Apr-02-07 05:57 PM
Ohio Elections Chief Takes Over Board
Discuss at: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2791282


Ohio Elections Chief Takes Over Board

By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS
The Associated Press - Source: Washington Post
Monday, April 2, 2007; 7:26 PM - http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2791282

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The state's elections chief took control of the elections board in Ohio's most populous county Monday as part of her ongoing effort to change how the troubled panel is run.

Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner announced she is placing the Cuyahoga County board under state administrative oversight through the end of next year. That means Brunner must approve any changes to policy and procedure.

...........

[L. Coyote]

102. DUer eomer: Ohio SoS pulls plug on Cuyahoga BOE Chairman Bennett

eomer Wed Apr-04-07 10:20 AM
Ohio Secretary of State pulls plug on Cuyahoga County BOE Chairman Bennett
Discussion at: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x470182


Secretary of state pulls plug on Bennett
Election board chief violated policy, according to Brunner
Wednesday, April 04, 2007 - http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x470182
Mark Naymik - Plain Dealer Politics Writer

Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner suspended Cuyahoga County Board of Elections Chairman Bob Bennett on Tuesday, saying that he violated board policy recently by requesting that the board extend a contract with public-relations executive David Hopcraft.

......


The suspension cuts off Bennett's salary and benefits and bars him from the board offices. .....

...more....

[L. Coyote]

103. STAY DENIED: Bennett's Beating Sets Stage For Brunner's One-Ring Circus

In Ohio: Bennett's Beating Sets Stage For Brunner's One-Ring Circus Hearing Next Week
by OhioRebel - http://scoop.epluribusmedia.org/story/2007/4/4/211551/3236
Wed Apr 04, 2007 at 09:15:51 PM EST

One hearing down, one hearing to go. With the defeat Wednesday in Columbus by a judge who denied a temporary restraining order sought by GOP Kingpin Bob Bennett to gain more time to delay his day of death from further meddling in overseeing elections by the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections (CCBOE), his date with destiny in Euclid City Hall next week, where he'll make his case as to why he should not be fired from his election post by the Ohio's new election chief, is now fixed.

If Battlin Bob's high-priced ($195/hr) Cincinnati trial attorney Stan Chesley can't do any better on the North Coast than Chesley's fellow law firm Attorney Christopher D. Stock did today in Central Ohio, Battlin Bob will not only suffer the ignominy of being fired twice by Jennifer Brunner, Ohio's new Democratic Secretary of State, but will leave the scene with a bucket of shame slopped over himself as partial payment for the scandalous way he allowed the state's most populous county to conduct elections.

........

[OhioChick]

105. Thanks for keeping up on this, L. Coyote.

Terrific job. :thumbsup:

[L. Coyote]

106. Bennett hearing delayed at Bennett's request. April 16,

Bennett hearing delayed at Bennett's request. April 16, 9 a.m. Euclid City Hall.

Removal hearing for Cuyahoga elections chariman delayed one week
Associated Press - http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/17038596.htm

CLEVELAND - The removal hearing for Cuyahoga County board of elections chairman Bob Bennett has been delayed one week at the request of his attorney.

.... The hearing will take place at 9 a.m. April 16 at Euclid City Hall, Brunner's spokesman Jeff Ortega said....

......

Bennett has argued that Brunner's actions are political harassment and that she is trying the help her party in the 2008 presidential election. The state clinched re-election for President Bush in 2004.

[larsj]

109. Shouldn't Bush be removed from office now?

:shrug:

It is pretty clear at this point that fishy business was going on, there is enough evidence of faulty recounts etc...

Why is he still in office?
:shrug:

[L. Coyote]

110. BIG NEWS: OHIO SoS to Take Possession of ALL OHIO 2004 Ballots, et.al.

A big development in this story has evolved.

Follow the DU discussion here:

OHIO SoS to Take Possession of 2004 Ballots. IT AIN'T OVER YET!!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x582783

[OhioChick]

111. Former BOE Director Vu Gets Job In San Diego

POSTED: 4:28 pm EDT April 12, 2007
UPDATED: 4:51 pm EDT April 12, 2007

CLEVELAND -- The former director the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections has a new job.

The city of San Diego hired Michael Vu to be its new assistant registrar of voters.

Vu resigned from the Board of Elections in February. He came under fire in 2004, taking much of the blame for voting problems in the presidential election.

San Diego officials said they approached Vu about the job and feel lucky to have him.

http://www.newsnet5.com/news/11736798/detail.html

[L. Coyote]

112. Bob Bennett agrees to resign from Cuyahoga BOE. FINALLY!

Bennett evaded a public hearing, while drawing pay as long as possible.

================
Chairman agrees to resign from Cuyahoga Co. elections board
http://www.coshoctontribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070412/NEWS01/704120323/1002

CLEVELAND (AP) - The leader of the Ohio Republican Party has resigned as chairman of the troubled Cuyahoga County elections board, the last holdout following an order from the state's top elections official for all four board members to step down.

Robert Bennett had been fighting Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner's March 19 order and a removal hearing was planned for Monday in suburban Euclid.

But Bennett issued a statement Wednesday saying he would leave after Brunner acknowledged there was no wrongdoing by the board.
"I recognize that continuing to serve on the board with the current adverse relationship with the Secretary of State was not in the public interest and she came to understand that, while there had been problems in the past, there was no wrongdoing by the board," Bennett said in a statement. "The Secretary of State wants to create the board in her own image, and she will have that opportunity."

Brunner sent Bennett a letter thanking him for his resignation and service. She disagreed with his characterization of the settlement, saying she dismissed "without a finding of fault" a complaint filed against Bennett after he initially refused to resign.

............

====================

Bennett quits elections panel
Agreement ends standoff with Ohio secretary of state
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Mark Rollenhagen - Plain Dealer Bureau Chief
http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/117636713463730.xml&coll=2

Columbus -- Ohio Republican Chairman Bob Bennett agreed to leave the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections Wednesday, ending a weeks-long fight with Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner.

Bennett agreed to resign, effective May 1, and Brunner agreed to drop an administrative complaint that sought his removal as part of an overhaul of the board.

"This was something that was going to drag on for six months in an adversarial relationship, and I just wasn't willing to continue doing that," Bennett said in an interview.

............

Bennett remains suspended from the board, and the board remains under her administrative oversight, she and her spokesman Patrick Gallaway said.

................

[L. Coyote]

113. DU babylonsister: Bye bye to Cleveland GOP Election Chair Bob "Ballots for Bush" Bennett

babylonsister Mon Apr-16-07 09:15 AM
Bye bye to Cleveland GOP Election Chair Bob "Ballots for Bush" Bennett
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x470984


Edited on Mon Apr-16-07 09:18 AM by babylonsister
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/6814

Bye bye to Cleveland GOP Election Chair Bob "Ballots for Bush" Bennett
by Harvey Wasserman | Apr 16 2007 - 7:53am

by Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman

Ohio's Bob "Ballots for Bush" Bennett, an essential player in putting George W. Bush back in the White House in 2004, is no long chair of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections. His milestone resignation leaves a legacy of scandal, recrimination, massive voter purges, felony convictions and a pivotal role in a stolen presidential election.

Bennett has quit in a signature cloud of graceless accusations and cheap shots at Jennifer Brunner, Ohio's newly elected Secretary of State, ........

.....................

[L. Coyote]

117. BENNETT the PURGER & The True Goal of Gonzo-Gate: Tamping Down the Black Vote

"Gonzo-gate" truly fits the pattern of evidence in "How Kerry Votes Were Switched to Bush Votes."
The focus was on areas with high Dem support, for Bennet's purging, for vote-switching, and for politization of the DoJ.

====================
April 24, 2007 at 14:20:03
The True Goal of Gonzo-Gate: Tamping Down the Black Vote
by F. Vyan Walton
http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_f__vyan__070424_the_true_goal_of_gon.htm

From Democracy Now.

Another scandal is brewing inside Alberto Gonzales's Justice Department. Former Justice Department attorneys have publicly accused the Bush administration of politicizing the department's Civil Rights Division which was formed 50 years ago to protect the voting rights of African-Americans. According to a recent report by the McClatchy newspapers, the Bush administration has pursued an aggressive legal effort to restrict voter turnout in key battleground states in ways that favor Republican political candidates.

................

Leading up to the 2004 vote, Bennett oversaw the quiet purge of some 168,000 registered voters from the Cuyahoga rolls, including 24.93% of the entire city of Cleveland, which voted 83% for Kerry. In one inner city majority African American ward, 51% of the voters were purged. Centered on precincts that voted more than 80% for John Kerry, this purge may well have meant a net loss to the Democrats of tens of thousands of votes in an election that was officially decided statewide by less than 119,000.

................ more......

====================

[L. Coyote]

118. FORGOT the URL: How Kerry Votes Were Switched to Bush Votes

The 2004 Ohio Presidential Election: Cuyahoga County Analysis
How Kerry Votes Were Switched to Bush Votes
http://jqjacobs.net/politics/ohio.html

[L. Coyote]

120. Bennett moves up his leave date + gave Brunner a response to the charges

Bennett moves up his leave date
Posted by Metro staff April 20, 2007 16:46PM
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2007/04/bennett_moves_up_his_leave_dat.html


Cuyahoga County elections board chairman Bob Bennett notified Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner Friday that his resignation would take effect Monday.

Bennett had said he would resign May 1st. Moving up the date gives Republicans time to recommend a replacement to Brunner who could be in place before the May 8th primary.

Bennett also gave Brunner a response to the charges her office had been filed against him.

Brunner had requested the resignations of all four board Cuyahoga County election board members or told them she would charge them with mismanagement in office and fire them. The two Democratic board members and one Republican resigned. Bennett, also head of the Ohio GOP, fought but ultimately resigned.

======================
Post a comment ......

2MuchCoffee says...
How about the SOS make those responses of Chairman Bennett available to the citizenry?
Posted on 04/20/07 at 7:36PM

OhioCentric says...
Bennett's legal blatherings would certainly make for good reading and maybe a laugh or two as he strikes out at everyone for his own failures over the years as leader of the state's biggest board of elections. Now that Brunner has directed all ballots from the 2004 presidential election be transported to Columbus, where they'll be under the protection of her office (Blackwell, the former SOS, would have allowed them to be tossed to cover his, Bennett's and everyone else's tracks in how that election was conducted) and with Cuyahoga County prosecutor Bill Mason looking further into voting matters, not to mention what energized voting activists are working on, maybe, just maybe, Bennett, Blackwell and their buddies will not be allowed to fade away into the mists of history without being held responsible for what they did to tip the scales in favor of Bush.
Posted on 04/21/07 at 9:22AM

[L. Coyote]

114. Ohio Audit Says Diebold 2006 Vote Database May Have Been Corrupted

Thursday, April 19, 2007
Ohio Audit Says Diebold Vote Database May Have Been Corrupted
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/04/diebold_vote_da.html


Problems found in an audit of Diebold tabulation records from an Ohio November 2006 election raise questions about whether the database got corrupted during the tabulation of election results, says a report released today (pdf).

The document, from a team of researchers tasked with auditing the November election in troubled Cuyahoga County, have called for a thorough examination of the database to determine if corruption did occur and the extent to which it may have affected the election result....

..........

============

DU Discussion: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x471167

mod mom Thu Apr-19-07 04:55 PM
Link to Full Cuyahoga County Audit

[OhioChick]

115. Brunner Appoints 2 Dems To Cuyahoga Co. BOE

POSTED: 4:23 pm EDT April 23, 2007
UPDATED: 4:24 pm EDT April 23, 2007

CLEVELAND -- Two lawyers were appointed Monday to fill vacant Democratic positions on the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections.

Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner picked Inajo Davis Chappell and Eben "Sandy" McNair from a group of six finalists. Davis Chappell is a partner with Ulmer and Berne law firm. McNair is a partner with Schwarzwald and McNair. The firms both have offices in Cleveland.

Brunner sought the resignations of all four board members in Cuyahoga County due to persistent problems with elections in the state's most populous county.

Former Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Jeff Hastings, a Republican, was the first board member appointed last week. Another appointment is yet to be made.

http://www.newsnet5.com/politics/12926680/detail.html

[L. Coyote]

116. Speculation Theorists on a rampage. Is it a new phase of the FRAUD COVER-UP.

Is it a new phase of the FRAUD COVER-UP to distract from the vote-switching in Cuyahoga County??
Why the recent barrage on DU and elsewhere with wild conjectures about fixing the election in Ohio.
Is word leaking out about the recent official Ohio investigations? Is this a re-energized cover-up strategy?

Here is an example of the falsehoods being promulgated on DU:

=============================
kpete Sun Apr-29-07 05:37 PM
Pivotal Ohio 2004 Vote-Kerry Was Ahead-Then Server Went Down for 90 Minutes-Result-Bush Had Lead!
=============================

This is simply a falsehood. The server did not go down at all. It was simply static for a period of time. And, it was static between all the times it was refreshed with new data. That is how the system is intended to work. It was the responsibility of the Ohio SoS to post election results. They did so at intervals, and the timing of those intervals does not constitute evidence of fixing the Ohio election.

There is evidence of election fixing, and these authors and the DU posters pushing them make no mention of the real evidence. Draw your own conclusions.

=================================
The Pivotal Ohio vote in 2004: Who did the counting?
by Josh Mitteldorf Page 1 of 1 page(s)
http://www.opednews.com
.....
This week, in a series of articles by Bob Firakis, Steven Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman, a fact has come to light that suggests the answer: On the night of 2-3 November, 2004, the computer designated to count Ohio votes was cut out of the loop. Its web address was diverted to a private company in Chattanooga, TN, named SMARTech.
=================================

This has been rehashed numerous times on DU, but some posters continue to repost it as if it has never been discussed.

This is also A FALSEHOOD:
"the computer designated to count Ohio votes was cut out of the loop. Its web address was diverted to a private company..."

The FACT is that the State of Ohio utilized a hosting company with greater capacity than the Ohio system on election night, to be able to handle the global traffic seeking the election results. The "computer designed to count the Ohio votes," if that is a proper designation of said system, did so. The voting was reported on a web server, as intended, and hosted by a private company, as contracted. All this means absolutely nothing in terms of election fraud until proven otherwise.

It is, of course, a very useful distraction from the REAL EVIDENCE of election fraud. Is that why it is being repeated ad nauseum on DU, in post after post, with a new post each time it is criticized?

WHAT THE **** is going on???
Here is the REAL EVIDENCE of how Kerry votes were switched to Bush votes before thee ballots were counted:

OHIO 2004: 6.15% Kerry-Bush vote-switch found in probability study

Defining the vote outcome probabilities of wrong-precinct voting has revealed, in a sample of 166,953 votes (1/34th of the Ohio vote), the Kerry-Bush margin changes 6.15% when the population is sorted by probable outcomes of wrong-precinct voting.

The Kerry to Bush 6.15% vote-switch differential is seen when the large sample is sorted by probability a Kerry wrong-precinct vote counts for Bush. When the same large voter sample is sorted by the probability Kerry votes count for third-party candidates, Kerry votes are instead equal in both subsets.

Read the revised article with graphs of new findings:

The 2004 Ohio Presidential Election: Cuyahoga County Analysis
How Kerry Votes Were Switched to Bush Votes

http://jqjacobs.net/politics/ohio.html

DU Discussion: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x259620

[mvd]

119. Hooray!!

:bounce: :bounce:

[Doremus]

121. This is the weirdest thread on DU.

Why bump an old thread like this with 15 day old blog comments?

Just curious.

[L. Coyote]

122. Placing material on one subject in a compilation thread

makes a very keyword-rich web page that jumps to the top on search engines, and provides readers with comprehensive info in one location.

[L. Coyote]

123. New Research Files of Cuyahoga Voting Irregularities

Now online:

New Spreadsheet: http://www.jqjacobs.net/politics/xls/cuyahoga_precincts_analysis.xls



New PowerPoints: http://www.jqjacobs.net/politics/powerpoints.html

[Doctor_J]

125. I am pissed that none of these felons will go to jail

18 months in a real prison would be a strong deterrent to any other GOPers who think that election rigging is fun.

[L. Coyote]

126. County Election Boards Statewide Forced to Give up Federal Funds

County Election Boards Statewide Forced to Give up Federal Funds to Train Election Workers
By - Ryan Kelley
(May 31, 2007)
http://www.campaignsandelections.com/oh/articles/?ID=221


The Cuyahoga County Board of Elections owes the federal government $153,000 for Help America Act Vote funds to train election workers not used by the end of 2006.

The $153,000 was part of a $258,000 received by the county to train election workers.

According to the office of Secretary of State Jenifer Brunner, Cuyahoga County is not alone -- there are significant numbers of counties statewide forced to give up funds........

Gallaway said the number of counties not using funds has led some within Brunner's office to question how effectively the administration of Republican Ken Blackwell communicated the timeframe to local boards, but that such conjectures were entirely word-of-mouth until more investigation cold be done.

The Ohio Republican Party declined to comment.