Siegelman bribed fellow inmates to watch 60 Minutes

[trof]

This is both funny and sad.

Canned fish swings TV vote in favor
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
By PATRICIA C. McCARTER
Times Staff Writer [e-mail]

Ex-governor uses food to convince cellmates to watch

With canned mackerel from the prison commissary, ex-Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman bribed his cellmates to let him watch the "60 Minutes" broadcast chronicling what he sees as his unfair prosecution for bribery and corruption.

Siegelman's brother, Birmingham businessman Les Siegelman, said the former governor told him the initial vote on what to watch Sunday evening in his Louisiana prison cell didn't go in his favor. With the promise of canned fish, the majority of the 70 inmates bunking together voted to watch the CBS news show.

"Don said they had the mackerel and salmon as hors d'oeuvres as they watched it," Les said. "Don enjoyed the program, and the people who watched it with him enjoyed it.

"He thought the producers did a great job of putting it together. In less than 15 minutes ... they explained the complicated story and the complex cast of characters."

Les said his brother, 61, spends his days doing his prison cleaning job, walking on the track and answering mail.

"He got a promotion from cleaning baseboards to mopping floors," Les said. "He's got to be one of the strongest people in the world. He still has faith in the American justice system."
http://www.al.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/news/1204020962283080.xml&coll=1

[elizfeelinggreat]

1. kudos

Kudos to 60 Minutes.

As Siegelman's brother said, it can be explained in less than 15 minutes but few newscasters make any attempt at it.

PS: I hate the sentence you picked from the article for the thread title. If he had an R behind his name that sentence would probably have read: "ex-Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman successfully negotiated with his cellmates ... ".

[originalpckelly]

2. Yes, it does have a bad ring to it...

considering what was alleged. It's sort of like an alleged murderer's headline being: "Bobby Cutts murders English language in testimony before court."

[CGowen]

3. lobbied n/t

[Junkdrawer]

4. Had it been an (R): "Fellow cellmates rally behind ex-Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman".

"A partisan rumor that behind the scenes persuasion was employed was quickly dismissed."

[Lone_Star_Dem]

7. If he'd been an R he wouldn't be there

:shrug:

[Fly by night]

5. If there had been a (R) behind Siegelman's name, he would have been the hors d'oeuvre.

There aren't many Rethugs in prison. Sadly, most of them should be there.

Eat the rich.

[supernova]

6. Bad title but

all things considering, getting everybody to let him watch the show for really just a fish dinner, that's pretty decent of them.

[annabanana]

8. TV & Tuna...

I'm glad it didn't "blank out" in Louisiana...