Missouri government corruption
From Sunshine Review
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County assessor charged for tax evasion and mail fraud
As county assessor of Christian County, Sandra Bryant-Littles had the responsibility of ensuring that evaluations of property were fair. To have a fair evaluation of property, a property owner must fully disclose his or her pieces of property. But Sandra Bryant-Littles, however, is said to have purposely avoided disclosing some of her properties. She is said to have,for example, failed to disclose six of her vehicles she owns. These vehicles, thus, went untaxed. Now Sandra Bryant-Littles faces charged for her supposed tax evasion.[1]
In addition to tax evasion, Sandra Bryant-Littles is being charged for mail fraud. She is said to have received a bill from the county collector that underrepresented the expenses she had to pay. Instead of informing the tax collector of the mistake, Bryant-Littles is said to have intentionally mailed the underrepresented amount back. The charge of mail fraud against Bryant-littles rests on this.[2]
Blunt settles lawsuit, will release thousands of emails
The settlement, reached Tuesday, sees Blunt's office turning over emails from the accounts of Blunt and five of his staffers during a three month period in 2007. In a joint statement attorneys from both sides agreed this is a "comprehensive settlement of all the issues pertaining to the governor and his office. Both parties agree, settlement of this matter is in the best interests of the citizens of the State of Missouri and the parties."[3]
However, Blunt admitted no wrongdoing in the matter.
Amended lawsuit accuses Blunt of violating public records laws
Along with specific charges against Blunt, the amended suit adds former chief of staff Ed Martin as a defendant, accusing him of knowingly or purposely violating records laws. It alleges Martin told a reporter he could not produce his emails, when they were in fact still available on his computer as well as backup disks. With the addition of Martin, three officials who were named in earlier versions of the suit were removed.[4]
The cost of the lawsuit is nearing the million dollar mark. [5]
Blunt is highly critical of those bringing suit against him, saying the investigators "ought to be ashamed of themselves". [6]
Bipartisan team investigates Blunt over emails
Last year, Nixon appointed former Missouri Highway Patrol Chief Mel Fisher to investigate the accusations of wrongdoing. This past May, the investigative team filed suit against Blunt's office in Cole County Circuit Court.
In filing the suit, lawyer Chet Pleban said it was done on behalf of the citizens of Missouri because of Blount's "stonewalling" over documents that are public under the state's sunshine law.[7]
Attempting to join the suit among allegations that they just wanted to sell more papers were the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Kansas City Star, and Associated Press - all of which had requested email records and were told they would have to pay fees for them.
Muschany indicted for sexual assualt
Muschany announced in late may that he was not running for re-election claiming that he wanted to spend more time with his family. Muschany's attorney, Robert Haar of Haar and Woods in St. Louis, told the Post-Dispatch that "the allegations are false, and we believe the jury will conclude they are false."[8]
Harr says Muschany cooperated with police, "Frankly we believe he was caught in the cross fire of a domestic custody dispute and we understand that inconsistent statements have been made that undermine the credibility of the people making these allegations.”[9]
Missouri police caught driving impounded cars
The Police Chief's daughter, Aimie Mokwa, was one of relatives that was granted use of the program. She "rented" a one-year-old Dodge Neon that had been impounded in May 2001. In September 2002 she crashed the Neon after colliding into two parked cars on perfectly dry pavement.
After the accident with the Neon was replaced with a 1999 Ford Escort that she purchased from the tow company for $1100, which had a book value of at least $3750. Mokwa rear-ended another car with the Escort in January 2003. Officers investigating the collision determined she had a blood alcohol level of 0.17, but they did not charge her with drunk driving.
In December 2006, Mokwa bought a 2004 Chevy Malibu from the tow yard for $1500, despite the vehicle having a book value of at least $5850. Last October, she bought a 1999 Dodge Dakota for $850, even though the vehicle was worth at least $5025.[10]
Liberty school audit reveals sketchy transactions
Retired government auditor James Moore has been working with whistle blowing parent William Walker. Walker obtained district receipts through the Freedom of Information Act. When that failed the pair organized a petition drive asking for the district to order an audit on the school Over 2,700 signatures were collected in order to call in a state auditor.
"I would hope they name names, I would hope they fix responsibility, and more importantly, the citizens are looking for consequences for the actions," Moores said.[11]
Governor signs Textbook Transparency Act
In an attempt to alleviate some of the ever rising cost of education, Missouri Governor Matt Blunt signed into law the Textbook Transparency Act (House Bill 2048). Originally proposed by Rep. Jake Zimmerman (D- Olivette), the Act aims to force textbook publishers to disclose their wholesale prices to professors, thus allowing them to decide if a more expensive textbook is worth purchase or not. Also aiding in this decision, the Act requires professors to be informed of the content difference between a new edition and its previous one. [12]
University of Missouri student lobbyist Craig Stevenson said, “The perception is that professors have been left in the dark about how much a book is sold for. Publishing companies make the pitch on the books that they will make the most money from.” All of the publishing companies declined to comment. [13]
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