Democratic Mayor Sheila Dixon won't be the only Political Leader resigning from Public Office due to acts of Public Corruption.
Within the next year or two perhaps sooner, some Charlotte-Mecklenburg Politicians' heads will roll too.
Upon checking out some of the articles below you'll learn why Charlotte-Mecklenburg Leaders and local DSS Officials are currently being investigated by the Feds and a Grand Jury for Embezzlement of Federal funds, Misuse of money Federally allocated for Foster Care Children, Misuse of money Federally allocated for Homelessness Prevention, Misuse of money Federally allocated for Medicaid and Mental Health Treatment, Breaking ABC Alcohol laws, etc.,
Now do you understand why I predict that Dixon's fall from grace won't be the only fall?
America's Voters are tired of Public Corruption.
Politicians Beware!
Especially Black Politicians, just because we have a Black President in the White House doesn't give you permission to steal from Taxpayers and the less fortunate.
Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon Resigns As Part Of Plea Deal
After more than four years of investigation, and a month after a guilty verdict in the first corruption trial against her, Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors Wednesday in which she pledged to resign from office.
The move ends – temporarily at least – the public career of the city’s first female mayor and a longtime force in Baltimore politics. It also concludes a political and legal drama that has consumed the city for months.
“Today is a sad day,” Mayor Dixon said at a late afternoon press conference, unusually choked up for a woman who has long projected a tough-as-nails public image. “It is a cloud. But the sun comes out.”
An Alford plea
Earlier in the day, Dixon had entered an Alford plea to one count of perjury – a charge related to prosecutors’ assertion that she had failed to disclose gifts from her former boyfriend and prominent Baltimore developer, Ronald Lipscomb. The Alford plea means that although Dixon does not admit guilt, she recognizes that prosecutors have enough evidence to convict her.
Mr. Lipscomb’s gifts were to be the subject of a trial scheduled to begin in March. Last month, in a separate trial, a jury convicted the mayor of taking for her own use gift cards donated for the city’s poor.
Under Wednesday’s agreement, prosecutors asked the court to strike last month’s guilty verdict and give Dixon probation before judgment – a legal status that means the mayor does not have a criminal conviction. She will serve no jail time, keep her $83,000 a year pension and after two years will be able to run again for office.
In return, the mayor has pledged to step down from office as of Feb. 4. Dixon will also receive four years of unsupervised probation, contribute 500 hours of community service, and donate $45,000 to charity.
'A very, very favorable deal'
Prosecutors explained their decision to plea bargain with the mayor – despite apparent tactical advantages – as being the best course of action for the city.
“It was time for this litigation to end and for the city of Baltimore to move forward with a new mayor,” said State Prosecutor Robert Rohrbaugh.
Legal experts said the plea deal was about as advantageous an outcome as the mayor could expect, given her conviction last month.
“It is a very, very favorable deal for her,” said University of Baltimore School of Law professor Byron Warnken. “It so happens that a very good deal for her is a good deal for the city.”
Dixon said that she and her staff would work to ease the transition to the next administration, which will be headed by City Council President Stephanie Rawlings Blake.
“I love this city,” Dixon said. “I love the people of this city. And I am committed to this city in whatever capacity or talent that God has called me to continue to do.… What I owe the citizens is to move on and bring closure to this so we can continue to stay focused on the city.”
N.C.'s ABC board, Liquor Company Broke Law, Say Agents
State Alcohol Law Enforcement agents said Tuesday the Mecklenburg County ABC Board and liquor company Diageo broke state laws at a holiday dinner for the board where guests sipped Dom Perignon and the company picked up the officials' $9,334 tab.
The report also details several other meals for Mecklenburg board members or employees paid for by liquor companies. One distiller treated board Chair Parks Helms and CEO Calvin McDougal to lunch at the Ritz Carlton the day before the Nov. 18 dinner at Del Frisco's steakhouse.
At Del Frisco's, attendees dined on lobster, steak and crabcakes, according to the report.
The $12,700 bill, which also covered a handful of liquor industry representatives, included $1,000 for Dom Perignon Brut 1998 champagne, $820 for Crown Royal, $599 for Don Julio tequila and nearly $1,800 for wine.
A Diageo official told investigators he has treated employees of other local ABC boards from Asheville to Wilmington.
Agents accused the Mecklenburg board of accepting illegal gifts and Diageo and its marketing director with providing the gifts and unlawfully entering an ABC store for reasons other than business. All are civil offenses.
NC State No-Bid Contracts At HHS Open Door To Abuse
While saving money on the state's over-budget Medicaid program for the poor is laudable, trying to reach that goal by pushing no-bid service contracts can be a risky proposition.
With the General Assembly's blessing, the Department of Health and Human Services can circumvent, for six months, the competitive bid process. The rationale is that quickly finalizing contracts will help generate substantial savings during the recession.
However, that gives DHHS way too much discretion without sufficient oversight. Unless the agency's clients are properly served, any money saved will be a hollow accomplishment.
And questions are being asked about the $33 million Medicaid diabetes supplies pact with a company that relocated to Charlotte from Florida, where it left a trail of questionable business practices, lawsuits and bankruptcy.
Equally troubling are complaints from health professionals that Prodigy Diabetes Care's glucose testing meters may be confusing and less accurate than some other models. They fear that unless people enrolled in the program receive proper training, some may put off testing, which could lead to serious, costly health issues.
Letting contracts under a veil of secrecy inevitably leads to questions. Did the state get the best deal possible? What went into the decision-making process? Could another vendor have provided a superior product or service for less, had it also been notified? There's no way of knowing.
According to The News & Observer of Raleigh, a protesting competitor contends that the no-bid procedure clearly violates federal Medicaid rules. That ought to be easy enough for the state to determine - and promptly.
Ideally, heightened transparency should compensate when competition lags. But despite rumblings that this deal included a Prodigy promise to move production from China to Charlotte and create 150 jobs, the contract lacks specific incentives.
Even if company officials can adequately explain past problems, enough red flags are waving to justify closer DHHS scrutiny and proceeding cautiously. To protect taxpayers, checks and balances need to be in place.
State contracts first must assure clients that they're getting the highest level of service from reliable providers. Opening the process to all qualified bidders is the best way of doing it. To do otherwise understandably raises fears of favoritism and abuse.
Grand jury Investigating Charlotte-Mecklenburg County DSS
A grand jury is investigating the Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services, which has faced scrutiny over accounting practices and spending since early this year, two county commissioners said Monday.
Commissioner George Dunlap said the grand jury has been looking into whether crimes were committed by employees.
Commissioner Bill James said board members were told last month that a federal grand jury is investigating. He refused further comment on the topic, saying commissioners were instructed by a county attorney not to discuss specifics.
The county ordered an audit of the Giving Tree after a DSS employee raised questions about spending at the Christmas charity for needy children. The county discovered checks written out to a county employee who volunteered with the program, as well as money issued to the sister of another employee.
County spokesman Danny Diehl said officials cannot confirm whether a federal grand jury is involved, but said the county "is cooperating with law enforcement to complete the investigation."
The county has asked Charlotte-Mecklenburg police to investigate.
A police spokesperson on Monday said their work is ongoing.
Other commissioners reached Monday would not comment on work by authorities.
"I want the investigation to have the best possible outcome, said board Chair Jennifer Roberts. "So I am unable to discuss it in the interest of not impeding the work of law enforcement."
In the meantime, James and fellow Republican commissioners Karen Bentley and Neil Cooksey want the county board to meet next week to learn more about ongoing probes.
"There are facts we don't have," James said. "I am just concerned there is stuff even senior management doesn't know."
Diehl said the county will respond to any questions the board has about the DSS audits. "The board has received reports and been briefed on all aspects of the DSS audits that are available to the county manager and staff."
The developments follow Observer stories on Sunday detailing a 74-page memo from a former county employee who headed the Giving Tree. Cindy Brady, who retired from the county in August, wrote she was never given a chance to talk at length about how the charity worked, despite requests to do so.
Brady said the county advanced her as much as $198,000 since 2005 with the approval of her supervisors. Brady said she spent the money on gifts for needy children, but says she did not collect all of her receipts, and some were handwritten or lost.
County leaders say they can account for how about $162,000 was spent by the Giving Tree last year.
But audit reports acknowledge numerous problems with receipts and other documents to track expenses and cited inadequate oversight and controls of the program by management.
The county has announced a number of changes in response to the charity audit and reviews of other DSS spending, including putting department finances under control of the county finance office and re-training DSS employees in financial practices and procedures.
The agency employs about 1,200, with a current annual budget of $176 million.
Brady's memo, dated July 29 and sent to a human resources manager, criticized county investigators for not interviewing her during the audit investigation. The county's former Internal Audit Director Cornita Spears said she first read the memo last month, and it led her to revise her earlier report to include about $33,000 Brady said she returned to the county earlier this year.
County Manager Harry Jones suspended Spears last month over the error.
Why James wants meeting
James cited the Observer story in explaining his reasons for calling the new discussions on DSS. He said he wants to give disgruntled employees a venue to air grievances. For months, James said, commissioners have been deluged with anonymous complaint letters from people who only identify themselves as current and former agency workers.
Some apparently won't divulge their names because they fear retaliation from superiors, James said.
The proposal requests that the board discuss the DSS issues on Dec. 17, with portions of the meeting to be held behind closed doors. It asks that DSS Director Mary Wilson appear to the meeting, and that other department employees be made available.
It also requests that former Giving Tree employees be invited to talk, including former county general manager Janice Allen Jackson, who briefly led DSS on an interim basis until Wilson was hired last year.
Neither Jackson nor Brady could be reached for comment Monday.
The proposal also wants Jones to provide in open session a detailed list of gifts bought with Giving Tree money and information on all items from the charity now in county inventory.
It also asks for copies of all internal memos produced by internal audit and county management involving the Giving Tree.
The county publicly released a three-page report in June and a follow-up report last month. The Observer has requested a longer report by Spears multiple times since July, but the county has said personnel laws bar them from releasing the document.
In order to hold the Dec. 17 meeting, at least five commissioners would have to agree. At least two of the six Democrats would have to sign on.
Roberts, Dunlap and Vilma Leake said they want to hear more about what the commissioners are trying to accomplish in holding the meeting before they can decide whether to support it. However, Roberts questioned whether meeting in closed session was the best approach, and said she is "distressed" that the board Republicans did not talk to her before putting the item on next week's agenda.
Dumont Clarke said he's inclined "to be as transparent and public as possible about this issue and do as little as possible behind closed doors."
Commissioners Harold Cogdell and Dan Murrey did not respond to requests for comments.
Cooksey said his constituents are demanding the board take a "more active role in getting to the bottom of this."
Cooksey disagreed with commissioners who have said they county is spending too much time on the issue and should not look into anonymous complaints.
"When you have issues swirling around, you can't ignore it," Cooksey said. "We have an obligation to see if these allegations have any truth to them or not."
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Sources: Baltimore Sun, CBS News, Christian Science Monitor, Newsbusters, McClatchy Newspapers, Charlotte Observer, WCNC, WRAL, Google Maps
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