OK folks excuse me while I take a few victory laps for my prediction about Walker having pictures on everyone.
Well, I took the lap but I’m not the champ, actually we have co-champs in Michael Newsom, Karen Nelson and Anita Lee at the Sun Herald because today they dare to ask the question, “Exactly how much does it take to co-opt a Mississippi State Legislator?”. The answer is not much beyond taking ’em on a few fishin’ trips on those boats Walker owns via his “nonprofit” or charters that the taxpayers paid for and this is both pathetic and sadly predictable.
DMR charters fishing trips in South Mississippi for lawmakers, others ~ Michael Newsom
And yes we have pictures as the boats have/had Facebook pages. It gets better folks as the we also learn the Friends and Family Program at DMR also included an employment agency component for all the little politically connected piggies in West Jackson/East Harrison Counties including Joe Ziegler and his wifey Connie Ziegler, Tina Shumates family, Scott Walker’s wifey Trinity etc etc etc. Heck folks don’t take my word for it:
Connections: Neighbors, relatives and politicians land DMR jobs in South Mississippi ~ Karen Nelson and Anita Lee
John McKay enjoys his birthday fishin’ trip courtesy of the taxpayers
Be still my beating heart is someone having a come to Jesus moment about putting the Public back in “Public Service”?
DMR troubles may prompt legislation ~ Michael Newsom
Senator Wiggins should include municipalities in his bill. Other than filing the audit reports, the State Auditor has no statutory oversight over municipal audit quality or the municipal audit process.
And the list of DMR friends and family along with how much taxpayer loot they took home.
This is getting good huh? Governor Phil Bryant remains in hiding.
That trinity sure beats celery, onion, and bell pepper.
I guess after reading the Sunday Sunherald I first wonder if the Silver Dollar is used very often.It appears from comments by the owner of the charter boat that his boat and others are often used.This then makes me wonder what in the HELL do they have two boats tied up at the dock for that the taxpayers have paid well over $1,400,000.to rehab and maintain and $160,000. in lease fees to Harris and Walker’s for profit nonprofits.Where will it end people?
If you will notice, the link to the Mississippi contracts page is “broken” or “stalled” so that you are unable to look at the contracts for the DMR. You are only seeing the tip of the iceberg. They need to dig further back…..from 2007 and forward to the present. Someone up in Jackson is covering up information. Why is the Transparency site not in operationb so that the citizens of this State can look for themselves? Why are these contracts being removed?
I am so thankful to the Sun Herald investigators who had the cahunas to dig up this story and stick with it. Thank you guys!!! We’re all pulling for you to get to the bottom of all of this corruption.
And by the way folks, this isn’t the “good ‘ole boy system” from our local area. These are professional Washington lobbiers and thieves. Have you noticed how quiet the bunch of Walker pals have been that are normally swarming around him? How ’bout it, Mr. Palazzo, Mr. Janus, Mr. Swetman, and the rest of the cronies? Step on up now…there’s room for everyone!
Is Ms. Trinity a friend of (ex) General Patraeus?
OK you two. 😉
Curious I understand Trinity’s best friend is Mary Pouwa.
She must have some connections to the powerful, or else, Scotty Boy would not have married her. Wait until the first time he knocks her around….she might have to call on the General????
The record will show that I was not the first to broach the reputed similarity between Scott Walker and Fred Heebe.
Ok….where is the Governor? Where is our State Auditor?? When are the guilty going to come forward willingly? They will be dragged out by the ears in this investigation anyway….at least be man enough to take your medicine. If you THINK you are man enough to rob your neighbors and get away with it, then YOU SHOULD BE man enough to stand up and take what’s coming to you. Maybe you should get some pink underwear for Christmas??? Prison issue is stripes though, I’m told. Hope you are all having a Merry Christmas with the money you took from the poor people it was meant to help and restore!
P. S. I hope these auditors are searching Swiss banks and overseas accounts for the stashes of money they have been squirrelling away. No wonder there was so much money floating around in the last election here in Mississippi!! I think the Taxpayers were paying for all those ads!
I’ve heard from too many credible sources this entire matter is subject of a federal grand jury probe in the MSSD. The State Auditor is not equipped to do justice to these matters but that does not excuse being MIA.
It is given this is beyond the control of the state politicians. What isn’t is where DMR goes from here along with the broad subject regarding the lack of oversight of every state agency. It is not too early to talk about that, especially with the next legislative session on tap next month.
The silence from officialdom is thus very disturbing.
This is really awful for the dedicated employees that work at the DMR, or “underlings”. I know they hate being associated with this at all because the majority of them really do try to help the fishermen and seafood industry. Some of Walker’s cronies have been put in place in the Fisheries section of the Agency. I wonder if the Feds will be smart enough to ferret them out too? I know that a couple of the managers or directors down there worked very closely with BP per Walker’s instruction. Now,I wonder if the samples that were taken for testing are legitimate? Wonder if Walker had that covered up too??? After all, the Governor said there was only some “lawnmower gas” smells down here after the BP spill.
Poor gal had no idea what she was getting into.Also hearing from people in the know that indictments are coming in January and include city officials in D’Iberville.Must have to do with Scott Walker’s involvement with brokering contracts for various groups thru DMR.Of course until they get served this is merely speculation. Something is up,FBI questioning many about involvement with the Walkers,Harris and DMR.They MUST BE NERVOUS.
I have heard the same; however, they are barking up the wrong tree with Mayor Quave. He is only making minimum wages for what he does down there. I have seen him in the wee hours of the morning with other men getting in the boat to take water samples for the oyster division. He is a legitimate worker down there. He was making less than Hemba’s step-son according to the Sun Herald. I wouldn’t do what he does for that pay!
Now, what about Michael Janus in D’Iberville? He is the one that handles the $$ now I hear. And he is the one that Palazzo talked into quitting the legislature to take the job in D’Iberville. He must be the one who writes the checks??? I am wondering to what extent he is tied into this? And our Public Service Commissioner, Leonard Bentz?? Will he be involved in this??? I know that he and Janus and Palazzo and Zeigler are tight. We will have to wait and see.
How long have they been married? I notice they have a baby registry set up too. Speaking of a chicken in the pot!
They have only been married a few months.
The baby is already here.
Indictments take time: the US Attorney’s office has to make certain they get the whole entire before they rush indictments. Don’t you know some folks have dashed to the FBI pleading to tell all they know in order to cut a deal? We have seen through published material that the corruption and fraud runs deep and wide. And we may still have only have a part of the picture. Better to let the guilty sweat it out anyway….some of them may crack and confess, making all of this much easier and more effective. Just remember folks they misused OUR TAX DOLLARS…not money fallen from the sky…it is our money and this isn’t the only time most of these culprits have supped at the public trough. One of the admitted thieves bragging….”you will never catch me!” Let’s hope this time they are all caught and on their way to being skinned!
I think catty14 is correct.As we see every time the Sunhearld prints another chapter of this sorrid affiar we realize it involves more and more people. If you recall it started out with Billy and Tina,then they added Scott,then David and now there are too many to list.And I feel this has many more chapters and maybe a couple of sequels to go.I know the FBI has talked to a lot of people in the coastal counties and one thing is for sure they are focusing on the Walkers.Nobody will go to jail for them.People will be falling over each other to tell what they know when the time comes.
Not a word has been mentioned about Mrs. Walker being questioned by the Feds. I wonder how that will tie in? The DMR workers need to have the gag order taken off of them that is placed on them by the legislators. I am sure when that happens, the FEDS will really hear it all. Walker has literally set up an empire in the Coastal counties for him to “rule over”. It involves lots of people and places. And since he is well connected, he will probably call in some favors and his cronies will get him off.
Trinity got knocked up. Then got married after grandbaby walker was born. Money from DMR goes to NGI and then to IMMS an arrangement for education that did not start until after Sharon Walker got there.
xyzpdqpda what does NGI stand for? I have attended several functions/parties during the last couple of weeks and can say the topic being discussed at all of them was the DMR scandal.I do not believe the participants in this mess realize the anger that is building.This agency is just another example of why our country is having and will continue to have trillion dollar deficits.
I believe you are right about that. My fearless self serving prediction is they will remain ignorant to the bitter end.
The GOP banner of government largess for the rich along with heaping doses of crony capitalism is why I left the fold many moons ago.
Being a republican is not anywhere near the same as being a conservative. And you folks that think otherwise are fooling only yourselves.
NGI = Northern Gulf Institute A NOAA funded group that is part of MSU. They are located at Stennis.
Before Dr. Mrs. Walker left USM lots oh DMR bucks went to the marine education center before and after it got washed away in katrina.
There are whole other potentially suspicious pots of money spent from NOAA and EPA.
As an aside, Vernon Asper has an office at Stennis through MSU in their Dept of Marine Science.
Looky here…Zuber, Palazzo, and Stevens thought that David Harris did such a bang up job at the YMCA and on the Gulf in general that they spent time and effort getting a bill through the legislature to commend him on his retirement in 2008:
“WHEREAS, it is the policy of this Legislature to recognize an outstanding Mississippian such as Mr. David Harris who has touched the lives of hundreds of young people through his selfless and tireless service to the YMCA, which has not only positively affected the Mississippi Gulf Coast, but this great state as a whole…”
See http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/20081E/html/HC/HC0011SG.htm
No wonder nothing gets done in Jackson that would be considered productive. To busy heaping praise on the wrong people. They should pass a bill giving an honorable mention and medal to the Sunhearld for doing a great job bringing to the surface all of the questionable practices and wasteful spending at DMR.
doug, have you tried calling the governor or his office personally? this is ridiculous. perhaps it’s time to move down the administration. the lt gov appears to be legit.
love the tammy faye bakker mascara.
So today is day 64.
My theory on why the investigations are going so slowly: Absolutely everyone in MS politics is connected to it in some way. I won’t name names. I have a family. I’m sure they’re just trying to find the right fall guys to indict. Maybe Between Feds, State, and local authorities they might get a few of em. I hear that one key person says if they go down they’re taking everyone.
Keep up the good work Slabbed.
Some of these DMR politico kingfish are in office so long they start to genetically assume their primordial appearance of giant stingrays as they attempt to camouflage themselves in the sand and when hooked create quite a suction on the bottom and thus a lot of power and effort is required to get them to the surface to identify. Sometimes it is easier to shine/blind them with bright lights and gig their asses at low tide where they carouse and breed in MS’s hot, romantic moonlight. In Malaysia they are barbecued and since there are no federal or state limits on them maybe Chef Prudomme will create a new blackened recipe and bring about their extinction.
COOK Some RICE ~
I see the photos of that red-faced Walker man & his water head “son”? SCOTT…
BIRTH CERTIFICATE PLEASE.
(IF those two are from the same GENE POOL We’ve got worse problems than I THOUGHT)…?
ewwwww
Where was I?…
Countenance ~
They SEEM LIKE AN ANNOYING ITCH THAT CAIN’T BE SCRATCHED….
THEY SHOULD BE CONFRONTED & MADE TO PAY THE MONEY THEY STOLE & GAVE TO THEIR RICH FRIENDS ….BACK TO THE TAXPAYERS and they should ALL LIVE IN SQUALOR LIKE THE PIGS THEY ARE!
OINK!
but what happens..
NO JUSTICE!
OINK!
POLITICIANS are a notch below child molesters.
(Woody Allen)
Shucks, in the good old days we would simply give the “friends & family” overriding royalty interests in state mineral lands. Looks like your characters have to do a bit more work. 😉
On second thought, did your peeps get hold harmless/indemnification clauses even if their work proved inadequate? I kid you not – BillyBoy and the Plaquemines Parish Government Gang did exactly that for a firm doing the work on various FEMA funded white elephant “public buildings.” Surprise! The buildings now LEAK and you can’t go after the contractor because of (snicker) the aforesaid agreements.
Okay, so what is the hold up now???? I understand that the investigators have set up house on the first floor of the Bolton Building. Is this for protection or more digging?? Must be a lot to dig through?
The head of the CIAP program is still on the payroll and I fear that the fix may be in. Doesn’t look like we’ll be getting any refunds folks!
I am worried about Danny Guice, Jr., Is he listening to the wrong people? Why, now that the MRC has belatedly suspended Billy, is Tina Shumate still on the payroll? Why, for that matter, are all her relatives and the Denyers still getting our money? I am also losing confidence, if Mr. Guice can’t man up and fire these people for cause, then we better find someone else to clean up the mess and find the money. Which politician put forth that commendation to David Harris? Is it true that one of the other CIAP properties, not Harbor Landing, purchased by DMR for waaaay over the appraised value was owned by Harris, Reynolds, and Palazzo’s daddy?