But first some lovely music:
Pickering: DMR probe may reveal “culture of corruption” ~ Da Noose
Auditor Pickering had to get out in front of the rampant rumor mill and boy did he! So what do we know now? Here are a few observations.
- The FBI was poking around before Michaela Hill’s tragic suicide and indeed they interviewed her.
- I now completely understand why Mrs. HIll’s family blames Bill Walker for the break that led to her tragic suicide. She would be a bit player in the scheme of things but the story goes Team Walker tried serving her up as the main course to the FBI by invoking the political power Walker possessed.
- The OIG certainly got the FBI involved and the OIG’s involvement dates back to at least April 2012.
- Tina Shumate…..oh Tina you are in a heap of big trouble.
- The problems associated with an Auditors office that does not audit are self evident.
And there is more, far more in fact but I need material for future posts.
Now we gotta have a chat because it should most evident that Slabbed New Media has tuned into and is now receiving high quality bat signals from both high and low places. The FBI isn’t talking folks but it strongly appears to me that Good Ship Walker has been abandoned except for whatever firehouse friends remain but those folks would largely not be in the political world. I am receiving word of people literally turning their backs to the Walkers in professional settings such as certain scientific conferences, as the realization has set in regarding the totality of that culture of corruption locally and in certain circles across the nation.
Let the backstabbing commence
I mention this because in Mississippi, even though most everyone supposedly belongs to the GOP there are political and economic driven rivalries that far surpass the olden days when everyone was supposedly Democrat. I am hearing rumors of coms leaks and other assorted nastiness that would be right up any self respecting muckraker’s alley. I do not know if I will ever bring such tips home but I’d caution everyone that it was Slabbed New Media that snagged Magnum’s contract with BP so hope springs eternal.
The major takeaway here and a signal I’ve been receiving for weeks now is the political power structure has abandoned the Walkers and Auditor Pickering’s remarks yesterday are a pointed public confirmation. And while the FBI does not talk it is a certainty Uncle Sam is not gonna let Tina Shumate squander deca millions of dollars in CIAP funding without consequences.
You good folks from Louisiana reading this understand the significance of State officials actually taking action against systemic corruption mainly because your local DAs and Attorney General never prosecute their (former) friends. It is all in how the system is set up but that is topic for another post.
Not that it really matters at this point, but I’m still wondering who the original whistleblower was who got this investigation underway. Locally, the rumors have been rampant, and they have included several employees at the DMR finally getting someone to listen to them about the wrongdoings, Chris Ferrara, owner of the “Hook-Up” restaurant, and the man who offered to donate the land for the aquarium, to even former gubernatorial candidate Dave Dennis. Obviously, it was someone with some clout, because the monkey-business that was going on there had gone on for way too long, with all allegations being swept under the rug.
That is a heckuva good question Trip. There are several possibilities. If I had to guess the initial tip went to the OIG or the FBI.
rfp’s Word of The Day is co-opt. As in Verb 1. co-opt – choose or elect as a fellow member or colleague; “The church members co-opted individuals from similar backgrounds to replenish the congregation”.
Sometimes an interesting comment from long ago becomes more interesting with continuing developments. That might be the case with this comment posted on the Sun Herald January 11 2013 story Attorneys: DMR wrong to withhold financial records from public
Arjuna34 Gulf_Coast_Thinking
What would make the owner of the Hook-Up get involved? Maybe something to do with the DMR permit process for his marina project. I heard he was very angry after spending so much money and time flying to aquariums around the country with Moby Solangi and having what he thought was an agreement to locate the IMMS on Back Bay, Moby walked to D’Iberville because the Walkers told him to. Dave Dennis was Haley Barbour’s man for Governor. I do not see him getting involved with DMR because I think it goes back to Jackson and ensnares some there at the DEQ and MDA. If Ferrara did indeed go to authorities he deserves the key to the state. He is his own person with his own money. Not the type that light weights like the Walkers push around
Oh, there’s bad blood between Ferrara and the Walkers. Remember the goofy plans for a “land-swap” that never occured, but if it had, it would have severely damaged the income that the Boardwalk is receiving for boat storage?
Earlier this morning I checked the Sun Herald story linked above to check the state of comments. The story has been updated since my earlier comments on this story. The story i its early form did not have anything on this “Tragically, there was a DMR employee who committed suicide, took her own life.” I noticed some other changes in the content particularly Pickering’s reported quote which prompted my comment which was posted here.
rfp July 24, 2013 at 4:47 pm
Now updated with video. The video doesn
Whoops links are bad trying a second time
Very strange how this article keeps evolving. The revised version this morning include the death of Bill Walkers executive assistant which was a very strange statement from Pickering. Something just does not feel right about the article and Pickering coming forth at this time as he did in the home town of Bill Walker. Was he firing a torpedo at the USS WALKERGATE ? Was it a warning to others like Scott Walker, Sharon Walker, John McKay, Greg Denyer, Paul Byrd ,David Harris, Tom Reynolds, Frank Palazzo and others, sort of like “Prepare to do battle”? I am still studying the latest version and if you read the Sunherald comments Stacey Pickering gets some very mixed reviews.
Sort of like “Friends Forever”. The more you read the more you wonder what was the real meeasge to who?
Delete this one too. That’s all for now. I will go back to using the preview feature before posting to prevent this in the future..
It is absolutely unbelievable what Pickering said. Are you sure he is our State Auditor? In my opinion, he sounded more like he was trying to stay pals with the participants of Walkergate. I guess the big guns involved (not the bottomfeeders like Walker and his minions) are putting the pressure on. Too bad Mr. Scruggs isn’t out so that he could throw in some help.
All true republicans everywhere need to turn away from these shysters in my opinion. If you can read and listen to the television….open your eyes! These people are robbing out tax dollars and using the money to fund their own agendas! I don’t care how good of pals you think you are with them, turn your back…..time for a change!
Perhaps this law would help Mrs. Hill’s family?
“SATURDAY, 4 FEBRUARY 2012
America’s Forgotten Anti-Gangstalking Law: USC 18 Section 241
Many of Medawar’s fellow bloggers are calling for laws in the USA, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom against “gangstalking” and “proxy stalking” which could both collectively be called organized stalking. And certainly in Canada and Australia, some legislative action is imperative. But it’s long been Medawar’s view that in the United Kingdom (both England and Scotland; unlike the Berlin Wall, Hadrian’s Wall has never fallen in the legal sense) all forms of organized stalking were breaking several laws already and the problem was recognition of that fact by the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Crown Prosecution Service and action by the police.
In the USA, there already is a highly specific law, under which it is pretty well impossible for any two or more persons to carry out a stalking campaign against a citizen, without conspiring to deny that citizen their legal and constitutional rights. Under USC18 section 241, this is an offence normally punishable by a fine and/or up to ten years imprisonment. But if the conspiracy leads to a loss of life, and the usual qualifications of premeditated murder are not specified (because murder is not a Federal offence and would be dealt with under county or state law if it had happened) then the penalty can be life imprisonment, or death.
So, if somebody is harassed and deprived of their legal and constitutional rights to the point where they commit suicide, or become ill and expire as some other consequence of the conspiracy to deny them their rights, then a capital crime has been committed. For example: if a conspiracy to harass a citizen restricted his ability to earn money to keep himself properly fed and housed and he were to die as a result of living rough, the conspirators have committed a capital crime, just as they would have done had they conspired to prevent him receiving proper medical treatment for an illness. Or, if they conspired to restrict his freedom of movement and he was unable to flee a natural disaster, they would have committed a capital crime that could be investigated by Federal Agents and tried in a Federal Court.
The possibility of life imprisonment or capital punishment also applies if the citizen is kidnapped, sexually assaulted, or there is an intent to sexually assault, or an attempt to kill.
These are extreme examples to demonstrate the circumstances in which organized stalking is a capital crime under US Federal Law. But not so extreme that there are no stalking groups currently risking such a charge. In fact, the threat and fact of sexual assault is pretty common.
In the less extreme case, whereby a citizen is not harried to his death, merely prevented from living the normal life of an American citizen, it is still a felony, punishable by a longer prison term than many burglaries, assaults and contraband offences. And nearly ALL stalking activity involving two or more persons acting together, commits this felony.
Even if a lone stalker enlists the help of another for a single part of his stalking campaign against a citizen, a conspiracy to deny that citizen his rights has probably taken place.
The relevant legal text is a lot shorter than this post and is reproduced, below.
If two or more persons conspire to injure, oppress, threaten, or
intimidate any person in any State, Territory, Commonwealth,
Possession, or District in the free exercise or enjoyment of any
right or privilege secured to him by the Constitution or laws of
the United States, or because of his having so exercised the same;
or
If two or more persons go in disguise on the highway, or on the
premises of another, with intent to prevent or hinder his free
exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege so secured –
They shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than
ten years, or both; and if death results from the acts committed in
violation of this section or if such acts include kidnapping or an
attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse or an attempt to commit
aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill, they shall be fined
under this title or imprisoned for any term of years or for life,
or both, or may be sentenced to death.
The second paragraph makes it obvious that the Congress had the Ku Klux Klan very much in mind when drafting this law; anyone who thinks that they are stalking in a more noble cause, should think again: if you resort to the Klan’s methods, your cause is incapable of nobility and you fully deserve to be tarred with precisely the same brush. It is legally impossible to stalk in a good cause. This title is not an anti-racism law: it is a law against denying a citizen his constitutional and legal rights on any pretext whatsoever.
Update:
Four police officers in New Haven, Connecticut, have been indicted and arrested under this very law.”
http://medawarscornflakes.blogspot.com/2011/02/americas-forgotten-anti-gangstalking.html
Fascinating thought. If Walker and his participating minions push this lady to the point of her death by what ever cause this could apply maybe as a federal cime. I feel his defense will be to blame Tina Shumate for what happened. Before this is over Ms. Hill will be front and center of what went on and how the actions of this gang contributed to her death.
Boy oh boy, Mr. Pickering should not have said that about Michelle Hill. There’s a connection, but there’s not a connection? Obviously her death was linked to this “culture of corruption”, which, by the way, also holds true for the YMCA in Ocean Springs and they better have done something about it by now, keep in mind where the boats came from and how much money the Harrises got out of the Friends and Family program from both the Y and the DMR; millions of dollars in land, money, boats. If her survivors and family are outraged by this connection displayed in print for all to see, they should read this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrongful_death_claim#cite_note-13
and then find a mean lawyer. Turns out Mississippi says you can sue for intentional infliction of emotional distress. Game on! Perhaps then the truth will come out about her death. All the investigations going on now should provide plenty of facts for a civil trial later.
I’m with you Dolphin. She was a humble and kind person that did not speak unkind of other people. She was definitely not an individual that would take her own life. Just like that other lady in Diamondhead…the legislator? They tried to make her out as a depressed idiot, but we all know better. It is amazing how these renegade rogues spin their own tales to their liking. It doesn’t matter who it hurts or whose lives they destroy….just as long as they get what they want, which is more power and more money. Isn’t gluttony and greed on the deadly sin list??? Well that is what we have here. A bunch of trough sloppers that act like they are rabid with rabies. They make me sick…each and every one of them. A hard days’ work would probably wipe them out.
I was fascinated by the Sun-Herald headline of Pickering’s quote that the dealings at the DMR may indicate
a culture of corruption. “May?” What does one have to do in the eyes of the state auditor to be corrupt?
Wonder what they do all day up there in Jackson while we pay them with our hard earned tax dollars?