Say It Ain’t So, Joe
As El Somnabulo said yesterday, this Tigani story is HUGE. The News Journal has a story out today showing the links between Tigani’s illegal donation scheme and Joe Biden’s 2008 presidential run.
Joe Biden’s presidential campaign received a total of $64,300 on the three dates that federal prosecutors say Christopher Tigani ordered his employees to write checks and later reimbursed them. Several of Biden’s donors identified themselves on campaign finance reports as employees of N.K.S.
A key day was Dec. 17, 2007, when prosecutors say “Committee A” received six checks from N.K.S. employees and their spouses. Of the 25 people running for president in late 2007, Biden was the only candidate who received donations on that date from N.K.S. employees. Only Biden received a contribution on that date of $1,000 or more from a Delaware donor.
…
In December 2007, Kravetz said, a staffer with “Committee A” sent an email to a Tigani employee listing 13 N.K.S. employees and the amounts each had donated, noting they could still legally donate more, either as an individual or with a spouse. The next day, donations from six N.K.S. employees were made to the campaign. Each had appeared on the list sent by “Committee A,” he said.
Now this doesn’t mean that Joe Biden or his campaign did anything wrong. However, I’m sure it doesn’t want to be linked to a man who just pled guilty to campaign donation violations. I still think the real target is Minner since there seems to be much more of a quid pro quo relationship.
I think Jason is right that Tigani’s main motivation was to feel like a big-time player, and he no doubt was for a time. Big-time players can’t help but want to flex their muscles sometimes and perhaps that’s what we’ll see with the land deal.
Other politicians who received donations from Tigani (and say they will return them) are Jack Markell ($15,200), Matt Denn ($3000), Sen. Dave Sokola ($2400), Rep. Robert Walls ($3000), Rep. Melanie George ($1775).
Tags: Chris Tigani, Dave Sokola, Jack Markell, Joe Biden, Matt Denn, Melanie George, Robert Walls
Institutionally speaking, the News Journal hates Minner. They have a love/hate thing with Biden, but the hate they have for Minner is pure.
While they are making a big deal about this stupid liquor store, ironically the quid pro quo with the banks remains legal.
I never got a dime from this guy.
Just b/c the News-Journal may ‘hate’ Minner doesn’t mean that the enmity isn’t justified. Her administration set new levels for corruption and cronyism, and it’s all starting to come out.
What do you expect from a BUM like Joe Biden? And RuthAnn spent way too many years in the House for you to expect anything different out of her performance than what you got.
Here is some more irony. If NKS did the same thing today, it would be legal under the SC’s horrible ‘Citizens United’ decision.
He should have taken a lesson from Sherry Freebery: Change the law first, do what would have previously been illegal afterward.
Don’t have a link but here’s some more; TPMMuckraker -Distributor Funneled Money To Biden Prez Campaign, Free Booze To Delaware Democrats
It looks like Tigani is talking his head off to the feds and it looks like his dad, wife, brothers etc., uncles?? will all corraborate that these pols knew damn well what was delivered to them and what they would be expected to do about it when the chit was played…and hopefully some red meat on what was actually delivered as in the DelDOT deal.
I don’t think there is any way around it that if you give at that level you get your chits taken care of. It is the way politics has been played everywhere and it is high time that we get down to the dirt of it in DE no matter who it taints. Tough shit.
MBNA also did this bundling $$ crap. I had the details of the story corraborated over beers at the Pennsylvania Avenue Grotto’s bar a few years ago by a guy who was the personal CPA for many of the MBNA VPs. And remember, Biden got his house on the cheap from Stoltz…ad nauseum…..
At least one of the tainted land deals through DelDOT went through since Jack’s been Governor. He didn’t shift the highy suspected/known corrupt employees when he took Woodburn and so many of us wondered WTF. (I have reams of FOIA….) I guess now we know. Say it ain’t so, Jack.
You guys don’t read much over at Kilroy’s blog but he has kept a steady beat on some serious problems with Markell’s corporate interests and who is getting our RTTT $$. That story may break out of DE one of these days. Here’s a taste:
Klein Cashes in on Race to the Top
http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/06/09/9672/
June 9th, 2011
The Daily News’ Rachel Monahan has an eye-opening story today that the state is about to award a chunk of its federal Race to the Top funds to the company now run buy former New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein. It’s hard to imagine a tale more rife with seeming conflicts of interest.
First the news, according to Monahan: The state Department of Education is about to award a $27 million no-bid contract to Wireless Generation to develop software to track student test scores, achievement and so on. The system would be similar to the Achievement Reporting and Innovation System, or ARIS, developed for the city schools when Klein ran them.
The state, according to the News, said the no-bid contract is justified because ARIS already cover a third of the state (i.e. the city) and the system has received national recognition.
Recognition, yes, — but not all of it positive.
During ARIS’ development, many raised concerns about its $80 million price tag. While the original contract for it was with IBM, the computer giant hired Wireless Generation as subcontractor and that company has done the bulk of the work.
The system was slow to get off the ground, and parents and teachers complained they were not consulted about what they would want it to do. Now that the program is up and running, though many teachers and parents make good and frequent use of it. But it has shortcomings.
“Principals and data geeks can use it to sort out information for an entire school or grade, but it doesn’t have the details teachers want on a daily basis,” WNYC’s Beth Fertig concluded after speaking with teachers earlier this year. “Classroom quizzes, for example, never make it to ARIS.”
Schools can use ARIS for free, but according to a story by NY1’s Lindsey Christ, an increasing number of schools “are paying to use another systems instead,” with some of these systems developed by people working in the school system.
One would think the simple existence of these, albeit smaller systems, would be enough to prompt the state to open this contract up for bids.
During his time leading the school system, Klein seemed to be a big fan of Wireless Generation. He energetically promoted ARIS promising it would be “revolutionary.” Wireless Generation continues to work on ARIS — the city decided earlier this year to fork over another $3 million for improvements — and to trumpet its association with New York’s public schools.
Klein also spearheaded efforts to institute the School of One program to use technology to transform schools. Wireless Generation , according to itswebsite, was ” the lead partner to the New York City Department of Education in the creation and ongoing evolution of School of One.” (In March, after Klein’s departure, the Department of Education announced it was delaying expansion of School of One.)
In November, Klein announced he was leaving the city schools to oversees investments in digital learning for Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. Klein’s base salary is reportedly $2 million, with a $1 million signing bonus and the possibility of hundreds of thousands ore in other bonuses.
Two weeks after Klein made this lucrative arrangement, News Corp., bought Wireless Generation. Wireless Generation would not tell a reporter how long the deal had been in the works.
The $27 million contract from the state will boost News Corp.’s digital learning business. And it might even bring Klein some of that bonus money.
In the meantime, though, it’s prompting questions.
“It raises all kinds of red flags,” said Susan Lerner, executive director ofCommon Cause New York told Monahan. “It just smacks of an old-boys club, where large amounts of public money are spent based not on ‘is this the best product?’ but ‘I know this guy and I like him and I want to be sure he makes a lot of money.’”
“I’m not a fan of no-bid contracts under any circumstances, but the New York State Department of Education awarding $27 million to Wireless Generation, a company owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. and headed up by former New York City school chancellor, Joel Klein, smacks of cronyism,” E.D. Kain wrote. ARIS may indeed be a useful tool for educators and administrators, but you have to question the very real conflicts of interest in all of this.”
Even before the latest revelation, Peridido Street School blogged, “Just how did the former schools chancellor get to sign all these contracts with Wireless Generation, then get to run the online K-12 for-profit education division of News Corp. after Rupert Murdoch bought the company?”
Interesting question.
By Gail Robinson
Beau Biden will name an independent prosecutor for this case. Good decision.
“I guess now we know. Say it ain’t so, Jack.”
Yeah, right. Because the $100 he got was SO important to him that he just HAD to do whatever NKS wanted. Get serious.
Giving out a no-bid contract is not necessarily a sign of corruption. If you can show ties between Markell and Klein, or kickbacks to Markell for buying this unnecessary crap, fine. Otherwise, where’s the scandal? Did you think this money was going to be spent on something other than expensive gimcracks and gee-whiz garbage? And really, would it make a difference if someone gave us a different set of software for $26 million if it was going to do the same pointless thing?
The problem with pissing away money on this nonsense isn’t one of corruption, Nancy. It’s one of people not wanting to acknowledge the actual problem — we don’t know how to educate the non-motivated.
“Beau Biden will name an independent prosecutor for this case.”
No, not a prosecutor — an investigator. I’m sure the investigation will find the same number of illegalities Beau found in the Derek Hale case, and lead to the same kind of reforms. Ha ha ha ha ha!
Thanks for SPANKING Beau for me Geezer!
In the NJ today, reporters have a straight face when they print that Attorney Dan Lyons receommened Joe Farnan to investigate in lieu of AG Biden?????????????????????????
Who could be closer to the Biden clan that Gordonbery and who got in bed with Sherry Freebery to the tune of 600K of Lisa Dean duPont Mosely’s 2.3 million dollar “GIFT”? Joe Farnan, of course.
I just can’t believe that this bullcrap was in print this morning.
~~
Markell got more than $100 from Tigani. But your points are well taken, Geezie.
Nancy: Could not agree more about Farnan.
Do we know how much Markell got in donations? I heard the $100 figure from someone not in the administration.
What I did hear from administration sources, so grain of salt if needed, was that the developer payments in Sussex were what cooked Wicks’ goose, because after the Milford story, Markell demanded to know what other leases and payments were out there, and was not informed about those payments.
No matter how much the NKS donations were, the Republicans are going to use it as ammunition against him next year. I’m guessing this new DelDOT guy is going to lop off a few heads by next June so that Markell can say he’s cleaning up that cesspool.
My own take is that no governor who had to buck his own party to win the office will ever be able to get it under control. But as Markell doesn’t need Minner-style favors to maintain power, at least there will be a hiatus of new outrages while he’s in office.
Senator Tom Carper took donations from Tigani too. And there were “sham” funraisers…
The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/delaware-man-pleads-guilty-to-illegally-funneling-contributions-to-campaigns/2011/06/09/AGVnAnNH_story.html
Delaware man pleads guilty to illegally funneling contributions to campaigns
By Dan Eggen and T.W. Farnam, Published: June 9
A Delaware campaign donor pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to illegally funneling at least $219,000 in contributions to political campaigns, a list that appears to include the failed presidential bid of then-Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr.
Christopher J. Tigani, the former president of a major Delaware beer distributor, reimbursed bogus donations from employees, family members and friends to state and federal candidates from 2003 to 2008, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Thursday.2
Tigani pleaded guilty in federal court in Wilmington, Del., to two counts of violating federal election laws and two counts of tax fraud for lying about his income.
Tigani is a well-known figure in Delaware who has waged a high-profile legal battle with his father for control of the family’s lucrative liquor distribution business, NKS Distributors, which has exclusive state contracts for Anheuser-Busch, Samuel Adams and other major brands.
The younger Tigani — who prosecutors say made $1 million or more a year while president of NKS — filed for bankruptcy this week to halt foreclosure on his 24,000-square-foot mansion, according to news media reports. He claimed up to $50 million in personal debts.
In the election law case, prosecutors say Tigani arranged the bogus campaign donations “to increase his company’s influence over matters of importance to NKS.” The scheme included sham fundraisers, free alcohol for candidates and their supporters at events, and handoffs of bundles of checks to campaign operatives at NKS headquarters, the complaint says.
Tigani also allowed an unidentified federal campaign to use NKS offices for fundraising calls, the complaint says.
The complaint, which was filed under seal last month, does not allege wrongdoing by any of the state or federal candidates who received money from Tigani or his associates. The recipients are identified in the complaint only by pseudonyms.
But dates and other details from the complaint strongly suggest that Biden and Sen. Thomas R. Carper (D-Del.) were among the candidates who received straw donations from Tigani.
In 2007, prosecutors say, Tigani funneled at least 41 separate donations from 29 donors to “Campaign Committee A,” which match up with contributions to Biden’s presidential campaign, according to Federal Election Commission records. The efforts included an NKS fundraiser that prosecutors described as “a sham.”
Overall, prosecutors said, Tigani arranged more than $70,000 in total contributions to that presidential committee.
“We had absolutely no knowledge of these activities,” said Amy Dudley, a spokeswoman for Biden (D), now the vice president. The Delaware public defender’s office, which is listed in court papers as representing Tigani, did not respond to a telephone message.
The complaint also lists two $500 donations from NKS employees in May 2006 that match donations to Carper in FEC records. A spokesman for Carper said the campaign follows all federal campaign laws and had not been informed of any questionable contributions.
Tigani faces up to five years in prison on each election-law violation and up to three years for each count of tax evasion. Sentencing is set for Sept. 20.
Staff writer Jerry Markon contributed to this report.
Not to plagiarize anyone, but so fucking what? Did you all think this shit would end with the 20th century? Man Pants people, man pants.
What do “man pants” have to do with anything?
And really, anon, $1,000 to Carper? Whoop-de-do! What would that “buy”?
There were more companies than Tigani’s using straw donors to influence elected officials/candidates with campaign contributions and Carper in particular. The “influence” was effective and was much more than $1,000.
But then for lucrative government contracts, that was the price of doing business.
@Geezer, show me where Biden or any other recipients of Tigani’s cash did his bidding (Ruth Ann “Tow Truck School” Minner aside. If a pol does the bidding of a briber then we smash ’em both. Otherwise, fools and their money…
Man pants means to suck it in and pull it together, to not falter, to do the right thing.
Of course Geezer, you’ve been hiding behind your momma’s skirt folds for so long, when we say pants, you say Husky.