Category: Crime, Corrections, Law Enforcement
-
The McDonnells and Their Apologists
By Peter Galuszka It seems bizarre to balance news of the worst political corruption scandal in the state’s history and efforts by bloggers and commenters on Bacons Rebellion to dismiss it all as “everyone does it.” The apologia is getting a little too hot and heavy here. One famous blogger wanted to smack former governor…
-
Bob McDonnell’s All-Too-Human Story
by James A. Bacon In reading highlights of the indictment against former Governor Bob McDonnell and his wife Maureen, I alternate between having sympathy for the governor and wanting to cuff him across the back of his head. How could he have gotten himself into such a situation? We knew from previous reports that the…
-
A Sad Day for the Commonwealth
By Peter Galuszka It’s a sad day for Virginia. Former Gov. Robert F. McDonnell and his wife have been charged by federal authorities with 14 felony counts, including wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and obtaining property through their office in connection with their relationship with Jonnie R. Williams, former chief of Star Scientific. The…
-
The Start of De-Coochinization
By Peter Galuszka Mark R. Herring, Virginia’s new attorney general, is working quickly to disassemble much of what his predecessor, Republican Ken Cuccinelli II, put in place. Herring (D) dismissed two law firms hired by Cuccinelli to represent the office for former Gov. Robert F. McDonnell and his staff in investigations connected to $165,000 in gifts…
-
McAuliffe’s Ethics End Run
By Peter Galuszka Kudos to Terry McAuliffe. Virginia’s new governor has taken strong and important steps to force the state into much needed ethics reform by issuing an executive order setting a gift acceptance cap of $100 for himself, his staff and members of state agencies. He’s also allocating $100,000 to set up a state…
-
Factoids of the Day: Domestic Violence in Virginia
From the 2013 Annual Report on Domestic and Sexual Violence in Virginia: “In 2012, at least 117 men, women, and children lost their lives to domestic violence, representing a 12.7% increase in family and intimate partner homicides from 2011 to 2012. Also in 2012, there were more than 67,000 calls to domestic and sexual violence…
-
A Toothless Ethics Proposal (No Surprise)
By Peter Galuszka Virginia finally seems on a path toward toughening its ethics rules after the Giftgate scandal involving Gov. Robert F. McDonnell. but — predictably — the deal reached by the two parties is toothless. The arrangement proposed by a bipartisan group within the General Assembly would cap gifts to officials and their families…
-
The McDonnell Track Record: Incremental Improvement
by James A. Bacon Governor Bob McDonnell’s four-year term in office is drawing to a close. Sadly, it appears that the governor will be remembered mainly for his atrocious judgment in accepting more than $150,000 in gifts and loans from a Richmond businessman. While the Giftgate scandal deservedly dominated the headlines in his last year…
-
Are the Feds Going Soft on the McDonnells?
By Peter Galuszka There is something unsettling about Gov. Robert F. McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, being allowed to have a possible indictment on federal criminal charges delayed after senior U.S. Justice Department officials went along with requests from their attorneys. Federal prosecutors reportedly told lawyers for the McDonnells on Dec. 9 that they planned…
-
Behind a Massey Energy Lawsuit Settlement
—
by
in Business and Economy, Courts and law, Crime, Corrections, Law Enforcement, Disasters and Disaster Preparedness, Economic development, Energy, Environment, Federal issues, Government Finance, Infrastructure, Insurance, Labor and Workforce, Money in politics, Politics, Regulations, Gov’t Oversight, Science & TechnologyBy Peter Galuszka It might have otherwise gone unnoticed, but Bristol-based Alpha Natural Resources, one of the country’s largest coal companies, has agreed to settle a leftover securities fraud lawsuit for $265 million involving Massey Energy Co., the notorious, formerly Richmond-based firm that Alpha bought in 2011. The settlement with the Pension Reserves Investment Management…
-
Mental Health: McDonnell’s Small Gesture
By Peter Galuszka It seems so little so late. Gov. Robert F. McDonnell, apparently trying to get some 11th hour positive spin, has announced that he wants to put $38.3 million over two years to improve the state’s mental health system. He also wants to expand the amount of time an individual can be held…
-
GiftGate: And the Legal Bills Keeping Mounting
By Peter Galuszka The election is over. The transition teams are forming. And the GiftGate legal bills keep mounting. Taxpayers are now facing $575,000 in total charges, according to The Washington Post. These include $331,000 in fees charged in July, August and September by two law firms representing state employees in the Gov. Robert F.…
-
A Southern Oasis of Low Crime
Virginia has one of the lowest crime rates in the country, according to 2012 FBI crime data, as plotted by the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia. That applies to both violent and non-violent crime. The Old Dominion is a real outlier compared to other Southern states. Maybe this is…
-
Bye-Bye Jonnie! Bye Star Scientific!
By Peter Galuszka Star Scientific is setting itself for a future without its high profile CEO, Jonnie R. Williams, a prominent figure in the Robert F. McDonnell GiftGate scandal. On Halloween, the Henrico-based dietary supplement maker announced that it will undergo a shuffle at the top. Williams will leave in December, clearing the way for Dr.…
-
Thank God It’s Over: Seven Election Takeaways
—
by
in Business and Economy, Courts and law, Crime, Corrections, Law Enforcement, Demographics, Disasters and Disaster Preparedness, Economic development, Education (higher ed), Education (K-12), Electoral process, Environment, Federal issues, Government Finance, Government workers and pensions, Gun rights, Health Care, Housing, Immigration, Infrastructure, Insurance, LGBQT, Money in politics, Planning, Politics, Poverty & income gap, Property rights, Public safety & health, Race and Race Relations, Science & Technology, Social Services and EntitlementsBy Peter Galuszka The awful Virginia gubernatorial contest is over. Utter disaster has been averted with the defeat of strident rightwinger Kenneth Cuccinelli. Here are seven takeaways from Election Day: 1. Winner Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat, now gets to deal with a contentious General Assembly where the GOP maintains firm control on the House of…