Friday, November 03, 2006

Did Omega forget about the Alpha?

County pays triple
State probes two firms championed by Shamsie; he says it's sour grapes; county engineer says he could've done job
By Jaime Powell Caller-TimesJune 19, 2005


From an engineer's perspective, Nueces County's $58 million road rehabilitation project is a simple job. Yet, the county is paying three times the customary rate for engineering and inspection services, according to engineers in government and private practice.
Instead of assigning the county's staff engineer to handle the project, Nueces County Judge Terry Shamsie negotiated $7.6 million for engineering with Omega Contracting Inc. and $7.95 million for inspection with DOS Logistics, as the county revamps 280 miles of mostly flat, straight, narrow, non-shouldered rural roadway.
The engineering and inspection fees amount to 34 percent of the $47 million construction portion of the project. Engineering professionals say those fees normally would be in the 10 percent range - or less for a job such as this one because it is not an engineering challenge.
Shamsie was able to negotiate contract proposals with the two out-of-town firms, and then submit the proposals to the Commissioners Court for approval, rather than submit the contracts to competitive bidding, because they are contracts for professional services. Local governments can select a professional services contractor to their liking after receiving statements of qualifications from those interested in the job.
Shamsie says County Engineer Glenn Sullivan was too busy to take on the project - an assertion Sullivan denies.
Shamsie also said the two companies are worth what they're being paid. He says he expected the project to be costly because he wanted it completed quickly. He did not want it to drag on for years, he said, as have some of the state and municipal road projects under way in this area. He successfully sought to fund the project with certificates of obligation, a way to bypass voter approval, which he said would have taken valuable time.
"That's a negotiated contract," Shamsie said. "They (Omega and DOS Logistics) wanted a lot more than that. Everybody thinks it's a 'gimme.' Are they paid well? Yes. Are they going to do the job? Yeah. Are a lot of other people jealous? Yeah."
The Texas Board of Professional Engineers is now investigating whether either of the firms was licensed to provide engineering services when they signed their contracts, Texas Board of Professional Engineers spokesman Paul Cook said.
The county's request for qualifications for the engineering portion of the project states that Nueces County was seeking an engineering firm, registered to practice in the State of Texas, with experience in roadway rehabilitation, bridge design and large-scale road and bridge projects.
For the inspection portion of the project, the request for qualifications solicited inspection for capital construction projects and other special services such as presentations to the Commissioners Court on progress.
Fees viewed as high
The engineering and inspection fees aren't the only ones in the contracts that have been described by engineers in government and private practice as exorbitant. A review of proposed rate schedules from six other companies that sought the contract shows that the winners are receiving significant markups for the following:
-- DOS Logistics' $95-an-hour fee for senior inspectors. The local average is $70 an hour, according to the local companies' rate schedules.
-- Omega's $161-an-hour fee for a program manager, totaling $593,889 during the 18-month contract period. The local average is $110 an hour, according to the rate schedules and interviews with officials from some local companies. Kurt Diedrich, Omega's program manager, is not a state-licensed engineer, according to the Texas Board of Professional Engineers - unusual, engineers say, for a firm offering engineering services. Attempts to reach Diedrich were unsuccessful.
-- Omega's $82 an hour for each of two administrative assistants, or $494,582. The local average is $50 an hour, according to the rate schedules.
-- DOS Logistics' $120 an hour or $374,400 for public relations coordinator Celina Garza. The six other companies' rate schedules do not include public relations as a service, but typically they would charge three times the labor cost for a contract employee to account for overhead, profit and office expenses - meaning private industry would bill $45 to $96 an hour for a spokesperson.
The Texas Department of Transportation pays its beginning public information officers $14.95 an hour. The agency's top spokespeople make $31.83 an hour and handle sensitive and complex issues, serving as a liaison to the print and broadcast media, the agency's public information office in Austin and the public, said Texas Department of Transportation planning and development director Paula Sales Evans.
Handling inquiries
Garza's job is to handle inquiries from the public and the media. Garza did not return phone calls or e-mails, and declined to answer questions when contacted in person by a Caller-Times reporter.
Garza's experience and qualifications were unavailable. On a previous occasion before declining to answer questions for this article, she disclosed that her most recent previous employment was as a secretary to Hidalgo County Commissioner Sylvia Handy.
Shamsie said DOS Logistics and Omega Contracting are qualified and complaints are coming from local companies that submitted their qualifications and wanted the job.
Critics of the contracts include engineering professionals who would not have been in a position to bid on the job. Among those saying the county is overpaying are Steve Stagner, the Austin-based president of the Texas Council of Engineering Companies, and engineering professionals in government jobs with the City of Corpus Christi, the Port of Corpus Christi and the Texas Department of Transportation.
"It's a considerably higher percentage of fees than you would expect to see for those services as a part of the overall project," Stagner said.
By comparison, engineering and inspection for 10 miles of high-traffic city streets included in the City of Corpus Christi's 2004 bond project is averaging 8.3 percent for engineering/design and 3.5 percent for inspection. And the project is much more challenging, said City Engineer Angel Escobar.
"We have waterline work, waste-line work, drainage, road construction, curb and gutter, sidewalks and traffic signals to deal with. And it's in built-up areas, not in the middle of nowhere," he said. "It's quite a difference, isn't it? The other big difference is we are dealing with a complex system in the city, versus caliche and asphalt."
Qualifications issue
And then there is the question of qualifications.
County Attorney Laura Garza Jimenez has appealed a Caller-Times public information request for documents including the qualifications submitted by the two companies. Jimenez's appeal to Attorney General Greg Abbott, which is pending, claims the documents including the two companies' qualifications contain confidential information, some of which is proprietary.
Shamsie said he could not recall projects either company had worked on, and he could not cite either company's qualifications. DOS Logistics and Omega Contracting officials did not respond to phone or email inquiries.
Once the contracts were awarded, Stagner filed a complaint alleging that Omega Contracting violated state law by not having an engineer on staff when the contract was awarded.
The complaint alleges that when Omega responded to Nueces County's June 2004 request for qualifications, and when the county awarded the contract in October 2004, Omega was not registered as an engineering firm in Texas. The complaint also alleges the company did not have a licensed engineer on staff.
According to Texas Board of Professional Engineers licensing records, Omega was licensed as an engineering firm 21 days after Nueces County awarded the company the engineering contract on Oct. 25.
Omega declined to comment, referring questions to Garza of DOS Logistics, who also would not answer questions.
In DOS Logistics' contract there also is nearly $1 million in charges to the county for a resident engineer and an assistant resident engineer. The company is not licensed to offer those services, according to records from the Texas Board of Professional Engineers.
Looking into project
"We are going to look into everything and anything that has anything to do with engineering on this project," said Cook, the board's spokesman.
Garza, the spokeswoman for DOS Logistics, declined to answer whether the company employs an engineer and said written questions from the Caller-Times about the project had been turned over to an attorney. She declined to identify the attorney and the Caller-Times has not received a written response to the questions.
In October, Omega hired Dallas-based Parsons Brinckerhoff Construction Services to do the actual engineering on the project after the Nueces County Commissioners Court voted unanimously to act on Shamsie's recommendation that the contracts be awarded to the two companies.
Gary Hodges, an engineer with Parsons Brinckerhoff, said the company has supplied a registered engineer to the project and that the company, which has an international reputation, will make between $1.5 million and $2 million for engineering on the project.
Parsons Brinckerhoff is not supplying an engineer to DOS Logistics, Hodges said.
That leaves Omega to do oversight on the project and DOS Logistics to conduct the inspections.
County Commissioner Betty Jean Longoria said Shamsie was "the driving force" behind the two contracts. Shamsie recommended the two firms to the commissioners, she said.
She said she was anxious to get the project moving because a majority of the roads in need of work are in her precinct and at the time she did not notice that she was never shown any qualifications for either firm, she said.
Complaints voiced
Once the contracts were awarded, she immediately started hearing complaints from local engineers who told her that Omega was not an engineering company, and questions about the ownership of DOS Logistics.
"I didn't know they didn't have an engineer. I heard all of that after the fact," Longoria said.
Carl Crull, president of the local Council of Engineering Companies and an engineer at HDR Engineering, one of the firms originally vying for the job said, "We were disappointed that more of the work was not being done by local firms."
Maverick Engineering, Naismith Engineering, RVE Engineering, Goldston Engineering, HDR Engineering and the Anderson Group are the local companies that submitted qualifications for the engineering and inspection work.
Texas Secretary of State records indicate that Omega Contracting is based in Dallas and belongs to Luis Spinola. Spinola also owns Azteca Enterprises. Both firms are described on their Web site as contractors that seek government contracts set aside for minorities. Spinola did not return phone calls. His secretary referred inquiries to Garza, the Dos Logistics public relations specialist, who has refused comment.
DOS Logistics' registered agent is Eric Chin and the company is based in Weslaco, according to records from the Texas Secretary of State. Corpus Christi businessman George Finley said he started the company in 1999 to pursue minority contracts and that he no longer owns it.
DeLay did legal work
Randy DeLay, a Houston lawyer and lobbyist, whose brother is U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, was the company's registered agent when it was incorporated in 1999. Finley said Randy DeLay's only role with DOS Logistics was handling the legal work of incorporating the company for Finley.
Last year, Shamsie and County Commissioner Oscar Ortiz unsuccessfully sought to award DeLay a $1.2 million contract to lobby on behalf of local military installations.
Chin, the stepson of Gumecindo "Gume" Ybarraa business associate of Finley's, has since taken over operations, Finley said.
"I have known Gume for 10 or 15 years," he said. "I have businesses in the Valley."
There also are questions about why County Engineer Glenn Sullivan didn't handle the project. Normally Sullivan would have been responsible for a project such as this, Shamsie, Longoria, Ortiz and Commissioner Chuck Cazalas said.
Sullivan said he had nothing to do with hiring the two companies, which would normally have been a part of his duties, he said.
Shamsie and Ortizsaid Sullivan was stretched too thin, taking care of his regular duties and did not have time to oversee the rehabilitation project.
Unsure of reason
Sullivan denied that assertion, saying he is qualified for such a project and that he was not too busy.
Typically he and Cora Goding, the county purchasing agent, would have played a key role. This time they didn't. He said he does not know why.
Cazalas and Longoria said they do not know why Sullivan was bypassed and agreed that he should have played a big part in the project.
Shamsie and Ortiz said it's a big, aggressive project being turned around quickly - 18 months - and that they both wanted professionals doing the job.
"People pay taxes, and they want the job done," Shamsie said.
Sullivan joined the county five years ago after a 27-year career with the Texas Department of Transportation, part of which was spent as Assistant District Engineer, the No. 2 man, over a 10-county area that includes Nueces County. Evans, the TxDOT planning and development director, describes Sullivan as a highly qualified professional with the experience and skills to have handled the project.
Ortiz said the county's roads have been in disrepair for a long time and they needed to be rehabilitated quickly.
Asked about the price tag for the services Omega Contracting and DOS Logistics are providing and the staffing costs associated with those contracts, Ortiz answered: "I really don't know what to say about it."
Contact Jaime Powell at 996-3716 or powellj@caller.com

14 comments:

dannoynted1 said...

PRINT THIS STORY | E-MAIL THIS STORY

Political Pulse: 01.30.05
January 30, 2005


Tax write-offs just a part




of lobbyists' normal job

John Bell, the attorney for the Regional Transportation Authority, leaned back in his chair and raised his eyebrows when RTA commissioner John Buckley said he wanted receipts for all of lobbyist Randy DeLay's expenditures.

"Be careful what you wish for," Bell said. "Do you really want copies of all that? It's a public record for all to see."

A short time later when Buckley questioned whether lobbyists for the RTA should be able to charge write-offs, RTA chairman Mike Rendon opined, "Lobbyists take people to the best restaurants. Everybody drinks. That's just the way business is done. If you want something done, that's what it takes."

Capelo named on list of up-and-coming lobbyists

Former state Rep. Jaime Capelo is listed as one of the top five "rising star" lobbyists to watch this legislative session by the online Austin watchdog Capitol Inside. Also listed on the Web site as one of the Top 10 law firm lobby practices is Bracewell Patterson, which has a local office.

Plastic-only celebration planned for Packery

Mark Scott, a longtime proponent and leader in the dredging of Packery Channel, is prepared to celebrate the project's anticipated completion in May.

"I'll be the guy weeping in the breakwater with a plastic container of champagne," said the District 4 councilman. "Of course I say plastic because glass isn't allowed on our beaches."

Lago invites Fort Wayne to vie for 'stupidest' title

After Corpus Christi was named second-dumbest city in the nation behind Fort Wayne, Ind., local morning radio talk show host Jim Lago got on the radio and said Corpus Christi does not like coming in second.

He wants to challenge Fort Wayne radio listeners to a trivia contest versus Corpus Christi listeners. He told the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, which picked up his show, that the cities are comparable because they have both struggled to keep manufacturing afloat, schools in both cities are facing budget crunches and the populations are comparable.

Lago told the Journal Gazette that win or lose, "For the first time in my life, I felt like we should have a sister city. It would be like royalty. The inbreds."

Councilmen respond to Men's Health article

At Mo Morehead & Fred Dotts' Friday afternoon weekly see-and-be-seen, John Longoria and City Councilman Rex Kinnison bandied about a response for the editors of Men's Health Magazine, which named Corpus Christi the second stupidest city in the nation.

"I think we should challenge the editor of that magazine to come down and face our 14-year-old spelling bee champ," Longoria said. "He won't have a spell check to help him this time."

One BRAC nominee has ties to Corpus Christi

With four area military installations on the line, Wednesday's announcement of two nominees to the Base Realignment and Closure Committee perked up ears locally and in Washington. One of the nominees, Ret. Army Gen. John G. Coburn, has ties to Corpus Christi that go way back. Coburn is the former head of Army Materiel Command, which controls Army depots nationwide including the Corpus Christi installation.

Parma: Consider source on stupidest city article

Former Corpus Christi lawyer Nicolas Parma added his two cents about the Men's Health Magazine story from his new office in Houston, "Mens Health? Ever looked at that magazine? Muscle heads and macho bull&%$#. They should determine dumbest city by per capita subscriptions to their creepy publication. As for USA Today (which followed the story) it might be animal cruelty to line a bird cage with that rag, thus exposing helpless animals to the stuff they generate."

RTA board members

note Longoria's absence

Abel Alonzo, who openly feuds with RTA board member and former Corpus Christi City Councilman John Longoria at most RTA meetings, took a shot at Longoria, who was absent from Wednesday's meeting.

Longoria has criticized the RTA's hiring of lobbyist Randy DeLay, which is a move Alonzo supports.

"My good friend John Longoria said we need to be responsible to the taxpayers and he's not even here," he told the board of directors, who stalled DeLay's contract for the second time in a month. "You need to stop bending over backward for John Longoria because he's just playing politics."

Jumping on the Longoria-bashing bandwagon, RTA board member Roland Barrera added, "If we would have wanted John to come we should have had the meeting on the radio."

Longoria: City, county officials really get along

Nueces County Commissioner Betty Jean Longoria hugged Corpus Christi City Councilman Bill Kelly, who showed up for the commissioner's court meeting Wednesday. As she hugged him she said, "Where's a reporter when you need one? See! The city and the county do get along."

Abel Herrero staffer admits she's all talk

After her boss Elias Vasquez announced that Zulema Zapata from the Nueces County grants administration office was resigning to take a job in Rep. Abel Herrero's office, she said, "I want to thank Elias for hiring me in 1996. I learned a lot I didn't know. I didn't know anything and I mean anything. I kind of lied on the interview. He asked me, 'Can you do this? Or that? And I said, 'Oh yeah, sure.' "

Getting in on the act, County Judge Terry Shamsie burst out laughing, saying "And you told Abel the same thing, noooooo problem."

Political Pulse is compiled by staff writer Jaime Powell. _Contributors this week include Powell, Neal Falgoust, Nancy Martinez and Mike Baird. _Got a tip? Call 886-3716 _or email powellj@caller.com

dannoynted1 said...

Political Pulse: 02.06.05
February 6, 2005


Speculation mounts about Ortiz-Luna race




Nueces County Democratic Party chairman Solomon Ortiz Jr. reportedly went around Austin this week saying he plans to run for state Rep. Vilma Luna's office next go-round.

Ortiz denied it Friday, saying it was just rumors run amok.

"All I am going to say is I am very happy as party chair," he said. "I have not told anybody I am going to run against Vilma. Absolutely not, I am not running for anything. If anything I am running away."

But Austin political consultant Dya Campos was sitting at a table with a group of people along with Ortiz Monday night when he began listing reasons he would run against Luna.

"One of those reasons he listed that I found to be ironic was that she had risen to be vice chair of appropriations," Campos said. "One of the reasons he thought she needed to go was because she is part of the leadership."

The rumors irk Luna.

She said several people have told her Ortiz has said he will run.

"I've been told for months," Luna said. "There are some lobbyists, and he has talked to Mike Lavigne at the Texas Democratic Party. A lot of the people who have heard it won't go on the record but it's something he has been talking about for months."

Mayoral hopeful Garrett a veteran of campaigning

At a Henry Garrett-for-Mayor fund-raiser at the Art Center Tuesday night, Garrett discussed with City Councilwoman Melody Cooper the rigors of campaigning.

"You've got to keep your eyes open or you'll get beaten," Garrett said, reminiscing about his last run for the mayor's office in 1997. "It was 554 votes. But who's counting? I go to bed at night and before I go to sleep, it's 'Amen and 554 votes.' "

Cooper patted Garrett on the back and reassured him, "The margin will be greater than that but in your favor this time."

Luna jumps up a notch on list of top legislators

After Speaker of the House Tom Craddick made committee appointments last week, Rep. Vilma Luna's political stock jumped another notch, according to Capitol Inside, an online service that bills itself as a guide to Texas politics.

Originally Luna was in a tie with Phil King, R-Weatherford, as the fourth most powerful state representative this session. Now she is No. 3, among a Top 10 list that includes nine Republican powerhouses.

Luna hopped a notch, with key assignments such as Appropriations vice-chair; a spot on the Legislative Budget Board, Select Public School Finance vice-chair, Joint Select Public School Finance member and because she has major multiple committee assignments (appropriations, calendars, ways and means), leaving King one rung down.

Rep. Gene Seaman, R-Corpus Christi, is on the same list in a four-way tie for spot No. 22 out of 50 top lawmakers. He secured his spot on the power rankings with key assignments including not one, but two vice chairmanships on calendars and insurance.

Hospital board member loses debate with judge

At the Nueces County Commissioners workshop Tuesday, George Finley, who is appointed to the Christus Spohn Hospital Board, tried his hand at proving the economic values of the health system's renaissance project and talked about the possibility of selling the hospital.

County Judge Terry Shamsie went toe to toe with him on every statement he made and in the end, Finley regretted showing up at all, after other Spohn officials chose not to attend.

"I'm not going to argue with the judge - I'll lose," Finley said above a chuckling commissioners court and taking his seat. "I definitely shouldn't have come here today. I just got fired."

RTA chairman: You get what you pay for in DeLay

Regional Transportation Authority commissioner John Longoria said when he questioned why the RTA would pay $120,000 to lobbyist Randy DeLay, when an equally good lobbyist Chuck Graves is making $60,000, RTA chairman Mike Rendon compared it to buying steaks.

"He said, if you pay 50 bucks you get a good steak, if you pay 10 bucks you get a 10-buck steak."

Longoria opined later that at least when you pay for a steak, you get a steak.

"There is zero guarantee," he said, "that we are going to get anything out of a $120,000 lobbyist."

Those who have power have power lunches

Seen at Vietnam Restaurant Thursday:

The day after the Regional Transportation Authority board passed a $120,000 lobbying contract for Randy DeLay, RTA chair Mike Rendon lunched with board member Anna Flores, County Commissioner Oscar Ortiz and Port Commissioner Yolanda Olivarez. At another table, City Councilman and accountant Rex Kinnison who is enmeshed in tax season and a re-election campaign, lunched with wife Kendra.

Political Pulse editor is Jaime Powell, who can be reached at 886-3716 or powellj@caller.com. Staff writer Nancy Martinez contributed this week.

dannoynted1 said...

Politics, trolley stances linked
Councilmen deny sentiments about DeLay are factor

By Matthew Sturdevant Caller-Times
February 19, 2005

Regional Transportation Authority Board Chairman Miguel Rendon said politics may be the undercurrent motivating two city councilmen who were critical this week of plans to put a rail trolley in downtown Corpus Christi.

Rendon said he suspects City Councilmen Rex Kinnison and Brent Chesney voiced opposition to the trolley because the City Council secretly did not want the RTA to renew a $120,000 contract in January with lobbyist Randy DeLay's company, Private Public Strategy Consulting. DeLay is the brother of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a Republican from Sugar Land.





"I cannot say that that is what they're doing, but I understand the politics," Rendon said.

DeLay's company is paid to conduct federal lobbying, but he is not the lobbyist working for the RTA on the trolley project, Rendon said. Alan Wulkan is the RTA consultant working on the trolley project, Rendon said.

Kinnison and Chesney said the accusation is not based in fact. Minutes from City Council meetings, newspaper articles and television interviews indicate that Chesney had been critical of the project for months before the DeLay contract. The same sources show that Kinnison has been asking for months how the trolley will be funded, and why it should be more of a priority than street improvements and other infrastructure needs.

"If Mike Rendon and his constituency can't control you then they don't like you, and I am not going to be controlled," Chesney said. "This trolley is the biggest boondoggle this city has had to deal with."

Rendon said Chesney isn't keeping an open mind about the trolley.

"I've been in Corpus Christi for 22 years, and downtown businesses can't stay.

"They open up and a few years later, they're gone," Rendon said. "When you put something permanent, things grow around it. I've seen it in Tampa. I've seen it in Memphis. I've seen it in New Orleans. The tourists will ride the streetcar."

Mayor Loyd Neal, at the request of Kinnison and Chesney, asked the RTA to give a presentation on the trolley during the regular City Council meeting on Tuesday.

Chesney and Kinnison had urged the council to take a vote on whether the city should continue to support the trolley idea at this time. Neal told RTA employees and board members at Tuesday's meeting that the council would vote sometime before April 1. The City Council election is April 2.

"I was trying to find a way not to force a vote on this next week," Neal said. "I've been a supporter of the trolley all along I was trying to give a reasonable amount of time before the election for them to present a financial plan and if you go back and look at the transcript he, (RTA general manager Ricardo Sanchez), said he felt like they could get a financial plan ready by then."

But Rendon said the RTA won't have enough time to lobby the federal government for funds, and a rough financial plan won't be ready until May or June.

Kinnison said he doesn't see how the RTA can come up with a funding plan for a $32.4 million project when the council has said unequivocally that it will not fund the trolley beyond an initial payment for the feasibility study.

So, if the federal government will only pay for one-third or two-thirds of the cost of building a rail system, where will the other money come from, Kinnison has asked.

"In all honesty and fairness, there is no funding source," Kinnison said.

Rendon said he is not asking the city to give money to the project. Allowing the RTA to have a right-of-way to lay rail tracks could be considered a matching fund for grants and would allow the RTA to secure state and federal money.

However, the source of that state or federal money isn't clear yet and won't be until later this year. But the RTA won't be able to outline the funding sources before the council's deadline of April 1.

"It's politics," Rendon said. "They want to say, 'We did it. We stopped the trolley. The RTA is crazy.'"

Contact Matthew Sturdevant at sturdevantm@caller.com, or 886-3778.

dannoynted1 said...

Randy DeLay's contract with RTA due scrutiny
Willingness of RTA board majority to extend the arrangement for the Washington lobbyist raises some questions that need answers

February 8, 2005

For a fellow who conducts his business out of the glare of publicity, Randy DeLay has a way of popping up in headlines - and generating controversies - in these parts.

Last May, DeLay, the lobbyist (and brother of U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay), came into the spotlight when Nueces County Judge Terry Shamsie tried (but failed) to convince his colleagues on the Commissioners Court support retaining his lobbying services.




The idea, as Shamsie and his backers explained it, was to help area interests and agencies defend the Coastal Bend's military installations in the upcoming round of the Base Realignment and Closure process. Later, in January, Caller-Times reporter Brad Olson wrote that Randy DeLay, through his Washington connections, would have pressed for the appointment of a BRAC commissioner who would be favorably disposed to South Texas bases. The idea didn't fly, however, and DeLay busied himself with other matters.

One of those matters was, and is, a hefty contract with the Regional Transportation Authority here, for which DeLay works as a Washington lobbyist. When his contract - and a separate contract the RTA has with another lobbyist, Chuck Graves - came up for renewal, DeLay found himself back in the crosshairs.

RTA board member and former city councilman John Longoria argued last week that Graves, who holds a $60,000 contract with the agency, provided all the service the authority needs - and for only half the $120,000 that DeLay draws. He complained that DeLay "provided no documentation whatsoever, no reporting on his activities at all," whereas Graves provided a monthly report. Two other board members - Crystal Lyons and John Buckley - joined Longoria in opposing DeLay's contract renewal.

There was, however, a solid majority on the board favoring DeLay, whose contract was approved easily, 7-3.

But the questions raised by those who voted "no" still hover over the scene, unanswered. What exactly does DeLay do for the RTA? And are his services really worth twice as much as Graves'? Are the RTA board members content simply to rubber-stamp DeLay's contract renewal on faith?

It could be that DeLay is worth every penny he gets. But the people in the RTA's taxing region should not be expected to take this on faith. Area residents deserve some answers, and the sooner they are produced, the better.

dannoynted1 said...

High-profile lobbyist Randy DeLay defends his RTA contract
$2.1M authorized for new facility was his doing, he says

By Jaime Powell Caller-Times
September 8, 2005


High-profile Washington lobbyist Randy DeLay told the Regional Transportation Authority board Wednesday that he played an integral part in shepherding millions of dollars in possible federal funding for the local transportation authority, said General Manager Ricardo Sanchez.

In February, despite misgivings from some RTA board members that DeLay had not provided sufficient documentation on how he was earning his hefty fees, the group awarded him a new $120,000




contract.

Although DeLay's contract does not run out until February, board members are monitoring his progress and preparing to debate whether to rehire him next year, said board member Crystal Lyons.

Addressing the RTA board Wednesday morning, DeLay said he helped get $2.1 million authorized in the federal transportation bill for a new RTA maintenance facility, Sanchez said. DeLay also has turned in monthly reports detailing what he is doing to earn the money, which was a sticking point earlier this year for Lyons and fellow board members John Buckley and John Longoria.

Lyons and Buckley still have issues with DeLay's reporting.

"Anything we get he says, 'I did that', " Buckley said. "How do we know that? We need more accessibility and a better report card to determine whether we are getting a good return on our investment and spending taxpayer money wisely."

DeLay would not comment.

Longoria was unavailable for comment.

RTA chairman Mike Rendon and board members Roland Barrera and Joe Benavides said they are pleased with DeLay's lobbying progress.

"I think his strong point is that he knows the members on the Senate and the House," Rendon said. "If you hired me as a lobbyist, I don't have the contacts that he has in the upper echelon of committee members. That is where the influence comes."

Board members Carmen Arias, Davie Cissna, Anna Flores and Wayland Simmons were unavailable for comment.

The rest of DeLay's contract year will be spent working on funding for future RTA streetcar projects and securing the appropriation of at least $2.1 million for the maintenance facility, Sanchez said.

"Quite frankly, we have to go beyond that," Sanchez said. "I am very grateful for his efforts on the $2 million but I would like to see us work with our congressional delegation to see that come out at a higher level because the facility will cost $5 million to $6 million."

Contact Jaime Powell at

886-3716 or HYPERLINK mailto:powellj@caller.com powellj@caller.com

dannoynted1 said...

Privatization, politicians and payola
The glossy GEOworld magazine, distributed at the ACA conference, trumpeted the success of the largest “Private-Public Partnership in the World,” a sprawling detention center complex in Pecos, Texas. Known as the Reeves County Detention Facility (RCDC), the complex consists of prisons for both Bureau of Prisons and Arizona state inmates. According to GEO, “the joint venture … between GEO Group and Reeves County has been a rewarding challenge.”

Unmentioned was the fact that a Reeves County judge, Jimmy Galindo, is facing a lawsuit over his role in granting the private operation and expansive construction of RCDC. According to the local Odessa American newspaper, building RCDC has led to the “near financial ruin of the county.” RCDC is currently the subject of an FBI and Texas Ranger investigation into tampering with government documents. (In addition, two corrections officers resigned in early January 2005 over sexual molestation charges.)

The RCDC is a private-public partnership in more ways than one. Randy DeLay, the brother of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R–Tex.), lobbied the Bureau of Prisons to send its prisoners to RCDC, at the behest of county officials.

Randy DeLay isn’t the only member of his family with an interest in corrections. In December, Rep. DeLay accepted a $100,000 check from the CCA for the DeLay Foundation for Kids.

http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/1924/

dannoynted1 said...

Main Menu
Home
About Us
Background
Congressional Info Packet
Topics and Categories
Press Room
Contact Us


Take Action
Learn & Educate
Contact Public Officials
Write Op-Eds
Join Campaign
Sign Petition
Subscribe
Submit News & Information
Donate

Search
images
audio
video


topics
Abuse & Injury
Censorship
Community Organizing
Drug War
Information Warfare
Legal & Judicial
Miami Model
Pepper Ball
Pepper Spray
Police Misconduct
Politics & Legislation
RNC
Surveillance/Harassment
Tasers
Timoney
Weapons
Immigrants


categories
Announcement/Action Alert
Commentary
Evidence
Flyer/Art
News
Press Release
Report
Press Clipping
Resources
Testimonial


regions
Miami
New York City
Quebec City
Washington, D.C.
Boston
Philadelphia
Georgia (G8)
Bay Area
Pittsburgh
Portland
Seattle
Chicago


Community
FTAA IMC
STOP FTAA
Miami Activist Defense
United for Peace and Justice
Citizen's Trade Campaign
Public Citizen
Florida Fair Trade Coalition AFLCIO
USWA
Campaign to Demilitarize the Police
Free Speech Savannah
Black Tea Society
RNC Not Welcome
Counter Convention
Still We Rise Coalition

Non-Profit Sponsors
Fiscal Sponsor



Web Host

News

stories-commentary-announcements
audio-video-photo-flyers
2nd Taser death in TX ruled correctly by coroner
15:23 Apr-27
NYC cops used covert tactics, `proactive arrests' at protests
12:15 Mar-17
News Reporters Update / 01/22/06
10:56 Jan-22
Illegal Search and Siezure
21:03 Jan-09
goverment stole my Identity
05:03 Jan-03 (2 comments)
Workplace Mobbing / Gang Stalking / Web Links
10:57 Dec-04
Taser changes marketing language
19:38 Oct-01
PROOF THAT THE BRUTAL "MIAMI MODEL" IS A NATIONAL MODEL FOR PROTEST POLICING
10:15 Aug-29
Counter-Recruitment demonstrators shot with Tasers, bitten by dogs (video)
06:10 Aug-22
Police in 5 states suing taser over injuries (multiple articles)
14:10 Aug-20
Workplace Mobbing / Gang Stalking
10:08 Aug-14
National class action suit against TASER, Int.
16:15 Aug-04
UK: Jane's 8th Annual Less-Lethal Weapons Conference 2005
19:57 Jul-29
Officer rehired after firing for shocking handcuffed man
23:43 Jul-18
Il. Taser will req. Firearm Owner’s Identification Card
23:25 Jul-18
6th Taser Death in Texas
16:40 Jul-13 (2 comments)
SF: Newsom vows more aggression towards anarchists
04:41 Jul-10
SF/ West Coast G8 Arrest Video
04:37 Jul-10
West Coast G8 Legal
04:26 Jul-10
Police Target Medics at G8 - Part of Larger Trend
10:56 Jul-08
newswire archive »
feature: Press Clipping 30-Apr-05 19:05

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Abuse & Injury | Legal & Judicial | Weapons

Tape shows 5 Taser shocks in 1 minute
author: LATEEF MUNGIN [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]

A videotape of the struggle between Frederick Williams and Gwinnett County [Georgie] Sheriff's deputies shows he was struck with a Taser stun gun five times within one minute. Within four minutes, the 31-year-old Lawrenceville man had lost consciousness.

Videotape shows Williams tasered repeatedly
His last words were: "Don't kill me, man. Don't kill me."

A videotape of the struggle between Frederick Williams and Gwinnett County Sheriff's deputies shows he was struck with a Taser stun gun five times within one minute. Within four minutes, the 31-year-old Lawrenceville man had lost consciousness.

The tape, filmed at the Gwinnett County jail, was part of an 11-month investigatory file that District Attorney Danny Porter's office released this week. The file became public after Porter announced he will not press criminal charges against deputies involved in the incident. Porter asked the grand jury to consider the case this week.

"The evidence and particularly the videotape raised questions that were most appropriately answered by the grand jury," Porter said. "The grand jury declined to go forward."

Melvin Johnson, an attorney representing Williams' wife and four children, has seen the videotape.

He said he disagrees with the district attorney's decision. He has asked the FBI to investigate.

"He was pleading for his life," Johnson said. "They claim they were trying to immobilize him but he was already in handcuffs. They were clearly trying to inflict pain on a person they thought had injured one of their fellow officers."

Williams was arrested May 25, 2004, during a domestic disturbance at his home.

According to police reports, Williams' family said he refused to take his epilepsy medication and was acting violent and irrational.

Williams got into an altercation with the first officer arriving on the scene, Gwinnett police Officer R.E. Kenyon. According to an incident report, Williams charged the officer and grabbed his baton as Kenyon tried to strike him. The two struggled over the baton and Kenyon lost his balance, falling to the ground, bloodying his nose.

Kenyon called for backup over his police radio. Several officers arrived and tackled and subdued Williams.

He was taken to the jail, where deputies were alerted that they had a "delta," Gwinnett law enforcement slang meaning a combative inmate.

About 11 deputies were standing at the back door of the jail as an officer dropped Williams off, including a deputy who was videotaping the episode.

Williams, his arms handcuffed behind his back, his feet bound, was rocking back and forth in the back of the police car as deputies approached. The deputies grabbed him out of the car and carried him into the jail. As they were carrying him, Williams pleaded with deputies not to kill him. It was his last audible comment.

They carried him through the jail entrance to an area where restraint chairs are located. They placed him in a chair that resembles an adult-sized car seat used to immobilize combative inmates.

Williams appeared to be attempting to free himself from the chair, surrounded by deputies.

One deputy wrapped his arm around Williams' head and chin. Others were holding his arms and legs as Deputy Michael Mustachio applied the Taser to his chest.

One deputy commands Williams to stop resisting.

"Do you want another one?" Mustachio said, referring to the stun gun.

Within one minute, Williams was shocked a total of five times.

His handcuffs were not removed until after he lost consciousness.

Once it was clear that Williams was unconscious, deputies began to administer aid. Someone called for an ambulance.

Williams never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead two days later.

Gwinnett police Detective Steve Shaw investigated the incident and concluded that deputies did not violate the Sheriff's Department policy or any laws.

Link to video:
http://wm.gannett.speedera.net/wm.gannett/wxia/carnes_042905.wmv

source url: http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/gwinnett/0405/29taser.html


Add a comment on this article

< Withheld videotape lets DA buck justice 12.May.2005 07:16

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jay Bookman jbookman@ajc.com


Atlanta Journal Constitution
Published on: 05/12/05

Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter has a reputation as an aggressive prosecutor. Some even accuse him of being too zealous, and recent cases demonstrate why.

In April, Porter charged a single mother with felony murder after her 3-year-old son was killed in a house fire. Why? Because she had left the boy alone with his 4-year-old brother to go to work, a case other prosecutors might have handled as negligent homicide.

In February, when a 16-year-old driver was indicted on charges of racing and causing a fatal car wreck, Porter charged the girl's father as well, accusing him of providing her a car with bad brakes and bald tires. That decision earned him air time on both CNN and "Good Morning America."

And these days, of course, Porter's face once again adorns national TV as he contemplates whether to file criminal charges in the case of Jennifer Wilbanks, the runaway bride.

In the case of Frederick Williams, though, that trademark Porter aggressiveness has been nowhere in sight.

Williams, who had suffered epilepsy since a toddler, suffered a psychotic breakdown a year ago, was arrested after a struggle and taken to the Gwinnett County Jail. In a bizarre chain of events, Williams died of a heart attack after he was hit with a Taser stun gun five times in 43 seconds, even though at the time he was handcuffed behind his back, his legs were bound to a chair restraint and he was pinned down by a half-dozen officers.

Initially, Porter promised Williams' family a grand jury inquiry, a pledge he proved reluctant to keep. Almost a year later, when Porter finally did convene a grand jury, he did not seek indictments, nor did he bother to show the grand jury a videotape of the deadly incident taken by a sheriff's deputy. Instead, he says, he asked jurors whether they wanted to open an inquiry into the jail's policy regarding Taser use, and they declined.

That decision not to show jurors the videotape has drawn considerable criticism. However, documents obtained through the state Open Records Act suggest there's a lot of other interesting evidence they never saw either.

For example, grand jurors apparently never saw the videotaped questioning of Sgt. Michael Mustachio, the jail officer who made the decision to "hit" Williams with five blasts from a hand-held Taser stun gun. In an interview conducted by detectives with the Gwinnett County Police Department, Mustachio explained why he chose to use the Taser on a fully restrained Williams.

At the time, officers were trying to wrestle Williams into a restraining chair. According to Mustachio, "He was arching his back up, kinda like a kid who you're trying to put in a car seat — you know how they arch their back up? Lt. Cook was giving him commands to stop resisting, so . . . I went over and point-contacted him with the Taser."

The videotape seems to tell a different story, though. It's a little unclear, but it appears that Mustachio applies the Taser first, and that Williams starts bucking only in reaction.

That interpretation is bolstered by yet another videotape that the grand jury probably never saw. (Porter refused to comment when I called him Wednesday.)

As part of their investigation, two officers with the Gwinnett police department, Cpl. Damon Cavender and Lt. William Walsh, volunteered to help recreate the Williams tragedy. Both men were physically restrained by other officers and were then hit with the Taser.

Their physical responses, caught on tape, were almost identical to the response of Williams. All three men arched their backs in a desperate bucking motion.

"While being shocked I felt an extreme amount of physical pain in the area where I was being shocked," Cavender wrote in his official report. "The pain was so intense that I would have done anything to get away from it."

Walsh had a similar response, telling investigators "that although he was bucking and rearing back into the chair, his natural instinct was to get away from the Taser."

It seems pretty clear, given that evidence, that much if not all of the bucking that Mustachio and other deputies interpreted as resistance from Williams was instead just a natural human reaction. Every time Mustachio applied the Taser, Williams bucked in pain. Every time Williams bucked in pain, Mustachio interpreted the action as continued resistance, requiring another Tasing.

Before the fifth and final Tasing, Williams suffered the heart attack that would kill him. He lost consciousness and was never revived.

"After the fifth tap [with the Taser], why did you stop?" Mustachio was asked. "Why wasn't there a sixth?"

"He had stopped bucking," Mustachio said.

In interviews with detectives, Mustachio and other officers on the scene expressed astonishment that Williams kept fighting through the Taser hits, attributing it to almost superhuman strength. However, a later report by the sheriff's Professional Standards Unit suggested another explanation. It noted that the Taser can be used two ways. It can fire a prong up to 20 feet that delivers an electrical charge that incapacitates its human target. It can also be used in "drive-stun" mode, in which the weapon is held against a subject's body and then fired.

Used in drive-stun mode, as it was in the Williams case, the weapon causes intense pain but does not incapacitate.

And even though Mustachio had been certified for Taser use, he told detectives he didn't know the two modes would have different impacts.

As is often the case, Mustachio's character and credibility are important in assessing his description of events. Had they seen his testimony, grand jurors also would have wanted to learn that last January, Mustachio was fired by Sheriff Butch Conway for shooting a neighbor's dog while off duty.

A copy of Mustachio's dismissal letter, released as part of the Open Records request, tells Mustachio that "you shot and killed a dog that was 30-40 yards from your parents' residence because it was barking and causing a disturbance. At no time did you state that you felt the dog was vicious or acting in a threatening manner."

Mustachio fired six or seven shots at the dog, using both a rifle and a .45 caliber pistol, then tried to hide the dog's body from authorities. He cut off the dog's tracking collar and damaged its antenna, so it could not be traced. "Only after a White County deputy was called back to the scene by the dog owner, because the tracking device continued to indicate that the dog was in the area, did you confess to what you had done," the letter stated.

In reading the report by Gwinnett County police and a later report by the sheriff's Professional Standards Unit, it becomes clear that both agencies did a thorough job. The willingness of officers to volunteer for an excruciatingly painful re-enactment, for example, speaks well for their professionalism and bravery.

In both reports, however, investigating officers repeatedly interpret facts and situations in ways that cast their fellow law enforcement officials as positively as possible. There's nothing necessarily corrupt in that phenomenon. It's just human nature, a natural sympathy for colleagues.

That's why an honest, thorough grand jury investigation might have been useful in casting light on what happened, and on ways to avoid such tragedy in the future.

Instead — speaking figuratively — Danny Porter got cold feet and caught the first Greyhound to Albuquerque.

— Jay Bookman is the deputy editorial page editor. His column appears Thursdays and Mondays.



http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/bookman/2005/051205.html



< Taser - Frederick Williams 25.May.2005 11:21

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ckingtruth cvinson268@aol.com


I've been watching the news regarding
the death of Frederick Williams who
was taseered several times in less
than 1 minute. Watching it here
makes my blood boil. I'm also curious
about the time frame. In the video
it shows him going unconsious about
6:17:03. There is a still shot at
6:17:41 that shows a clearly un-
conscious Mr. Williams. He actually
looks dead. Then the tape goes to
6:19 and quickly to 6:20.

I wonder what was going on during
those lapses in time?

Clearly this tape should have been
shown to the Grand Jury. The DA
says they were "told what was in it".
and choice not to see it. Of course
that could depend on how the infor-
mation was presented to them.

Someone should be charged for what
happened to Mr. Williams.


< I wrote my Ca. Senator again 13.Jun.2005 22:08

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dan Williams dcw0103@msn.com


Taser used as insturment of torture and punishment. Please stop this torture instrument!!! My third letter to Congress woman Barbara Box and Ellen O Tausher.

quote:
--------------------------------------------------
Tape shows 5 Taser shocks in 1 minute
author: LATEEF MUNGIN [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]
Source

A videotape of the struggle between Frederick Williams and Gwinnett County [Georgie] Sheriff's deputies shows he was struck with a Taser stun gun five times within one minute. Within four minutes, the 31-year-old Lawrenceville man had lost consciousness.

Videotape shows Williams tasered repeatedly
His last words were: "Don't kill me, man. Don't kill me."

A videotape of the struggle between Frederick Williams and Gwinnett County Sheriff's deputies shows he was struck with a Taser stun gun five times within one minute. Within four minutes, the 31-year-old Lawrenceville man had lost consciousness.

The tape, filmed at the Gwinnett County jail, was part of an 11-month investigatory file that District Attorney Danny Porter's office released this week. The file became public after Porter announced he will not press criminal charges against deputies involved in the incident. Porter asked the grand jury to consider the case this week.

"The evidence and particularly the videotape raised questions that were most appropriately answered by the grand jury," Porter said. "The grand jury declined to go forward."

Melvin Johnson, an attorney representing Williams' wife and four children, has seen the videotape.

He said he disagrees with the district attorney's decision. He has asked the FBI to investigate.

"He was pleading for his life," Johnson said. "They claim they were trying to immobilize him but he was already in handcuffs. They were clearly trying to inflict pain on a person they thought had injured one of their fellow officers."

Williams was arrested May 25, 2004, during a domestic disturbance at his home.

According to police reports, Williams' family said he refused to take his epilepsy medication and was acting violent and irrational.

Williams got into an altercation with the first officer arriving on the scene, Gwinnett police Officer R.E. Kenyon. According to an incident report, Williams charged the officer and grabbed his baton as Kenyon tried to strike him. The two struggled over the baton and Kenyon lost his balance, falling to the ground, bloodying his nose.

Kenyon called for backup over his police radio. Several officers arrived and tackled and subdued Williams.

He was taken to the jail, where deputies were alerted that they had a "delta," Gwinnett law enforcement slang meaning a combative inmate.

About 11 deputies were standing at the back door of the jail as an officer dropped Williams off, including a deputy who was videotaping the episode.

Williams, his arms handcuffed behind his back, his feet bound, was rocking back and forth in the back of the police car as deputies approached. The deputies grabbed him out of the car and carried him into the jail. As they were carrying him, Williams pleaded with deputies not to kill him. It was his last audible comment.

They carried him through the jail entrance to an area where restraint chairs are located. They placed him in a chair that resembles an adult-sized car seat used to immobilize combative inmates.

Williams appeared to be attempting to free himself from the chair, surrounded by deputies.

One deputy wrapped his arm around Williams' head and chin. Others were holding his arms and legs as Deputy Michael Mustachio applied the Taser to his chest.

One deputy commands Williams to stop resisting.

"Do you want another one?" Mustachio said, referring to the stun gun.

Within one minute, Williams was shocked a total of five times.

His handcuffs were not removed until after he lost consciousness.

Once it was clear that Williams was unconscious, deputies began to administer aid. Someone called for an ambulance.

Williams never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead two days later.

Gwinnett police Detective Steve Shaw investigated the incident and concluded that deputies did not violate the Sheriff's Department policy or any laws.

--------------------------------------------------


Police Taser, Kill Teen Acting Strangely In Horse Pasture
18-Year-Old Allegedly Charged At Officer
Source

AKRON, Ohio -- Springfield Township police are investigating the death of a man after he was stunned with a Taser gun by a police officer, NewsChannel5 reported.

Investigators said that Richard Holcomb, 18, was shirtless and acting strange in a horse pasture just after midnight Saturday. That's when police said he reportedly charged at officer Christine Albrecht.

She ordered Holcomb to stop and then stunned him with the Taser gun.

Holcomb was later pronounced dead at Akron City Hospital. The Summit County Coroner has not yet determined a cause of death.

This is the second time someone has died in Summit County after being shocked by a Taser gun.

Autistic Teenager Is Beaten by Deputies After Being Mistaken for a Prowler
http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBDXKXEM6E.html
The Associated Press
Published: Mar 22, 2005

MOUNTAIN GATE, Calif. (AP) - An autistic teenager suffered a head injury and a broken elbow in a beating by three sheriff's deputies who mistook him for a prowler, authorities say.
Pierre Cowell, a 17-year-old who does not speak, had wandered from his home early Friday.

A neighbor, who did not recognize him, called 911 after seeing him outside her home about 2 a.m., Capt. Tom Bosenko said Monday. The woman became alarmed when she heard the doorknob jiggling, he said.

As three deputies approached the house, Cowell ran toward them and bumped one of them, Bosenko said. When Cowell didn't respond to the officers' commands, they used a baton, stun gun and pepper spray to subdue him.

"The officers were very much concerned for their safety," Bosenko said, adding that the deputies thought Cowell was under the influence of drugs. He said that the officers did not know that an autistic teenager was missing at the time.

Cynthia Cowell said she was unaware her son had left their home Friday until deputies came to her door.

"He doesn't understand anything to do with danger. He has to have someone constantly with him," she said.

She said she was surprised the deputies did not know he was autistic until she told them. "Being totally nonverbal would be a clue," she said.
**************************************************
----- Original Message -----
From: Dan Willams
To: Barbara Boxer ; Nancy Pelosi ; Diane Feinstein
Sent: Friday, February 11, 2005 10:49 AM
Subject: Kickbacks paid to Local Police by Private Prison-Industry complex, and Taser International.

HEY YOU!

Taser International is paying kickbacks to Police. Is this being investigated in California?

We have police walking around our community with ELECTRIC cattle prods and now we find Taser Internatioal has been paying the Police kickbacks. Also, people are dying--Amnesty International issued a report that blamed at least 74 deaths since 2001 on Tasers.

Are the Democrats in the back pocket of Corporations and just do EVERYTHING they ask without question? We have an attorney general that is involved in torture!!!! Are you trying to turn America into a Latin American dictatorship?

There are alarms sounding here and you're asleep at the wheel.

Taser spokesman, Homeland Security nominee, and crony Bernard Kerik has received millions of dollars from Taser International for lobbying and arming local police departments with this electric torture device--the taser gun.

Kerik is involved with lobbying for the Private Prison-Industrial complex such as the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), the GEO Group (formerly known as Wackenhut), Correctional Services Corporation (CSC) and Correctional Medical Services.

Are you going to wait until for these PRIVATE PRISON cronies start installing CREMATING OVENS? Let's start earlier, OK?

Who is watching this cronyism? What is going on here?

This is CRIME against the American people!!!! DO SOMETHING!!!!

This issue of Stun guns, death, and kickbacks has to be investigated. I emailed all of you about this scandal six months ago and since then dozens of people have died!

The press in not doing its job, the politicians are not resisting these Straussian FASCISTS thugs!!!

quote:
--------------------------------------------------
Cashing In On Cons
By Silja J.A. Talvi, In These Times. Posted February 10, 2005.


"In November 2004, Amnesty International issued a report that blamed at least 74 deaths since 2001 on Tasers and called for a suspension of their use until further studies could prove just how "non-lethal" these weapons were. Headline business news emerged during the ACA conference: Taser executives were reported to have sold $91.5 million of their own stock, raising suspicions that they sought to maximize their own profits before their product lost ground. The company subsequently announced that sales were projected to slow in the months to come. The stock plunged 30 percent. As if all that weren't bad enough, Taser International President Tom Smith said in an interview that four active-duty police officers had been offered stock options for law enforcement training programs they supervised, which in turn had 'led directly to the sale of Tasers to a number of police departments.'

It's a good thing that former Taser spokesman Bernard Kerik cashed in when he did. The former New York City police commissioner made more than $6.2 million in pre-tax profits from the sale of Taser stock in the month leading up to his abortive Homeland Security nomination."

...Randy DeLay, the brother of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.), lobbied the Bureau of Prisons to send its prisoners to RCDC [Reeves County Detention Facility], at the behest of county officials.

Randy DeLay isn't the only member of his family with an interest in corrections. In December, Rep. DeLay accepted a $100,000 check from the CCA for the DeLay Foundation for Kids.

The CCA has become a leader in securing private prison contracts. In FY 2003, the CCA generated more than $268.9 million in revenue. Greasing the palms of legislators nationwide hasn't hurt: In 2004, the CCA's political action committee gave $59,000 to candidates for federal office – 92 percent to Republicans.

--------------------------------------------------

dannoynted1 said...

DeLay is out of base battle
Lobbyist won't work for Nueces to fight closure

By Brad Olson Caller-Times
July 9, 2004

A powerful Washington, D.C. lobbyist has withdrawn his offer to represent Nueces County in base closure matters, he said in a telephone interview Friday.

Randy DeLay, owner of Public Private Strategies Consult, Inc, said he told Nueces County Judge Terry Shamsie and his assistant, Tyner Little, that his firm was withdrawing its proposal to represent the area.

DeLay said the proposal, submitted together with the Allbaugh Company, another consulting firm, was withdrawn because "the mischaracterization, the false reporting and efforts by special interests were obviously causing disharmony in the community."

He declined to specify what he meant by special interests.

County officials were divided on what the withdrawal meant for military lobbying in the area, although they said they agreed with DeLay that the proposed contract was dividing the community.

County commissioners voted unanimously May 27 to allot $1.2 million for contract negotiations with Public Private Strategies Consult, Inc., but the measure has met with considerable controversy since it was enacted.

County Commissioner H. C. "Chuck" Cazalas has called the vote a mistake, saying the allotment was not agreed upon with enough safeguards. Since Cazalas stated publicly that he wanted the measure rescinded, commissioner Betty Jean Longoria has said she agreed.

"It's vital that we move forward with an organized approach and method," Cazalas said Friday. "And that could include help both in Austin and in Washington, but it has got to be a team effort that includes the South Texas Military (Facilities) Task Force, their experience and track record."

DeLay said working with the task force was the number one item in his and Joe Allbaugh's proposal.

"The first thing we would be asking is, what have they done," DeLay said. "We would need to understand that and cooperate with that. We will share information with whoever our clients tell us to work with. Discussions I had with the Judge (Shamsie) included that would be without question the first step."

Loyd Neal, the chairman of the task force, said he was glad to hear of DeLay's intentions.

"That's good news," Neal said. "I am not privy to anything Mr. DeLay had done or proposed to the county. But I'm glad to hear that.

"At this stage it's very important that this community speak with one voice and try and have these people assist us in Washington to give us the best possible assistance we can get. Hopefully now, Nueces County will be a partner with us without all the strings attached."

DeLay said he and Allbaugh had seen the contract as a way to give back to Corpus Christi. DeLay grew up in the Calallen area and practiced law in the city in the late 1970s while U.S. Rep. Solomon Ortiz, D-Corpus Christi, was Nueces County Sheriff.

"I grew up in Corpus Christi," he said. "And Joe Allbaugh has a personal interest in Texas. He saw an opportunity to come back and do something for Corpus Christi and assist in the effort.

"But whether it be because of media or special interest, the result that's coming out is disharmony of the community. That's not going to serve Corpus Christi whether it be the initiative to support bases in the region or any other initiatives."

DeLay said the proposal, which he submitted to Shamsie in late May, was a multi-year contract for which he and Allbaugh would have received $10,000 a month between them. The plan he proposed was a detailed action plan with different strategies than the task force, he said.

"Any attempt to compare our services to what services the military task force was rendering was from what I understand apples and oranges," DeLay said. "As far as dollars authorized, it was not comparable, and the services were not comparable."

DeLay declined to specify what strategies the proposal laid out, citing the possible detriment it might cause to the lobbying effort. He said only that the items proposed were "detailed items that need to be done that aren't being done at this point in time." He also said he and Allbaugh were planning to identify other individuals or consulting groups that could have contributed to the effort.

Cazalas said he was not aware of any details about DeLay's and Allbaugh's proposal, but that he was more concerned about how the decision to hire DeLay had been introduced.

"I think it is in the best interest that he withdraw," he said of DeLay's decision. "I fully agree with him given what has transpired. I think my issue was the process. And, you know it just seemed like a steamroller process instead of taking the necessary time that is demanded by the voters to study all of the issues and the ramifications and making sure all the alliances are lined up before we spend that kind of money.

"Secondly, I didn't like the idea of putting out a figure that just came out of nowhere. And if it didn't come out of nowhere, evidently someone else had been working the issue and we weren't a part of it.

"I did not do my best work on May 27 and I regret it."

County Commissioner Oscar Ortiz, who proposed allotting the $1.2 million sum as an amendment to a motion that considered funding the task force $50,000, said he was disappointed DeLay and Allbaugh withdrew the proposal.

"I'm disappointed but you will strive to continue the effort to keep the bases open in spite of the characterizations that have been made of our efforts to help out with the effort," he said. "I think they (DeLay and Allbaugh) make a valid point. The media environment created a feeding frenzy. There was very negative connotations because of the pending contract. We hadn't agreed on a price and they were already making negative commentary on the contract."

DeLay said he and Allbaugh would reconsider under the right circumstances. Ortiz said he believed the commissioners court would need to decide what to do next.

"The county's efforts in this case were undermined," Ortiz said. "I'm not saying we're closing the door on any further efforts. After this, we'll probably have to regroup."

DeLay said he resented the implication that his alleged relationship or non-relationship with his brother, House majority leader Tom DeLay, R-Sugarland, would influence what work he decided to take on. Randy DeLay also said media reports that he and his brother are estranged are false, although the two do not consult with each other about work-related matters.

"I specifically do not discuss with my brother, nor does he know any of my clients, nor do I know his staff or what they do," he said. "We just don't discuss those matters. I love my brother to death and I'm very proud of all the things he's doing. It's just the innuendos and the implications behind those innuendos that I get tired of."

DeLay said he has been traveling to Washington, D.C. for lobbying or consulting work since 1976, when he was in law school and made trips to the capitol on behalf of his father's company. At the time, Tom DeLay had not even been elected as a state representative in Texas.

Contact Brad Olson at 886-3764 or HYPERLINK mailto:olsonb@caller.com olsonb@caller.com

Copyright 2005, Caller.com. All Rights Reserved.

dannoynted1 said...

Forget what happened to fired Port director Bernard List. He'll get his lawyer to threaten the Port for firing him without cause, and the Port will give him some hush money and he'll go away and in a few months no one will really give a rat's behind about what happened to Bernard List. That's the way things are done. You take the heat for a few days and then, after a couple of committee meetings, it fades away. But now that the Port has replaced List with Donna Eymard, a secretary I brought in from my days at IBC, get ready for more shit to hit the fan. Hey, I may not have known shit about the Port when I took it over but at least I had a damn college degree to fake it through. How the Port commissioners passed this camel through the media needle is pure Karl Rove genius. Amazing how no one is demanding a recall of these guys! The $21 million imaginary port is old news. Forget Randy DeLay's millions. Never mind Senator Eddie Sucio getting his six-figure cut. And what about U.S. Rep. Solomon Ortiz' "security" racket at the port. Where the hell is The Brownsville Herald in this bizarre mess? How come the Port Commissioners aren't getting GRILLED on why they fired List and how come a person who does not have a college degree is now running the multi-million dollar operation? If the Port were a private company, the corrupt commissioners and their incompetent staff would have been thrown overboard a long time ago. Puro milagro that I lasted so long and got out just in time.

http://www.elrocinante.com/comments.htm

Jaime Kenedeño said...

Sponsored links:




Political ad could alter deal

Alvarez targeted prison facility, some are saying
Jaime Powell, Caller-Times
Published: April 6, 2006


County Commissioners said Wednesday it would be a shame if a political ad paid for by the campaign of former Police Chief Pete Alvarez puts an end to Nueces County's deal with a Louisiana prison administrator. The ad targets a "bad boy Louisiana company" and goes on to say that Alvarez's opponent, Chief Deputy Sheriff Jimmy Rodriguez, played a part in contracting with a company that owns facilities where rapes and beatings occur.


The ad doesn't name LCS Correction Services Inc., which is building a $20 million federal inmate detention facility near Robstown that Nueces County expects to bring in about $800,000 for inmate transfers, plus $350,000 to $400,000 in taxes to county coffers.

Nonetheless, the company's owners fired off statements Tuesday and Wednesday through lawyer Tonya Webber questioning why they were being pulled into the political fray and refusing to comment to "rumors or allegations that the negative campaign" had jeopardized the company's plans for the facility.

"LCS Company officials will not respond to questions regarding whether the company will change its plans to build a corrections facility in Nueces County," Webber said. "They will not make that decision until after next Tuesday's election."

Commissioner Betty Jean Longoria said it would be unfortunate if the political ad kills the project.

"The citizens in the rural area will be concerned about who they vote for, because they would not want to lose that facility," she said. "I don't want it used politically on either end. I blame both people, not only the Jimmy side, but the Alvarez side."

Longoria and Commissioner Chuck Cazalas also said when they voted for the contract with LCS that they had not heard negative rumors about the company.

"I have not seen the ad, but I have heard about it in the hallways," Longoria said. "There were no issues with their (LCS') record because those are questions that did not surface. They are surfacing now because of politics. If it is true, I want to know the allegations, but I also want to know why they are using it if it's only politics."

Alvarez defended his ad Wednesday and dodged repeated questions about whether LCS is the firm his ad discusses. "That firm is not even named in that commercial," Alvarez said. "There are no names involved and if those people made the assumption that it was them, I don't have any control over that. The ad reflects on my opponent's choices and recommendations and that is all it is."

Past allegations of misconduct including prisoner abuse, sexual assault and sexual harassment at LCS' South Louisiana Correctional Center near Bastile, La., and resulting media reports likely are the basis of the Alvarez ad.

Wednesday, LCS company officials said in a statement that there have been allegations of prisoners being beaten and raped at LCS corrections facilities in the past.

"LCS takes its reputation seriously and strictly enforces a policy of no-tolerance toward prisoner sexual contact or mistreatment," she said in Wednesday's statement. "Still, in its lengthy history in the private corrections industry, LCS has an excellent record."

Alvarez could not recall Wednesday if he knew anything about allegations against LCS.

"I would have to get with my political consultants to find out about their history," he said. "Yes, (I agreed with the ad) absolutely. It was aimed at my opponent, not anybody in particular. We need to defend ourselves at every opportunity."

Rodriguez said Wednesday that the Nueces County Commissioners Court made the call on the county's contract with LCS and he played no role.

"The ad Pete is running is dishonest, deceitful and misleading and unfortunately it may have a negative impact on the community," Rodriguez said. "We are talking about a $20 million investment, almost a $4 million annual payroll and 200 to 300 jobs in a rural area that needs it."


Copyright (c) 2006 Corpus Christi Caller-Times

Jaime Kenedeño said...

CAMPAIGN MUD BEING SLUNG HARD

Sheriff candidates blame each other for starting it all
Jaime Powell, Caller-Times
Published: April 5, 2006


The latest political mudfest in the race for Nueces County sheriff is originating in Pete Alvarez's political camp. Alvarez's new "Bad Jimmy" television ads, claim that his opponent Jimmy Rodriguez is responsible for the recent erroneous release of six jail inmates and that Rodriguez is responsible for a series of lawsuits filed against Nueces County over problems with the jail.


Another Alvarez ad has raised questions about whether a Louisiana prison administrator might ditch a plan to build a detention facility in the county.

The ad doesn't name the company in question, but says a Louisiana-based company the county has contracted with has an unsatisfactory record with the treatment of its inmates. The ad is aimed at the sheriff's department's administration for its advocacy of the company.

Last month LCS Correction Services Inc. broke ground on a federal detention facility between Robstown and Driscoll. The facility, under contract with Nueces County, is expected to bring in about $800,000 for inmate transfers, plus $350,000 to $400,000 in taxes.

A statement released by the company said the owners were upset by the ad.

"We admit the operations of prisons do not create a perfect world because we deal daily with imperfect people," Chief Executive Officer Michael LeBlanc said in the statement. "But there has never been a death or a suicide at any LCS Corrections facility in the Company's 16-year history."

Company officials refused to comment on whether the ad has now jeopardized the plans to build the corrections facility, saying it might unfairly impact the election.

Nueces County Precinct 4 Commissioner Chuck Cazalas said he didn't understand why Alvarez's ad targeted Rodriguez for something former Sheriff Larry Olivarez championed. He also said everything he knew about LCS indicated they were a quality firm.

"I think they are supposed to be a good company. Everything I heard about them was pretty good," Cazalas said. "I understand . . . that the company is supposedly thinking of pulling out."

Alvarez said his ads are a response to ads Rodriguez is running. The Rodriguez campaign says they did not fire the first negative campaign volley, but they are preparing to fire back, with new ads targeting Alvarez's record as police chief.

"Pete's radio spot hitting on jail releases was first," said Rodriguez's campaign consultant Jeff Butler. "We had a response saying, 'No it's not true.' He hit us first, so we responded and it went from there."

Alvarez denied that his team was first on the assault.

"I tried my best to keep a professional and clean campaign and they decided to throw the garbage out," he said. "And we have to defend ourselves. This is not something we initiated from the beginning. The public needs to understand that what is being said about me is simply not true."

The Rodriguez campaign contends that ads they are running against Alvarez are "infomercials" based on research and news stories outlining Alvarez's record that have run on television and in the newspaper in the past, Butler said.

Butler said the Rodriguez camp is not responsible for an anti-Alvarez flier mailed in February by political action committee Citizens for Nueces County that may have sparked some of the rancor in the campaign.

The flier said Alvarez was more than a million dollars over budget as police chief in 2001, that he tried to cover up an incident where his son was driving drunk, that he had been sued for misconduct and retaliation and that he had plagiarized a strategic plan.

Butler said Tuesday the campaign also did not put out a new flier that came out this week saying Alvarez treats women like second-class citizens. The flier cites a Caller-Times article about a grievance filed by female Corpus Christi police officers, who said Alvarez had "relegated them to second-class status."

Alvarez would not comment on specific allegations Tuesday but reiterated that neither flier is true.

The only member of the political action committee listed in campaign filings is Roland Gaona, who could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Though Alvarez and Rodriguez would not take responsibility for throwing the first mud, both campaigns said Tuesday they are prepared to duke it out to the last - the April 11 runoff.

Rodriguez said he hopes the nastiness won't get any worse.

Butler nodded in response to whether he thought the campaign would get any nastier and nodded again that the Rodriguez team is ready for battle.

"I knew the only way they could win was to go negative on us," Butler said. "Especially after the primary when Pete only got 40 percent. Everybody knew who Pete was. His 40 percent told me that 60 percent of the voters were voting against him."

Alvarez said future ads from his camp will come from watching what Rodriguez does and then responding.

"We have to strategize," Alvarez said. "This is a campaign, a political campaign. We have to defend ourselves, or the public will begin to believe the nonsense his campaign has come out with."

Mug: Pete Alvarez; Jimmy Rodriguez



Copyright (c) 2006 Corpus Christi Caller-Times

Jaime Kenedeño said...

Jaime Kenedeno - 03:38am May 3, 2007 Central (#22 of 22) Reply

Public Opinion is a powerful force but it is not static.

When and if Bryan Smith is proven guilty then he must leave (and that is a huge if). Right now he is innocent. This is not a big deal if the sex was consensual and certainly it is nothing that Skip needs to set jis hooks into, right Skip?

Nobody made a big fuss when Gazin's wife told him she had breast cancer and he told her he needed a divorce.

Nobody said nothing when Sausley had domestic problems.

Nobody said nothing when the Medical examiner became aware of a sitting District Judge and something about a sex crime.

And that one made the Judge even more of a force to be reckoned with.

I was warned, "You know you're messing with a district Judge"?

If Bryan didn't rape her and If he wants to continue as Chief; it is possible.

That is all for now.

wall clock said...

Great blog post. It’s useful information. texas health harris methodist hospital fort worth

Hira Shahid said...

the mindy project freedom tower women's health https://techealthinfo.com/the-mindy-project-freedom-tower-womens-health/ the mindy project freedom tower women's health