DOA --- Where Heads Don’t Roll until Somebody’s Convicted

So, how many state contracts have to be canceled before someone at DOA is held to account?

Steve Bablitch deserves credit for trying to clean up the mess left by his predecessor, Marc Marotta, but at what point will the current DOA Secretary stop blaming the consultants and start holding the Marotta appointees accountable?

Today’s Wisconsin State Journal highlights the latest contract fiasco involving Crowe Chizek, the consulting firm hired by DOA to manage the state server consolidation. Coincidentally, Crowe Chizek employees donated nearly $20,000 to Doyle’s campaign within two months of receiving the $6.7 million contract.

Bablitch canceled the state’s contract with Adelman Travel, scrapped the email migration project with DLT Solutions (at a loss of $2.6 million), and refused to extend a procurement contract with Silver Oak Solutions. DOA has also claimed that Equis Corporation will never receive a 25% commission on state property they sell despite a contract amendment to the contrary.

Not only does there appear to be a pattern of contracts for cash at DOA, but a pattern of mismanaged IT projects and botched procurements as well. Still Division Administrators Matt Miszewski and Pat Farley along with Deputy Secretary Gina Frank Reese and Executive Assistant Sean Dilweg remain at the helm of the agency, even though they could all be fired at will.

What does a person have to do to get fired from DOA, be convicted of a felony in federal court?

Money for Nothing & Your Tickets for Free

Recently filed campaign finance reports show that Governor Doyle continues to raise millions in campaign contributions from employees of companies who do business with the state.

Doyle canceled the state’s contract with Ademan Travel after a state official was charged with two felonies for steering the contract their way. But Doyle never returned the $20,000 of ill gotten gain from company executives, and his latest campaign finance report reveals that Doyle got another $250 from an Adelman executive this spring. It’s like $20,250 free, --- if you don’t count the cost of a trial and ongoing federal investigation, or the devastation to Georgia Thompson’s life.

And remember Burger Boat, the yacht making company whose two top executives gave $5,000 each to Doyle’s campaign right around the time it received a $2.1-million state grant? Doyle returned the $10,000 in January to appease his critics, but he managed to get it all back --- and then some. Doyle’s latest report shows $15,000 in contributions from one of the Burger Boat executives and his wife. That’s a $5,000 bonus!

Doyle has found that it’s good to be King, and as an avid football fan, he really enjoys the royal treatment. Eight great seats to a sold out Bears vs. Packer game at Soldiers field for the Governor, his son, his chief of staff, two cabinet secretaries, and three other staffers –all at the bargain basement price of $170. Can you even park at Soldier’s field for $170?

The Truth Shall Set You Free

Team Doyle’s credibility may have suffered some serious blows in recent weeks, but don’t expect them to turn over a new leaf anytime soon. Doyle and his flacks have become so skilled at lying to the press and public, even they can’t tell where the truth ends and the lies begin.

Yesterday Doyle campaign spokesman, Anson Kaye said the Governor’s financial ability to stay on the air from now until Election Day was due to “the broad and deep support for the governor in the state,” but there’s nothing broad or deep about Doyle’s financial support.

Doyle’s systematic shakedown of people who do business with the state has resulted in $1.15 million from out of state interests since 2002 --- over $415,000 last year alone. His average individual contribution is over $500 and he’s received more $10,000 contributions than any previous candidate for Governor.

The out of state bounty includes a check for $10,000 Doyle received from a Philadelphia litigator, on the very same day the man had an “official” meeting with Marc Marotta at the Department of Administration. According to Marotta’s calendar, Doyle campaign fundraiser Katie Boyce was scheduled to attend the meeting.

Anson Kaye claimed that Boyce arranged the meeting between Marotta and the soon to be maxed out contributor, but her name was listed on the schedule in error. Not withstanding the inappropriateness of a campaign worker arranging meetings for donors with state officials, Boyce’s name appears on Marotta’s calendar 18 times, despite repeated denials that the Governor’s campaign was working closely with the Administration to troll for money.

Doyle spokesperson Melanie Fonder said, "There's absolutely no connection between the campaign and government,” and she asserted that there was a “firewall” between the campaign and the administration. Apparently someone forgot to show Boyce and Marotta the wall.

The latest Doyle yarn was spun by DOA Executive Assistant, Sean Dilweg. Dilweg told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that state law allows the Governor, his son, three members of his office staff and two of his cabinet secretaries to attend a Packer-Bear football game at Chicago’s Soldier field at the expense of companies who do business with the state. Exactly what part of the state ethics code did Dilweg pull that from?

It’s been said that they truth shall set you free, and that’s exactly what team Doyle fears the most.

Focus on Terrorists but not Illegals who Commit Crimes?

With the exception of a few misguided detours, Wisconsin AG Candidate JB Van Hollen has been like the pilot fish of Paul Bucher’s campaign. Van Hollen is only too happy to issue press release after press release saying “me too” when it comes to Bucher’s plan to make law enforcement the top priority of the Wisconsin Department of Justice.

Yet when it comes to cracking down on illegal immigrants who commit crimes in Wisconsin, Van Hollen is riding the waves with Attorney General, Peg Lautenschlager. They both believe the Attorney General has no business working with local law enforcement agents to ensure that criminals who are here illegally get deported.

Van Hollen told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

“This is a major problem, but Paul doesn't understand the magnitude," said Van Hollen, former U.S. attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin. "Promising to the taxpayers of Wisconsin that the (state) Department of Justice is going to take over a role that rightly belongs to the federal government is not credible.

Wait a second; is this the same JB Van Hollen who wants to turn the Wisconsin Department of Justice into Terror Watch Central?

Van Hollen has pledged to make fighting terrorism a top priority if elected; he proposes teams of law enforcement officials from all levels to train and share information.

In other words, Van Hollen says DOJ should train local law enforcement officials to detect terrorist activities and share information with federal authorities, but DOJ should not train local law enforcement to determine the legal status of people they encounter committing other crimes, and to report that status to federal authorities so they can be deported.

I wonder how Van Hollen feels about lesbians marrying terrorist bigamists, because Peg’s all for that.

When Lawyers Practice Politics--- People Get Hurt

A Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article by Patrick Marley raises more questions about potential corruption at the top of Jim Doyle’s Administration.

According to Marc Marotta’s official calendar for April 6, 2005, he attended a meeting in his Department of Administration office with Doyle’s campaign fundraiser, Katie Boyce and three Philadelphia attorneys with the law firm of Schiffren & Barroway. Governor Doyle’s campaign deposited a check from one of those attorneys for $10,000 on the same day. The attorney who wrote a check for the maximum amount allowed by state law had never contributed to a Wisconsin candidate before.

Spokespeople for the Department of Administration and the Doyle campaign deny that Boyce attended the meeting and say that there was no connection between the meeting at DOA and the $10,000 contribution.

Here’s what they told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Katie Boyce, Doyle's fund- raiser, helped arrange the meeting, said Anson Kaye, a spokesman for Doyle's campaign. Marotta's calendar lists Boyce as an attendee to the meeting, but Kaye said she was included on the calendar in error.

The meeting "was completely about what business they could offer to the state, and he referred them swiftly to SWIB," Dilweg said.

OK. Let’s give Kaye and Dilweg the benefit of the doubt and say that Katie Boyce did not attend the meeting and only helped arrange it. Why would the Governor’s campaign fundraiser be talking to litigators from Philadelphia about potential business with the State Investment Board?

Dilweg claims that Marotta “swiftly” referred the attorneys to the State Investment Board. Again, giving Dilweg the benefit of the doubt, if it was perfectly appropriate for Marotta to meet with firms wishing to do business with the State Investment Board, why did he refer them away so “swiftly”, and if the attorneys met with Investment Board staff the day before, who arranged that meeting?

On the other hand, if Marotta was not the appropriate point of contact for the three attorneys, why did they end up on his calendar in the first place, and did any other state officials attend that meeting, say perhaps Marotta’s Executive Assistant, Sean Dilweg?

The claim that there was no connection between the meeting in Marotta’s state office on April 6, 2005 and the $10,000 check to the Doyle campaign on the same day is absurd given that the meeting was arranged, and perhaps attended by the Governor’s campaign fundraiser Katie Boyce.

Since the law firm of Schiffren and Barroway didn’t end up doing business with the State Investment Board, could there have been another reason for the meeting with Marotta?