kos: The McDonnell indictment is as sordid as you think it was

[babylonsister]

Thu Jan 23, 2014 at 08:15 AM PST
The McDonnell indictment is as sordid as you think it was

by kos



The indictment of the McDonnell power(less) couple is great reading, as far as legal documents go. But hey, you're busy! And while the toplines are simple enough ("they're corrupt as fuck&quot , I've whipped up a more condensed version.

THE CAST

Robert (Bob) McDonnell, former governor of Virginia
Maureen McDonnell, former first lady of Virginia
Star Scientific, made supplements it claimed reduced chronic inflammation
JW, CEO of Star Scientific (Jonnie Williams)
MoBo Real Estate Partners, owned two houses in Virginia Beach, half owned by Bob McDonnell. The houses were over-leveraged and the company was in deep debt.

THE FIRST MEETING

While running for governor in 2009, McDonnell's staff asked JW for permission to use his private jet. After McDonnell was elected, JW asked to meet with the governor-elect, you know, because he had been tooling around all year on his plane.

So they met at a Four Seasons in December 2009. Maureen McDonnell immediately hit up JW for a dress for the inauguration, and he agreed to buy her an Oscar de la Renta designer dress. After she told her husband's staff, they were like "are you crazy?" Actually, the indictment says that the staffer "expressed concerns ... and would be inappropriate and should not be done." Maureen "became upset" with the staffer, which apparently means she threw a tantrum, and she wouldn't let it go. Soon thereafter, Maureen sent that staffer an email:

I need to talk to you about Inaugural clothing budget. I need answers and Bob is screaming about the thousands I'm charging up in credit card debt. We are broke, have an unconscionable amount in credit card debt already, and this Inaugural is killing us! I need answers and I need help, and I need to get this done.

Still, Maureen told JW she could not accept the dress, but would take a "rain check" from him. And it was quite the rain check! In fact, it was a deluge, as you'll see below the fold.

more...

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/01/23/1271692/-The-McDonnell-indictment-is-as-sordid-as-you-think-it-was?detail=facebook#

[atreides1]

1. Bob is going to throw Maureen under a bus...

...and save his own ass!

[Voice for Peace]

2. who blew the whistle on them?

[Spazito]

3. Believe it or not, it all began due to a catered chicken dinner at their ...

daughter's wedding and a fight with their chef, who was subsequently charged with stealing food from the mansion. It turns out the chef also saved receipts, etc. The Governor and his wife declared the taxpayers would not be on the hook for the costs of the wedding, that they were paying for them themselves. Well, it turns out the chef had a photocopy of a check paying for the dinner and it was not from the Governor, it was from Williams. The chef also kept a list of items paid for by the taxpayers but taken by the family, including their daughter's boyfriend at the time, for their personal use.

Here's an article on the beginnings of this, it is a very interesting read, imo:

Former chef pleads no contest to stealing food from Va. governor’s mansion

The former chef at the Virginia governor’s mansion pleaded no contest Wednesday to two misdemeanor counts of embezzling food from the historic home, resolving the kitchen dispute that has spun into a political and legal crisis for Gov. Robert F. McDonnell.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/settlement-reached-in-case-of-chef-accused-of-stealing-from-virginia-governors-mansion/2013/09/18/aee68f8a-2064-11e3-8459-657e0c72fec8_story.html

[Blue_Tires]

4. lol that noose around the McDonnells is getting tighter...

[Voice for Peace]

5. the taxpayers paid for their daughter's boyfriend?

and they took him anyway, for their personal use?

Sorry...

I was going to post and say thank you for all
that information, the story is much better now. But
I couldn't resist my first misread of your post.

The chef also kept a list of items paid for by the taxpayers but taken by the family, including their daughter's boyfriend at the time, for their personal use.

[Spazito]

7. LOL!

Just think, if they had taken away the boyfriend there would have been no wedding, no chicken dinner, no charges, thank goodness they decided not to take him!

[polichick]

6. The Unconscionable Couple.