What Short Pockets shared with me shows the extremely interconnected relations between some of the characters involved in the Walkergate scandal.
And with great timeliness it starts with Darlene Wink, the former Walker aide who is due in court this coming Tuesday for a sentencing hearing regarding the plea bargain she struck with the DA's Office.
Before she was caught commenting on JSOnline and other right wing blogs, and before she was busted doing illegal fundraising and politicking for Walker from his county executive suite, Wink was involved with politics.
Wink used to work for the drunk-driving former US Senator Bob Kasten until he was ousted by Russ Feingold.
Sometime after that, she started to work for a Milwaukee-based landscaping company called KEI, which is short for Kujawa Enterprises, Incorporated. The astute reader will be familiar with the name KEI, since the company and one of its officers, Chris Kujawa, has figured prominently in Walker's career as a lifelong politician:
- Chris Kujawa has been a long time supporter of Walker's and has contributed money to Walker's first campaign for governor.
- In 2006, then Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker had a grandstanding press conference at which he made a huge production of vetoing the entire 2007 budget. He held his showboat production on the property of KEI.
- In 2007, Walker endorsed Kujawa when he ran for county supervisor on the platform of wanting to provide Walker with a veto-proof majority on the board. (Talk about dodging a bullet!)
- Most recently, when New Jersey Governor Chris Christie joined Walker on a tour de farce, Walker took Christie to KEI for a press conference.
It should also be noted that Kujawa was one of the political candidates that was victimized by the embezzling Tim Russell.
Now, these facts alone don't mean much. However, they do raise some interesting questions.
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| Darlene Wink |
And was she the one that hit Kujawa up for the campaign contributions to Walker? Just how long did Walker have people campaigning for him out of his county office? I know that Russell was involved in each of his campaigns, whether it was for county executive or governor. How much of his work for Walker's various campaigns did he do as a county official?
I note that Kujawa apparently did not contribute to Walker's second campaign, which ran at the same time the John Doe investigation was going on. Did that play a role in his decision not to donate again?
If nothing else, this history demonstrates the various levels that all of the people involved with the scandal were involved with each other. We have already seen that interconnectedness in the case of Kelly Rindfleisch, and her relationships with Jim Villa and Andrea Boom; and with various members of Walker's official campaign staff as well as Brett Davis; and Scott Fitzgerald's fundraiser, Judi Engels.
You know, as we learn more about Walkergate, it seems less like the caucus scandal and more and more like the taking down of a Republican mafia. No wonder the investigation has taken two years already and still has a long way to go.
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Interesting client list on KEI ...VJS, Thats where Dennik works. Reuss Federal Plaza, Milwaukee County Research Park, Mandel Group
ReplyDeleteI've had the feeling for years that the Republican party is not so much a political party as it is a covert operation.
ReplyDeleteFront groups, black propaganda, money laundering, it's how they roll.
'Lemme know when Chisholm and his posse start investigating the GOP mafia in my neck of the woods, Waukesha County (Brookfield, to be precise.) It's a target rish environment, for sure.
ReplyDeleteIt's not within Chisholm's authority to investigate anything outside of Milwaukee County. When Waukesha County gets a conscientious, professional, apolitical DA, then maybe your concerns will be addressed. Milwaukee will not save you.
DeleteSomething interesting to note from Wink's plea deal:
ReplyDelete"In the event that there is a breach of this agreement by Ms. Wink under paragraphs 1,2, or three above or in the event there is a breach of this agreement in the form of failure to cooperation with the State as outlined above, which breach occurs after Ms. Wink has entered a plea of guilty but before sentencing, the State of Wisconsin shall be relieved of its obligations to make recommendations set forth in this letter...."
The important part being the after plea of guilty but before sentencing. Thus, the DA will have gotten everything they wanted out of her by Tuesday. Furthermore, she is explicitly NOT obligated to show up for any other cases except her own (this is the interesting part from Paragraph 1, where "any case to be charged" is changed to just her case. So, they don't expect anything more out of her than what she has already given.
I can't help but think that this opens the door to charges soon after her sentencing. This, combined with the recent 'letter of not being targeted' that was sent to the real estate broker a couple of weeks ago, only implies that a new phase must be upon us (or, that the DA has decided not to bring any more charges).
Thoughts?
Oh, there's definitely a lot more coming.
DeleteIf so, I think it may be interesting to speculate what other charges could be forthcoming. Such as:
DeleteRussell:
1. Misconduct in Public Office
2. Child Enticement
Unknown (not Wink):
1. Destruction of Digital Property (Wis. Stat. 943.01(1))
Unknown:
Destruction of County Property/Documentation (i.e. dumpster o' fun) (Wis. Stat 943.01(1))
Walker:
1. Conspiracy to commit Misconduct in Public Office
2. Unlawful Contracts (Wis Stat. 133.03)
3. Misconduct in Public Office
A very important read is here on Wisconsin Conspiracy Statutes:
http://www.vanwagnerwood.com/cm/custom/Conspiracy.asp
From that link:
"Wisconsin law recognizes accomplices to a crime - those who are party to the crime before the fact, during the fact, and after the fact. A conspirator who plans, aids, assists, hires, advises, counsels, or otherwise procures another to commit a crime is an accomplice to the crime. Accomplice liability makes any accomplice to the crime guilty of the crime.So, under accomplice liability theory of Wisconsin law, a conspirator who assist with the crime is an accomplice, and therefore, is guilty of the crime unless he properly abandons the conspiracy. Additionally, under accomplice theory, a conspirator is guilty for all of the crimes that the conspiracy commits including collateral injuries or deaths that occurred but were not the intended purpose of the conspiracy."
That would explain why everybody listed in all of the complaints who knew about the crimes has been granted immunity, as, according to the statues, they would be guilty of the conspiracy. That explains why so many immunities have been granted to folks who were IMing during the work day, even if they didn't work at the Executive Office.
Wrt to the bid rigging, this comes up:
https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/133
Now, any of the charges brought so far have ensnared more than one person, indicating that just about anything discussed to date could be supplemented with an additional conspiracy charge (think about Russell and Pierick plotting to get in the pants of that 17yo - that would be conspiracy to entice a child). IANAL BTW.
Also: Wis. Stat. 939.31
Delete"The agreement to commit a crime that is necessary for a conspiracy may be demonstrated by circumstantial evidence and need not be express; a tacit understanding of a shared goal is sufficient. The intent to commit the crime may be inferred from the person's conduct. A stake in the venture is not a necessary element of the crime although evidence of a stake in the venture may be persuasive of the degree of the party's involvement in the crime. State v. Routon, 2007 WI App 178"
http://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/939/II/31
So, did Walker (or anybody else) have a "tacit understanding" of the what was going on With Wink, Rindfleisch, and Russell? If they have more than one email between Walker and the above from his campaign account prior to the Wink firing, I'd say that would constitute a "tacit understanding". Walker has himself indicated that his lawyers have been going over emails with the DA...
While we're at it, consider this:
Delete1) A "tacit understanding" or shared goal [to commit Misconduct in Public office] is all that is required to charge Russell and Walker with conspiracy in association with Rindfleisch and Wink's felonies.
2) When Wink was fired, Walker instructed Russell and Rindfleisch to stop doing the campaign stuff at work from his @scottwalker.org email address.
3) Who managed the @scottwalker.org email and web servers? Tim Russell.
4) Who would have had to set up Walker's blackberry to work with @scottwalker.org? Tim Russell.
5) Walker has already said, "my lawyers are going over emails with the DA".
So, the point is, Walker knew Russell was doing the campaign IT stuff and he knew that Rindfleisch was getting her marching orders from Russell. He also expected that Russell would be checking his own @scottwalker.org email during the business day (as seen in the time-stamp on the email in the Rindfliesch complaint). I think, given this limited info we know, it would be pretty clear that there is a "tacit understanding" that Russell, and by extension Rindfleisch & Wink, were committing Misconduct in Public Office, validating ~6 charges of Conspiracy to Commit Misconduct in Public Office against Walker and Russell. The 6 is from the four actual felony charges against Rindfleisch and the two against Wink (which were subsequently dropped to misdemeanors).
It would seem Russell has to know that he could get the conspiracy charges brought against him (21yrs+$60k max). If he says, "yes, Scott knew "other" stuff was getting done during the work day", those charges could be dropped and moved to Walker. Otherwise, the DA could bring the max charges against both of them. And, again, this isn't even counting any other potential charges relating to money laundering, destruction or property, or real estate stuff (which has already gotten folks immunity from what I can only assume is other conspiracy charges).
So, combine the above information with the following from the Wink plea deal:
Delete"This settlement offer is intended as a full and final settlement of all criminal charges that are either contained in the complaint OR COULD HAVE BEEN CONTAINED in the complaint based on the factual allegation contained in that document. Ms. Wink ACKNOWLEDGES THAT...the misdemeanor charges embrace ONLY A PORTION of the conduct set forth in the complaint [and that] the complaint is an ACCURATE SUMMARY of the political activity she engaged in..."
So, what does that mean? That she 100% agrees that she committed the felonies which she was originally charged with and that she probably could have been charged with additional counts. once she is sentenced, her plea deal presumably becomes fact in the eyes of the state, thus, she has agreed that she committed numerous felonies. Therefor, anybody that had a "tacit understanding" and a "stake in the venture" of her admitted conduct outlined in the complaint could then be charged with the corresponding conspiracy. Perhaps that's why the DA is waiting until after Tuesday to bring conspiracy charges against Walker and/or Russell (assuming any charges get brought at all wrt to Winks admitted felony conduct).
So, another thing relating to the Wink complaint:
DeleteThe Wink complaint reflecting the felony charges dropped to misdemeanors is dated 26JAN2012.
The plea deal is dated 25JAN2012.
The Rindfliesch felony complaint is dated 26JAN2012.
So, the DA must have notified both Wink and Rindfleisch sometime prior to the 25th of January that they were both getting hit with felonies. The plea deal was likely roughed out prior to the 25th with the understanding that Wink would accept it the same day it was formally offered. That allowed for Rindfleisch and Wink to get charged on the same day (26JAN). So, it makes one wonder, "When were they notified that they were looking at getting hit felonies?" If they knew prior to the formal charges, is it possible that the other players already have been notified that they also have felonies on the way?
Do you think we will ever hear the full story from beginning to end? Will somebody write a book? Or will certain things be kept secret forever?
ReplyDeleteOh, I'm sure people will be writing books. Whether we know the whole story is another matter.
Delete