Apr

15

Feds bring double whammy to the JC

April 15, 2006 |

The Star reports on two federal investigations going on in Jefferson City, both of which are going to be a least a littel uncomfortable for Governor Blunt’s administration.

The first investigation concerns lobbying practices and the possibilty of legislators steering interest groups to particular lobbyists, a group that counts Governor Blunt’s brother and sister among its members.

The second investigation focuses on the Missouri License Bureau patronage system. The awarding of contracts to run the fee offices has long been a patronage mess for both political parties, but Governor Blunt upped the ante last year privatizing the entire system. That process was a disaster as many office closed before private contractors were hired and there were allegations of state property being given to the new patrons.

History of the license bureau fiasco.

Update: Roy Temple has some info on the shadow companies setup to run the fee offices, including their incorporation shortly after Blunt’s 2004 election (before the fee office privatization was announced).


Comments

1 Comment so far

  1. thurston on April 17, 2006 9:30 pm

    Republicans under investigation for shady patronage deals and dealing with lobbyists? Huh … who would have guessed?

    The nice thing is that when they come to haul Matt Blunt’s butt off to jail, his replacement can move right into the Governor’s mansion since he isn’t using it. And we won’t even have to air it out to get rid of that nasty Blunt funk.

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