Chesterton Tribune

 

 

Some allegations in Bennett investigation document

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TOM LoBIANCO, Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indiana inspector general's office built a strong case in alleging former schools Superintendent Tony Bennett engaged in wire fraud through extensive use of public resources for his 2012 re-election campaign, according to a document viewed by The Associated Press. A local prosecutor declined to take the case, and the office settled with Bennett for $5,000 in July.

The inspector general's investigation, which covers the 2012 calendar year, found more than 100 instances among 14 employees to support the wire fraud allegations. Former Bennett chief of staff Heather Neal had 17 violations, the document showed — the most among employees.

Among the findings:

— Misuse of state-issued/campaign SUV and driver:

The investigation checked mileage logs, fuel card purchases and Bennett's calendar to come up with 21 instances in which Bennett misused the state vehicle.

The report shows Bennett allegedly falsified vehicle logs to hide misuse of a state-issued Chevrolet Tahoe to travel to high-dollar fundraisers, including an intimate fundraiser for then-presidential candidate Mitt Romney in Evansville. It also says a state employee was directed to drive Bennett and his chief fundraiser, Julie Southworth, to fundraising events, which were often interspersed with official state events.

— Staff used for political work on taxpayers' dime:

Indiana's ghost employment laws bar state workers from doing political work on state time and prohibit state officials from directing their employees to do campaign work. But the investigation found multiple instances of state employees doing political work while being paid by taxpayers.

Investigators checked employee calendar entries against timesheets and found at least 56 occasions in which 14 employees did political work on the state clock.

One of those employees was Neal, who was ordered to work as a "watcher" at the state Republican Party convention on June 8, 2012, but was paid for a full day of work by the state. Neal also coordinated campaign fundraising with Bennett's fundraiser while on the clock.

Another was Adam Baker, Bennett's driver, who was required to attend a Sept. 26, 2012, campaign fundraising meeting with top Republican donor Christel DeHaan just days after Bennett's team secretly changed the state's A-F grades for schools to ensure DeHaan's charter school received an A.

— Payments constituting wire fraud violation:

Wire fraud charges are frequent in public corruption cases, built by showing that the state transfer of payment to employees via their bank violates federal rules.

The investigation includes detailed automatic financial transfers between the state of Indiana and banks for the 14 employees and Bennett. The biweekly paychecks violated federal wire fraud law because they covered time spent on political activities, the report says.

 
 

 

 

 

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