Back in 2003, I was just stretching my legs on the local political scene. I decided to volunteer for Peter Steinbrueck’s reelection campaign. At the 36th District candidate’s forum, several candidates started to mention a rezone of some residential land near Rick’s, the Lake City stripclub. Like most folks, I thought it was no big deal, and didn’t think it would play much of a factor.
Three City Council members who voted to override the planning department on a strip club’s parking-lot rezone turn out to be beneficiaries of some $39,000 in campaign contributions that the club’s owners allegedly funneled through various contributors to get around donor limit laws. The rezone is then revoted and rejected. The council members return the money and pay fines. Two of them are promptly ousted at the next election.
It’s worth noting that the city council people involved never faced any charges for wrongdoing themselves. That said, the whole thing stank to high heaven.
But what struck me about the whole affair is how small ball this was. Seattle is not like Chicago, Miama, LA, or Boston, and certainly not like New Orleans.
Our corruption is nothing like that of those cities. For example, Richard McIver had to pay a fine for allowing former Govenor Albert Rossellini to buy him lunch at Quizno’s. Quizno’s, for God’s sake. McIver got nailed for a six dollar sandwich.
So, suffice it to say I wasn’t blown away by today’s news:
With a touch of defiance, Seattle strip-club owner Frank Colacurcio Jr. and a longtime associate pleaded guilty today to criminal charges related to the so-called “Strippergate” campaign-finance scandal of 2003.
His father, Frank Colacurcio Sr., was also expected to plead guilty to the same charges, but the longtime strip-club magnate, who is 90, did not appear in court due to health problems. His attorney said Colacurcio Sr. will enter a plea by Monday.
In a plea bargain that avoided jail time, Colacurcio Jr. agreed to pay a $10,000 fine and one year of probation. His father is expected to accept an identical deal.
Those penalties are in addition to a $55,000 civil settlement approved Wednesday by the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission.
[…]
Gil Conte, a former lounge singer and longtime Colacurcio associate, also pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor conspiracy charge and agreed to pay a $1,000 fine.
After the sentencing, Conte did a quick soft-shoe dance step for a throng of reporters, and said, “I didn’t do nothing.”
Lame.
“I didn’t do nothing.” What is this, Goodfellas? C’mon.
As a Bostonian, I agree. Seattle;s scandals were SOP whewre I grew up.
Frankly, I think we could use a somewhat less prissy obsession with this sort of stuff.
Were you here when we outed a liberal governor because he was know to like to touch women? Nothing more, he was a touchy kinds guy.
GAK
Obviously you weren’t around in the 1960’s in the days of Charles O. Carroll and the Seattle PD gambling tolerance policies and payoff scandals. Frank Colacurcio, Sr. was in all this up to his neck.
Go read his Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Colacurcio,_Sr.
And it was in the 1970’s, I believe, that topless bars in Tacoma-Pierce County had a life expectancy measured in weeks and couldn’t get fire insurance what with all the arsons.
Funny you should mention Al Rossellini since he was Frank, Sr’s criminal defense attorney in the early, early days.
But it’s true that today’s scandels pale in comparison to those of other cities. I guess that’s what you get when you have nothing but eunuchs in city government.
The Piper
“Were you here when we outed a liberal governor because he was know to like to touch women?”
Sure was. Oddly enough, about the only public figure in the entire state who came to Mike Lowry’s defense was John Carlson.
But yeah, Will. It seems even our scandals are about as bush league as everything else we do here.
Artfart:
Please refrain from using the term Bush league – it now has different connotations such as lying and subverting the constitution (not the Baseball connotation).
Other phrases that now mean new things:
Out in the Bush – means out of reality
bushed: Now refers to the witholding of information or documents illegally.
One in the hand is worth two in the bush: Two bushes is worth one bankrupt treasury and one ruined economy.
Losing Mike was one reason I have trouble appreciating CG. She may not be the tough me type but she ain’t no Mike L either.
subverting the constitution
You mean like being against a voter ID even though the government would pay for it and also supply transportation but on the same hand be for forcing old ladies who happen to make $500.00 in self employment income cleaning houses suppy a SS# and file a 1040 each year? Wow.
JBD:
No. Like the lack of habeus corpus, condoning torture (as not cruel and unusual), illegal spying on americans, illegal signing statements, refusal to understand there are 3 branches of government – not just one lying and corrupt executive branch.
Maybe you should actually read the constitution sometime instead of visiting those right wing sites that spout hate.
7
Wow… that is a problem…but there was thousands of times more illegal spying,lack of habeeus corpus, illegal signing of statement under Clinton than Bush. If we couldn’t stop it under Cliton why would you think we could stop it under Bush?
JBD: Gee Clinton did X – so murder, rape and pillage are OK. How many times have I heard that supposed rationalization?
@1 There was more to that Governor Lowry thing than you’re acknowledging.
@1 (continued) Nobody quietly pays a $100,000 legal settlement to a female staffer for doing nothing more than being a “touchy kind of guy.” Even a boob squeeze and crotch grab isn’t worth that kind of money — unless it’s happening every day.
@1 (continued) That’s about a year’s pay, based on what the governor’s salary was then.
@5 I was never very find of Mike L., even before that.
fond
6, 8 — Unexpurgated wingnut bullshit.
Bet there is plenty of corruption going on throughout the Port, and I bet there is nothing small ball about it.
11: Excellent. For a change.
Correctnotright: I like Jesse Jackson’s line “Stay Out of the Bushes” when he was boffing Karen Stanford’s…
Roger Rabbit says:
6, 8 — Unexpurgated wingnut bullshit.
#1
So liberals are for getting rid of the SS# on constitutional grounds? News to me. If they aren’t they are hypocrites.
#2
Has anyones FBI files went missing during the Bush adminstration? I don’t know of any.
When a moonbat calls bullshit it’s obviously the opposite. roof roof.
JBD: Look, the party of debauchery is the donkey party. While they can talk about Mark Foley we know all about Gerry Stubbs doing it. While they can talk about Larry Craig, we know all about Barney Frank’s apartment. While they talk about ???? we know all about Melvin Reynolds and the little girls.
We need to be the clean party. They can stay the debauchery party.
BTW correctnotright: Didn’t use the Internet.
Thanks for reminding them. Drawing distinctions between the debauched D’s and the merely bauched R’s is sort of like making the necessary point that growing up in the swank suburbs of Philadelphia is very different from growing up in Philadelphia.
@20 Gerry Stubbs? Ancient history – 1983. Barney Frank? Old history – 1990. Melvin Reynolds? Stale news – 1994. It seems you wingnuts have to go back 13 to 24 years to find a Democratic sex scandal, but you can find plenty of Republican sex scandals in yesterday’s newspaper.
That, and Chappaquiddick, is all you’ve got??
HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR
Not that I’m excusing Chappaquiddick, you understand, but it’s hard to overlook the fact that Republicans have debased themselves far lower — and killed far more innocent people — than Teddy Kennedy ever did.
Klan Youth Indicted For Noose Display
An 18-year-old Louisiana youth has been charged with a federal hate crime for displaying nooses in his pickup truck to a crowd of civil rights marchers in Jena, LA.
The young man describes himself as a Ku Klux Klan member, claims to come from a Klan family, and had “KKK” tatooed on his chest, according to authorities.
http://news.aol.com/story/_a/m.....3609990001
Roger Rabbit Commentary: This isn’t free speech, it’s trying to start a riot, and jail is a good place for this punk. When he gets out, they should send him to some shithole of a desert island.
#9 correctnotright says:
But you didn’t have a problem when clinton was doing it. Why was that? Doesn’t rape bother you when committed by a democrat? Why do you give democrats free passes on crime, having public gay sex (mcgrevvy), child molesting (cantrells staff). It’s a sad reflection that so many people just like you don’t care about crime unless you can bash a republican. Maybe someday people like you will address the black on black crime in cities controlled by dixiecrats.
So, it’s not the act you disagree with, it’s only when a republican does the same that you get your panties in a bunch.
Is it part of that “republicans are hypocrites” game, but democrats aren’t, you’re just the party of lowered expectations?
Marvin – DAMN MAN! I forgot about the child molester on Maria CantVoteWell’s staph!
Pelletizer… that’s recent news. Sucks to be you!
Pelletizer: I was saving this one just for you and your big mouth (little paws, puny dick – his claim of bunny fucking)
Google Andrew Douglas Reed: Results 1 – 10 of about 2,800 for Andrew Douglas Reed Kiddie Porn Another one of those beloved dems…
Pelletizer: This one is the most disturbing article which has all the donkeys coming to his aid:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/n.....E_ID=53070
Sorry Clueless Yelling Libby Blatherer Fool – I use the links I want to make my point about the fools on your side of the aisle!
Oh and I saved this one too Pelletizer:
http://www.npr.org/templates/s.....Id=6268492
Rep. Studds, a Congressional Pioneer, Dead at 69
I guess Mark Foley noticed Stubbs was a “pioneer” and he continued to get reerected… oops reelected.
Have heard that perky Heidi Wills and Judy Fidelista Nicastro are looking for gainful employment. Have heard that Rick’s in Lake City is hiring.
Badabing.
@30: took me a second to get that one….the strippergate scandal….quite a chuckle