DrTorch Wrote:Schadenfreude Wrote:DrTorch Wrote:The "hints" of jury intimidation read like "Remember the Maine". That's some very bad journalism. Certainly the bribery charge is pretty bad.
An assistant county prosecutor is basically saying: Look, it looks an awful lot like possible jury intimidation. We need to look into this.
Maybe so, but that isn't really "news".
Secondly, do you think an Asst DA ever got "overly enthusiastic" to try to jump start his career? Another reason it's not news.
Quote:I don't see where The Plain Dealer exaggerated anything.
They linked together a bunch of facts to imply there was a story. That's exaggeration, b/c as of yet there is no story.
Seems like the whole state has problems...and both of the main parties have guilty players.
Press coverage like this doesn't help the situation.
If anything is imploding, it's the entire state. It has no focus and no direction as to how to build on its many assets. And the journalists at the Plain Dealer, Cincy Enquirer, and others are cannibalizing those very resources.
I guess we have different points of view.
I think it's NEWS when the state treasurer -- the state official in charge of making sure taxpayers get a reasonable return on their money -- is accused of being bribed by a (now) convicted felon who ripped off his clients to the tune of $15 million and handled billions of dollars worth of trades for the state.
That's the allegation here -- and prosecutors are using the word "bribe."
By law, this guy Frank Gruttadauria, who is now in prison, could only donate $2,500 or so (maybe a bit more) directly to Joe Deters, who was then Hamilton County prosector and is now Ohio's treasurer.
But Grattadauria wanted more influence that. The allegation is that with a wink and a nod, he donated $50,000 to a secret account in the Hamilton County Republican Party that is supposed to be kept strictly separate from political campaigns -- for things like keeping the lights on, that kind of thing.
It isn't clear to me whether or not that $50,000 was the "bribe" prosecutors are referring to. But Grattadauria (now in prison after having gone on the lam) is singing. He says that $50,000 was intended as a disguised contribution to Deters -- which appears blatantly illegal.
<a href='http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1086428079195460.xml' target='_blank'>http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/...28079195460.xml</a>
(You'll see from the above link that our state treasurer had to testify for FOUR HOURS a few weeks ago.)
So, as the investigation grinds on into whether our state treasurer is on the take -- which, is pretty clearly news -- a private eye shows up at the office of the head juror and asks to see her personnel file.
Reasonable minds can conclude that's suspicious -- and a judge has, too. A judge has ordered that this mysterious private eye explain himself to the grand jury:
<a href='http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1088069685108375.xml' target='_blank'>http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/...69685108375.xml</a>
<a href='http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040624/NEWS02/406240456/-1/NEWS' target='_blank'>http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...6240456/-1/NEWS</a>
You would have preferred the media keep all this to itself?