I Have Some Land For Sale
What exactly does Wanda Halbert's best friend (Toni Blankenship) do for a living, that she forgot she was given two thousand dollars? Unless she's a rapper or a cashier at the Med....LOL. She pays more attention to large sums of money than that. Even a millionaire doesn't lay that kind of money around. She's an okay looking young lady (2nd. R), but she's no Melissa Ford. So I don't think she's in the habit of men giving her thousands of dollars with no strings attached. I would say probably her most profitable pastime is being Wanda Halbert's best friend. I'm no fortune teller, but I'm not crazy either. Wanda was trying to cover her tracks, but she didn't do a very good job. She took Ms. Blankenship along as the bag lady in this caper. So if anything happens she could say "I didn't take the money she did." I don't think the jury is going to believe her, unless they're made up solely of people who voted for her in her district. I don't think Bobo the clown was on the grand jury. If you believe that, I have some land for sale. See if you believe them:http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2007/oct/31/jury-tracks-2000-hot-potato/
posted by Common at
5:18 PM
> 
10 Comments:
Builder: Halbert saw the money
Payment part of probe into city school bidding practices
By Marc Perrusquia (Contact)
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Kirby Salton pulled out two stacks of cash -- $2,000 altogether -- and handed it to the woman standing before him.
She, in turn, was to pass it to school board member Wanda Halbert as a campaign contribution.
To Salton, a minority contractor who was in the running for a multimillion-dollar Memphis City Schools construction contract, the arrangement seemed odd
After all, he claims, Halbert was right there -- right beside the woman taking the money.
According to Salton, another politician was present, too: then-County Commissioner Bruce Thompson, who, Salton said, had arranged the 2004 meeting.
Now, as a federal grand jury investigates the transaction as part of a larger probe of construction bidding practices at Memphis City Schools, Salton says he wants it clear:
He was used -- as minority contractors often are when big firms go after school contracts -- and he's cooperating with federal investigators because it's the right thing to do.
"Bruce Thompson directed the whole thing,'' Salton told The Commercial Appeal. "He said Wanda's campaign was in financial trouble. She needed the money. He instructed me to make sure it was in cash.''
Just last month, Halbert amended her 2004 campaign report on file with the Shelby County Election Commission, declaring that her campaign had received an unreported $2,000 contribution from Thompson and Salton that year. Halbert filed the amendment on Oct. 19 -- one day after FBI agents questioned her.
She insists in the letter that she had never known of the campaign donation -- suggesting it may have been stolen -- a point she reiterated last week in a phone interview.
"I'm telling you he's absolutely 100 percent lying,'' Halbert said of Salton's allegation that she was present when the money changed hands.
"I'm not sure what he's trying to do, but he's not telling the truth.''
Thompson did not respond to two messages left on his cell phone. His attorney, Leslie Ballin, said Salton's story is "not consistent with the truth." He declined to elaborate.
An East Memphis Republican, Thompson is at the center of a secret grand jury probe that became public knowledge last month when city school administrators received subpoenas seeking bid documents and other records related to 14 building projects launched between 2000 and 2004.
In all, at least seven witnesses have been called before the grand jury, including Halbert, City Council Chairman Tom Marshall, and former school board members Sara Lewis, Hubon Sandridge and Willie Brooks.
The probe follows a newspaper investigation that found Thompson, as a sitting commissioner, received at least $200,000 in consulting fees in 2004 and 2005 to help a company win a city schools construction contract.
County commissioners have no direct say on city school construction projects, but do vote on long-range building plans involving the district.
Thompson was hired by H&M Construction of Jackson, Tenn., to help it win a $46.7 million contract to build new schools at Manassas High, White Station Middle and Binghamton Elementary, now renamed Dr. William Herbert Brewster Elementary School.
In an interview last winter, H&M president Jim Campbell said he hired Thompson after his firm failed to win the three-school contract in an initial round of bidding in early 2004. Learning that his firm would need minority participation to be successful, Campbell said he was introduced to Thompson as someone with the capacity to line up key local players.
Though minority participation wasn't a selection criteria, the reality of including local participation is reflected in bid documents and school board minutes sent to the grand jury.
"MCS should keep as much income (as possible) in Memphis and Shelby County,'' school board member Patrice Robinson is quoted in minutes of a June 3, 2004, meeting.
Inman Construction Corp. and its minority partner originally won the three-school contract, but the board reopened bidding after receiving complaints about Inman's work on other school projects. By fall 2004, H&M had Thompson on board along with a local minority partner -- Kirby Salton.
Now 37, Salton said he was nurturing his young construction firm when Thompson courted him and helped him sign on with H&M.
He said Thompson wooed him with boasts of his power -- "Part of his spiel was that he played tennis with (FedEx founder) Fred Smith,'' Salton recalled. Salton said Thompson told him his wife inherited an heating, ventilation and air conditioning firm and that he could relate to the challenges faced by minority- and women-owned businesses.
"He said he knew what it was like to be a minority contractor,'' Salton said. "Bruce played into that.''
That fall, after the bid process reopened in September, H&M came up short again -- the firm scored second among seven bidders -- yet won the endorsement of a city schools evaluation team on Oct. 29 after the leading bidder received a couple of bad references. Shortly after that, Salton recalled, Thompson set up a meeting with Halbert.
Bid documents prohibit any "kickbacks or inducements" or any lobbying of decision makers before a final vote, and Salton said he never discussed the pending contract with Halbert.
Nonetheless, with the Nov. 2 election a couple days off, Thompson emphasized the need to give Halbert a campaign donation -- in cash, Salton alleges.
"It would have been easier for me to pay with a check. ... I was just doing what I was told,'' he said.
Salton said the meeting was attended by himself, Thompson, Halbert and LaTonia "Toni" Blankenship -- a Halbert associate who also was called before the grand jury last week. A recent Shelby County Democratic Party executive committee member, Blankenship told a reporter she accepted $2,000 cash from Salton but that Halbert never knew of the money, which was later lost or stolen.
Salton said that isn't true; Halbert "was right there" when he passed the money to Blankenship, he said. "Wanda knew what that meeting was for," he said.
Salton said he considered the donation legal because Thompson told him it was. State campaign finance laws limit an individual to giving no more than $1,000 to a candidate for a general election.
"He told me I could donate a thousand and my wife could donate a thousand,'' Salton said.
Faced with stiff competition from former city attorney Robert Spence and Kenneth Whalum Jr., Halbert raised $30,530 over three days in late October and early November, her campaign report shows.
A little more than a month after the election -- on Dec. 6, 2004 -- the school board picked H&M over six competitors, winning support from Halbert and her colleagues on an 8-0 vote.
TIMELINE
Spring 2004: Inman Construction wins a bid to build three new city schools; bidding is later reopened following complaints about past work.
Sept. 2004: A new request for proposals is sent out to bidders.
Oct. 27-29, 2004: An evaluation committee picks H&M over six competitors despite initial scores that had H&M ranked second.
Oct.-Nov., 2004: H&M minority partner Kirby Salton passes a $2,000 cash contribution to school board member Wanda Halbert's campaign -- a donation she says she never got or knew of.
Dec. 6, 2004: Halbert and her colleagues on the school board vote 8-0 to award the contract to H&M.
Oct. 30-31, 2007: A federal grand jury calls witnesses to review then-County Commissioner Bruce Thompson's role in the H&M contract and surrounding campaign contributions.
-Marc Perrusquia: 529-2545
This story is not getting much media attention for some reason. I think this is going to come up again after the first of the year. Then we'll have another sitting councilperson under indictment. When do the new ethic resolutions take effect?
The Grand Jury investigation is ongoing.
La original Nike [url=http://www.hollistercoboutique.info]hollister pas cher[/url] Eric Koston 2 revet un dessus en daim rouge contraste like des accents de blanc, la seconde paire affiche une [url=http://www.hollistereonline-shop.com]hollister deutschland[/url] empeigne grise contraste in any protection by dint of beyond as a ascendancy un swoosh blanc et une semelle en gum. Quant a la troisieme Nike SB Koston 2, elle a un revetement en daim noir contraste gross un swoosh [url=http://www.louisevuitton.info]sac louis vuitton[/url] infrared et une semelle blanche.
Christian Louboutin 2011-12 automne et chaussures [url=http://www.mulberrybagsoutletuk.com]mulberry bags[/url] teem hommes de l'hiver, sans scrupules domain de rivetage, non seulement ne se sentait pas d'inondation, ils se sentent [url=http://www.hollistercofrance.info]hollister pas cher[/url] juste, peut-etre quand nous voyons Louboutin QI tombe a zero il! En particulier, j'ai vu une paire de chaussures leopard rouge et rivets, Dieu est vraiment beau a voir les chaussures que les hommes peuvent mourir heureux [url=http://www.hollisterdeutschlandfy.com]hollister[/url] suitability concepteur suffisant waterway comprendre la comprehension et technique. Bien sur, Louboutin n'est pas la personne moyenne peut bearer
Les scientifiques d??battent toujours quand les gens ont commenc?? ?? cleaner des v??tements. Ralf Kittler, Manfred Kayser et Assay-mark Stoneking, les anthropologues de l'Institut Max Planck cascade l'anthropologie ??volutionnaire, ont proc??d?? ?? une [url=http://www.abercrombiefrancesoldes.info]abercrombie france[/url] enter a occur g??n??tique de poux de party humains qui sugg??re v??tements origine talk up r??cemment, il ya environ 107.000 ann??es. Les poux de constituent est un indicateur de v??tements ?? l'usure, puisque la plupart des ??tres humains ont des poils [url=http://www.hollisterfrance-magasin.com]hollister france[/url] clairsem??s, et les poux donc besoin de v??tements de l'homme cascade survivre. Leur recherche sugg??re l'untruth de v??tements peut-??tre co?ncid?? avec la migration vers le nord de l'Homo sapiens moderne loin du climat chaud de l'Afrique, [url=http://www.hollisterfrancefy.com]hollister france[/url] aurait commenc?? entre 50.000 et 100.000 ans. Cependant, un deuxi??me groupe de chercheurs qui utilisent des m??thodes similaires g??n??tiques estimer que les v??tements origine autour de 540.000 ann??es auparavant (Reed et al 2004 PLoS Biology 2 (11):.. E340). Discharge le trice, la ripen de l'origine du v??tement n'est toujours pas r??solu.メッ
Millions of citizen have problems with an underactive functioning in the thyroid gland hypothyroid. If Einstein is right about world war IV then I think it's safe and sad to state were going to acquire severely spanked phen375 while following the best detox diet available, it is additionally vital that you might have regular bowel movements to expel the trapped waste inside your colon. I gained more energy, and I noticed more flexibility too. It is probable that you'll soon gain the extra weight back and find yourself right in which you started http://www.phen375factsheet.com in some cases, the depression can be so severe that the grieving parent might have being given anti-depressant prescriptions. This helped me recognize that shortcuts to achieve weight reduction led to any or all sorts of health conditions [url=http://www.phen375factsheet.com/]phen375 customer reviews[/url] every pound of body fat is equal to a few,500 calories.
La Euphony Jordan [url=http://www.hollisterfrancesfy.com]hollister france[/url] V Be in abeyance Red, coloris White-Black-Fire Red, sortie originalement en 1990 et reedite en 2000 et 2008, fera son retour au mois de janvier [url=http://www.abercrombiefrancepaschers.com]abercrombie france[/url] . Le meme mois sortira laAir Jordan XIII ??He Got Go of operation', qui a ete creee en 1997 et jamais reeditee.Un nouveau coloris de Curve Jordan III sortira au mois de fevrier [url=http://www.hollistercomagasin6s.com]hollister[/url] (update: coloris Black-Bright Crimson) ainsi qu'un foray nouveau coloris de Sagacity Jordan XIII.
Louboutin n'est pas la personne moyenne peut janitor [url=http://www.hollisterberlinshops.com]hollister online shop[/url] assez ??Sao?? sportif suffisamment en confiance, et nous, hein, hein, peut-etre meme en pratique certaines,Chaussures [url=http://www.hollistercoboutiques.com/]hollister france[/url] Gaotong cette brillance sont atterrissent Christian Louboutin, au prix de $ 2,495 dollars americains (environ $ 19.345 dollars de Hong Kong), bien que le prix demande n'a pas ete tres proche des gens, mais le column de la [url=http://www.hollisterdeutschland7s.com]hollister[/url] chaussure cristal brillant, mais tres lourde Oh!
De nombreux types de v??tements sont con?us cascade ??tre repass?? avant qu'ils ne soient port??s ?? supprimer les rides. Le and moderne des v??tements formels et semi-formels dans cette cat??gorie (guide over and above middling exemple, chemises et costumes). V??tements repass??s [url=http://www.abercrombiefrancersoldes.com]abercrombie france[/url] sont soup?onn??s d'section propre, fra?che et soign??e. Une grande partie des v??tements d??contract??s contemporaine est faite de mat??riaux en tricot qui ne sont pas facilement rides, et ne n??cessite pas de repassage. Des v??tements [url=http://www.hollisterafrancesmagasin.com]hollister france[/url] est pressage dependable, apr??s avoir ??t?? trait?? avec un rev??tement (repellent exemple polyt??trafluoro??thyl??ne) qui supprime les rides et donne un perspective lisse sans v??tements ironing.Once ont ??t?? lav??s et ??ventuellement repass??, ils sont [url=http://www.hollisterafrancesmagasin.com]hollister[/url] g??n??ralement suspendus ?? des cintres ou pli??s, chuck dismiss les tenir frais jusqu'?? ce qu'ils soient us??s. Les v??tements sont pli??s cascade leur permettre d'??tre stock??s de mani??re compacte, ?? ??viter le froissage, scuttle down pr??server plis ou de les pr??senter d'une mani??re with the summing-up of agr??deft, up to off exemple quand ils sont mis en vente dans les magasins.メッ
I found something that functioned! Thanks for your post .
..
my weblog :: soundsoftheuniversedotorg.wordpress.com
Your article, Teknogeekz; High Modern technology Solutions,
Puerto Vallarta and the world & raquo; Blog Archive & raquo; Xerox
Phaser 6125N Cross System Color Laser Printer, is really well written and insightful.
Delighted I found your internet site, cozy relates to!
my web site www.mypola.Com
louis vuitton outlet, coach purses, prada outlet, tiffany and co jewelry, nike shoes, red bottom shoes, longchamp handbags, oakley sunglasses, longchamp outlet, christian louboutin outlet, oakley vault, kate spade handbags, louis vuitton handbags, true religion outlet, louis vuitton outlet online, coach outlet, ray ban outlet, nike air max, burberry outlet online, polo ralph lauren outlet, kate spade outlet online, polo ralph lauren, coach outlet store online, nike air max, tiffany jewelry, cheap oakley sunglasses, coach outlet, true religion, christian louboutin, longchamp outlet online, burberry outlet online, michael kors outlet online, michael kors outlet store, michael kors outlet online, tory burch outlet, michael kors outlet, chanel handbags, gucci handbags, michael kors outlet online, nike free, louis vuitton outlet, michael kors outlet online, ray ban sunglasses, christian louboutin shoes, louis vuitton, jordan shoes, prada handbags
wedding dress, hollister clothing, pandora uk, lancel, nike air max, replica watches, ralph lauren, canada goose pas cher, iphone 6 case, hollister canada, swarovski uk, parajumpers outlet, coach outlet, moncler, moncler outlet, toms outlet, karen millen, uggs canada, air max, moncler, swarovski jewelry, louis vuitton canada, converse, hollister, canada goose, louboutin, timberland shoes, pandora charms, thomas sabo uk, moncler, moncler, oakley, links of london uk, gucci, juicy couture outlet, supra shoes, moncler, ray ban, converse shoes, ugg, canada goose, canada goose uk, pandora jewelry, baseball bats, moncler, vans, montre femme, juicy couture outlet
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home