Citrus Growers Forum

mrtexas · Posted: Thu 26 Jul, 2012 11:36 pm

I hope this doesn't count as politics as I think it is a comedy!

The Feds charged the local school district's electrician with 37 counts of felony fraud and overcharging the school district $3.2million. The first trial was a hung jury. Just before the second trial there was a plea deal:

Forfeits $3.2million

Gets to keep a check from the school district for $600,000

Admits he altered documents when he submitted a quote as an invoice, not having purchased the goods.

Admits to tax fraud for not reporting $1.5million of income

School board may request the remainder of the $3.2million after income taxes are paid from a victims fund.

This crook continues to be the electrician.

Can you believe that several members of the school board don't want to ask for the money from the victims fund as he wasn't convicted of a felony and want to retain the guy as electrician when his contract comes up for renewal?

Darkman · Posted: Sat 28 Jul, 2012 9:36 pm

There is some humor in that. I am no longered surprised by any decision from the courts, school districts and local goverments.

_________________
Charles in Pensacola

Life - Some assembly required, As is no warranty, Batteries not included, Instructions shipped separately and are frequently wrong!

Kentucky Bourbon - It may not solve the problem but it helps to make it tolerable!

GT · Posted: Sun 29 Jul, 2012 1:45 am

It definitely looks like BISD has too much money... Very Happy

Oil is pumped from under their property and they have mineral rights. Yet, they still rip us through property taxes. No wonder they care little about $3.2M! Shocked

mrtexas · Posted: Sun 29 Jul, 2012 4:52 pm

GT wrote:

It definitely looks like BISD has too much money... Very Happy

Oil is pumped from under their property and they have mineral rights. Yet, they still rip us through property taxes. No wonder they care little about $3.2M! Shocked

They voted against asking for the $2million 4 to 2. Apparently racism was involved in the money stealing.

GT · Posted: Mon 30 Jul, 2012 1:45 am

mrtexas wrote:

They voted against asking for the $2million 4 to 2. Apparently racism was involved in the money stealing.

very sad... Hopefully, a new BISD boss will make a difference one day.

Millet · Posted: Mon 30 Jul, 2012 5:14 pm

Actually, it sounds more like something the people of California would come up with. - Millet

dauben · Posted: Mon 30 Jul, 2012 5:47 pm

Millet wrote:

Actually, it sounds more like something the people of California would come up with. - Millet

Hey, I'm offended by . . . wait . . . we had a Principal from a public special education school stealing from the school. On top of the computers and other expensive items found at his house were boxes and boxes of toilet paper taken from the school. He was sent to prison and his wife fled to Greece. Police are following the trail of toilet paper stuck to her shoe. Smile

Millet · Posted: Mon 30 Jul, 2012 6:10 pm

Dauben, our company just received yet another California legal paper to fill out. It came to us from a small customer of ours doing business in the state of California, stating that California just passed still another new law requiring all California companies and their suppliers to verify that they do not utilize illegal slave labor of any kind. Actually, as you might expect the the information required was quite extensive. This customer does very little business with us. Getting fed up with this constant bombardment from California, we told them it is not worth our time to keep filling out these types of silly documents, and advised them it would be best if they found another supplier, which unfortunately they were not able to do. Mark still refused, and advised them to take it up with California. He was not going to waste his time to fill it out. - Millet

mrtexas · Posted: Mon 30 Jul, 2012 11:54 pm

GT wrote:

mrtexas wrote:

They voted against asking for the $2million 4 to 2. Apparently racism was involved in the money stealing.

very sad... Hopefully, a new BISD boss will make a difference one day.

Not the inbreed one just appointed who was a current employee of the district. To show you how out of touch with reality the school board is they gave the guy a raise from $110k as an assistant superintendent to $200k+ as superintendent. I sure never got that kind of raise and don't know anyone in private industry that ever did.

Even funnier is that the board insisted on no automatic wage escalation clause in his contract. The first draft left it out. But, surprise, surprise the contract they actually signed which the board neglected to read had the unwanted clause in it. (The retiring super had one and his salary escalated to the highest paid super in Texas @$350k even though we are a mid sized district. Lucky us, they paid him $150k to step aside his last few months so the new super could jump right in)

Darkman · Posted: Tue 31 Jul, 2012 12:44 am

Millet wrote:

Dauben, our company just received yet another California legal paper to fill out. It came to us from a small customer of ours doing business in the state of California, stating that California just passed still another new law requiring all California companies and their suppliers to verify that they do not utilize illegal slave labor of any kind. Actually, as you might expect the the information required was quite extensive. This customer does very little business with us. Getting fed up with this constant bombardment from California, we told them it is not worth our time to keep filling out these types of silly documents, and advised them it would be best if they found another supplier, which unfortunately they were not able to do. Mark still refused, and advised them to take it up with California. He was not going to waste his time to fill it out. - Millet

Millet,

I would be very offended that they would even question such a thing. I
am sure you quickly told them you only use the very best organic LEGAL slave labor! Unbelievable!

_________________
Charles in Pensacola

Life - Some assembly required, As is no warranty, Batteries not included, Instructions shipped separately and are frequently wrong!

Kentucky Bourbon - It may not solve the problem but it helps to make it tolerable!

GT · Posted: Tue 31 Jul, 2012 1:52 am

mrtexas wrote:

Not the inbreed one just appointed who was a current employee of the district. To show you how out of touch with reality the school board is they gave the guy a raise from $110k as an assistant superintendent to $200k+ as superintendent. I sure never got that kind of raise and don't know anyone in private industry that ever did.

Even funnier is that the board insisted on no automatic wage escalation clause in his contract. The first draft left it out. But, surprise, surprise the contract they actually signed which the board neglected to read had the unwanted clause in it. (The retiring super had one and his salary escalated to the highest paid super in Texas @$350k even though we are a mid sized district. Lucky us, they paid him $150k to step aside his last few months so the new super could jump right in)

huh, such a relief! I thought his salary was 400+! Very Happy

Funnier and funnier... I'm more or less convinced that I have chosen a wrong "institution" to work for: no raises for last few years and no raises in the next couple years either. Very Happy

Yet, we are dealing with their graduates - quite an experience sometimes! Wink

Don't get me wrong - I like my job anyway.

Let's just hope the common sense will finally visit BISD. Laughing

What else can we do???

Millet · Posted: Tue 31 Jul, 2012 2:38 am

Below is a link describing California's new Slave Labor Law. Our company refused to take the time to fill out all the paper work it entails. - Millet

http://ran.org/new-california-slave-labor-law-sb-657-expose-ugly-side-many-common-commodities-impact-3200-companies

bastrees · Posted: Tue 31 Jul, 2012 9:54 am

Did California ask you to verify that you weren't using undocumented/illegal alien labor?

Interesting...Barbara

Millet · Posted: Tue 31 Jul, 2012 11:56 am

Not directly, We received the document from a California customer of ours, we are in Colorado. California wants all California business and their suppliers to verify compliance by completing the paper work. There is way to much paper work as it is now, to bother with it. No wonder California is broke. Several years ago, California send an agent out to our company to check our sales records, to insure we are sending them all of the sales taxes due California. He spent 3 days here going through our records, and found no money due. We sell wholesale only, we do not sell retail so we never collect sales taxes. We told California that but they came anyway. - Millet

dauben · Posted: Tue 31 Jul, 2012 6:01 pm

Millet wrote:

Dauben, our company just received yet another California legal paper to fill out. It came to us from a small customer of ours doing business in the state of California, stating that California just passed still another new law requiring all California companies and their suppliers to verify that they do not utilize illegal slave labor of any kind. Actually, as you might expect the the information required was quite extensive. This customer does very little business with us. Getting fed up with this constant bombardment from California, we told them it is not worth our time to keep filling out these types of silly documents, and advised them it would be best if they found another supplier, which unfortunately they were not able to do. Mark still refused, and advised them to take it up with California. He was not going to waste his time to fill it out. - Millet

What is absolutely stupid about this and other similar laws is that they want people who are illegally doing something to go on record that they are doing something illegal. "Why yes, I don't want to break the law when it comes to filing this report, but I'm more than willing to engage in illegal slave labor." I'm sure these reports have created 1,000 new jobs in the State of California. All of those lucky paper pushers.

Where I used to work, we had a commercial waste discharge permit that every new business had to pay $600 for. The fee basically just covered staff time to issue a permit to businesses allowing them to discharge into the sewer under conditions that were already legally binding in Code. What it boiled down to was just slapping a business name on a permit for $600. Very few people ever challenge it because no one wants to fight over $600.

Phillip