Loading ...IG vs. ICJI
The Indiana Inspector general is providing more details into his investigation of former Criminal Justice Institute Director Heather Bolejack and the awarding of a $417,000 grant to family friend Mike McKenna.
In the report released today Dave Thomas reached four primary findings:
1.The primary purpose of the SKIP (Saving Kids of Incarcerated Parents) grant award was to benefit McKenna and not provide mentoring services to juveniles as required by federal law.
2. The timeline of events indicates that Bolejack was personally and substantially involved in awarding the grant without Board approval.
3. Documents were falsified to make it appear as if the grant had been properly and legally approved to cover up an apparent deception.
4. Bolejack attempted to direct at least two more grants or contracts to McKenna which ICJI staff refused to process.
The IG conducted interviews with 50 witnesses and also gave Bolejack several opportunities to answer the allegations. The IG tells me she did meet with them in two meetings, one of which they revealed the preliminary fidings. That would seem to contradict Heather’s statements to the Indianapolis Star where she said she did not find out about the full allegations against her until May 10. I’ll thumb through the rest of the report over the weekend, but this is the latest.
May 31st, 2006 at 11:32 am
Where’s the evidence? I see a lot of presumption and allegation, but where’s the evidence? This isn’t a report, it’s a screenplay.
May 31st, 2006 at 8:19 pm
Did you read the appendix and exhibits? They also interviewed 50 witnesses and have turned evidence over to the state and federal prosecutors. Any other questions? By the way Mckenna finally did something smart and didn’t show up on Amos’ program today. When you face posile criminal and civil penalities your best bet is to shut up. Take it from a lawyer.
June 1st, 2006 at 1:12 pm
As someone who knows Heather and where she came from I am appalled that supposedly “intelligent” people are trying to use this tragic situation to further their own political agendas. This has little or nothing to do with Heather and more so to do with Republican-bashing.
I graduated from LCHS with Heather in 1992. I always admired her spirit. She was a very talented young woman. During one conversation, I remember asking her why she never joined the competitive show choir of which I was a member - she certainly was gifted enough. Her response was that our competition season over lapped the track season and running track was her ticket to college and by extension a better life. How many 16 or 17 year olds have to foresight to forgo their immediate wants for their long-term goals….she is someone to be ADMIRED not DISPARAGED.
In four years of high school, during the Rodney King era in fact, I NEVER saw Heather play the “race card” that was so prevalently used in our school. In fact it was quite the opposite. In the King aftermath, the admin decided in its infinite “wisdom” to take the student body to the stadium for an open forum to deal with the issues at hand. The situation very quickly got out of control with people on both sides of the issues grabbing the mike and making insulting and degrading comments. Finally, a student leader stepped up. Heather took the mike and was the only person - faculty or student- who was able to speak eloquently, confidently or convincingly enough to quell what was sure to be a high school race riot. It sickens me that the uneducated are so quick to claim that her success is ONLY attributed to her skin color. We didn’t have that in common, but that didn’t change the fact that we were both driven and successful in our own right.
I send out my words of support to Heather and would wish that those who are small in mind would open their eyes and see the big picture…..
Go Bears!!!
Jennifer B
LCHS class of 1992