Loading ...Council Wars; Chapter 1.5 (The Rest of the Story)
There’s some new information coming to light today on the Indianapolis City-County Council Democrats’ move to see whether they can sanction Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi over what they allege were misleading statements regarding the early release of James Stewart, one of the defendants of the Hamilton Avenue murders.
I confirmed through several sources today that prior to Monday night’s Council meeting, Democrats circulated copies of Democratic blog Taking Down Word’s posting that accused Brizzi of grandstanding on the issue. The link is here. The post had been up for several days but failed to gain traction in the traditional media. Council Democrats and Brizzi had been at odds all summer long over the jail overcrowding issue.
In addition, Councilmember Ron Gibson was purported to make several disparaging remarks regarding Brizzi during the caucus and was extremely gleeful at the prospect of sanctioning Brizzi. Brizzi appointed a special prosecutor this summer to look into whether Gibson should have been indicted over a confrontation he had with a Marion County Sheriff’s Deputy at Indiana Black Expo outside a local nightclub. Gibson was charged with several misdemeanor offenses, including battery and public intoxication.
To further add to the story, Brizzi is also looking into whether any laws were broken regarding 300 East, the bar/restaurant located in the Carson Center on Fall Creek. The wife of Council President Monroe Gray is one of the investors in the bar. And at Monday night’s meeting, Gray signed off on Council Attorney Aaron Haith looking into whether Brizzi could be sanctioned.
In addition to the Brizzi issue, Democrats also ordered Haith to investigate whether they could sanction the Township Assessors for not providing them with assessments necessary to complete the budget this year. There may be some problems here. According the Indiana Department of Local Government and Finance, the Marion County Assessors are not alone. Close to half of the assessors in Indiana do not have the assessment in to their county boards and councils.
DGLF officials say the Council did not need the assessors’ information to complete the budget. Instead, they say officials could have maximized the county’s assessment to get the necessary tax rates and then later come back and lower their estimates once they had the actual figures. A position maintained by Lawrence Township Assessor Paul Rickets.
However, overarching in this debate is whether the Council has any authority to sanction Brizzi or any other official. A check into the Indiana Attorney General’s Office revealed no legal opinions since 2001 that stated local government bodies could sanction other co-equal branches of local government.
I was able to find all this out in a couple hours. If it was this simple for me, people who specialize in local government should know this as well.
What is more disturbing in all this is that it appears partisan politics (poorly done in my humble opinion) has reared its head one week before an election. At the very least Democrats should have checked to see if they had the authority to sanction other officials before announcing an investigation. Secondly, both Monroe Gray and Ron Gibson should recuse themselves from any matter involving the Prosecutor’s office as they both have connections involving the prosecutor and alleged criminal conduct in Gibson’s case and possible criminal activity in the case of 300 East. At least that way, things wouldn’t look so blatant.
What likely happened is that some individuals in the caucus were so excited about getting Brizzi is they forgot someone would follow up on all this. Maybe they should consult me next time.
October 31st, 2006 at 6:17 pm
There you go again, drinking while you write your blog.
Are you seriously considering Sherron Franklin a credible source on what happens during a caucus meeting? She is so anti-Peterson and anti-Democrat she will say anything to cause trouble.
Let’s see, you called the Republican-controlled DLGF and let them know that local Democrats were trashing local Republicans. They stuck up for the Republicans. Eeeeeeeeew, nice bit of investigative work.
Why don’t you ask about the notice assessors are supposed to send out to taxpayers letting them now taxes are going up? Now I know it hurts when you have to use your brain, but do you honestly think this is something Paul Rickets wants to send out right before an election? Score!
So, you officially endorse lying. Did you actually try to listen to the tapes? No, of course not, that would mean you would have to get off your butt and put away the bottle.
Sober up and find the real story.
October 31st, 2006 at 6:26 pm
Actually DLGF and I have been chatting for months about the budget. Sorry disappoint you. Back to the bar!
Secondly, I use MULTIPLE sources. Exactly whom, that’s my secret! :0)
October 31st, 2006 at 6:49 pm
Nice try but several people saw Sherron run up to you last night after the meeting.
Now I’ll type slower so you can keep up. The issue with the Assessors is that they did not want to send out the state mandated notice to taxpayers (voters). The notice would inform them that their property taxes were going up because and the Assessors were afraid they would get blamed. The Budget is not the issue here. Comprende?
Now let’s see how brave you are. What’s worse, Brizzi’s lie or the Council D’s timing?
October 31st, 2006 at 8:07 pm
The whole point of this is to ratchet up the pressure on Brizzi to keep him from issuing any damaging indictments before the election. It worked.
October 31st, 2006 at 8:27 pm
Sorry, but she wasn’t the source. That would be way too obvious. You’ll have to try harder next time.
October 31st, 2006 at 8:45 pm
Too late, she going to get blamed. You ought to be more descreet next time.
October 31st, 2006 at 8:46 pm
And answer the question. It’s okay, you can lie to us. We are used to it.
November 1st, 2006 at 12:28 am
Isn?t a censure simply the council?s collective opinion saying someone did something wrong? Do they want to remove someone from office or apply some other punishment? If not, what would stop them from doing it.
Personally, I care whether or not the Prosecutor, in his official role, lied to the City-County Council. I don?t care about people getting drunk or whatever on their own time.
November 1st, 2006 at 6:39 am
Just as the Council may pass a resolution commending Abdul as “Broadcaster of the Year”, so may it pass a resolution censuring Brizzi as “Schmuck of the Year”. Both resolutions have equal force of law.
November 1st, 2006 at 7:58 am
Wilson, I think you need a listening audience of 20 or more before you can be nominated as Broadcaster of the Year.
November 1st, 2006 at 8:41 am
BRIZZI LIED, PEOPLE DIED!
November 1st, 2006 at 9:44 am
Hello, will someone please tell me what rolls the superior court judges, the sheriff, the Mayor’s police department play in early releases?
Melina Kennedy has lied in her ads, and has promised everthing to get a vote. She has no experience and I doubt if she can prepare a brief correctly. Is she gay? She has that unisex look.
Carl Brizzi should not be holding back on any indictments beofre the election.
November 1st, 2006 at 10:22 am
Has anyone read this on the Indystar.com?
U.S. Marshals arrested a murder suspect this afternoon, ending his mistaken release from jail because of a paperwork error.
Jason T. Shelton, 19, was charged last month in the shooting death of Tammy D. Cook, 42, in the 900 block of North Bosart Avenue. But after prosecutors dismissed a lesser handgun charge against him on Friday outside of court, Shelton was mistakenly released from jail.
This afternoon, jail records showed Shelton was back in custody.
Marion Superior Court Judge Grant Hawkins said the error occurred when a bailiff in his office checked a box on a form that resulted in the dismissal of all charges against Shelton, instead of just the handgun charge. The bailiff used the proper form, the judge said — but the option she checked did not make clear that by doing so, the entire case would be dismissed in the computer system.
“Now that I see how it happened,” Hawkins said, “I’m surprised it hasn’t happened before. I’m absolutely sure this staff will never do something like this again.”
Hawkins said Shelton’s release apparently came to light when a victim’s family member phoned the prosecutor’s office, wondering why he was back on the street. Electronic court records show the warrant was issued for Shelton’s arrest this morning.
The judge stood by the bailiff, whom he declined to name because she did not act negligently, he said. He said the form had a glitch, since there was no other option that made sense to check if a bailiff wanted to dismiss a particular charge that had been dropped outside a court hearing.
Single charges usually are dismissed during court hearings, Hawkins said — and when that happens, court clerks use a different form that allows specific charges to be dismissed.
November 1st, 2006 at 11:53 am
“She has no experience and I doubt if she can prepare a brief correctly. Is she gay? She has that unisex look.”
Good stuff, guys. Keep it up.
If you were wondering about that puddle of blood on the floor, it’s coming from the credibility you just shot.
Abdul has failed to answer the question in my original post about whether Brizzi lied to the Council. He’s attempting to distract from the issue at hand by bringing up Gibson and Gray.
Won’t fly.
Let’s hear from Brizzi.
Abdul, you’re friends with him. Won’t you do your listeners the favor of asking him on the air to explain his statements?
November 1st, 2006 at 1:52 pm
It’s no distraction, Jen. Just the full story. God love you guys for doing your job. But pardon me, if I do mine. Next drink is on me.
November 1st, 2006 at 2:53 pm
Brizzi lied. People died.
November 1st, 2006 at 3:22 pm
Brizzi gets re-elected, people get dissected.
Hey, this is fun!
November 1st, 2006 at 3:36 pm
The City Council needs to worry about their own troubles. Keep up the good work, Abdul.