Scott Walker "Doubtlessly" Would Reward Tim Russell" With "Lucrative Government Job"

One of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's closest associates, Tim Russell, is getting off easy -- not only did prosecutors drop 2 charges, obtaining a guilty plea on one felony count of stealing tens of thousands of dollars from a veterans' fund, but they agreed not to charge Russell with misconduct in public office for political work he did while a county employee as well as other acts of alleged misconduct that related to the embezzlement.

And while the plea Russell accepted initially stated that Landgraf  would ask for no more than 30 months' incarceration and 30 months' extended supervision, in his sentencing memo for next Tuesday's hearing (Jan 22, 2012), Landgraf is only asking for 2 years in jail and two years probation.

Pretty sweet deal if you can get it -- Russell stole more than $27,000, earlier this year reported as “more than 50 cents of every donation dollar deposited” from a widows and orphan fund to help families of solders killed serving in the United States military.  Tim Russell copped a guilty plea for just about as low a crime as one can imagine.  The proscutor's sentencing memo, as we will show after the jump, shows the situation was much worse.


Scott Walker has been lying that he is responsible for turning Russell in which initiated the John Doe probe into the criminality behind Scott Walker's ascent to power, crimes others are going to jail for, but that Scott Walker personally benefited from.  The media has been shamelessly repeating the false story that Walker is the "good guy", because he turned his best friend Tim Russell in.  THIS IS NOT WHAT HAPPENED.

In fact, Walker has consistently stonewalled and stalled the inquiry.  The very existence of the criminal probe is due to the fact that Scott Walker has not cooperated in any meaningful way.

But you would never know that following Wisconsin's media echo-chamber -- Lee Enterprises, Journal Communications, Gannett, and Clear Channel.  They have been publishing disinformation that the probe was now just going to go away.

Milwaukee County Assistant DA Bruce Landgraf's sentencing memo includes the following interesting tidbits of information:

• “Mr. Russell simply used the HGPS veteran’s fund as his personal piggy bank.  His thefts frustrated both the generous gifts of donors and short-changed the intended beneficiaries.”
• Langraf expresses that is not clear why Scott Walker personally turned the account in question over to Russell.  “The only explanation that makes sense is that Tim Russell used his position as deputy chief of staff and a trusted Walker insider to gain control of nearly $20,000 in charitable funds,”  a statement that assigns some culpability to Scott Walker.
• Landgraf continues [emphasis added]:  “Whatever the reasoning behind the transfer of control to the defendant, one thing is plain: Tim Russell quickly set about stealing from HGPS once he gained control of the profits.” 
• Some of the stolen money was used to pay $3,000 to Chris Kujawa, reimbursing an  unsuccessful county board candidate.
• Russell used some of the stolen money to attend a political junket and cupport web sites for Scott Walker
• While initial reports were that Russell stole "50 cents of every donation dollar", now Landgraf states:  “Russell drained HGPS down to the very last of its available funds. We will never know if he would have stolen more; Judge Neal Nettesheim issued an order freezing the HGPS account on Jan. 20, 2011."  (NOTE:  We will also never know for what purpose additional monies, if available, may have been embezzled for).
  
• Perhaps most damning of all, the DA's office makes it clear that Tim Russell expected big rewards for the crimes he committed -- this means others were complicit -- powerful people -- folks with the ability to dish out cushy state jobs.  After all, Tim Russell couldn't just grant himself high-level government positions from his crimes.  Landgraf states it this way [empahsis added]:  “[Tim Russell] had great hopes of gaining an important position in state government. Doubtlessly, he would have received a lucrative government job, but for the John Doe investigation.” 

The DA's office has just publically stated that SOMEONE higher up must have not only benefitid from the crimes, but that there was reason to believe Russell was going get something in return for these crimes -- a powerful, important position.  And who would be able to ensure that would happen?

We know the John Doe probe is not over -- we also know there is a federal investigation -- the FBI searched the home of a close Walker associate and seized items, including computers.  Bruce Landgraf's sentencing memo, while appearing to be lenient to Tim Russell, can be seen as tipping the prosecutors hands in 3 important ways:

• Scott Walker put Tim Russell in charge of the widows and orphans fund and it was immediately used as a "piggy bank".  Virtually all money was mishandled and, had the John Doe investigation not identified what was happening, all future donations were likely to be mishandled too.
• Scott Walker's campaign manager and former Chief of Staff, Keith Gilkes, has been publicly identified as a beneficiary of Tim Russell's crimes.  Gilkes is very touch about the status of the John Doe probe, abruptly ending a recent media interview.  Is this why?
• Tim Russell expected big things in return for his criminality, using a veteran's widows and orphans fund as a slush fund.  Only Scott Walker is responsible for putting Russell position to mishandle these funds.  Scott Walker benefited from the crimes, the mishandling of funds was ongoing and impacted all donations, and Walker (with the help of compliant mainstream media assets) is lying about cooperating with the probe.

Don't listen to Walker "hoping" the investigations are done -- dismiss all media proclamations that say its over.   What Assistant DA Bruce Landgraf's lighter sentencing recommendations and sweetheart deal likely means is that there are bigger fish to fry.

They are casting for our "divide and conquer" Governor himself.