A third trial for former county Tax Collector Patricia Lee ended today in Washington County Circuit Court with a verdict of "not guilty" to all charges. Lee was arrested along with eight former clerks in 2007 after an investigation found employees of the tax collector's office were placing car tag purchasers in cheaper tax districts to provide them a discount. A jury was seated for the trial on Tuesday. Lee was being prosecuted by the state attorney general's office, which investigated the car tag discount scheme. Her defense attorney is Johnnie Walls. In addition to Lee, eight have been charged as a result of the investigation. Lee's two previous trials have ended in mistrials.
Now who would have predicted this verdict? Eight other employees in your department are participating in this "discount scheme" and you don't know about it?
What can I say? This is just another example of the perks of "club membership".
Forthright
Posts
22 comments:
Good bet that her club members were on the jury too!
This might be a dumb question, I hope the answer is No, does that mean she gets her job back????
What did you expect? It's Greenville MS! Another payback for the Honkies.
Catching Wild Pigs
A chemistry professor in a large college had some exchange students in the
class. One day while the class was in the lab the Professor noticed one young
man (exchange student) who kept rubbing his back, and stretching as if his back
hurt.
The professor asked the young man what was the matter. The student told him he
had a bullet lodged in his back. He had been shot while fighting communists in
his native country who were trying to overthrow his country's government and
install a new communist government.
In the midst of his story he looked at th e professor and asked a strange
question. He asked, 'Do you know how to catch wild pigs?'
The professor thought it was a joke and asked for the punch line. The young man
said this was no joke. 'You catch wild pigs by finding a suitable place in
the woods and putting corn on the ground. The pigs find it and begin to come
everyday to eat the free corn. When they are used to coming every day, you put a
fence down one side of the place where they are used to coming. When they get
used to the fence, they begin to eat the corn again and you put up another side
of the fence. They get used to that and start to eat again. You continue until
you have all four sides of the fence up with a gate in The last side. The pigs,
who are used to the free corn, start to come through the gate to eat, you slam
the gate on them and catch the whole herd.
Suddenly the wild pigs have lost their freedom. They run around and around
inside the fence, but they are caught. Soon they go back to eating the free
corn. They are so used to it that they have forgotten how to forage in the woods
for themselves, so they accept their captivity.
The young man then told the professor that is exactly what he sees happening to
America . The government keeps pushing us toward socialism and keeps spreading
the free corn out in the form of programs such as supplemental income, tax
credit for unearned income, tobacco subsidies, dairy subsidies, payments not to
plant crops (CRP), welfare, medicine, drugs, etc.. While we continually lose our
freedoms -- just a little at a time.
Sure she will get her job back, probably with back pay. Remember, we are in the Delta where justice is defined by "beating the rap" rather than by guilt or innocense.
If she was innocent, wouldn't she deserve her job back? Or is this just justice reserved for some people
Good point. I guess it has to do with three trials to find her innnocent that concerns me....
Do the friends get to keep the tags?
You forgot farm subsidies; lots of big money there.
Aha! There is the correct perspective! Not guilty doe not mean innocent...right you are!
For several years Betty and I have enjoyed the Colorado mountains during the heat of summer, everything from the beauty of the continental divide and majestic views to the flowers and wildlife. On many visits, we have seen written caution: "Do not feed the foxes."
Upon inquiring, we were informed that feeding the foxes causes them to become unnecessarily and even foolishly dependent upon the handouts. They lose their ability to deal with the natural challenges that come and find the naturally available food supplies. Making a fox dependent on people destroys its stability and potential for a healthy future. When animals become dependant on handouts, they can forget how to fend for themselves.
The Bible is filled with references to the lessons we can learn from the wild -- from the predatory nature of the wolf to the vulnerability of the sheep. We are cautioned to beware of the birds of prey which always attack the living. And there are many influences both in the spiritual realm and the natural realm that affect our development of life skills enabling us to overcome seen and unseen predators. Since we have come to understand the absolute importance of not feeding the foxes, I have to wonder how many people we have unwittingly taught to depend on others and thereby destroyed their ability to face the difficulties of life.
If you have followed Betty and me on our journey over the last years or viewed our television program LIFE Today, then you are probably aware that we continually care for the helpless. We help feed the hungry and provide clean water for those who only have contaminated sources. But be assured, once we stabilize the situation in the midst of crisis and get people on their feet, we show them how to survive on their own. We actually equip those who were once starving with the knowledge and skill to grow their own crops and cultivate farms to help feed others in need.
Jesus told us to consider the birds, pointing out that they don't worry because God provides for them. Yet if you watch the birds, you will see there is not a lazy one in the bunch. They all work from daybreak until sunset. Jesus said not to worry; He never said to not work!
For decades we have created a dependent society that actually believes that productive citizens owe them a living. People are angry at those who are successful (unless they happen to be entertainers or athletes) and fully expect the "rich" to take care of them. Sure enough, we are developing people who oftentimes don't have the will to work and certainly wouldn't accept a job they consider beneath their dignity.
We need to examine many of the promises and provisions being offered that strip people of their self-worth, personal dignity and desire to make it on their own. Millions of people have no idea how to fend for themselves. The temporary help offered to a few in need has mushroomed into programs that kill the incentive to work. What was designed to legitimately help a small group of people has unwittingly harmed a larger group.
I grew up with the poorest of the poor; one of a very small percentage of whites in the racially diverse area. The majority of places I lived could not be called "houses." They were shacks facing dirty rivers or other ugly dwellings. One was literally on a dump. I never looked around and resented the people who had something better, but I never waited for them to take care of me. Even as a fatherless boy, I decided that if anyone could make it, I could, too. I didn't see a limit to opportunities like others in my area were convinced we had. I looked out and saw possibilities. At 12 years of age, I went to work six or seven days a week for way below what would be called "minimum wage." It didn't hurt me one bit. In fact, it helped me!
I thank God there weren't a bunch of politicians offering me something that would prove to be as foolish as feeding the foxes. That could have taken away my desire to work and blocked my opportunity to find a way out of difficult circumstances.
The Bible not only says consider the birds and consider the ants, but also says, "Consider your ways." I think it's high time to do so! BY JAMES ROBISON
I can't help but wonder why andrewjeski wasn't prosecuted. All of her actions were swept under the rug. She trained the people and one of the witnesses said she taught him how to do it. Maybe this is just the good old boy system used back then,but when a black person gets the job lets prosecute. Is is possible it was three times because there wasn't any evidence.
Surely, there had to be grounds for charges or there would not have been the first trial.
mY gOD, lEE HAS BEEN IN OFFICE for more than one term. Andrezewski wasn't charged because there was no reason to.
Just because a black woman was charged, don't assume that the white woman was guilty too. If the situation had been reversed, and a white woman charged, and someone made this type comment, the AFLCIO, NAACP, etc would be all over that comment because it is RACIST.
Hey all of you, GET OVER IT!
**Sunday DDT
Council explains
Saturday, March 7, 2009 11:17 PM CST
Traveling votes
By TERRI FERGUSON SMITH terriferguson@ddtonline.com
GREENVILLE - City Council members are speaking out about their votes last week over whether to approve funds for travel/training requests.
Betty Watkins, Carl McGee and Errick Simmons on Tuesday voted to send Police Chief Charles Patterson, Capt. Andrew Kaho and Lt. Xavier Redmond to Jackson to attend the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Region III conference. The cost is $288.50 each.
Ann Hollowell, Kenny Gines and Lee Owen voted against.
However, the motion passed when Mayor Heather McTeer Hudson broke the tie by voting in favor of approving the travel expenses.**
I have a problem with our city tax dollars paying to go to ANY Race specifc event. I would be more likely to agree a need, if the conference had been for Police Leaders in General and not "Black Only". Same goes for the city paying for the Mayor attending "The Black Mayor's Conference". Our tax dollars should be specifically related to the population in general. If these people want to attend a race specific event, then they should be willing to pay their own way. If Lee Owens requested funds to attend a "White Council conference", can you imagine the roar from those who do the same???
If we are going to get past racism, we need to get at least past the tax dollars paying to support race specific events and groups.
Funny thing is that she will be voted back in at election time
Since when do our elected officials have the right to use tax dollars to attend functions to support and advance a specific race, with tax dollars collected from all races? Worse yet, these events are of a personal nature. These events are in no way directly related to the jobs of the officials. Not unless furthering racial tensions and widening the racial divide are part of their job descriptions.
Exactly. How is it okay for tax dollars to be spent on race specific events? I am so tired of the double standards! This crap has to stop, especially when there are even fewer tax dollars to spare these days. Those types of trips are ripping off the city and the citizens! Enough is enough!
I have no problem with the organizations, well, not mostly. If these people feel it is so important for them to attend, by all means, feel free to go, take some time off that you have earned off and pay your own way to be there. Time for these events to get off the city paychecks!
As for Patricia Lee, my thinking is that even if she is not guilty, the fact remains it was her staff who were. She should be fired retroactive to the date of her arrest for poor office management and coverage of office business on her part as Director/MGR. NO back pay, No job!
Lee is guilty -- we all know it. She just had enough buddies on her jury. Another reason we all need to leave this place!
Change the subject. My college-age son and I were watching the local news and heard that the local Pizza Inn, A&W, and Long John Silver's all had closed recently. He commented that it was no wonder, as he had not visited any of those places in all the years he's been independently mobile---they simply did not interest him. I quote: "If people want to have a successful restaurant in Greenville or anywhere else, why don't they simply appeal to the desired demographic?" There are HUNDREDS of local folks---and thousands beyond our city limits---who crave a nice location for a meal, someplace they don't have to be ashamed to take a date, someplace that is as much a destination as a diner. How hard would it have been to open a McAllister's deli rather than a silly A&W/LJSilver combo. Totally wrong demographic! If you want your restaurant to survive, then appeal to the group that has the money to spend. We don't want another hot wings trailer or tamale shack. We want a location, a place to spend a pleasant evening with friends. We don't want another national pizza franchise---we want Lost Dog Pizza! We don't want another Taco Bell---we want Newk's Express or Sweet Pepper's Deli. Pay attention!!!! Heather, Betty Lynn, Ed: get the word out, please. We will THROW money out of the car window as we drive up! Just give us some better options.
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