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Rhode Island Lt. Governor Urges Law Change in Response to John Stephen's Paid "Volunteer" Work

by: DRicher

Fri Mar 12, 2010 at 13:42:42 PM EST


(A press release, but, ummm... this is huge! - promoted by Dean Barker)

Stephen Skirts Laws to Collects Hundreds of Thousands in Taxpayer Money

In response to $370,000 in questionable payments made to John Stephen and the Lucas Group for so-called volunteer work, Rhode Island's Lt. Governor Elizabeth Roberts is calling on lawmakers to fine public officials who violate bidding laws. The Rhode Island Attorney General has also been investigating the payments.

John Stephen, working for the Lucas Group, consulted with Rhode Island on its Medicaid program. Rhode Island officials - including secretary of the Office of Health and Human Services, Gary Alexander, who campaigned with Stephen and held a fundraiser for him - publicly stated for months that the work was on a volunteer basis.

It was later publicly revealed that John Stephen and the Lucas Group received $370,000 for this so-called "volunteer" work - money that was awarded without any competitive bidding process.

Rhode Island's Lt. Governor Elizabeth Roberts yesterday urged the Rhode Island Assembly to put in place stiff penalties for violating the state's competitive bidding requirements.

"I was shocked to learn that a company that offered services voluntarily to the state, that never went through an open, public-bidding process and never had a contract from the state, was able to turn around and secure payment, and the state had no recourse," Roberts said, according to the Providence Journal.

"John Stephen charged Rhode Island taxpayers $370,000 for volunteer work?" asked  Raymond Buckley, chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party.  "If that's what John Stephen charges for 'volunteer' work there is no way New Hampshire taxpayers can afford to elect him Governor."


"It is not surprising that the Rhode Island legislature has to consider changing its laws because of John Stephen's behavior. New Hampshire taxpayers can't afford John Stephen's type of no-bid, no-ethics arrangements that benefit him and his political cronies."  

"John Stephen worked for state government for years. He should know about competitive bidding. He should also know that volunteers are not supposed to get paid for their volunteer work for the state.  John Stephen obviously doesn't think those laws apply if they stand in the way of his personal gain.  New Hampshire can't afford someone like John Stephen who thinks ethics and the law doesn't apply to him."

The scandal is reminiscent of those in the Administration of Stephen's mentor, Craig Benson. Benson paid tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars to a so-called volunteer named Linda Pepin.

"John Stephen apparently learned everything he knows about ethics from Craig Benson - something that should scare the people of New Hampshire," Buckley said.

Click here to read he Providence Journal Story in full.

# # #

(Posted by Derek Richer, Press Secretary of the New Hampshire Democratic Party)  

DRicher :: Rhode Island Lt. Governor Urges Law Change in Response to John Stephen's Paid "Volunteer" Work
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What's the difference... (4.00 / 2)
Between Linda Pepin and Johnny Stephen?

About $183,000 - the payment for her volunteer work was only $187,000.

I have heard of no bid contracts, this is the first time I have heard of "no bid no contract".



"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."  Franklin D. Roosevelt    


Haha. (0.00 / 0)
That was the first thought I had - the Benson era folks model their behavior from that golden era of bad.

birch paper; on Twitter @deanbarker

[ Parent ]
No ethics, (0.00 / 1)
no morals.  It makes me ill that his name is associated with the term "volunteer."  My town runs on volunteers.  A few get a small stipend, the selectboard and the treasurer, the rest of us toil to keep the town running and moving forward for nothing but civic duty and a desire to be of service.

Shame.

We believe in prosperity & opportunity, strong communities, healthy families, great schools, investing in our future and leading the world by example. We are Democrats; we are the change you're looking for.


Send a bill! (0.00 / 0)
On Planet Stephen, you volunteer, and then send a bill, and then settle for about half of what you bill!

This link is a really good explanation of the whole thing, including how the state refused to turn over documents, like the letter from the Lucas Group demanding payment.

http://www.rhodeislandbusiness...  

Johnny has a lot of baggage, this is just one more valise to throw on the cart.  



"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."  Franklin D. Roosevelt    


[ Parent ]
Time to Pack It In, Johnny (0.00 / 0)
If there's any justice in the world - or common sense left in the New Hampshire Republican Party - this should be the end of the road for the Stephen campaign.

The GOP pros likely never figured Stephen would win. They simply wanted him  to run a quasi-legitimate campaign, make some noise and keep it close enough so as not to drag the rest of the ticket down.

Now, even that modest target seems out of reach.

The most significant nugget in the ProJo article linked above is the last paragraph:

Describing himself as outraged, Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch promised in June to launch an investigation. His investigation has not yet resulted in any action or written findings by his office.

Leave aside Stephen's dismal record and policy positions for the moment, if you were John Sununu would you dare nominate someone while an "outraged" Democratic attorney general of a nearby state has an open investigation underway into a $370,000 ripoff of the taxpayers?

Talk about waiting for the other shoe to drop...


Call me a dismal optimist, (4.00 / 1)
but I'm smelling the tide going out on these guys...



In the immediate aftermath of Since the start of the financial crisis, the Fed/Treasury lent, spent, or guaranteed $28 $29 trillion to save the banking system.


[ Parent ]
That's incredible. (0.00 / 0)
However, under the guise of "saving money" a lot of schemes have been sold to government entities.  Much of the electronic hardware being sold to agencies up and down the line is supposed to save money by reducing the need for "manpower."

RI Support (4.00 / 1)
Perhaps Johnny could replace the picture on his web site of Florida resident Doug Kruse with a picture of someone from Rhode Island.



"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."  Franklin D. Roosevelt    



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