How’s this for romance: Last December, the transition team of then Mayor-elect Vince Gray ordered a full background check of Gray’s girlfriend, Linda Greene. Among the 800 or so emails that were released yesterday to the D.C. Council committee investigating hiring practices in the Gray administration is a note from private investigator Ken Cummins (the very …
‘Good Wife’ deftly plays off real scandals
Had the sexual assault charges against Dominique Strauss-Kahn, former managing director of the International Monetary Fund, never surfaced, “The Good Wife” would have invented them. It is easy to imagine that the writers are already mining a story from his ugly circumstances for a forthcoming script. (And then moving on to an episode about Arnold …
How Arnold got busted
(CNN) — This time, there was no “gotcha” moment, no kill-the-messenger pushback. Asked for comment about a child born out of wedlock, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s camp simply gave up the goods. It was quick, clean, surgical. Schwarzenegger wasn’t given a way out, the reporter who broke the story tells Howard Kurtz on Sunday’s “Reliable Sources” on …
British Tabloid Accepts Liability in Phone Hackings
The sudden admission was a dramatic about-face for the company, News International, which claimed for years that it had thoroughly examined the matter and was certain that the hacking had been limited to one “rogue” reporter and a private investigator. Neither of those claims was true, it turns out. “Past behavior at the News of …
Fraud cases reveal online banking flaws
ROB STOCK There is a hole in the heart of business banking, exposing firms who bank online to serious risks of fraud, say some victims. For 10 years, highly paid accountant Richard Watson was stealing from the Ross Group of companies. Watson, who allegedly stole to feed a gambling habit, has admitted siphoning $5.5 million, …
Louisiana HBPA case of fraud, conspiracy divides horsemen
If Hamlet were recast in modern America, is there any doubt where it would be set? Over the last six years in Louisiana, a Shakespearean performance full of intrigue, betrayal, greed, and family rivalries has played out within the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA), the non-profit group recognized by law as the voice …
Why so much corruption? Many state lawmakers seek office for the right reasons, but stay for the wrong ones
By Michael Gormly AP Capitol Editor ALBANY — When New York Democratic Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada went to his Bronx health care clinic during an FBI raid last year, he rolled up in a Bentley luxury car. Republican Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, the year before, awaited sentencing in his federal corruption case at …
Investigator says Leetsdale audit was not changed
No one tampered or altered an audit report of Leetsdale’s finances issued in January, according to a private investigator hired by the borough. Following possible concerns that borough officials altered Ambridge-based auditor Mark Turnley’s report, solicitor Richard Start said he hired in February Corporate Security and Investigators Inc. of Monaca to investigate whether the …
What Rupert Murdoch’s Lieutenant Knows
NEW YORK – A new name added Friday to the News of the World phone-tapping case is casting more doubt on former editor Andy Coulson’s pleas of ignorance—and shifting the media glare to News International CEO Rebekah Brooks. William Underhill on the red-haired, press-shy Murdoch loyalist. For the scandal-hungry British tabloids, it was the perfect …
RIM tells India no access for BlackBerry emails
RIM tells India no access for BlackBerry emails January 27, 2011 Enlarge (http://cdn NULL.physorg NULL.com/newman/gfx/news/hires/anindiancust NULL.jpg) An Indian customer waits next to a BlackBerry display at a shop in New Delhi in August 2010. BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) said Thursday it could not give Indian law enforcers a way to monitor its corporate …
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