ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER REPUBLICROOK GUILTY PLEA

I don't know about you, but when I want to know what's the latest in filthy from the most corrupt state Republican Party in the nation-- no, not Kentucky, not California, not Texas... one more guess; OHIO-- I go right to the TOLEDO BLADE. They have all the stuff no one outside of Ohio ever hears about. And there's always some Republicrook pleading guilty to something-- usually something that had to do with assisting the Party Machine there steal the presidency for George Bush in 2004. Anyway, today the TOLEDO BLADE has a real doozy!

Even I never heard of Terrence Gasper. But old Terr "played a central role in the state's $50 million rare-coin investment and the loss of $216 million in a Bermuda-based hedge fund." You didn't think it was all just Noe and Taft and Blackwell, right? Maybe we'll get to the bottom of this now-- though I bought it-- since Gasper "is cooperating with federal and state authorities as part of an agreement in which he will plead guilty today to corruption charges" (like on $50 million charge and one $216 million charge? I hope they're felonies at least).

Short and sweet: Gasper, who's attorney is also named Terrence, was CFO of the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation, the $15 billion insurance fund for injured workers that the Republican Party of Ohio felt was their piggy bank and used to help finance their complete take-over of the state's political system-- as well as the theft of the "election" of George Bush. He pled guilt today, admitting that he took bribes in exchange for government "investment opportunities." Maybe this is too complicated to put on TV but maybe if Gasper had also had anal sex with Paris Hilton it would be all over the TV news.

I guess the TV news peeps don't think it's newsworthy that this creep helped undermine our country's democracy by handing out tens of millions of dollars from the State Workmen's Compensation Fund in return for things like his kid's college tuition and the use of a cool condo down in Florida. Oh, and cash. He got cash bribes too. You remember ole Tom Noe, Ohio's Republican Party kingmaker, right? He gave Gasper $25,000 to get a second $25 million investment slush fund that he laundered through a bogus rare coin operation that kept managing to lose coins (and on the very days the state GOP was getting these mammoth donations).

I always found it interesting that as the Noe fiasco was unraveling in the press, no one seemed to be following up with another sleazy and corrupt Republican operation, Pittsburgh-based MDL Capital Management, which managemented to lose a couple of hundred million dollars of Workmen's Compensation Insurance in some harebrained off-shore hedge fund (an illegal investment for public Ohio monies). They were also heavy contributors to the GOP and all the corrupt political hacks that make up the Republican hierarchy of Ohio. No one has been charged in that one, although Gaspar approved it and it is cleared not something allowed by the Bureau. But what the heck... it's only a little over $200 million.

Last week, of course, Noe pled guilty to some federal charges about illegally funneling money to the Bush/Cheney 2004 campaign. And "not guilty" to state charges of stealing more than-- probably a great deal more than-- $1 million from the fund money "invested" in coins. And I think Governor Taft was sentenced to go on TV and say he was sorry after pleading no lo contendi. Gasper could get 7 years in prison but US District Judge David Dowd Jr., who could depart from that range, said he will not sentence Gasper until Gasper has ratted out some of his co-conspirators. We'll see.