Former Governor Siegelman Indicted with others

[Bamalaw92]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FOR MORE INFORMATION:
MAY 27, 2004 Chris Bence (334) 242-4543
www.usdoj.gov/usao/aln Suzanne Webb (334) 242-7351
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491

TUSCALOOSA PHYSICIAN PHILLIP BOBO, FORMER ALABAMA GOVERNOR
DON SIEGELMAN, AND FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF PAUL HAMRICK
INDICTED ON CHARGES OF CONSPIRACY, HEALTH CARE FRAUD,
AND PROGRAM FRAUD

BIRMINGHAM, AL - Alice H. Martin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, Troy King, Attorney General for the State of Alabama, Carmen S. Adams, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Linda S. Little, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General announce that a federal grand jury has returned an eight count indictment against PHILLIP KELLEY BOBO, 59, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, DON EUGENE SIEGELMAN,58, of Birmingham, Alabama, and PAUL MICHAEL HAMRICK, 40, of Montgomery, Alabama.

According to U.S. Attorney Alice H. Martin, the indictment charges Bobo, Siegelman, and Hamrick with one count each of conspiracy (18 U.S.C. § 371), health care fraud (18 U. S. C. § 1347), and program fraud (18 U.S.C. § 666). Bobo is also charged with two counts of witness tampering (18 U.S.C. § 1512) and with one count each of wire fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1343), making a false statement to the FBI (18 U.S.C. § 1001), and making a false statement to the court (18 U.S.C. § 1623).

The indictment alleges that while Siegelman was Governor, he and Hamrick aided and abetted Bobo in a scheme to undermine the bid process for the Maternity Care Program and obtain Maternity Care Program contracts for Bobo’s business, Neighborhood Health Services. The Maternity Care Program was created by the Alabama Medicaid Agency to provide medical services to poor pregnant women, in an attempt to lower the infant mortality rate in Alabama. Siegelman and Hamrick are alleged to have, among other things, moved money in the Special Education Trust Fund budget to the State Fire College in Tuscaloosa so that Bobo could use the money, by way of fraudulent contracts, to pay off a competitor in the Maternity Care Program bid process. The indictment alleges that the value of the Maternity Care Program contracts for the entire state were in excess of $100 million per year.

“The competitive bid process used by Alabama's Medicaid Agency in the Maternity Care Program was critical to ensuring that the federal funding was properly expended to the highest benefit of Alabama's poor, pregnant women,” said U.S. Attorney Alice H. Martin. “Today's charges allege that corruption and the attempted corruption of that process denied Alabama citizens of the honest services of former Governor Siegelman and his Chief of Staff Hamrick, all for the benefit of Dr. Bobo.”

Alabama Attorney General Troy King stated, “Today is a sad day in Alabama. Citizens have the right to expect honest services from their elected officials. However, the two messages today are that accountability is being required of all who serve you. And to those who serve our State in positions of trust, the message is loud and clear – uphold your oaths, obey the law, or face the consequences.”

“The citizens of Alabama have a right to expect fair and honest service from their public officials and health care providers. The FBI, in concert with the Public Corruption Task Force, will aggressively pursue allegations of misconduct by public officials and we encourage the public to report these matters,” stated Carmen S. Adams, Special Agent in Charge, FBI.

The case is a joint investigation being conducted by investigators with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Alabama Attorney General’s Office, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Miles M. Hart, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney John Gibbs, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Atwood are prosecuting the case.

 

[jdpas29]

i'm not surprised.

i thought siegelman was crooked from the first time i saw him.

 

[Pachydermatous]

Let's wind the clock back a few years to Fob James' last year as governor. Fob was an honest man who performed exactly as he promised. Nevertheless, he and his wife were a little too religious to suit the state's cognoscente. The couple went on pilgrimages to the Holy Land and similar rustic stuff which modern secular governors just don't do. He was an embarrassment to the sophisticates who infest the media like fly larvae.

So that whole last year the state's biggest newspapers, led by the Birmingham News, performed a marathon hatchet job on Fob. One second-rate paper, the Birmingham Post-Herald, even ran a comic strip entitled "Tinker Fob." In it James was portrayed as a fairy, wearing ballet tutu and dancing shoes, equipped with a magic wand, and performing whacky "miracles" from Montgomery.

Net result was that Alabama voters elected an out-and-out thief as governor. The fact The Don performed his stealing through paper shuffling makes him no less a thief than any snatch-and-grab heister. The fact he stole money from a Maternity Care Program puts him beneath contempt. Only the most naive would conclude that part of that $100 million did not find its way back into The Don's pockets via kickbacks.

I have sermonized on this topic before: but always keep an eye on the media. The Constitution (really Thomas Jefferson) wrote them a blank check. They can peddle and meddle as they please; they can elect and unelect governors and presidents; they can blacken reputations and whitewash the past of scoundrels; or they can create whole legends to warp the future of government.

In its own way this is close to absolute power which, as we are told, corrupts absolutely.

 

[DiamondDust]

Pachy, you also forgot that Fob was an inept excuse of a governor. Don wasn't much better, but I do remember the majority of Alabama deciding Don was far better than Fob. Heck, that race was more about the voters wanting Fob gone than wanting Don elected. Look at the race between Riley, Windom, and Fob's son. It is obvious this state has had enough of the James family.

Just a quick note... "Tinker Fob" was a creation of Scott Stantis, editorial cartoonist in the Birmingham News. My favorite collection of Fob cartoons was the one in his campaign office. It had the classic line, "Keep Alabama Stupid - Vote Fob James".

I'd also love to hear your take on how to control the media. Does it include state run organizations? Even if the media is powerful as you say, it is still up to the viewer and/or voter to make up their mind regarding the message.

 

[Pachydermatous]

Diamond ----

In a way you remind me of my friend Frank the engineer. He informed me he was voting for The Don because Fob "screwed us. He just screwed us." How, I wanted to know? Frank couldn't answer. He just keep repeating that Fob had done the dirty deed to us.

Finally he asserted Fob had screwed up education. How? Again silence, then he ventured the fear that Fob might not back more money for special education. Frank has a disabled daughter, so special education is dear to his wallet. Continuing his rant, Frank excoriated "those temporary classrooms, those trailers. We've got to get rid of those trailers." I hardly need to mention that The Don came to power on a lottery scheme which failed. And when he departed the trailers were still parked in their customary spots. And now the trailers are scarcely mentioned anymore. They seem to have been more offensive during the James' administration.

Fob's main promise when he assumed office was that he would not raise our taxes. He kept that promise. It meant saying "no" to a lot of people which is not healthy for a politician. Too many power groups are out to spend, spend, spend, and if you get in their way they run to the press to cry.

A great many people will tell you Fob was a lousy governor, but they don't know exactly why. They're just products if the Great Hatchet Job.

Yes, I know Scott Stantis. I would hope he's grown up considerably since the Great Fob crusade. Slogans like "Keep Alabama Stupid - Vote Fob James" are more apt to a political hack copywriter than an editorial cartoonist.

How would I reform the press? Sorry son, but that is up to you. I've done my bit. And there's no textbook to help you with answers in the back. It will have to be done again and again with each generation as new waves of reporters and editors arrive, full of P&V and mistakes. Ah, the mistakes! They will be made all over again and YOU will have to catch them.



[This message has been edited by Pachydermatous (edited 05-27-2004).]

 

[DiamondDust]

I might be in the minority here, but I'll come out and say that I just simply didn't like Fob James one bit. I didn't need the media to make that decision, he just came off in a bad way, regardless the situation. I do remember the situation where James diverted or tried to divert money from the recently demolished Oak Grove High School shortly before he left office.

Then there was the whole situation of James basically spitting on the Bill of Rights and saying it has no bearing on the state of Alabama. Let's not forget the whole '98 Republican primary campaign, although Blount had his fair share of embarrasments in that one as well.

As for the lottery situation, it's widely believed that Siegelman's election had more to do with people disliking Fob James, rather than supporting the lottery. People were fed up with James making the state a laughing stock.

 

[jdpas29]

Emery Folmar for GOVERNOR!!!

[This message has been edited by jdpas29 (edited 05-27-2004).]