Brickbat: After the Love Has Gone

A jury has found former San Angelo, Texas, police chief Tim Vasquez guilty of receipt of a bribe by an agent of an organization receiving federal funds and three counts of honest services mail fraud. Vasquez convinced city officials to keep a contract for its radio communication systems with San Antonio-based Dailey-Wells Communications. But he kept secret from other officials that Dailey-Wells had been hiring his Earth, Wind, and Fire cover band Funky Munky for company events since 2007. Once the new contract was awarded in 2015, Dailey-Wells hired Funky Munky to play 10 shows for about $84,000. The band's other performances in that era earned them some $2,100 a show.

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

More like guilty of virtual blackface.

[Inigo Montoya]

It’s not blackface if the former chief was presenting himself as black as long as he makes it clear he identifies as black. After all, there is far less of a biological basis for race than there is for gender, so if the latter is determined by how you feel deep down inside, than there’s no question race is an individual choice too.

[cgr2727]

There are no winners here. The true victims are those who had to listen to an Earth Wind & Fire cover band.

[The Encogitationer]

If their choreography is good as Earth Wind & Fire's, that would be something to see, albeit not at taxpayer's expense.

[Roberta]

Still, that "honest services mail fraud" has got to go, especially when you can get a conviction on straight-up bribery.

[Seamus]

Except that straight-up bribery isn't a federal offense without some additional factor--such as the use of the mails or of the instrumentalities of interstate commerce--bringing the subject matter within congressional authority.

[Utkonos]

Earth Wind and Fire?! Is that the soul accusation here?

[The Encogitationer]

Some informant "Sang A Song" and made a "Getaway" to "Boogie Wonderland."

[Longtobefree]

What happened to equal justice under the law?
Except for the scale, the amounts involved, he has not done anything the Clintons or Bidens have done.