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Post by NerdiestKen on Dec 14, 2023 10:50:20 GMT -6
HUD Described as 'Political Machine' - April 1990 DuBois Gilliam, a deputy assistant secretary at the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development from 1984 to 1987, began testifying before the House Government Operations committee, April 30. Gilliam was serving a prison term for accepting payoffs from developers. Gilliam told the subcommittee, which was investigating other allegations of wrongdoing, that the department "was the best domestic political machine I've ever seen. We dealt strictly in politics." Gilliam admitted he had accepted about $100,000 in payoffs from developers and consultants who wanted to do business with HUD. He disputed testimony by Samuel Pierce, a former HUD secretary, who had asserted that he had played no role in awarding HUD grants. "I know for a fact that the secretary made decisions," Gilliam said. "We were not allowed to spend any discretionary funds without clearing it with him." Gilliam said Pierce transferred an employee who became suspicious about a link between politics and the awarding of grants. An attorney for Pierce denied the allegations against his client, April 30.
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Post by NerdiestKen on Dec 15, 2023 10:18:13 GMT -6
Exxon Valdez Captain Guilty of Negligence - March 1990 Joseph Hazelwood, who was captain of the oil tanker Exxon Valdez on March 24, 1989, when it dumped nearly 11M gallons of oil into Prince William Sound in Alaska, was found guilty of negligent discharge of oil in a state court in Anchorage, March 22. He was acquitted of criminal mischief and 2 other charges. The spill contaminated more than 1,000 miles of coastline and claimed a heavy toll of wildlife. Hazelwood, March 23, was sentenced to serve 1,000 hours of community service and ordered to make a "token restitution" of $50,000 over time.
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Post by NerdiestKen on Dec 15, 2023 10:24:35 GMT -6
Senate Removes Federal Judge - October 1989 U.S. District Judge Alcee Hastings of Florida was convicted of 8 articles of impeachment, October 20, by the U.S. Senate. The convictions had the effect of removing him from the bench. Hastings, the 6th federal judge to be so removed, had been acquitted in 1983 of accepting a bribe in a case before him. However, a federal judicial panel found "clear and convincing evidence" in 1987 that Hastings had conspired to accept the bribe.
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