D.C. Officials Stole $110K From Children's Program To Fund 2009 Presidential Inaugural Ball

     Neil S. Rodgers, a former D.C. government official, was sentenced Tuesday for his role in the misappropriation of $110,000 earmarked for D.C.'s Children at Risk and Drug Prevention Fund to cover a deficit for the 51st State Inaugural Ball for President Obama's inauguration in 2009. Rodgers, found guilty of fraud in March, was sentenced to 36 days (served on weekends) plus two years of probation. Rodgers must also repay the entire $110,000 as restitution for his crime.
     In 2008, as arrangements were underway for inauguration celebrations, the Washington City Paper reported on former Council Member Harry Thomas, Jr.'s early plans for the 51st State Inaugural Ball, noting that "there would have to be a plan to raise funds for the event, and security and cleanup concerns would also have to dealt with. Thomas says all that will be taken care of; he says he plans to seek private donations to cover the difference between the event's cost and the revenues raised by the $51 ticket cost." Donations, however, came up short. Justice Department officials described Rodgers's role in the misappropriation scheme in a Tuesday press release:

            “Neil Rodgers worked with former D.C. Council member Harry Thomas to perpetrate a fraud that diverted money from at-risk children to throw a black-tie ball for adults,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Cohen. “His conviction at trial brings to seven the number of people convicted as part of Harry Thomas’s chronic abuse of the public trust.  Neil Rodgers refused to acknowledge that there was anything wrong in the cavalier way that he and Harry Thomas stole from a program for children. He now will be required to pay back every penny he stole from the children of the District. Those children, who were most harmed by this, deserve better from our public officials.” 

            “Today, Mr. Rodgers accepted his penalty for illegally steering money meant to fund District of Columbia government programs to pay for a Presidential inauguration party,” said Assistant Director in Charge McCabe. “The FBI and our partners at the IRS have worked countless hours to investigate the trail of money that was intended to help youth in the District and how the corrupt actions of a public servant resulted in a loss to the community he served.”

          Thomas and Rodgers mischaracterized the ball as a youth event to convince the private-public partnership organization in charge of funding the ball to cover the approximate $100,000 shortfall. That organization used the Children at Risk and Drug Prevention Fund to pay off creditors. The conspirators used "multiple copies of budgets and supporting narratives" to fool the organization into approving use of that fund to pay the remaining bills.
     Six others have already pled guilty in cases involving the activities of Thomas, who himself pled guilty to misuse of $375,000 in taxpayer dollars intended for arts and youth programs. Thomas was forced to resign his seat and served 38-months in prison.
     According to the Washington City Paper, Thomas said of the ball's location at the John A. Wilson Building, the D.C. government seat, "Why not use the people's building for a people's purpose?" But in the end, both Thomas and Rodgers used the people's money for their own purposes, a decision that ultimately landed both men in jail.


Note: A version of this post first appeared at The Weekly Standard.

New at the Clinton Presidential Center: Dinosaurs!

    Although "life-sized roaring, breathing dinosaurs" may not typically be found at a Presidential Center, visitors to the Clinton Presidential Center will soon find not just one, but thirteen of the prehistoric creatures as part of Dinosaurs Around the World, which runs from April 25 to October 18 at the Center's location in Little Rock, Arkansas. Jack Horner, a paleontologist involved with the Jurassic Park movies, will even be on hand for a special opening reception on April 22.

    Stephanie S. Streett, executive director of the Clinton Foundation, says the exhibit is designed with the whole family in mind. "We are thrilled to host the global premiere of Dinosaurs Around the World and look forward to sharing this interactive and scientific exhibit with our visitors. Our summer exhibits are highly anticipated by the community because they are specifically designed to appeal to the entire family." Elsewhere on the Foundation's website is the acknowledgement that "[a]lthough the Center exists principally to house the presidential archives, 90 percent of visitors come to view the exhibits in the museum."
    While the connection between former presidents and dinosaurs may not be readily apparent, the Clinton Foundation website explains:

The exhibit also features an area that chronicles the accomplishments of four U.S. Presidents who worked to preserve the fossil-rich areas in North America where dinosaurs once roamed. Exhibit artifacts include items from the administrations of Presidents Bill Clinton, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Harry S. Truman. This display includes a dinosaur skull replica on loan from the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, an area that President Clinton designated as a national monument in 1996.

     The exhibit is produced by Imagine Exhibitions, which specializes in museum-quality exhibitions with interactive experiences for visitors. Their offerings include a new Hunger Games exhibit, a "research and study center" called Leonardo Da Vinci's Workshop, and a offering called Mob Attraction that "takes guest on a fun, exciting, interactive journey through the world of organized crime."
    Other recent temporary exhibits at the Clinton Presidential Center included "Pigskin in Peanuts" and "Heartbreak in Peanuts", which both commemorated the 65th anniversary of the classic Charles Schulz comic strip. The Clinton Foundation has not yet indicated what will take the place of Dinosaurs Around the World when the exhibit closes in October.


Note: A version of this post first appeared at The Weekly Standard.