"I have been the Moses of my people and all I've ever asked for is to let justice be served." (Sen. Ernest Newton, 9/16/05)
Newton also placed blame on racists, the FBI and the media during his bizarre resignation speech, but apparently that was the last in a series of very public falsehoods (he pleaded guilty to bribery charges a few days later). New evidence released by federal prosecutors suggests that Newton, far from being a saint or even just a petty criminal, was deeply involved in bribery and theft, among other things.
Prosecutors, preparing for Newton's sentencing, condemned his "warped conception of his status as an elected official," which they said apparently moved Newton to collect bribes even from the operators of social service agencies providing training and housing for his poor constituents.
...
When Newton learned that the FBI was closing in, the memo says, he started scheming how to escape arrest. In one of numerous conversations secretly recorded by the FBI, Newton suggested to Warren Godbolt, the operator of a Bridgeport jobs training agency who had paid $5,000 in bribes, that Godbolt should lie if questioned by the FBI. Newton said he would claim Godbolt was paying him for consulting services. (Mahony)
Newton still defies easy description. He took bribes, stole from his own campaign, encouraged others to lie for him and, when caught, accused his accusers of racism. But he was also a tireless advocate for the people of Bridgeport, one of the poorest cities in the country, and before this bribery scandal broke was well-known for speaking for the disenfranchised. It's as if there were two Ernest Newtons: Newton the hustler and Newton the saint.
Perhaps that's why the bribes he took were so small: it was a sad sort of attempt to reconcile the two warring sides of himself. But who can say? Newton himself doesn't even seem to understand it:
"I did some stuff I wasn't supposed to do, so I gotta reimburse it and then get it back the right way," Newton said on a wiretap. "I just wasn't thinking." (Mahony)
No, I suppose not.
Source
Mahony, Edmund and Christopher Keating. "Newton's Venality `Knew Few Bounds'." Hartford Courant 13 January, 2006.
43 comments:
The silence you now hear are all the Democrats (including the LG and both Gov. candidates) who stood by Newton after he was asked to resign.
Apparently the Promised Land is only 8' X 12'.
Newton is a scumbag, plain and simple. The only thing he was "tireless" about was doing what was good for Ernie Newton. And his small time bribes don't make it some sort of inner conflict - he's a crook. But I'm sure it was the racists that made him go to the mob to get his son out of jail, and that made him demand a raise for his no show job. His next outlandish colored suit will be an orange one. Here's hoping he wears it for a long time.
Just another example of the Democrats' culture of corruption.
Kevin Sullivan really did a GREAT job in handpicking future inmate Ernie Newton to replace Alvin Penn. He has a lot of superlatives about Ernie and his character that he is now choaking on.
On an entirely different matter, does any one know if it is possible to download data from C.F.I.S. to an Excel or other spreadsheet?
Yeah, a guy, black guy, from the ghetto with no role model when he grew up manages to get out of it and screws up. Let's hang him in the press instead of just bringing him to justice. The one guy the feds just brought down is 71 and gave Ernie 2,000 to get him money from the state to do good for kids. There's never been anything that shows that Godblott lavished gifts on anybody other than himself and it's never been shown Ernie knew about it. This is nickel and dime crime that happens all over the countyr but it'll get bigger legs than Rowland whose actions got people killed - remeber the Virginia Supermax prison deal.
^
No. Not possible. What you see is what you get. All data manipulation must be done manually.
Sucks, doesnt it?
I hate CFIS!
If the 'Blue' in Blue in CD2 stands for Democrat then you can thank your Party for keepin' Susan from not losin' 'cause CFIS is all 'bout her.
From the article Prosecutors, preparing for Newton's sentencing, condemned his "warped conception of his status as an elected official," which they said apparently moved Newton to collect bribes even from the operators of social service agencies providing training and housing for his poor constituen but they really have no idea why he did what he did. Professional career prosecutors, like Patrick Fitzgerald who is prosecuting Cheney's Libby, stick to the facts and the law. Even Dannehy did that with Rowland. Political wannabes like O'Connor editorialize and show their dumbness learned at UCONN Law.
You can do a simple Cut and Paste from CFIS into spreadsheets. That is how I've been approaching things.
You can grab my current spreadsheet at http://www.smartcampaigns.com/filings.xls
(It is durrently around 4 or 5 megs)
Feel free to grab it and do some analysis. I've downloaded much of the filings from the Gubernatorial campaigns.
Feel free to contact me directly about any specific stuff about CFIS and spreadsheets you want to look at.
I may get around to doing some parsing and make it available in a database at some point.
You mean that O'Connor has a warped sense of his position as a prosecutor don't you now Anon10:03? Agreed
Oh please.
Do all y'all feel that John Rowland was also the victim of prosecutors editorializing when they complained about his lobbying and hiding assets? No, of course not. Rowland was a crook (read: Rowland was a Republican).
But Ernie? Ernie's a victim. The Man is out to get Ernie because he's a "black guy from the ghetto with no role model" who got out.
Yeah. Hell, yeah! He's the Moses of his people, is what he is.
Try again anon 10:23 with your spin. Rowland and Newton both admitted to crimes they comitted. The difference is that in the sentencing document Dannehy, who was in charge because sleaze bag O'Connor had to recuse himself, put forth on Rowland was factual and about the law. The Newton sentencing doc by Team O'C is an editorial.
From the AP story of Dec. 26: Prosecutors, in their own sentencing report, argued Thursday that Rowland has a history of deceit and unethical behavior and that he only admitted and apologized for after it threatened his political career.
Oh yeah, they treated him with kid gloves.
To be fair, anon, Newton pled guilty but has never publicly admitted doing anything wrong. Even Rowland had to fess up to the people eventually. I am curious to see if Newton continues to play the racist card when he's sentenced. I hope he does the right thing and comes clean.
All the Republicans need to take it easy.
Rememeber the liberal bias claims from the Republicans and Rowland defenders during the infamous scandal.
This isn't a Democrat or a Republican thing, it's a dirty politican thing and no one likes that. I a proud liberal and I challenge anyone to find a positive post regarding Newton on my site.
Republicans stood by Rowland almost till the very last moment and even at that point, a moderate Chris Shays (who really didn't like Rowland to begin with) was the first to cross the line.
...and Jodi Rell didn't comment on the matter till after Rowland was booted out of office.
Newton was a jerk and should NEVER hold a political office ever again but please, lets stop making this a political party thing.
It's not a political party thing for mae at all. It's about comparing how prosecutors do their work. This guy O'Connor is touted for future public office and his performance deserves scrutiny.
Unless you just think we ought to vote Irish next time.
How unfortunate that Rowland and Newton won't spend some quality time together.
Were also getting the bill for the crack sealing scam at DOT.
ctblogger:
I'm Anon(10:23 & 10:40). I agree entirely - my objection is making it a race thing ("black guy from the ghetto with no role model").
Race had nothing to do with it. Newton was a piece of sh*t.
We're also getting the bill for the mismanagement, lying really, by UCONN to get federal research aid to the tune of @.5 million but I can't find the article.
Thanks 10:40 for proving my point. The quote you put out shows the prosecutors stated the facts not some behaviorial science analysis of why he did what he did. It's not about treating anybody with kid gloves; it goes to professionalism and the search for justice as prosecutor.
Kerry Guy: Rowland was no dummy, he played the contite little altar boy in front of Judge Dorsey so Dorsey could give him a year and a day. Dow set the whole thing up. Newton will have to admit his guilt before whatever Judge he goes before as part of his deal just like Rowland had to but from there will see. Probaly depends on how much jail time he wants to do.
I expect Newton to do the full mea culpa in court. He pled guilty. But once he admitted it in court, he walked outside and blamed everyone but himself. I'm curious as to whether or not what he says on the courthouse steps jives with what he says inside.
YOU ARE ALL WRONG TO BLAME CORRUPTION ONLY ON ONE PARTY....ITS IN ALL PARTIES AND THE PUBLIC IS SMARTER THAN YOU !!!!!!!!!!! THATS WHY THE BIGGEST INCREASE IN REGISTERED VOTERS IS THE INDEPENDANT VOTER.
BTW ALDON...YOU ARE A PAID HACK AND FRANKLY I DONT BELIEVE A THING YOU OR ANY OTHER PAID STAFFER SAYS,
NO OFFENSE BUT PLEASE DONT ASSUME WE TAKE WHAT YOU SAY AS "GOSPEL"
Here we go folks with WalMart having to buy health insurance da, da in Maryland.A national model for CT to follow? I've been in one WalMart in my life and it was out of curiosity almost twenty years ago. I don't shop there and I'm no union lefty either.
ANONYMOUS(12:15) Yes, I'm a hack, and you shouldn't believe anything I say, especially if I say that I think you're really smart, or if I say that typing in all upper case makes it much easier to read.
As to why there is the large increase in unaffiliated voters, sometimes mistakenly refered to as Independents, most people that I know believe that this is really more of a function of lack of reason to join parties, such as lack of primaries or lack of 'sense of membership' for parties.
I would again recommend that people read Bowling Alone and think about how it applies to party affliation.
Note to Genghis and crew:
The ned lamont interview has just been posted over at My Left Nutmeg.
I love his Mrs Lincoln comment...
ANONYMOUS(12:15) Yes Aldon is a hack, but he's sincere hack and a true believer. That's coming from a right wing lurker , who voted for Bush and Rowland, and would again if I could.
Excellent. I am working on getting Mr. Lamont to come on this site for a Q&A, FYI, which will be very cool if we can manage it.
ctblogger,interesting interview with lamont.although i may point out that it lacked one small, minor thing. SUBSTANCE! where were his ideas on health care, the environment, eductaion, budget defecit, disaster releif? i was against the war from the get go too, but that doesnt make me fit to run for the United States Senate. seems to me like you are giving him a free pass by not pressing him on what his policy ideas would be. ge claims not to be a single issue candidate, yet when pressed on any other issues besides war there were no answers. i would expect better internet journalism from you.....
Mod Dem,
Take it easy dude, this is the guy's first interview and he hasn't even announed that he's running yet.
I'm sure he'll answer your concerns in the comming days.
Did you read my blog? If you did, you would see that I didn't give the interview and trust me, I have a list of questions to ask him.
No one gets a free pass in politics (and from what I heard from Lamont, Lieberman might find that the hard way).
Genghis: You got a Q and A set up with him. That's HUGE! Good job!
I said politics in CT is going to be great in 2006...
ctblogger, happy to hear you will be asking him the tough questions that need to be answered. this was far from the guys first interview, and i have yet to hear any substansive policy ideas from him on how he will effectively represent CT in the US Senate.
Dean,
You're too funny.
Mod,
I'll have you in my thoughts when I talk to him (and it wasn't far from his first interview. I should of said blog interview, but the guys hasn't really done alot of press yet).
Again, I think you coming off alittle harsh for a guy who hasn't announced that he's running and I'm sure he'll answer all of your questions very soon.
Hey, if Genghis gets him for a Q&A, you can ask him questions yourself. Wonder if you'll be able to do the same with Lieberman...
DeanFan, a question for you. do you support Harold Ford Jr. for US Senate in TN?
ctblogger, i understand where you are coming from but this guy wants to be our US Senator, so i disagree that my wanting to know his policy ideas is harsh. he should have had his vision ready for the people of CT the second the thought of running for US Senate entered his head. quite the opposite of me being harsh, i think that in their haste to find an alternative to joe, the internet press has been lenient on lamont.
Hey, Aldon's a good guy and in it to do some good so leave him alone even if i don't happen to like his guy DeStefano. It's more fun not having a consistent handle but i was getting slammed as the wrong anoyancemouse.
And a few weeks ago the legislature didn't even know one of their jobs was oversight and now they are going to look at the Bnakimng industry rather than just signing off on the laws they want. Yippee for Genghis and his popular (or ist populist?)Blog.
Mod,
I hear where your comming from and there is some truth to what your saying but Lamont has just started his press machine and so just give him some time and I'm sure he'll have his message fine tuned.
Being around politics and campaigns, I can tell you that Lamont is just getting his machine started so you just can't expect him to be as ready as you want him to be.
What Lamont is doing right now is quite common in politics and no different than what any politican has done at the start of their campaign. Introduce yourself, state a few of your goals (if elected), expalin why your running; I think he hit all of theose points.
Later (which should be soon), he'll get more specific (I'd say by the time he really hits the MSM a.k.a Face the State, TV appearances, or once he hits the campaign trail).
I also think there are many centrists (DLC friendly) and conservative blogs in Connecticut that have gave Lieberman WAY too free of a pass (which, in my opinion, is simply outrageous). I any case, we'll all get to know Lamont soon and hopefully, you're questions will be addressed (as they are very fair questions) but now I must get ready for happy hour.
My bottle of Rolling Rock awaits me and if I miss happy hour, tht would be VERY HARSH :-)
ctblogger, real democrats don't drink rolling rock!!!!!!! :)
I was never thrilled with the concept of putting a mandate on businesses for providing healthcare insurance to employees
as Judith Prague is leading the charge to do here but from what I understand of the Maryland legislation it only impacted WalMart so that's not all that bad I guess.
And so much for corporate welfare to the golf tourney bringing a return on the taxpayers investment. Before he left, Rowland pumped at least $800K to save the event for CT. Maybe WalMart can be the new sponsor.
Genghis,
How about an open forum?
Who is more of a putz?
Rell on inner city violence or Susan on not knowing state election law?
i didnt know newton well but i had met him cocky yes arrogant no big heartYES!! i think if you were to follow the money of any polition who has gotten grant moneys for towns or cities you would find in most cases the reciever got 90% 10% went to thesupporter I MEAN THE SEN OR REP actually godbolt got a deal but when your as out spoken as newton and you rub the wrong people LOOK OUT . i do not at all support the kick back thing but how hipocritacal id love to look intojudge nevas political past THERE WAS NO SCALE OF JUSTICE APPLIED HERE ,ROWLAND 1yr ganmin 9yr newton5yr but thats where we are today .and its time to straighten things out starting with the bush group TIME FOR IMPEACHMENT and charges for crimes against humanity thank you jd
I'm a single mom and have been a Bridgeport resident now for about 25 years. About ten years ago a close freind of mine introduced me to Ernie Newton a housing authority who was willing to speak with me and help me out regarding affordable housing and Section 8.
Within a week he visited me at my apartment. I offerd him something to drink and when I came back from the kitchen he was sitting back at the dining room table with his slacks zippered open, fully exposing his underwear and a bag of cocaine on the table. I immediately was fear sticken and in shock. I told him "what the hell are you doing and you need to leave right now". He began to giggle and apologized while he got himself together and said he thought I wanted to party. I said that I wasn't that type of person and that I won't be needing any help from him. I did not alert the authorities or tell my family. I was angry, scared, embarassed and confused. Needless to to say I've never spoken to him again, however I was suprised to see him loosly participating in the senate on a public access channel on tv throughout the years.
I can't tell you how pleased I was to see that he's finally been exposed as a criminal though unrelated. All this to say that my horrible experince with a government official has contributed to push me to become more aware of my surroundings and as a citizen of Bridgeport how I can positively impact my community especially when it comes to voting.
There is never a garantee that we totally know the heart or the underlying intentions of the people we chose or stand behind to hold office. But we need to ask ourselves, "Am I doing enough to help my family, schools, and community? What am I passionate about? How can I make a difference?
Step out of the box and involve yourself in something positive. If we "all" do this enough it might prevent people like Ernie Newton get into office.
Post a Comment