Beef plant prosecutor is a Wicker donor

If you have been hiding your head in the sand, you may not have realized the timing as well as the political innuendos of the beef plant prosecutions are politically motivated. Sam Hall pointed this out in a previous Cotton Mouth post. The Daily Journal just threw another log on the fire with this latest shocking (or not so shocking) revelation.

Attorney Jim Greenlee, the chief prosecutor in the beef plant case is a prior donor to Roger Wicker. Greenlee was appointed by President Bush in 2001.

The justice department as well as the federal bench have been so politicized under the Bush administration, with the anonymous assistance of the Chamber of Commerce, that we recently witnessed the governor of Alabama in prison on trumped up charges. Think about that.

From the Daily Journal:

OXFORD – As federal courtwatchers wonder if the Mississippi Beef Plant investigation will entangle Senate candidate Ronnie Musgrove, a Federal Election Commission check shows U.S. Attorney Jim Greenlee contributed to his opponent.

Greenlee was nominated for the U.S. attorney post in 2001 by President George W. Bush, supported by Mississippi Sens. Thad Cochran and Trent Lott.

On Oct. 11, 2002 - just weeks before then-U.S. Rep. Roger Wicker won another term in Congress - Greenlee made a donation of $200 to Friends of Roger Wicker.

A call to the residence at 210 St. Andrews Circle, listed as Greenlee's address, was answered by Mrs. Greenlee this morning, but she said she “cannot confirm” the address of that of the U.S. attorney.

The Daily Journal called his office and is waiting for a reaction.

Columnists questioning beef plant prosecution

Two of the state's more veteran, more well respected journalists have both opined on the timing of the guilty pleas in the beef plant saga. And while both take a different approach to the issue, both seem to agree that the feds need to either announce more indictments or close the case.

From Tim Kalich in the Greenwood Commonwealth:

Musgrove, though, was at most a minor player in the mess.

Yet the efforts to link him publicly to the corruption scandal — using the combined power of the federal prosecutors and a Republican state auditor — have intensified since Musgrove announced his intentions to challenge Wicker for the Senate seat.

The conspiracy theorists see a pattern. They cite the unrelated bribery convictions of Democratic former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman and Mississippi trial lawyer Paul Minor, a major donor to Democratic candidates, as earlier proof that political affiliation is determining who gets investigated and prosecuted by the Justice Department. That allegation is being looked at by congressional panels even while both convictions are on appeal.

...

Still, the federal government’s help in slandering Musgrove less than 90 days before the election has a suspicious feel to it.

Now from Bobby Harrison of the Daily Journal in Tupelo:

Make no mistake about it - any public official who took a bribe or profited illegally from Mississippi Beef Processors should be prosecuted.

But by the same token, federal prosecutors have an obligation not to use their office to try to influence an election.

In other states, fired U.S. attorneys have said that is exactly what they were asked to do.

Federal prosecutors in the Northern District of Mississippi should want to avoid even the appearance of impropriety. If they have a case against a public official – particularly Musgrove, who is in the middle of a heated campaign – they should proceed with due haste. If they don't, they should admit it.

My guess is that the feds are in no hurry to officially close the case, though the likelihood of future indictments seems relatively low.

No, the feds will most likely leave the case open as a dark cloud to hang over Musgrove's campaign, which is a shame. Considering that Musgrove has done nothing wrong -- has not been accused of doing anything wrong -- then the United States Justice Department should want to make clear the innocence of a public official.

Of course, we're talking about the Bush Justice Department and a Democratic public official. So, nah, they're in no hurry.

Is Wicker the pot to Musgrove's kettle?

Instead of rehashing the fact that former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove has done nothing wrong in relation to the beef plant, I want to throw out a couple of quick reads for a little discussion.

First, let's visit a Jan. 16, 2008, article from the Washington Post:

Sen. Roger Wicker, the Mississippi Republican congressman appointed to replace Trent Lott in December, last year obtained a $6 million earmark for a defense contractor whose executives were among his top campaign contributors and were represented in the matter by Wicker's former congressional chief of staff, according to federal records.

Wicker's earmark for Manassas-based Aurora Flight Science fits a pattern that recently attracted bipartisan criticism and gave rise to the most far-reaching ethics overhaul legislation in a generation: The firm retained the services of the congressman's top aide after he passed through the revolving door to become a lobbyist, and its employees helped underwrite Wicker's reelection.

Over the past three years, as Aurora sought defense contracts, the Republican member of the Appropriations defense subcommittee received escalating contributions from the company's executives. Aurora was Wicker's top source of campaign funds in 2006, campaign finance records show. In 2005, the company flew the congressman on a private jet to the ribbon cutting of a manufacturing facility it opened in Wicker's Mississippi district.

And just days after Wicker's chief of staff, John Keast, left his employ in 2006, Aurora began listing the former staffer on public forms as one of its lobbyists in Washington. Wicker placed the earmark in a defense appropriations bill that became law in November 2007.

Now that we're done there, let's mosey on over to this June 8, 2008, article from the Commercial Appeal in Memphis:

Last year, Republican Sen. Roger Wicker, then a member on the House Appropriations Committee, slipped language into the Defense Appropriations Bill that directed the U.S. government to award the research grant to Radiance Technologies.

This type of budget line item has become known on Capitol Hill as an earmark, and few in the 435-member House were better at the practice of earmarking federal dollars than Wicker. For fiscal year 2008, Wicker sponsored 42 earmarks totaling $159 million, ranking him among the House's top spenders.

Some of the companies that benefited from Wicker's earmarks were donors to the Mississippi politician. In addition, two such companies hired lobbyists who once worked as staffers in Wicker's congressional office.

...

For Wicker, fostering relationships with companies that benefit from his earmarks has paid off well. From the $159 million in earmarks Wicker delivered for companies, local governments and other organizations this fiscal year, $113,950 in campaign contributions can be directly traced to those earmark recipients, according to a review of federal records by The Commercial Appeal.

One last stop, this time over at the Center For Responsive Politics:

Wicker Has Received Over $25,000 From Miltec Employees: Over the years, Miltec employees have contributed at least $25,500 to Wicker's campaigns and his leadership PAC, Responsibility & Freedom Work PAC. (Center for Responsive Politics, accessed 1/7/08; Roger Wicker Financial Report. 7/08)

You might be interested in knowing that Wicker obtained $10 million in earmarks for Miltec Research and Technology over the last two years.

This is not to say Wicker has done anything wrong. It's just interesting reading in light of flimsy accusations against Musgrove in the beef plant debacle.

Could Musgrove be free of criminal wrongdoing in beef plant?

This is going to be long, so bear with me. I want us to see if it is plausible that Musgrove really has done nothing criminal in the beef plant fiasco, despite claims from Republican bloggers.

As you know from a previous post, Republicans are all giddy about Robert Moultrie's guilty plea in the beef plant case.

According to the plea, Moultrie says he is guilty of:

...knowingly and unlawfully rewarding an agnet of the government of the State of Mississippi with a gratuity...

We all know that the gratuity to which he pleads guilty of giving is the $45,000 in campaign donations to former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove.

To rehash a point already made, the Clarion-Ledger and the federal authorities agree:

Ronnie Musgrove has not been charged with any wrongdoing.

Even Alan Lange at Y'all Politics, who wants to spin this as a sign of Musgrove's probable guilt, admits in this post that Musgrove has been accused of nothing, nada, zero, zilch in this case.

Today, in weighs Andy Taggart -- former chief of staff to Gov. Kirk Fordice turned C-L blogger -- who says this:

A charge of conspiracy means that two or more people planned together specifically to break the law. So, for Moultrie to have pled guilty to such a charge in this case, he must have been convinced that the feds could prove to a jury that he planned with other people to use campaign contributions not simply as a way to support the candidate of his choice, but to corruptly influence the candidate of his choice, the then-sitting governor of the State of Mississippi, Ronnie Musgrove. The voters of Mississippi are going to have a very hard time believing that Musgrove himself -- now a candidate for the US Senate -- didn't know what was going on.

Well, I can fairly well believe it for a few reasons. First, there's this quote from Moultrie's attorney, as reported in an Atlanta Journal-Constitution blog post:

Robert Moultrie has pleaded guilty to a charge in a one-count information that he paid an illegal gratuity to a state official by a campaign contribution to the official.

This is a charge that he made the contribution intending to influence and reward the official for the performance of official duties should the public official’s assistance be needed on any potential problems on the Mississippi beef project.

In other words, he did not pay Musgrove "an illegal gratuity" in return for anything. He did it hoping that if they needed Musgrove in the future that they could remind him of this donation.

Then there is this piece of information, as provided by none other than Y'all Politics:

However, in September 2003, Musgrove contacted Moultrie for another campaign contribution of $25,000. At the time, The Facility Group was aware of potential problems in the design and construction of the plant. Moultrie and Cawood subsequently had a conversation about giving this contribution to Musgrove intending to influence and reward him for the performance of his official duties should his assistance be needed on any potential problems on the project.

Notice that it does not say, "Moultrie and Cawood subsequently had a conversation about telling Musgrove they were giving him this contribution so he would sweep under the rug the problems arising with the beef plant."

Going back to Taggert's assertion that someone other than Moultrie must know about it and that the people of Mississippi will have a hard time believing that person was not Musgrove, I ask a simple question, "Why?"

It seems entirely plausible that the other person could be Nixon Cawood, chief operating officer of The Facilities Group. After all, Cawood was indicted alongside Moultrie.

And in case you might have been misled by Lange, Taggart or the like, Musgrove ain't been indicted for squat yet. So the GOP can hold their breath and hope -- and spread a few falsehoods along the way.

Latest attempt to take down Musgrove

According to Y'all Politics, Musgrove may be implicated in the beef plant scandal. Campaign finance reports indicate he did receive contributions from those involved with the beef plant.

In the Sun Herald, they shared this excerpt from a polygraph report:

The document says the polygraph examiner asked: "Did you ever have an agreement with anyone that your company would get work on the Mississippi Beef Project in return for making contributions to Musgrove's campaign?"

The document said Moultrie replied: "No."

The person conducting the polygraph examination also asked Moultrie: "Did anyone ever communicate to you that your company would be provided work on the Mississippi Beef Project in return for contributions to Musgrove's campaign?"

The document said Moultrie replied: "No."

Republicans: Rickey Cole is a Democrat / Cole: Duh.

Republicans have a mailer out attacking the qualified, capable, and so far scandal free Rickey Cole because their candidate is vulnerable and generally not well liked.

Here is the Cole campaign's response to the statewide mailer:

he Mississippi Republican Party's only mailout in the race for Commissioner of Agriculture was delivered to voters yesterday and today, and it barely mentions Republican nominee Lester Spell. Spell was elected twelve years ago as a Democrat, and is running his first election as a Republican nominee.

Virtually all of the text on the mail piece comments on Rickey Cole, the Democratic nominee for Agriculture Commissioner. Cole, who served as chairman of the Mississippi Democratic Party from August 2001 until July 2004, is criticized by the Republican-sponsored mailout for having worked for and supported Democratic candidates. Cole responded "It isn't exactly a news flash that I am a Democrat. I am proud to carry the nomination of my party, and plan to carry it to victory on Tuesday."

The mailout mentions the fact that Rickey Cole attended the Democratic National Convention in 2000 as an Al Gore delegate, and in 2004 as a John Kerry delegate. What the Republicans omit is that then-Democrat Lester Spell was also a Gore delegate to the 2000 Democratic National Convention, and that in May of 2004, just months before he switched parties, Spell signed a pledge at the state Democratic convention to support John Kerry for President.

"There's an old saying that if you can't say anything good about someone, you ought not to mention their name. While the Republicans don't generally follow that principle, it looks like they couldn't find anything good to say about Lester Spell. About all they could do was mention his name." said Cole.

"With the potential retirement of Senator Cochran, Mississippi would lose our last influential voice for agriculture in Washington. I have worked with many of the Democratic leaders currently in power in both houses of the congress, and as commissioner I can build upon those connections to benefit Mississippi agriculture. My opponent is a man without a party, with no ties to the Democratic party that put him in office and no confidence from the Republican party he joined after the beef plant failure. Spell has no credibility, no influence and no future."

Strong conservative John Goodman offers his take in these excerpts:

I'm confused by the postcard's statement "Rickey Cole led the charge to kick conservatives out of 'his' Democratic Party." Huh? As I recall, he wanted more conservatives in the Democratic Party. He was afraid the state Democratic Party would become so liberal it would be a constant loser. Actually, the purge started AFTER he stepped down as party chair. I'd like to see evidence Cole led the charge to expel conservatives out of the Democratic Party.

As for the beef plant failure, wasn't there a goat farm failure too? Now maybe Cole is no flaming conservative like Spell. But since when is it "conservative" to waste taxpayer dollars on frivolous and idiotic projects? At least Cole knows SOMETHING about farming. Spell has been a veterinarian until he got into politics. What does HE KNOW about farming?

Let's do the state a great service on November 6th. Let's vote in an honorable man and a knowledgeable farmer for MDAC Commissioner. Let's all vote for Rickey Cole.

Let us hope that we are viewing the last grasps at state power for Lester Spell and that we will see a new day for Mississippi agriculture and consumers when Rickey Cole is elected our next Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce.

Cole and Spell @ The Debate

The following is one student's firsthand summary account of last night's debate provided exclusively to Cotton Mouth:

"The winner of Tuesday night's Agriculture Commissioner debate was Rickey Cole without question. Throughout the night, the 211 member audience sat anxiously to hear Commissioner Lester Spell's reason as to why the infamous $55 million dollar beef plant failed and who is to blame. Without hesitation, Spell took the lower road and accepted no blame as to the beef plant's demise. Rickey Cole charismatically mentioned how Spell should take some of the blame stating how Commissioner Spell refuses to take "1/14th of the blame," referring to the 14-member Land, Water and Timber Resources Board that initially pushed the project.

When November 6th arrives, citizens are going to remember the one question Rickey Cole asked Lester Spell; "Where's the beef?"

New Franks Ad: Phil Bryant Has Failed As Our Auditor

Rickey Cole in the Hattiesburg American

The Hattiesburg American:
On Lester Spell criticizing him:

Told that Spell earlier on Wednesday had called him a "liberal Democrat who's misleading the voters," Cole replied, "He and I were both delegates for Al Gore to the Democratic National Convention in 2000. He and I both signed a pledge of support to John Kerry in 2004."

On the Beef Plant:

"Had I been commissioner, knowing what they knew then, I would not have been supportive of the beef plant," he said. "It was a huge investment in a business that was at the very bottom of the market."

With a realistic approach to immigration:

Asked if Mississippi industries should be punished if they hire illegal workers, Cole said, "I don't believe any right-thinking government official in this country would tell employers we're coming to fine you today for hiring illegal aliens and we're going to shut your operation down. ... The economy would grind to a halt."

The Hattiesburg American

Dewey Phil Bryant and Republicans Play Fast and Loose with the Facts

First Republican ad distorting the truth for Dewey Phil Bryant:


Franks' campaign responds with the facts:

Ad Watch: Anti-Franks Ad, #1

CLAIM: "Jamie Franks is a personal injury trial lawyer who tried to stop tort reform."(Anti-Franks Ad, #1)

FACT: Co-Authored Tort Reform Bill in 2004. On June 2, 2004, the House passed (92-24) HB 13, co-authored by Jamie Franks, a tort reform bill. The legislation imposed non-economic caps, caps on punitive damages, protected innocent sellers of defective products and implemented several liability restrictions. (NFIB, Jun. 2, 2004)

CLAIM: "Jamie Franks has given thousands of dollars to liberals like John Kerry, Al Gore, and Bennie Thompson who don't share our values." (Anti-Franks Ad, #1)

FACT: Total amount contributed to the above candidates: $2250. $1,000 to Bennie Thompson in 2006. $1,000 to John Kerry in 2004. $250 to Al Gore in 1999. (Center for Responsive Politics)

CLAIM: "Jamie Franks voted for millions in new taxes. And high taxes hurt families and cost jobs." (Anti-Franks Ad, #1)

FACT: On Feb. 9, 2005, the House PASSED HB 1409. The bill provided for new fees to be charged by state agencies for services provided, not a tax increase on individual taxpayers or businesses as the ad implies. (Ironically, the first fee increase in the bill was for the State Auditor's Office. Phil Bryant continuously cites the low fees he is allowed to charge as the reason his office is drastically behind in audits performed.) The bill died in Senate committee. Jamie Franks voted AYE. (BIPEC Legislative Scorecard, 2005; MS House, HB 1409, 2005)

Second Republican ad playing loose with the truth for Dewey Phil Bryant:


Franks' campaign responds again with the facts:

Ad Watch: Anti-Franks Ad, #2

CLAIM: "Jamie Franks voted against a comprehensive voter ID program to clean up election fraud." (Anti-Franks Ad, #2)

FACT: On May 19, 2004, the House PASSED HB 1 on third reading. Jamie Franks voted "aye" for initial passage.

Jamie Franks has supported voter ID legislation. On Apr. 13, 2004; the House PASSED (92-28) HB 1827. The bill required voters to present identification listed in the Help America Vote Act, but exempted persons 65 or older. Jamie Franks voted "aye." (House Journal, Apr. 13, 2004, p. 870; Clarion Ledger, Apr. 14, 2004)

CLAIM: "Jamie Franks voted against tax cuts for small business that helped create new jobs." (Anti-Franks Ad, # 2)

FACT: SB 2480 (2005, Regular Session) would have simply prevented a planned increase, not raise taxes as the ad claims. SB2480 was signed into law on 3/23 by Governor Haley Barbour.

CLAIM: "Jamie Franks voted for the beef plant boondoggle that cost taxpayers 55 million dollars" (Anti-Franks Ad, # 2)

FACT: Along with nearly every other Legislator, Jamie Franks voted to allow the Land, Water and Timber Resources Board to fund projects to promote agriculture in Mississippi. One of those projects was Mississippi Beef Processors. The State Auditor knew in April of 2002 about a fraudulent project invoice in excess of $3,800 forged by the CEO of the Beef Plant. If Phil Bryant had done his job and reported the CEO at that time, no further funds possibly would have been allocated to the project.

The Legislature provided $50,000 to Bryant to fund what they thought would be Bryant's professional oversight of all Board projects. Over the next two years, Bryant only spent $10,000 of the allocation, and never provided the Legislature with reports that warned of the project's massive problems. As the only state official with the authority to account for the taxpayers' money, Bryant simply did not do his job. Had the Legislature known what he knew, the outcome could have been vastly different. And Bryant's thirst for the spotlight insured that others who had a criminal role in the debacle will never be prosecuted because he announced an investigation the day before the Attorney General was set to wire an informant in hopes of netting other perpetrators.

Hood Campaign: Al Hopkins All Hat, No Cattle

Would you "fire" an experienced employee and replace him with one with no track record? Both have campaign donors, only Hood has experience.

Franks: Bryant to Blame / Bryant: I Know You Are But What Am I?

Franks: Bryant To Blame In Beef Plant's Failure

The Daily Journal:

The failed Mississippi Beef Processors Plant has now become an issue in the race for lieutenant governor.

State Rep. Jamie Franks of Mooreville, the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, said Monday that his opponent, state Auditor Phil Bryant, was primarily responsible for the failure of the cull cow processing plant that cost the state $55 million when it closed.

"The fact is, Bryant's failure of accountability to do the job to which he was elected has cost Mississippi millions of dollars in this one project alone," Franks said Monday during a news conference at the state Capitol.

In a release, Bryant called Franks' claims "wrong and irresponsible."

When the Legislature approved the beef processing plant, it provided the state Auditor's Office $50,000 to monitor the construction and initial operation of the plant, but Franks said Bryant spent only $10,000 of the funds.

Franks, buoyed by confirmation from Attorney General Jim Hood, also said Bryant botched the criminal investigation associated with the plant by talking about the investigation in the media.

According to Hood, the day before he was set to place a wire on plant owner-operator Richard Hall to try to catch other possible wrongdoers, Bryant issued a news release announcing the investigation.

"The confidential information was burned at that point," Hood said. "It is hard to slip up on a criminal when a law enforcement agency announces an investigation in the newspaper.

Jim Hood On Beef Plant Investigation Botched By Phil Bryant

After being called for comment by multiple reporters about the claims that Bryant botched the beef plant Jim Hood released this to state press:

"I am trying to just run my own race. Since I have been asked by members of the press, I will confirm that in all my years as a prosecutor, the Beef Plant case is the first I have seen where an investigator issues a press release that he is investigating a case the day before I am set to wire up the target to try to flip him against others. The confidential informant was burned at that point. It is hard to slip up on a criminal when a law enforcement agency announces an investigation in the newspaper.

Had we been able to record conversations with the confidential informant and other potential targets of the investigation, we may have been able to uncover others who may have been involved in the case. Unfortunately, due to the untimely press release, we will never know."

Attorney General Jim Hood
State of Mississippi

Bryant Fails Accountablility Test In Beef Plant Fiasco

In a press conference held today, State Rep. Jamie Franks, Democratic nominee for Lt. Governor, exposed State Auditor Phil Bryant's role in the 2004 failure of the Mississippi Beef Processors program which cost the taxpayers of Mississippi over $54 million dollars.

Friday's sentencing of project CEO Richard Hall to eight years in the federal penitentiary as a principal player in the beef plant debacle brings into focus the serious lack of responsibility the State Auditor demonstrated during the two years he was directly associated with the program.


PR OPPORTUNITY TRUMPS INVESTIGATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES

Accounting standards are clear: when official auditors are assigned to a case, they are required to report to the proper authorities any problems they encounter, especially those that appear to be criminal.1

"When it became certain that criminal activity had taken place, Bryant recklessly announced his investigation before the media2 without alerting or cooperating with the other investigative authorities. In so doing, he demolished the potential for a criminal case that would have punished everyone responsible for the debacle and recovered millions in damages for the state," Franks said.

"But Bryant, with complete disregard for proper protocol, chose instead to use the disaster as a publicity stunt. While the full extent of the loss can never be known, Bryant's lapse of common sense and professional conduct cost the state millions in unrecoverable damages and ensured any other responsible parties, aside from Richard Hall, would never be brought to justice by the state," Franks said. "In Saturday's editorial, the Clarion-Ledger asked why.3 Here is their answer."

"Despite having ruined the state's efforts to apprehend others involved in the fiasco, Bryant is still pretending that his investigation may result in indictments,4" Franks said. "He knows this is not true."

BRYANT KNEW FROM THE BEGINNING

"Although the State Auditor has been eager to keep the finger of blame pointing at others, in fact he bears a large responsibility for the failure of Mississippi Beef Processors and its cost to the taxpayers of Mississippi," Franks said.

"Phil Bryant and two of his staffers were present at a closed-door meeting in April of 2002, when concerns over the program's financial problems were aired5," Franks said. "It was Bryant's duty as State Auditor to investigate those problems and share them with the Legislature. If he had done his job early in the game, the whole disaster could have been avoided. But he did nothing."

CHOOSES TO MONITOR INSTEAD OF ASSIST

In early March 2003, Bryant's office was allocated $50,0006 to assist the Land, Water and Timber Resource Board with the administration of their various projects, the largest of which was the beef plant. The Legislative intent of that bill was for the Auditor to help the board, not watch its actions from afar.

Instead of employing his accountants to sort out the financial aspects of the project, Bryant assigned it to his Performance Audit Division7 for monitoring.

Bryant produced carefully crafted, encouraging reports to the Legislature8 until it became public knowledge that the project was in shambles. Once the plant fiasco became talk radio fodder, just a few weeks before it went under, Bryant finally issued a report exposing financial problems with the project.9"

"Mississippi taxpayers are not financial experts. They employ a team of professional accountants to oversee our investments and protect our money – the State Auditor's Office," Franks said. "Bryant had a staff of accountants and $50,000 at his disposal. It's not as if he didn't have the resources to look at the plant's finances. He simply didn't do his job."

By the time the plant collapsed, Bryant had only spent $10,00010. When asked about his accountability, Bryant took offense that Legislators were daring to question the timeliness of his reports in early 200511.

DOESN'T DESERVE PROMOTION

"The fact is, Bryant's failure to do the job to which he was elected has cost Mississippi millions of dollars in this one project alone," Franks said. "We simply cannot afford to elevate him to an office that oversees the entire budget of the State of Mississippi."

Jamie Franks, the Democratic nominee for Mississippi's Lt. Governor is a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives from the 19th House District, representing Lee, Itawamba, and Tishomingo counties. He currently serves as the Majority whip and Chairman of the Conservation & Water Resources committee.

Hey, Lester, Where’s the Beef Label?

From a press release:
Agriculture Commissioner candidate Rickey Cole called on incumbent Agriculture Commissioner Lester Spell to enforce state law that requires retailers to label all fresh and frozen beef with the name of the country where it was produced.

“Mississippi’s country-of-origin labeling law has been on the books for nearly five years,” said Cole, who will face Spell in the November 6 general election for state agriculture commissioner. “It is high time for Lester to wake up, do his job and enforce the law.”

State regulations that became effective Jan. 1, 2003, require all retailers who sell fresh or frozen unprocessed cuts of beef and ground beef to provide specific information as to the origin of that beef. The state department of agriculture is responsible for enforcing the law.

But no enforcement action is evident in retail stores around the state.

“Go to any grocery store in Mississippi and try to find a country-of-origin label on a pack of fresh beef,” Cole said. “Why won’t Lester stand up for Mississippi consumers and cattlemen?

“The big corporate beef packers are mixing foreign beef from Mexico, South America and who knows where into our fresh beef supply, and Spell just looks the other way. In light of recent ‘mad cow’ outbreaks and beef recalls, Mississippians have a right to know where their beef is coming from.”

Spell has written a long article on country-of-origin labeling, emphasizing his role in the Chinese catfish scare earlier this year. The article was printed in the Market Bulletin, a publication of Spell’s agency, and in this month’s Farm Bureau magazine.

Spell makes no mention of beef or his agency’s responsibilities to enforce beef labeling laws in the article. Spell does write “I am asking for your (the consumer’s) strict awareness of the country of origin labeling (COOL) on imported goods in retail establishments.”

Cole responded: “It is pretty ironic that Lester would tell the public to use ‘strict awareness of the country-of-origin labeling’ when his office is giving no attention to the enforcement of a law that would make it much easier for the public to be aware of the country of origin of the beef they feed their families.

“Maybe since his involvement with the failed Beef Plant, Lester just can’t bring himself to even talk about beef anymore. “
To read the state Department of Agriculture and Commerce regulations on country-of-origin labeling, go to: www.mdac.state.ms.us/n_library/agency_info/reg_laws/pdf/reg_conpro_meatlabel.pdf

Rickey Cole in Downtown Jackson on Labor Day

Rickey Cole wins a spot in my heart by being the only statewide candidate to introduce good props.

At the Neshoba County Fair he had fly-swatters to bat away the flies that he said should follow around Lester and his rotten meat.

Now he has a meat hook to hold up and ask if there should be a very expensive cattle carcass be on it.

"(Incumbent Lester Spell) built a farmers market for 4 million of your tax dollars and they didn't take in enough money last year to pay the light bill." ... "That's not helping anybody, but the contractors that built that building and by the way you will see the names of the contractors that built that building on my opponent's campaign finance report. Follow the money."

Rickey Cole Rightfully Rips Spell in Greenwood

In addittion to hammering Lester Spell on the culled cow beef plant that he engineered and sold to legislature with a final price tag of $55 million dollars Rickey Cole found other failures in Lester Spell's recent history.

"Lester Spell spent $4 million on a Farmer's Market in Jackson," Cole told the group. "And it isn't taking in enough money to pay the light bill."

In his speech at the Neshoba County Fair I heard Spell defend his farmers market saying that there was a waiting list of folks wanting to have space at the market. A good question in response to that would be to ask why it is only open 3 mornings a week if the demand is so great.

Cole went on to say that Spell claims to have conducted 4,500 supermarket inspections in 2006.

"You know how many inspectors he has?" Cole asked the crowd.

After one man guessed 100, Cole told him the correct answer is 10.

"(Spell) is telling us with a straight face they did a thorough inspection with those 10 people," Cole said. "That means if those 10 inspectors worked 225 days last year, they did two stores a day. He might have done it, but he didn't do a very good job."

People expect that the food they buy at the grocery store will be safe. It is the job and duty of the Commissioner of Agriculture's office to do so. Has he accomplished his job? I don't think so.

Cole, a native of Ovett who now lives in Utica, said that while 16 people will be running for state offices in November, he is the lone candidate with rustic credentials. He also is the only one who can claim to be a farmer.

"I tell people I never did fall off the turnip truck," Cole added. "I just kept on driving.

"My home is 18 miles from the nearest incorporated town," said Cole. "When I leave, the population goes down by 10 percent."

Cole told the crowd he feels not enough is done to promote Mississippi's rural atmosphere and blue-collar culture, something he feels is the state's real strength.

I've advocated the election of Mike Sumrall partially do the regional diversity he'd bring to state government as a candidate from South Mississippi; Cole is the only candidate who would provide a rural voice in state government and I think you'd have to agree that that is a voice that is very much needed.

"There is no easy way to fix all our problems," Cole said. "But we can't fix it with one huge project. Economic development is small businesses opening. It's the people who need $10,000 or $50,000 to start a business that my office will come to work with."

Huge economic development projects (usually) look good and help politicians of both parties win re-election, but it is the Viking Range' of our state that really create jobs and support communities and if we strive to find and support home grown businesses we will be able to benefit the state far more with far less effect on our state budget. For no more irresponsible investment in failed projects while being open to supporting expanded local business a vote for Rickey Cole is the right one.

The Greenwood Commonwealth Article

Justice is (partially) Served

Richard Hall (not the highway commissioner) was sentenced today.

From the Clarion Ledger:

The former owner of a beef processing plant that went belly-up, costing the state $55 million, was sentenced today to eight years in federal prison.

Richard Hall Jr. pleaded guilty in January 2006 to state mail-fraud charges and federal money-laundering charges.

He was given the maxium eight years during sentencing before U.S. District Judge Neal Biggers.

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Biggers also ordered Carothers to pay a $40,000 fine, $250,000 in restitution to the state and the costs of his imprisonment, which will be determined by the Bureau of Prisons. The sentence was the maximum allowed under federal guidelines. Carothers is president of Carothers Construction Co., which built the 140,000-square-foot facility in 2003.

The most a judge can do is make these guys in the private sector do is pay a fine and make them do some time.

Voters can make their voices heard by voting for new watchdogs over agriculture and money by election the very capable Rickey Cole as Agricultural Commissioner and the very qualified Mike Sumrall as State Auditor.

Failed Beef Plant is Spell's Fault

Democratic nominee for Commissioner of Agriculture Rickey Cole charged today that incumbent Republican Agriculture Commissioner Lester Spell should bear most of the blame for wasting $55 million in taxpayer money on a failed beef plant.

“Lester Spell is the only elected official in this state who bears the full-time responsibility of promoting and protecting Mississippi Agriculture,” Cole said. “And in the instance of the beef plant, Spell failed miserably. The buck stops with Lester Spell.”

“His surrogates and ghost writers can blame it on the Legislature, the Mississippi Development Authority, Richard Hall, Mississippi State, the Chinese, global warming, or bad karma,” Cole said. “But in all state government matters involving agriculture in Mississippi, Lester Spell is, by virtue of his office, the principal voice, the ‘biggest bull in the woods’, so to speak.”

Cole served three years as chairman of the Mississippi Democratic Party and worked full-time for fifteen years growing and marketing fresh produce from his family’s 160 acre farm near Ovett. On the November 6thballot he faces Spell, a newly-converted Republican who served twenty years as Mayor of Richland before being elected agriculture commissioner as a Democrat twelve years ago.

Cole, has criticized Spell’s failed beef plant, calling it nothing more than a poorly planned scheme to open a “potted meat plant”. While Spell’s friends have defended him in letters that have appeared in several newspapers, Cole said that won’t help.

“Were there other elected officials involved?” Cole said. “Of course, and they have constituents in their districts who are no doubt asking them pointed questions during this election year."

“But there is only one candidate on the ballot in all eighty-two counties who can be held to account for the failure of the Beef Plant. And that candidate is the same man who, by virtue of his office, could have publicly sounded the alarm and stopped the beef plant project dead in its tracks.”

Cole said that Spell failed to do adequate research, made colossal errors in judgment, ignored expert advice and stubbornly pushed ahead long after the project was clearly doomed. And, Cole said, Spell has tried to shift blame to others rather than apologize to the people.

“Without the vocal and energetic support of our distinguished, learned and esteemed Commissioner of Agriculture Dr. Lester Spell, DVM (Spell is a veterinarian), there would never have been a Beef Plant, and the taxpayers would never have lost $55 million dollars,” Cole said.

“That is a fact which Spell and his surrogates cannot obscure, no matter how many letters they write to editors, no matter how many expensive ads they buy, and no matter how many convoluted explanations they make,” Cole said. “They need to remember an old axiom of politics: ‘When you're explaining, you’re losing.”