Tag: taxes

County agrees to $12.2M settlement with man who was jailed for drunken driving, then lost his hands

 A Minnesota county agreed to pay a $12.2 million settlement to a man who was jailed on suspicion of drunken driving but ended up losing both his hands and suffering a heart attack, a stroke and skin lesions all over his body, allegedly due to the inaction of officials in the county jail, attorneys said Wednesday.

Terrance Dwayne Winborn spent about four months in hospitals, including two months on a ventilator, because Scott County jail officials failed during the 39 hours he was incarcerated to ensure he got the prompt treatment he needed, his lawyers said at a news conference.

It’s a case that highlights the vulnerability of prisoners who are dependent on authorities for medical care.

The attorneys said the settlement will cover the more than $2 million in medical bills Winborn has already incurred — a sum which they said the county didn’t cover — as well as the millions he’ll need for ongoing care. The county’s insurance plan will cover the settlement.

“That deliberate indifference allowed a bacterial infection to run rampant within his body, leading to a heart attack … and a host of other devastating and permanent injuries,” attorney Katie Bennett told reporters.

Jason Hiveley, an outside lawyer who handled the case for Scott County, said in a brief statement that the county and its insurer, the Minnesota Counties Intergovernmental Trust, agreed to the settlement in exchange for dismissal of Winborn’s lawsuit and a release from his claims. The statement did not say whether the county still denies any wrongdoing.

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The Federal Government Spent $3.3 Billion on Office Furniture as Employees Worked From Home

More than three years since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, it appears that working from home is here to stay. A March 2023 Pew Research survey noted that of all Americans who have the option, more than one-third work entirely remotely—a fivefold increase from pre-pandemic levels. Another 41 percent work a hybrid schedule of both remote and in-person work, an increase from 35 percent in January 2022.

Federal employees are no different: According to a November 2022 survey, one-third of federal employees work entirely remotely while 60 percent work a hybrid schedule; most of the hybrid group go into the office one day per week and work remotely the other four days.

So why, then, is the federal government still spending billions of dollars on office furniture?

According to a new report by the government watchdog organization OpenTheBooks.com, the federal government has spent $3.3 billion on office furniture since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report found “no material difference in the amount federal agencies collectively spent on office furniture between the years 2018 and 2022.” In fact, the government spent considerably less in 2018 than in any of the subsequent four years.

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Family of girl, 8, who died in her mother’s arms after being shot in the back by cops at Philadelphia high school game awarded $11M settlement

The family of an eight-year-old girl who was killed in a shooting incident involving police outside a Pennsylvania high school football game in August 2021 has reached an $11 million settlement. 

The resolution was agreed upon in federal court more than two years after the incident that lead to the death of Fanta Bility outside Academy Park High School in Sharon Hill, north of Philadelphia. Three others were also injured during the incident. 

The Delaware County District Attorney’s Office previously reported that the shooting incident resulted from teenagers engaging in gunfire during an argument.

The teens fired 25 shots toward a car and crowd of people leaving the football game in the small borough near Philadelphia International Airport. 

It prompted three police officers stationed nearby to discharge their firearms.

Tragically, Fanta lost her life because of a single gunshot wound to her torso.

Authorities later determined that it was police gunfire that led to her death.

Ballistics testing could not determine which officer fired the shot that killed her, but a grand jury recommended that all three face charges after they fired a total of 25 rounds.

‘There is no amount of money that will ever bring Fanta back or erase the horrible tragedy of what occurred on August 27, 2021, from our minds,’ Fanta’s mother Tenneh Kromah said in a statement on NBC News. 

‘We hope to move on and focus specifically on the Fanta Bility Foundation and keeping Fanta’s name and legacy alive.’

The law firm representing the family said they hoped the settlement would provide some ‘measure of justice and accountability to those whose lives were forever changed’ by the incident.

The three officers involved, Sean Dolan, 27, Devon Smith, 36, and Brian Devaney, 43, were fired from the police department and faced charges of voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, and reckless endangerment in connection with the incident that occurred on August 27, 2021. 

The officers told investigators they thought a car driving toward them was the likely source of the gunfire, prompting them to return fire.

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Tony Timpa Wrongful Death Trial Ends With 2 Out of 3 Cops Getting Qualified Immunity

At the heart of the civil trial concerning Tony Timpa—who died during a mental health crisis after calling 911 in August 2016—was an appeal made to the jury by the lead defense counsel, Senior Assistant City Attorney Lindsay Wilson Gowin. “Justice here is truth,” she said. Then, invoking allegations that the Timpa family had not been transparent about various dark corners of Timpa’s life, she added: “That’s not how you find the truth.”

She had a point. But that statement, made during closing arguments Tuesday, was a bit ironic, particularly when considering the lengths the government went to in order to obscure basic transparency and keep the events of that summer night a secret. Indeed, the trial, which almost didn’t come to fruition, has come to symbolize how difficult it is for alleged victims of government abuse from stating their case, and the importance of allowing those claims a fair and public hearing, no matter the outcome.

Today, a federal jury rendered their verdict. The panel of eight found that Officer Dustin Dillard, Senior Cpl. Raymond Dominguez, and Officer Danny Vasquez did in fact violate Timpa’s constitutional rights during a roughly 15-minute interaction on Dallas’ Mockingbird Lane. But they gave Dillard and Vasquez qualified immunity, concluding that, while their actions were unlawful, a reasonable officer couldn’t have been expected to know as much. A fourth defendant, Sgt. Kevin Mansell, the highest-ranking officer supervising the scene that evening, was vindicated entirely.

The city will have to pay Timpa’s son $1 million in damages.

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US Announces $2 Billion Loan for Poland to Spend on Military

The Biden administration on Monday announced a $2 billion loan for Poland that will go toward modernizing Warsaw’s military.

“Today, the United States is proud to announce the signing of a milestone $2 billion Foreign Military Financing (FMF) direct loan agreement to support Poland’s defense modernization,” the State Department said in a press release.

The State Department said the US would also provide $60 million in FMF funds to cover the cost of the loan. The press release described Warsaw as a “stalwart US ally” as Poland has become a major hub for arms shipments to Ukraine and spends more on its military than most European NATO members.

“In addition to its central support role in facilitating international assistance to neighboring Ukraine, Poland has demonstrated its ironclad commitment to strengthening regional security through its robust investments in defense spending,” the State Department said.

Poland has been unloading its old Soviet-made equipment into Ukraine and is purchasing lots of US and other NATO military equipment, a policy that’s been a boon for Western arms makers. The US has also significantly expanded its military presence in Poland since Russia invaded Ukraine, with about 10,000 US troops now stationed there.

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US Taxpayer Dollars are Subsidizing Small Businesses in Ukraine

A report from 60 Minutes that aired Sunday detailed how US taxpayer dollars are not only funding weapons in Ukraine but are also subsidizing small businesses and paying first responders salaries, among other things.

While the bulk of US support for Ukraine has gone toward military aid, the US has also provided tens of billions of dollars in a form of assistance known as direct budgetary aid.

According to the US Agency for International Development (USAID), budgetary aid “keeps basic government services like hospitals, schools, and utilities running, and it sustains support for emergency responders and firefighters.” According to the 60 Minutes report, the US aid pays for the salaries of all 57,000 of Ukraine’s first responders.

Tatiana Abramova, a woman who runs a knitwear business in Ukraine, spoke with 60 Minutes and said she received subsidies funded by the US taxpayer. “We realize that it’s the aid from government, but it’s the aid from the heart of every ordinary American person,” Abramova said.

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US To Keep Paying Salaries For Tens Of Thousands Of Ukrainians During Government Shutdown

A newly aired “60 Minutes” segment entitled The unexpected way American tax dollars are being used in Ukraine has uncovered that the US government is paying the salaries of some 57,000 Ukrainian civic services personnel.

The report details the various ways non-military aid is being spent at a moment GOP Congressional leaders are intensely debating whether to move forward with a proposed defense budget that includes Biden’s push for $24 billion more in military assistance for Kiev. Watch:

60 Minutes discovered the U.S. is financing more than weapons in Ukraine. The government is buying seeds/fertilizer for farmers, paying the salaries of 57,000 first responders and subsidizing small businesses. https://t.co/vKWwWDqUwM pic.twitter.com/BxXItNgQce

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) September 24, 2023

“The U.S. has spent just over $43 billion on military aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded. That’s equivalent to about 5% of the American defense budget. European countries combined have contributed around $30 billion,” the 60 Minutes report narrates.

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Busted! Adam Schiff Funneled Millions To Defense Contractors After Taking Donations

While Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) campaigns for a Senate seat on a platform of earmarks for local causes, the 12-term Congressman has been busted steering millions in taxpayer dollars to for-profit defense contractors, many of whom have been political donors to his campaigns.

According to an investigation by Politico, Schiff “has offered an incomplete and potentially misleading account of his record on earmarks.”

A POLITICO review of congressional earmarks and political contributions found that in addition to the money for homelessness and drug treatment, Schiff also steered millions to for-profit companies and raised tens of thousands for his House reelection campaigns from corporate executives and people connected to them. The review was mostly limited to publicly available data from the brief three-year window when corporate earmarks were disclosed.

In two particularly egregious cases, Schiff channeled millions in funding to Smiths Detection and Phasebridge, Inc., two defense companies within his district – with $6 million steered to Smiths Detection and $3 million to Phasebridge. Both moves would have been barred under reforms adopted in 2010. This financial maneuvering coincided with Schiff receiving $8,500 in contributions from PMA Group PAC and two family members of Paul Magliocchetti, founder and owner of the lobbying firm retained by both defense companies.

In 2011, Paul Magliocchetti was sentenced to 27 months in prison for making illegal campaign contributions.

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Eric Adams is hiding the cost of the city’s migrant boondoggle

To learn why it’s a bad idea for Washington to issue a blank check to Mayor Eric Adams to house an unlimited number of migrants, listen to Thursday’s City Council hearing on how Adams is awarding billions of dollars in contracts for migrant services.

Councilwomen Gale Brewer (Upper West Side) and Julie Won (western Queens) grilled Adams officials for 3.5 hours on how, exactly, the city is spending taxpayer money for shelter and other services, costing $11 million each day.

As Comptroller Brad Lander, the city’s independent watchdog, told questioners, 10 city agencies have signed 194 contracts worth $5.1 billion with private providers to house, feed, clothe and offer medical care and private security to more than 100,000 newcomers, including 60,400 in city shelter.

Fifteen months ago, the city suspended its checks-and-balances processes to control waste and fraud in contracts, with Adams declaring an “emergency.”

This means the city doesn’t have to follow its procedures of competitive, sealed bids but can just pick the contractor city officials think is appropriate, with no objective criteria.

As Molly Wasow Park, Adams’ social-services commissioner, informed the council of a $240 million contract for thousands of hotel rooms across the city, “I don’t know that anybody bid exactly for the same suite of services. It is a somewhat unusual function.”

Discretion and opacity are never good when handing out billions of dollars.

But they’re particularly worrisome in this administration.

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Unique Chevy Suburban Command Vehicle Delivered To Military

Ahighly customized stretched Chevy Suburban mobile command vehicle was recently delivered to U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM). The modified sport utility vehicle features a robust and secure communications suite. It looks set to join a U.S. military task force that is primarily on call to help respond to domestic nuclear, chemical, and biological attacks and other incidents.

Accelerated Media Technologies (AMT) issued a statement earlier this month about the delivery and provided additional details about the “mobile command center” vehicle for U.S. Northern Command. The Auburn, Massachusetts-based company offers a variety of customized SUVs and trucks intended for military forces and law enforcement agencies, as well as mobile television broadcast vehicles.

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