Excuse me. Channel 5 news at 4:30 just showed Val Southwick sentenced to prison for 9 counts of investor fraud. Also Mayor Godfrey was there and he didn't look too happy coming out of the courtroom. Doesn't he ever smile his idiotic "angelic smile" anymore?
Lets look at the video... oh yes... there's little Matt, standing in line to pay tribute to the biggest fraudster in Utah History.
Isn't that Matt Godfrey among the folks "standing up" for Southwick's blatent fraud?
Oh my...
And this dippy little apologist is our Ogden City Mayor...
"Birds of a feather stick together"... according to the time-worn folke axe.
Update 6/13/08 8:05 a.m. MT: The Standard-Examiner adds additional subject matter to the discussion this morning, with this Tim Gurrister story, reporting, among other things, that Southwick was remanded into custody and ordered to immediately begin serving nine consecutive 1 to 15 year prison terms.
Update 6/13/08 10:23 a.m. MT: Southwick and Godfrey... Bestest Buddies:
29 comments:
I guess Val will find out why they call it the Pokey if he's in a cell with Bubba.
Too funny. KSL has already cut Boss Godfrey from the video piece.
Rudi,
I just looked at the video and he's there. The accompanying text follows:
"The danger is if we put him in the state system, we are out of space, and so somebody is going to have to be let go in order to create room for him," said Ogden Mayor Matthew Godfrey.
Godfrey was also one of Southwick's victims and actually the first one to speak in court today. He was the only one who felt that jail time would not be appropriate. He said he felt it would be more productive for Southwick to be working to pay back this money.
Godfrey probably has an opening for Southwick on his "A Team".
Godfrey gets a cold chill seeing a fellow con man go to prison.
That's why he showed up at court today to proclaim, "Let my people go!"
Everyone who watched Godfrey was thinking, "Who is this weirdo?"
Godfrey would never suggest letting somebody arrested for smoking marijuana go.
But here's a guy who did a half-billion dollars' damage to people's lives, and Godfrey is speaking on his behalf.
Pure evil.
This here blog is not the only one with great posts. From KSL's blog:
Ogden Mayor Matthew Godfrey, victim
Correction: Ogden Mayor Matthew Godfrey, Dunce
"Godfrey was the only one who felt that jail time would not be appropriate. He said he felt it would be more productive for Southwick to be working to pay back this money."
Dear Mayor Godfrey, the only job this man ever has know was as a thief. You want this man to steal money to pay you off? It is a miracle that you were elected to be mayor, given your proven ability to be duped like a third grade dunce.
Let's see.... Mayor Matthew Godfrey recommends no jail time for a white collar criminal who stole 150 to 400 million dollars from 180 investors. Not mentioned in the story was the fact that Southwick was a long time family friend of Godfrey's.
Let's see: Godfrey demands special treatment and no jail time for a crooked investment scammer and long time friend. Knowing nothing else about Hizzonah, I could confidently conclude from that that he is a Republican.
Which, surprise, surprise, it turns out he is.
Imagine that.
SL Trib's original post has been fleshed out with more detail. From the story:
The judge heard not just from victims who urged a maximum sentence, but also from state and federal regulators who said Southwick had failed to cooperate fully since his guilty pleas on March 31.
Thomas Melton, an attorney for the federal Securities and Exchange Commission, said Southwick had provided a minimum of documents and information that the regulators had requested. "We have received limited cooperation," Melton told Reese.
Assistant Attorney General Charlene Barlow also requested a maximum sentence, citing the number of victims and size of the losses. "We're talking hundreds of millions," she said. "This was a very elaborate scheme."
But it was Southwick's victims, many elderly, who provided the emotion and drama in the courtroom. They spoke passionately to the judge or faced Southwick and addressed him directly as he sat at a table with two attorneys....
Kim Moore of Ogden called Southwick a "narcissist" and "self-aggrandizing" and said he and his wife recently saw Southwick pull up beside them in a new Nissan 250Z.
But several people also asked the judge for leniency in sentencing so Southwick could work to repay them. Ogden Mayor Matthew Godfrey said his family had lost substantial money but urged an light sentence or early parole, saying it would be best for victims if Southwick could work to repay them.
"This is not an evil man," Godfrey said.
Miami attorney Lewis Freeman, the court-appointed trustee in the VesCor bankruptcy cases in Las Vegas, said in an interview he had received no cooperation from Southwick. "Last December, when I became the trustee, I reached out to Mr. Southwick directly and through counsel and I've been given no information, no help in my investigations, no cooperation," Freeman said.
Didn't cooperate with investigators once he was nabbed, didn't cooperate with the trustee locating his assets, ran a scam that went on for 17 years, and bilked 180 people of no one is sure how much, possibly $400 million; traded on his LDS faith to hook his co-religionists as marks to be fleeced. And what does our Mayor conclude about Mr.Southwick?
"This is not an evil man."
Fairly takes your breath away, doesn't it? And it's on this Mayor's judgment of ability and good character that we depend for the staffing of the highest levels of Ogden's government. Now that's a sobering thought if ever there was one.
Good Post Curm.
In a way it kind of ticlkes me that Godfrey lost substantial money.
It just goes to show, that if it's too good to be true, it probably isnt.
That's why everything Godfrey says and does needs to be investigated throughly before we act on his pie in the sky great projects and ideas.
Ahem.
Is this the same Curmudgeon who took me to task several months ago for claiming Mayor Godfrey was Southwick's "acolyte"?
I believe you used the term "blaming the victim" to characterize my post.
Care to revise that sentiment in light of subsequent events?
Mono:
Nope. I've not criticized Godfrey for being taken in by a con artist, which I think is what you were doing.
What drew my comments was his recommending no jail time and for concluding after all the facts were in that Southwick was "not an evil man." My comments were about Godfrey's appalling lack of judgment for his testifying that Southwick was "not an evil man," not about Godfrey's having been a victim of the scam.
Besides, "acolyte" implies I think willing participant. Calling someone a con artist's "acolyte" suggests being in on the scam, being a scammer in training. I haven't seen anything to suggest the Mayor was anything other than one of Southwick's marks. Though it seems an unbelievably credulous one.
Betcha Southwick walks after nine. Republican big wig wheelers and dealers take care of their ilk.
Curmudgeon, you said "And it's on this Mayor's judgment of ability and good character that we depend for the staffing of the highest levels of Ogden's government. Now that's a sobering thought if ever there was one." Could be that this is the time for the grass root machine to change Ogden's form of government. Power-hungry Godfrey's sneaky grab of RDA power so that he can get rid of the Mt. Ogden golf course (any one see his last call-in show?) and now his statement that Southwick isn't an evil man, gives one good reasons to sign a petition to change the form of government. When you can't trust the Mayor and he does such dumb-assed things, it's time for a change.
Look at who Godfrey has sold all the options for the river project and who's hands the fate of this project are held -- another criminal -- Gadi Leshem.
I wonder when Godfrey's crooked deals are going to revealed and he joins Southwick at the Point of the Mountain? I'd be willing to guess sometime this year or the first of next year at the latest. (I have an inside seat.)
George K:
You're talking about returning Ogden to a city-manager form of government, which I understand it had until about 12 years ago when it changed to the Mayor/Council form.
Might be a good change. Both forms have advantages and disadvantages. But Godfrey [or any mayor's] being a bad one is probably not a reason to switch. Under the City Manager form, nearly all power is in the hands of the Council, which hires and fires the city manager, so a Council filled with the unethical or incompetent could lead to very bad results. The argument for the City Manager form is that then you have someone trained in, experienced in city management running things day to day, instead of the most popular tub-thumper at the last election. The downside is you give up the checks and balances element of the Mayor/Council form.
I prefer the City Manager form, all things considered, and perhaps Godfrey's antics will provide enough momentum to get a change like that on the radar at least.
In the SE's story this morning, Mayor Godfrey explains again his opposition to jailing Mr. Southwick:
Godfrey insisted that a murderer or rapist will have to be let out of the state prison to make room for Southwick.
Putting aside for the moment the fact that the Mayor of Ogden seems happy to establish this standard --- so long as you don't rape or murder someone, you can steal as much as you like; if you're caught, you won't do time --- let me suggest a solution to the Mayor's problem with jailing Mr. Southwick. [After all, I don't want to be just a naysayer. I want to suggest a solution to Hizzonah's problem.]
Why not have the Mayor whisper in to the shell-like-ear of his pet lobbyist, Mr. Jolly, instructing him to stroke the mayor's pal, Sen. Bramble, to insert quietly into an upcoming bill money to build a new cell block at the state prison. They can call it "Southwick Block." Presto! The Mayor's problem with incarcerating Mr. Southwich is solved!
Gee, that was easy....
Curm:
I still think you either misread or misinterpreted my original post. Hey, that's why we have archives. This is from an April 2 discussion. We were talking about the Wal-Mart in Leshem City, which has still not arrived:
It seems to me that Mayor Godfrey is a metaphorical acolyte, if not an actual acolyte, of Mr. Southwick. His true ambition seems to be to use his station to realize a thwarted ambition as a big-time real estate developer. He has robbed Peter to pay Paul with his grandiose "projects", and now that the economy has gone South, it's all coming apart. Heck, he can't even get a Mall-Wart built.
All this dissembling about parking spaces and "Adam is rising from the ashes like a phoenix" and "The Junction is a roaring success" and "the golf course is dragging Ogden down" has been, and continues to be, tiresome.
But then, I'm just a naysayer who happens to be paying off my fixed-rate mortgage each and every month on time and paying taxes to the Ogden City coffers without all kinds of smoke and mirrors. I just bring in a paycheck and pay my bills. That's apparently what naysayers do.
I would point out the similarities between their schemes. Just like nothing has been built on the Las Vegas property that Mr. Southwick mortgaged 18 times, nothing has been built on the Wal-Mart site, they're still looking for parking spaces at the Gondola Hotel on Washington, the River Project area has gone from a depressed region to an outright slum, we are still robbing Peter to pay Paul at the Junction, and Adam Aircraft is well and truly gone.
I also would like to apply what I would call the Curmudgeon Principle. You have said, several times, that if the Mayor asserts that the sun rises in the East, we should check.
In that regard, I'm going to question whether Mayor Godfrey is actually a "victim" of Mr. Southwick, as he asserts. What independent verification do we have of his claimed status as a victim?
Today's S-E, in an article by Tim Gurrister, says
Ogden Mayor Matthew Godfrey, whose family had invested with Southwick, was the only person to speak in support of Southwick. [emphasis mine]
Yet, in the Aug 5 2007 S-E, an article by Tim Gurrister says that
Ogden Mayor Matthew Godfrey is among as many as 500 names of former investors listed as creditors in the Vescor bankruptcy filings.
“I don’t know about any of that,” Godfrey said Friday of the securities investigation, adding he doesn’t feel like a victim. “Mr. Southwick has been a longtime family friend. We’ll wait to see how this shakes out.”
Godfrey declined to say how much he had invested with Southwick’s Vescor. “I don’t view him as a crook. I think he’ll do what he can to make everything right.”
Although it's puzzling to me that someone would claim victimhood, perhaps he wanted the opportunity to support Mr. Southwick at his sentencing and so "played" the victim to be able to make a victim statement.
Can anyone here clarify the relationship between Mayor Godfrey and Mr. Southwick? How does one get listed as a creditor in a bankruptcy filing?
Birds of a feather do flock together. Even tho' he was bilked, the mayor maybe learned a thing or two, hmmm?
Watch him closely. But we already knew that, didn't we.
BTW could you please remove Chop Shop's potty mouth post above?
The EVER Lovely Jennifer
mono:
You wrote:
I also would like to apply what I would call the Curmudgeon Principle. You have said, several times, that if the Mayor asserts that the sun rises in the East, we should check.
Absolutely.
Curmudgeon,
Another point in favor of the manager/council form of government is the million dollars that Ogden would save in the A-Teams salaries. Maybe then the employees of Ogden could receive a half-way decent wage.
As far as your argument for checks and balances in our current form of government, Godfrey has pretty well taken care of that by grabbing all the power and authority the Council used to have. I think we have nothing to lose by changing the form of government except a crooked, unethical, dictator Mayor.
The reason he doesn't think Southwick is a criminal is because then he would have to admit that he is just as big a crook the way he has ripped off the taxpayers of Ogden under the guise of economic development that pads the pockets of his buddies who probably give him a kickback under the table.
The people that Godfrey aligns himself with (people like Gadi Leshem and Southwick) gives you a pretty good idea of his character. You lie down with dogs you're bound to get up with fleas.
Let's kick the crook out! Change the form of government so that we don't have a criminal running it, robbing the taxpayers.
Doesn't the mayor have a P.R. person or anyone with common sense advising him? Going to work and saying nothing would have been an excellent call for the mayor. Now those of us who never had a strong opinion about him know we truly have a real bonehead running Ogden. Those who already knew it truly deserve a standing ovation.
-bashes my head into my desk repeatedly-
Lest we forget, beyond the distraction of his Royal Dunceness, the fact that Southwick screwed dozens of elderly and other likely honest, but unfortunately over-trusting people. For the Mayor to claim this guy has no evil, I cry foul.
IMHO, people like this are sick, cruel people taking advantage of humanity and destroying what little we have left to be proud of as a human race. Just like Ken Lay at Enron, Ben whats-his-name at MCI/Worldcom, etc. etc.
As far as I'm concerned, people like this should rot in prison for the rest of their lives. You know goddamned well he'd never pay anything back if he were free, except maybe to his speshul cronies with such sweet spiirts like Godfrey. The rest of those folk who trusted and got duped will never, ever see a dime. Guaranteed.
I am so sick of these lying, cheating bastards who get away with everything and never seem to get what they deserve. Karma seems to be dead. I think Nixon had it assassinated or something.
It's things like this that are starting to make me think that 9:38am is far too late in the day to still be sober.
Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! "The danger is, the state system is full and if we send him to prison, we'll have to release someone." According to the Gondola-Examiner, "a rapist or murderer." Does Lying Little Matty Gondola Godfrey have a cursory knowledge of the corrections system here in America? Has he been intellectually remanded to the eighth grade by his enormous, Divining Rod Forehead? Why does he even open his mouth anymore? "Every climbing publication in the world will be doing massive stories if the ice tower goes up." Glad you're privy to the editorial judgment of every climbing magazine in the world, Der Fuhrer. Lying Little Matty continually makes a mockery of OTown, and whose fault is it that he is our chief elected executive? Ours -- we fools, nincompoops and high-adventure seekers, GONDOLA freaks, morons & Mormons, housewives and douchefactories elect him three times. Good Christ. You'd think I'd enjoy it every time he steps on his dwarfish nonexistent pud, but it's getting old, embarassing, tired and wearisome. Thanks, Ogden, for three times allowing a dorky midget GONDOLA freak from Harrisville to ruin our good name. Ha! Ha! Ha! Heh, hmmm, yuck.
THE SKI IS BEAUTIFUL BLUE
It is remarkable that our society punishes drug users, who arguably injure no one, with stiff sentences for repeat offenses, or sometimes on the first offense.
Yet corporate criminals seem to get off easy, although Southwick did get a pretty stiff sentence for white collar crime.
If a human life is worth a million dollars, so the insurance people say, then why is Southwick's crime not equal to mass murder of 400 people?
There is a lack of proportion relating to financial crime. The death penalty would seem reasonable in cases like this.
Matt Godfrey says Southwick is not really evil. I suppose since Godfrey is demonic, he would like to see his master's servant Southwick get off so he can perform yet more service.
As for Godfrey speaking up for Southwick, well, Godfrey has to serve the same master too, come what may. It's the price that particular master demands.
I am reminded of an interview I once heard with the master songwriter Randy Newman.
He was describing the genesis of the song "Sail Away", which is written in the voice of a slave ship captain trying to convince Africans to hop on the ship and See America.
He said something like (I'm paraphrasing from memory): "I realized that bad people don't know they're bad."
Mayor, evil people don't wear horns and capes and carry pitchforks. Their faces don't light on fire. They don't even come steal your bicycle in a confused, drug-addled state.
They live next door to you and me. They smile and shake your hand and have motivational posters in the lobby.
They do incredibly unspeakable things and don't feel remorse. They take people's money. They load Africans onto slave ships and justify their actions to themselves. It's what Hannah Arendt called "the banality of evil".
I wonder what sort of prison term Mr. Southwick would have received had he used a pistol and a mask to take $100 million from people at their ATMs over a 17-year period.
WHEREAS, Congressman Dennis Kucinich filed (and read in their entirety) articles of impeachment against what-was-his-name ...
WHEREAS, Utah's Third District Court decisively impeached Weber County's own five-star white-collar criminal, Val Southwick ...
WHEREAS, impeachment may justly be said to be in the air ...
THEREFORE might one of our resident Forum savants draft, from the candid and legitimate complaints already on this thread, appropriate articles of impeachment against Matthew Godfrey?
The more I think about Mono's point about our not really knowing very much about the Mayor's financial dealings with Southwick, the more I think he may be on to something.
As "now we know" suggested above, what Godfrey said was so extraordinary a thing for a mayor to say, on the record, with the tapes rolling, that it really does require some reasonable explanation. What are the possibilities?
1. It's possible he really believes that so long as you don't shoot someone or rape them in the course of committing your theft, you ought not to do time, no matter how many people you stole from or how much you took. But that a Family Values Law and Order Republican Mayor, responsible for controlling crime in his city, would actually think and say that seems wildly improbable to me.
2. It is possible, then, that what Mayor Godfrey really meant was this: that he thinks thieves and con men who are personal friends of his should not do time no matter how much they stole or from how many they stole it. Given the Administration's sad reputation for rampant cronyism, this is an explanation that can't be dismissed out of hand.
3. Or is there another explanation for his extraordinary statements at the sentencing? Could it be he has other, more self-serving motives for urging the judge to let Southwick escape doing serious time? And so Mono's suggestion that it might be wise to look a little more closely at the financial relationship between Godfrey and Southwick begins to sound like good advice.
Right now, I suspect explanation #2 above is the most likely, but unless we learn more, it's hard to be sure.
Finally Godfrey shows his true colors, for all the world to see.
There is significant evidence of political corruption in the Southwick Case.
1. In 2004 Anthony Taggert, head of the Utah Div. of Securities ordered his investigators to give Southwick more time to come up with audited financial statements. This over the objection of his own investigators. This allowed Southwick to continue defrauding people for two additional years.
2. Utah Securities Director David Preece ordered his investigators and prosecutors to back off from Southwick and that no further investigation was to be done without his express orders.
This whole matter should be investigated by a federal grand jury. There appears to be evidence of public corruption in the matter. Utah will continue to be the affinity fraud capital of the United States unless the root of the evil is removed.
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