Thursday, December 09, 2010

Salt Lake Tribune: The Envison Ogden Money Laundering Scandal Ain't Quite Dead Yet

Makes one wonder if the powers that be are intentionally running the clock out on this official criminal conduct so as to not embarrass a bunch of their own crooks

By: Ozboy

Another article by Cathy McKitrick in the Tribune today about the Envision Ogden crimes and how the statue of limitations might be about run out on prosecuting them:
State probe into Envision Odgen still active as deadline approaches
Makes one wonder if the powers that be are intentionally running the clock out on this official criminal conduct so as to not embarrass a bunch of their own crooks.

20 comments:

Viktor said...

Pretty cynical to think that our anointed leaders (so called), who after all are card carrying priests, would ever do anything sleazy as it comes to applying the laws of the land in a fair and equitable manner.

I believe Ex-Senator Killpack and Rep Garn wrote the book on proper behavior in high office and all the GOP office holders in Utah are very scrupulous in following it to the letter.

Unknown said...

Not sure how or why any of the people involved with Envision Ogden or FNURE deserve a free pass? Justice dictates there should be a complete and thorough investigation. This would allow Abe Shreve, Blain Johnson, Mayor Godfrey and others to move forward with a clear conscience and help add credibility to our political system. (unless of course the investigation proves otherwise)

Irene said...

Nofreepass

Given that the facts of the case have not been disputed, and that the mayor has admitted his full involvement (even though he disputes that he did anything wrong) I doubt that any action taken by the authorities will help add credibility to Ogden's political system under him.

I agree whole heartedly with you that there should be no free passes. Unfortunately, it appears that the mayor and his co-conspirators are going to get away with this criminal conduct.

Cathy Fan said...

We're so lucky to have Cathy McKitrick covering Ogden again. Wonder how long she'll last before Godfrey throws a fit and the Trib reassigns her.

history is true and it can't be changed said...

I believe that Neil and Dan needs to take this case to the Weber county attorney office. Isn't he democrat and should provide a check and balance on the system?

Marion said...

History is truth - - - - -

Is this the beginning of a comedy routine?

There have been many people who have taken many criminal complaints about the Godfrey administration to the Democrat County Attorneys - both the current one and his predecessor - to no avail.

Ogden is a small community and the legal community is even more close knit. The Mayor's in laws and close cronies are Democrats and big players in that Ogden legal circle.

It appears that our last two county attorneys have place more value on their good standing in that community than they have in bringing justice for the citizens of Ogden.

Dan Schroeder said...

Through all the ups and downs of the Envision Ogden saga, the one thing I've learned to absolutely depend on is that nobody wants to get involved. Since September 2007 I've collected a very long list of the excuses people have come up with for not getting involved or for doing the bare minimum. (I won't name names at this time, although I promise I will when it's all over.) I don't think it's that they all love Godfrey, but some of them are afraid of him and all of them, including the lawyers, seem to subscribe to the belief that existing power structures are more important than the rule of law.

Although I've never met our current county attorney, I can think of no reason why his attitude would be any different. And at the moment he has an excellent excuse not to get involved: the case is already being handled by state investigators.

I looked it up. said...

I think every one is barking up the wrong tree. If you read the city council rules or norms as they call it. They have a duty to investigate all of this and can impeach the mayor. So why haven't they done any thing yet. If they had any guts they would. or are they scared of the little Neapolitan. They have it in their power to do it all. They can investigate, they can then impeach him and then move all the records to a grand jury for an indictment. Yes this the power that they have and This is how a check and balance between the executive and legislative branches.

Dan Schroeder said...

"I looked it up.":

No, the council doesn't have the power to impeach the mayor. But you're right about their power (and responsibility) to investigate. It's extremely disappointing that none of them (except Wicks, when she was interviewed once) have ever even spoken about this subject on the record.

ozboy said...

Dan

The Grand Jury does have the power to indict Godfrey, but in spite of a number of complaints they have received about him over the years from numerous tried and true Ogden citizens they have refused to do so.

My guess is that the powers that be in Utah who are not in Godfrey's pocket are reluctant to do anything about his serial crimes because they feel that at least he is trying to do something to clean up Ogden which has become a blight on the state. No other town in the state has become so run down as Ogden and no other town in Utah has the proportion of poor and ethnic folks that we do.

Unknown said...

Why is this issue not receiving traction from local authorities?
Weber County Attorney
Blain Johnson, Attorney
Could it be the matching word in the titles?

Bill C. said...

Mark Decaria was approached, lobbied ad nauseum, had the case laid out right in front of him and admitted that crimes had been committed, then declined to do a thing.
He's now been kicked up to the bench, not that there's any connection, but he was more than reluctant to make any local waves.
Corruption and self dealling seem to be the norm in Utah public service.

Ozboy said...

Bill C

It is truly great to see you posting again.

You are a jewel of Ogden and we luvs ya man! Hope you're feeling better and that you get well soon.

Dan Schroeder said...

This seems a good place to mention that it was Bill C. who first convinced me (a professional skeptic) that the city had broken the law in letting Envision Ogden use the Salomon Center. He documented that the lease to Gold's and Fat Cats hadn't yet taken effect at the time of the Sneak Peek, and that the city received no payment in return for use of the building. Bill also brought the FNURE contributions to my attention, and speculated that FNURE might actually be Envision Ogden in disguise. I was even more skeptical of that, but 14 months later I discovered that he was right. Bill has a great talent for smelling a rat, and it's a skill that's much needed around this town.

donk said...

It's great to see that familiar name on WCF once again and realize that you are feeling good enough to post comments.

Hope you continue to feel better and are well on your way to a full recovery.

you who said...

And now the cheesy City Attorney is looking at other ways to distract the investigation, by making accusations of improprieties to the opposition contributors. More to come.

I'm antsy too said...

Dan S. said....."nobody wants to get involved".

Ok sports fans and frequent WCF posters. How about dropping a line to Asst. AG Bell and tell him what a p..s poor job he is doing for the erstwhile citizens of Ogden.

No question it serves us right for re-re-re-electing Gboy but truth be told, we've suffered enough. Time for our state officials to do a rightful number on our crooked little mayor and slap him with a long over due conviction.

We all love to vent on the WCF but its time to get serious and get involved - time to storm the gates and put down you know who. BTW, you'll find Asst. AG Bell on the Utah State Government website.

ozboy said...

Yo Antsy

Bell is Lt. Gov, not asst AG.

By the way, he is also an Ogden native although he lives in Davis County and has built his political career there.

Bob Becker said...

Welcome back, Bill. Welcome back.

Antsy said...

Right you are ozboy. I should have listed Scott Reed, Asst.AG. Thanks for the correction.

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