But Yet, they Can Keep Track of the Strip Club Bribes
ArchPundit
Washington Park Illinois needs a blog dedicated to it. Today’s installment of Petty Corruption for $1000 Alex is:
Dozens of people regularly used the general fund of the bankrupt village of Washington Park to pay their monthly bills, including those for cell phones, utilities and mortgages, authorities say.
Most of the money changed hands electronically – through an online bill-paying service. With a few clicks of a computer mouse, money flowed from Washington Park’s bank account to pay off personal bills at scores of businesses.
The scam continued from September 2002 until last December. The loss is put at $150,000, and a federal criminal investigation is under way.
Authorities said the scam was relatively indiscreet, with the names of suspected scammers appearing month after month on bank statements.
But it gets better:
Washington Park officials showed bank statements to a Post-Dispatch reporter that contained the names of 38 people who had used the village’s general fund to pay their bills.
But that isn’t all:
According to one official, it’s often the practice in Washington Park when one account runs low to move money from other accounts to cover the shortfall, rather than examine the account’s transactions.
The estimated $150,000 loss from the scam is close to what the village spends on its fire department each year.