Monday, November 16, 2015

Do Not Cross Big Daddy

In the waning days of Wayne at CSU, drama that seems to cling to him, is again reaching operatic proportions. CSU was in the news last week and the rats’ nest of Illinois politics was on full display. You’d think we’d be used to it by now. The stink of it has hung over this campus since the “grasping, clutching ole” pol in the Cook Building set foot on this campus. 

In true Chicago style, true, cynical Chicago political style, Cook County States Attorney, Anita Alvarez, handed down a 17-count indictment for theft, official misconduct, wire fraud, and computer fraud on former CSU Vice President for Enrollment Management LaShondra Peebles and her mother, Shirley Kyle. Alvarez claims Peebles and Kyle bilked the great state of ILL out of $4,450 in a ghost payroll scheme.

That’s right, $4,450.00.

Seriously, this is the best the Cook County Attorneys could do? “Chump change” isn’t it by Illinois (and CSU) corruption standards, even IF Peebles really did it?

So, trot out the little fish for public scorn and condemnation, ignore and shield the barracudas. Let the long-term abusers of the public trust at CSU continue to slop at the trough. Pathetic.

And so chickenshit.

The link for the article in the Chicago Tribune about LaShondra Peebles is here:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-chicago-state-fraud-arrest-20151112-story.html
I’ve summarized the dull document below.

Lest you think, however, that Anita Alvarez and the crack investigative team at the States Attorney’s Office is going to swoop down on CSU and really clean house—think again. The only signed “witness” to the document of charges against Peebles is CSU Detective Michael Jones. Does that name ring a bell? He was the police officer who applied a chokehold to CSU student Jokari Miller at a CSU Board of Trustees’ meeting in 2014 (Miller refused to take off his baseball cap inside the meeting). See this post for a perspective on that issue:
One wonders how it came into Det. Jones’ head to single out LaShondra Peebles for investigation among all the administrators on campus? What could have motivated him? And should the rest of us now feel free to start sending reports of acts of corruption to CSU’s very own Elliot Ness?

Moral of the story: if you cross Big Daddy, he will not just take you down, fire you and ruin your career, he will try to crush you.

LaShondra Peebles’ experience with Wayne Watson follows the pattern that my colleague discerned last year in a previous blog post:  http://csufacultyvoice.blogspot.com/2014/09/brittany-bailey-and-willie-preston.html (Sept 1, 2014). It goes like this:

  1.  Demand unquestioning loyalty from anyone closely associated with you (and especially in your debt for their job)
  2. Test that loyalty by insisting your employee do something that is distasteful, possibly illegal or criminal or to go along with same

·        2006 Maria Moore, former General Manager of WYCC-TV at City Colleges was directed by Watson to condone and overlook the use of WYCC-TV for “personal friends and political cronies”… “including but not limited to Emil Jones, Jr., Jesse Jackson, RainbowPUSH Coalition, Clinton Bristow, and Chuck Bowen.”
·        2010 Jim Crowley, lawyer at CSU, directed to restrict the flow of information to Chicago Tribune reporters and a faculty member requesting FOIA material on Watson’s expenses at the presidential residence before he was officially employed on campus
·        2013/2014 LaShondra Peebles. Interim VP at CSU, alleges Watson attempted to coerce her to "sign off" on a million dollar contract, and to file false charges against Dr. Phillip Beverly for sexual harassment.

3. If the employee shows no “loyalty” (i.e. willingness to do your bidding) threaten and then fire that person
4. If they bring a lawsuit claiming unfair firing, begin a smear campaign to muddy their reputation and deflect the heat they brought on you (muddy the narrative)
5. Use any tactic your influence gives you, the police, the courts, to crush the individual who has so defied you:
·        Jim Crowley: charges were filed against him with the Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission so that he was unable to obtain employment with a law firm after being fired from CSU;
·        Willie Preston (student): was expelled from the university and filed two bogus charges against him: one for criminal trespass, the other a total fabrication to obtain an “order of protection” for Angela Henderson who abetted Watson in this matter. Both actions were subsequently dismissed in the Circuit Court;  
·        Jokari Miller (student) was arrested on campus, charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest for refusing to take off a baseball hat at a Board of Trustees meeting, subjected to a police chokehold during the arrest. Interesting that an old arrest warrant against him suddenly appeared just before he was to testify against CSU in a court case.
·        Dr. Phillip Beverly, faculty member, critic of the administration, was the subject of an investigation by a firm Watson hired for almost $30,000 in an attempt to dig up dirt and find or coerce witnesses to file bogus charges against Beverly (see payment to Laner Muchin);
·        LaShondra Peebles: alleges the most egregious actions including coercion to backdate a contract that was in excess of $1 million and to file sexual harassment charges against faculty member Phillip Beverly.

6. Wait years, force individual litigants to pay lawyers out of pocket while you use state attorneys and private attorneys on the taxpayers’ dime for your own defense. In the end, lose the case, the taxpayers of Illinois will pay the lawyers. The price tag for CSU is over $1 million for Watson’s defense, bogus investigations, attacks on the faculty blog, all by private firms (Pugh, Jones and Johnson; Smith Amundsen; Laner Muchin; Gonzalez, Saggio and Harlan; Fisher Phillips; Husch Blackwell). Personally, Watson has not lost a cent.

What a racket. And there are other individuals who could be listed as the collateral damage to these incidents.

LaShondra Peebles crossed Big Daddy. Her indictment last week is part of the performance of power that Wayne Watson uses to delay and deflect his own brand of thuggishness. We have seen this opera before. And it’s a stinker.


Peeble’s indictment papers (30+ pages) are repetitive—I’ve highlighted the main sections below.

1.     THEFT [Peebles/Kyle] in furtherance of a single intention and design knowingly obtained or exerted unauthorized control over government property, to wit: U.S. currency, in an aggregate amount and exceeding $500 and not exceeding $10,000 in value, an amount of approximately $4,450, the property of Chicago State University, a unit of government, intending to deprive Chicago State University permanently of the use or benefit of the property…

2.     THEFT [Peebles/Kyle] in furtherance of a single intention and design knowingly obtained or exerted unauthorized control over government property, to wit: U.S. currency, in an aggregate amount and exceeding $500 and not exceeding $10,000 in value, They created an impression Shirley Kyle was working hours when they knew she was not, the property of Chicago State University, a unit of government, intending to deprive Chicago State University permanently of the use or benefit of the property..

3.     THEFT [Peebles]… knowingly obtained or exerted unauthorized control over government property… in value, an amount of approximately $2,700, the property of Chicago State University, a unit of government, intending to deprive Chicago State University permanently of the use or benefit of the property…


4.     THEFT by “…knowingly obtained or exerted unauthorized control over government property… in value, an amount of approximately $2,048, the property of Chicago State University, a unit of government, intending to deprive Chicago State University permanently of the use or benefit of the property…

5.     THEFT “…by creating an impression which was false and which she did not believe to be true, to wit: she created an impression that she was authorized to pay PMO501 when she knew that she was not…an amount of approximately $2,700, that she intended to permanently deprive the owner of the use and benefit of the said property…

6.      THEFT “…by creating an impression which was false and which she did not believe to be true, to wit: she created an impression that she was authorized to pay PMO501 when she knew that she was not…an amount of approximately $2,048, that she intended to permanently deprive the owner of the use and benefit of the said property…

7.     OFFICIAL MISCONDUCT: [Peebles] being an employee of Chicago State University while in Official capacity, To Wit: Director of Compliance/Interim Vice President for Enrollment Management, with the intent to obtain a personal advantage for herself or another, performed an act in excess of her lawful authority, to wit: she committed theft, in that she hired Shirley Kyle, her mother, and approved payment to Shirley Kyle from Chicago State University for hours Shirley Kyle did not work…”

8.     OFFICIAL MISCONDUCT: [Peebles] being an employee of Chicago State University while in Official capacity, To Wit: Director of Compliance/Interim Vice President for Enrollment Management, with the intent to obtain a personal advantage for herself or another, performed an act in excess of her lawful authority, to wit: she committed theft by using a Chicago State University Credit Card as payment to PMO501…

9.     OFFICIAL MISCONDUCT: [Peebles] being an employee of Chicago State University while in Official capacity, To Wit: Director of Compliance/Interim Vice President for Enrollment Management, with the intent to Obtain a personal advantage for herself or another, performed an act in excess of his (sic) lawful authority, to wit: she committed theft by using a Chicago State University Credit Card as payment to PMO501…


10. OFFICIAL MISCONDUCT: [Peebles] being an employee of Chicago State University while in Official capacity, To Wit: Director of Compliance/Interim Vice President for Enrollment Management, with the intent to Obtain a personal advantage for herself or another, performed an act in excess of her lawful authority, to wit: she commited computer fraud when she accessed a Chicago State University purchasing program and approved a contract on behalf of the Purchasing Department when she did not have the authority to do so…

11.  OFFICIAL MISCONDUCT: [Peebles] being an employee of Chicago State University while in Official capacity, To Wit: Director of Compliance/Interim Vice President for Enrollment Management, with the intent to Obtain a personal advantage for herself or another, performed an act in excess of her lawful authority, to wit: she commited computer fraud when she accessed a Chicago State University purchasing program and approved a contract on behalf of the Legal Department when she did not have the authority to do so…

12.  WIRE FRAUD: [Peebles] devised or intended to devise a scheme or artifice to defraud, or to obtain money or property by means of false pretenses, representations, or promises and for the purpose executing the scheme or artifice, transmits or causes to be transmitted any writing, signals, pictures, sounds, or electronic impulses by means of wire, radio or television communications from within this state, to wit: She made an electronic payment, an amount of approximately $2,700, via paypal to PMO501 using a Chicago State Universiy Credit Card when she did not have authority to do so…

13.  WIRE FRAUD: [Peebles] devised or intended to devise a scheme or artifice to defraud, or to obtain money or property by means of false pretenses, representations, or promises and for the purpose executing the scheme or artifice, transmits or causes to be transmitted any writing, signals, pictures, sounds, or electronic impulses by means of wire, radio or television communications from within this state, to wit: She made an electronic payment, an amount of approximately $2,048, via paypal to PMO501 using a Chicago State Universiy Credit Card when she did not have authority to do so…

14.  COMPUTER FRAUD: [Peebles] knowingly accessed or caused to be accessed a computer or any part thereof, or a program or data, with the intent of devising or executing any scheme or artifice to defraud, or as part of a deception, to wit: she made an electronic payment, an amount of approximately $2,700, via paypal to PMO501 using a Chicago State University Credit Card when she did not have authority to do so…

15. COMPUTER FRAUD: [Peebles] knowingly accessed or caused to be accessed a computer or any part thereof, or a program or data, with the intent of devising or executing any scheme or artifice to defraud, or as part of a deception, to wit: she made an electronic payment, an amount of approximately $2,048, via paypal to PMO501 using a Chicago State University Credit Card when she did not have authority to do so…

16. COMPUTER FRAUD: [Peebles] knowingly accessed or caused to be accessed a computer or any part thereof, or a program or data, with the intent of devising or executing any scheme or artifice to defraud, or as part of a deception, to wit: she accessed a Chicago State University Purchasing Program and approved a contract on behalf of the Purchasing Department when she did not have the authority to do so…

COMPUTER FRAUD: [Peebles] knowingly accessed or caused to be accessed a computer or any part thereof, or a program or data, with the intent of devising or executing any scheme or artifice to defraud, or as part of a deception, to wit: she accessed a Chicago State University Purchasing Program and approved a contract on behalf of the Legal Department when she did not have the authority to do so…

3 comments:

  1. Such embellished outrage from Li'l Wayne's pet lawyer, and other miscreants! My goodness, so concerned about $5000...allegedly misspent. The outrage, the outrage!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm truly baffled at why this man hasn't been walked off campus by the Feds. How can a man so small in stature be so powerful? Is it the orthotic shoes? Does he have dirt on everybody from Springfiled to City Hall? Why can't he be touched?

    ReplyDelete
  3. I hate I chose this university. I should be proud to be an African American women to hold my Master's Degree right? WRONG. It has been two years I can NOT find a job in Illinois.I can barely feed my babies without the help of food stamps or pay back the $80,000 in student loans I owe. I am bothered to see the high salaries this administration collects at the students and tax payers expense. Meanwhile employers are laughing at my degree. I often cry asking God what I did wrong. I am ashamed of my Alma mater. No Christmas this year for my babies.# prayed up and cried out.

    ReplyDelete