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.
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…
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:
- Demand unquestioning loyalty from anyone closely associated with you (and especially in your debt for their job)
- 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…
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!
ReplyDeleteI'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?
ReplyDeleteI 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