An invoice from the California law firm hired by the Regents to untangle the legal mess created by state employee and EB-5 investment director Joop Bollen hints at an effort by Bollen to hide his involvement in an illegal conflict of interest during that litigation.
In an invoice submitted April 13, 2009, James Lynch of San Diego law firm Garcia Calderón Ruíz bills the Board of Regents for $7,718.60 of legal services performed in March, 2009, on Darley International v. SDIBI. During March, 2009, the state paid Bollen to direct the SDIBI. Bollen also owned and operated SDRC Inc., the private company he formed and contracted with (illegally, without authorization, now say the Regents) in January 2008 to carry out SDIBI duties. But in the midst of the Regents' inquiry into his activities to build its defense from Darley, Bollen apparently distanced himself from SDRC Inc.:
On March 11, 2009, Lynch reviewed correspondence discussing Joop Bollen's resignation from SDRC Inc. On April 7, the state received a statement of change replacing Bollen with his crony James Park as SDRC Inc. president and registered agent. That appears to fit with the March suggestion that Bollen was resigning.
But then on June 1, 2009, with Darley's voluntary withdrawal of its federal lawsuit on the horizon, Bollen's lawyer Jeffrey Sveen sent the state articles of amendment restoring Bollen as the sole director of SDIBI's strange private doppelganger.
Read that sequence of events again: state employee Bollen violates conflict of interest laws by signing a contract between his state agency and his own private company. When his bosses find out, he takes his name off the private corporation's papers. When his bosses are close to cleaning up the courtroom mess he created, he puts his name back on.
Bollen then held both his state job and his private job until December 21, 2009, when he quit SDIBI and, the next day, signed a no-bid contract to keep SDRC Inc. doing SDIBI's job.
You cannot read this and tell me nothing fishy was going on. And you can't look at the players involved—lawyers from Northern State University, the Board of Regents, the Attorney General's office, and, as of July 2009, the Governor's Office of Economic Development—and tell me no one in Pierre knew that fishy things were going on.
The Golden Boy was just having too much fun as Governor with all its perks to want to really do his job and get rid of Bollen. Gross Incompetence, laziness, reckless disregard, arrogance - this all describes Rounds.
SDs Golden Boy was too busy entertaining and living the good life in the Pierre Good Ol' Boy Club - this is what it looks like. Meanwhile, an anonymous whistleblower has to write Sen Grassley a letter urging him to look at EB5 questionable activities in SD. So it takes an outside entity to finally get the Feds involved in serious corruption. How pathetic, but b/c he's a good ol' Republican, SD still is in love with him.
Obama and Rounds went to the same managerial school. Dems need to seriously vote Pressler in.
The problem is how do you tell this story so that South Dakotans that don't follow it can "get it?"
OM, Mike Rounds colluded with criminals in yet another chapter in the decades-long culture of corruption in Pierre: it's just that simple
Dems, gravely, need to vote Weiland in and not drink Pressler Koolaid. Pressler has not earned our trust. There is no panacea and a lame duck Pressler with no accountabilty for reelection is dangerous. And, the SD Legislature is dramatically unbalanced and that will only change with a stronger Democratic Party in the state. SD cannot just slide quietly into the red abyss. Last, but not least, Weiland is awesome.
Very interesting information that is now very public. As the dollar amounts and the scheme involvements are more than adequate for the RICO charges, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_prosecution_of_public_corruption_in_the_United_States
Eric Holder is resigning, so that excuse is now off the table, when will the federal government step in to clear up this criminal enterprise? The Attorney General's office is up to their eyeballs in this as well so there is no relief from that office on justice in South Dakota. Where is the cavalry?
Jenny,
Larry Pressler is just another republican, South Dakota does not need another republican in Washington.
One of the many things I don't like about this mess is that all this was going while Jewett was on the BOR. At the same time his partner sveen and Joop cooked up this plan to get there hands on a huge chunk of money that would come into play. I suppose Jewett didnt know anything either. Nobody can risk letting Joop take the fall on this, because he will take rounds, Sveen and Jewett with him.
Roger, Pressler went to the same managerial school Clinton went to...Oxford.
Steve,
Just because Clinton and Pressler went to the same school, does not make him Clinton.
Regardless of where Pressler went to school, he is a republican.
The missing links are also with Daugaard and NOem as they both were in the big leagues with their crime boss Rounds. Lets not forget that Daugaard gave full blessings to Bollen until the kitchen got to hot and he had to let him go. NOem was in leadership at this time as well so she would be in on the ground floor of all of this.
Open Mind,
In answer to your question, how do we get this story out, we get it out through people like you. Read the blogs and tell your family and friends about what is being discovered about the republican party.
Time is short, the election is near, and we need your help.
Share these blogs and threads on social media.
Thanks for wanting to help.
Yesterday at the GOAC meeting, Susan Wismer had documentation of nearly $500,000 in legal fees being billed to state for EB-5 related litigation.
What Lynch was paid is a drop in the bucket.
As this knowledge of the criminal enterprise continues, Rounds, Daugaard, Bollen, Jackley and others to be named, may make the list of the top 5 in the land. http://fortune.com/2014/09/14/biggest-organized-crime-groups-in-the-world/?ncid=webmail22
Good news though, we may be close with being over the 100 million mark!
Only Sibby could demonize someone talented enough to attend Oxford...nuff said.
It's that whole critical thinking thing isn't it Sibby.
In Governor Daugaard's world, the best and the brightest should be in the skilled trades to make sure that his business buddies have enough low wage employees.
I think his son-in-law/taxpayer fed mouthpiece actually wanted him to say "Ask not what your state can do for you, ask what you can do for my campaign contributors...check those highfalutin dreams at the door and buck up to be a welder!"
Say Governor...how many of your children went to school for the skilled trade industry? None? Oh well, never mind.
Oxford = Bad, Yale = Bad, Harvard = Bad, University of South Dakota = Bad, University of Pacific = Bad, University of Iowa = Bad, Brigham Young University = Bad, MIT = Bad, are there even any universities or Tech schools that are good or decent?
No, I did not think so. Shut them all down, they are the enemies of the people!! LOL
I'm sorry Rounds cronies, but the guy knew about this crime, and not only let him stay on, but put him in charge of the financing of the beef plant that he touted to no end. Had him also in talks with Hyperian and Keystone, 2 other of the programs Rounds touted.
I guess I don't understand the whole, I didn't know anything, he worked for BOR's I didn't really know him, blah blah blah blah blah. You knew he did this, you knew he tried to cover it up, and not only did you not fire him, you put him in charge of your big SD beef program.
I really felt sorry for Larry Lucus and Susan Wismer at the GOAC meeting. They got nowhere with the other members. Mike Myers got up and testified and asked them why they weren't investigating and issuing subpoenas. They said we are not here to investigate. Then Myers lashed out saying "then why are you here?" He went after them hard and they called him out of order. It was pretty funny. Myers had them squirming in their chairs. The problem with the GOAC is they can't handle the truth. That committee is nothing but a façade. It's an absolute joke, and most people don't care. Pretty sad when less than a dozen people show and only 2 citizens testify.
Once again Mike Myers wasted a real opportunity when he testified, instead of asking pointed relevant questions or comments, he made generic accusations.
Roger, he did ask relevant questions to the generic Republicans, that's why they called him out of order because they know he doesn't care what they think and you can't intimidate Myers. They were very uncomfortable. But somebody had to say it. You just love to disagree with me because I am an Independent. I am sure Susan Wismer and Larry Lucus were appreciative of his critiquing and condemning of the Establishment Republican GOAC.
Any chance the anonymous letter reporting foul be from a jaded ex-wife of a jokester who imported a "lady" from an "island resort"? Note to wives in SD - track hubby travels as trend is young, really young, s-lined, i-land "ladies".