Men Get Jail Time In Milwaukee Tire-Slashing Case
AP) MILWAUKEE Four Democratic presidential campaign workers were sentenced to jail time ranging from four months to six months Wednesday for puncturing the tires of Republican vehicles on Election Day 2004.
The men had pleaded no contest in January to misdemeanor property damage. A fifth worker was found not guilty.
Those who pleaded no contest were Sowande A. Omokunde, the son of Democratic U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee; Michael Pratt, the son of former acting Milwaukee Mayor Marvin Pratt; and Lewis Caldwell and Lavelle Mohammad, both from Milwaukee.
They originally were charged with felony property damage but accepted plea deals on the lesser charge.
Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Michael Brennan rejected prosecutors' recommendation of probation and no jail time.
"This case had to be a public example of what can happen when you interfere with voters' rights," Brennan said.
The men faced a maximum nine-month jail term and fines of $10,000.
Congresswoman Moore said, "I love my son very much. I'm very proud of him. He's accepted responsibility."
The state Republican Party had rented more than 100 vehicles that were parked in a lot next to a Bush-Cheney campaign office to give rides to voters and poll monitors on Nov. 2, 2004. The vandalism caused some delays in the GOP's Election Day work as party workers rounded up different vehicles.
Democrat John Kerry won
Omokunde was sentenced to four months, Mohammad to five months and Caldwell and Pratt to six months. All were granted work-release privileges.
Brennan also ordered them to pay a $1,000 fine each, in addition to the $5,317 in total restitution ordered earlier.
Justin Howell was the only one who did not take part in the plea deal, and jurors found him not guilty.
Tire slashing is much worse than throwing an election, right?
Phone-Jamming Records Point to White House
By LARRY MARGASAK, Associated Press Writer Mon Apr 10, 2006
WASHINGTON - Key figures in a phone-jamming scheme designed to keep New Hampshire Democrats from voting in 2002 had regular contact with the White House and Republican Party as the plan was unfolding, phone records introduced in criminal court show.
The records show that Bush campaign operative James Tobin, who recently was convicted in the case, made two dozen calls to the White House within a three-day period around Election Day 2002 — as the phone jamming operation was finalized, carried out and then abruptly shut down.
The national Republican Party, which paid millions in legal bills to defend Tobin, says the contacts involved routine election business and that it was "preposterous" to suggest the calls involved phone jamming.
The Justice Department has secured three convictions in the case but hasn't accused any White House or national Republican officials of wrongdoing, nor made any allegations suggesting party officials outside New Hampshire were involved. The phone records of calls to the White House were exhibits in Tobin's trial but prosecutors did not make them part of their case.
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4/27/2006 05:29:00 AM