PAGE 8 H Wednesday, October 10, 2012
THE STAR
See us online www.FortBendStar.com
Commissioner candidate Bruce Fleming accused of Silk Road Festival is a growing gathering of cultural voter fraud diversity our research shows that Fleming Representative 27 candidate Kris been worked out and the VIP the Mayor of Rosenberg, the FRAUD, continued from page 1
he voted early in both the primary and the general election. Fleming voted in person in the 2010 primary in Fort Bend County and voted early in the primary run off. The Star has been unable to get the primary voting records in Bucks County for 2012, but those records should be available next week. According to Fleming, his wife, Nancy, is seldom seen in Fort Bend as she stays in their home in Pennsylvania in order to keep her job there. She usually votes in every general election in Pennsylvania. 2010 records indicate she voted in the general election in both Bucks County (absentee) and the general election in Fort Bend (also absentee). However, in 2012 with her husband a candidate, she voted in Fort Bend in both the Republican primary (in person) and then absentee in the primary run off. She is classified as an active registered voter in both Pennsylvania and Fort Bend County, Texas. The Star contacted Bruce Fleming to ask him why he had voted in both states in the same elections for at least three different elections. According to Fleming he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2007 and he was back and forth between Houston and Bucks County for treatment. He seemed to indicate that was why he voted in both states. However,
started voting in both states in the 2006 general election and continued to vote in both states through 2010. Again, the 2012 primary records for Pennsylvania are not available yet. Fleming told the Star that he would have to talk to his wife and get back to us. He didn't. According to the Star’s research, it would appear that voting twice in an election is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. It is a Class IV felony. The Star had a hard time getting a straight answer from Fleming regarding his interest in a Lupe Tortilla restaurant even though a Campaign Finance report turned in by the Fort Bend Republican Party listed him as the owner of a Lupe Tortilla restaurant on January 24, 2011. Bruce Fleming lists on his web site that one of his goals is eliminating Obamacare. County Commissioners have no control over that federal law. He was recruited by former Fort Bend Republican County Chair Rick Miller to be the precinct chair in Greatwood. He had been a precinct chair for less than one year and never elected, only appointed, when he was named as “Precinct Chair of the Year.” Several other precinct chairs questioned that. Then the Fort Bend Republican Party gave him $10,000 as a campaign donation, along with $5,000 to Rick Miller and State
C&M SPECIALIST
HONDA & ACURA CAR REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE CARE
Call Craig or Mark Today 281.498.6364 • Genuine Honda Parts • Factory Trained Technicians
• Over 85 Years Combined Experience • Averaging 20%-30% Saving Over Dealership Prices
Mention this ad for a
10% DISCOUNT C&M-SPECIALIST-INC 12999 Murphy Rd. #D2
(Maximum Discount $50) HOURS: MON-FRI
SAT. & SUN.
7:30am - 6:30pm • CLOSED
(near Grand Slam Battling Center)
Allfrey received $7,500. Other candidates didn’t receive any money as most didn’t know to apply. Sources told the Star that when they did try to apply, they were told the party was out of money. According to records maintained by the state ethics committee, the Fort Bend Republican Party reported having cash on hand on July 23, 2012 totalling $122,919.79. The Star's sources contend that even though Mike Gibson is the party chair, Rick Miller is still running the executive committee (precinct chairs) and although he was responsible for the election of Sharon Roberts, trouble developed almost overnight because she would not let him continue to manage the executive committee. Fleming has displayed a misogynist side to his public personality. He called Jacquie Baly Chaumette a “b.....” when county clerk Dianne Wilson asked him to quit putting his campaign signs in front of the Baly-Chaumette signs. Afterwards, he claimed that Dianne Wilson and Bev Carter “made that stuff up.” He wrote a scathing letter to Sharon Roberts who was serving as Fort Bend County Republican Chair at the time. A candidate in his race had dropped out and he demanded that she hold a redrawing for ballot placement. But Fleming’s greatest wrong is ignoring voting laws. Since voting is the cornerstone of our Democracy, when a candidate circumvents the law, he not only breaks the law, but he makes us all wonder about our own vote and its value. This just in at press time: Bruce Fleming called the Star this morning (instead of last night as promised) and said he really didn't have an excuse about voting in two states except he was living in both worlds, between Pennsylvania and Fort Bend. He did assure the Star that neither he nor his wife voted in Pennsylvania in 2012. He also said that he had no idea why the Republican Party listed him as own of a Lupe Tortilla restaurant and couldn't control what they listed.
ROCK SOLID Independent free papers bring buyers and sellers together with more audited circulation than your daily. During these times, it is more important to make the right advertising choice. We’re it. We can help your business.
M
E
M
B
E
R:
Independent Free Papers of America
4655 Techniplex Dr., Suite 300, Stafford TX 77477 • Tel: 281-690-4200
Reception was a nice event held inside the Stafford Centre. of the plan to move was made Mayor Scarcella was "extremely a little too late. The Silk Road proud to host this special Festival needed more time, four event that brings this many days approximately, to complete cultures together" celebrating the entire construction that was a connection of people and originally planned for the event. an interchange of ideas. Of the dwelling, the covered Houston's Mayor Annise dome in the center was supposed Parker graciously conceded that to be a spectacular viewpoint, the she was "a little embarrassed inside to be air-conditioned. The that the Turkish Festival good news is the weather was had outgrown downtown cooperative, the air-conditioning Houston...but was pleased that was not necessary and the Stafford could now host this viewpoint was blue sky. The event" as an invisible baton bad news was that due to an was passed between the two inability to complete the structure Mayors. Congressman Olson on time, money was spent that deemed Houston the "most could have gone elsewhere. From diverse city in America." the beginning of this endeavor, Many other dignitaries, Mayor Scarcella spoke of the politicians, and business "compressed time schedule" the persons attended. Stafford City festival promoters were facing. Council Members welcomed By Saturday though, most the Prime Minister of Turkey, of the growing pains had the Ambassador to Kazakhstan, FESTTIVAL, continued from page 1
Chancellor of the University of Houston, Board of Trustees from Houston Community College, other City Council Members from Houston, Missouri City and Sugar Land, and Judges from our various counties. The list of important people was extensive and impressive as they mingled, ate various cultural foods, and enjoyed the live performance of Turksoy. The Silk Road Festival has a lot to be proud of. Attendance for the four-day event was at 25,000. Next year will be a more efficient year for Mehmet Okumus and Kemal Oksuz, the promoters of the festival, since most of the construction site was built overseas and shipped here. Now that they can store it locally, next years assembly will be that much easier and the Silk Road Festival will be even more successful.
Sugar Land sees jump in crime CRIME, continued from page 1
"2011 was just an exceptional year for our crime rate." Before 2011, Schultz said Sugar Land's Part 1 crimes hadn't been significantly low since the late 1990's. According to statistics compiled by the Sugar Land Police Department, the City saw its largest spikes in residential burglaries and auto parts theft. There were 130 cases of residential burglary in 2011 and 183 cases in 2012. Theft of auto parts, specifically catalytic converters, jumped from 8 in 2011 to 22 in 2012. The City did see a decrease in the number of
Officer prevails OFFICER, continued from page 1
One by one Redmon’s line of command came in and testified against him. First up was his corporal. She said he was a good employee. However, she was ordered to counsel with him because he removed mattresses from trustees and separated one who got belligerent during the process. She testified that she was instructed to counsel him and have him sign a written document prepared by her supervisor of the incident. According to testimony, Redmon did not want to sign the write-up. He told his corporal that some of the information included in the disciplinary document was not correct. She testified that she told him if he did not sign, he would be removed from the building. She also testified that she told him he would write "refused to sign." She said Redmon wrote on the document, "I respectfully refuse to sign this because some of the facts are not correct." She testified that the document was compiled by her supervisors, and she was ordered to have him sign it. Officer refused to sign The corporal’s testimony was followed by a sergeant who also acknowledged that Redmon would not sign the document. The sergeant said, “He (Redmon) should have never gone into that Trustee Tank and messed with them.” He said Redmon was disciplined for “failure to follow rules and failure to conform to policy.” He further testified that normally Redmon was a good employee. As this incident ground to an end, the sergeant took Redmon’s badge and identification and had the corporal remove him from the building. The sergeant said a signature on the document was not an admission of guilt, merely an acknowledgement of the counseling, explaining that a verbal counseling as the first step in the department’s disciplinary actions. When the sergeant took 22-yearold Steven Redmon’s badge and ID, he told him to report to the major’s office the following morning at 8:30. Several hours more of testimony was offered about mattresses and trustees and in the end the lieutenant and the major both testified against the young officer. Inmates run the jail Lieutenant John Font, who in fact is paid as a deputy but acts as a lieutenant, testified that after he got a phone call from Redmon about the trustees having more than one mattress, he headed that way in the jail. Font said while he was walking to the area he passed an inmate and pulled that inmate into an office and got the inmate’s side
car burglaries, 285 this year down from 310 in 2011. Schultz says criminals are getting more sophisticated citing an example six weeks ago when four suspects were arrested for burglarizing homes in Telfair. On the same day Sugar Land Police arrested four other suspects on the north side of the city and when both groups were taken to the jail they seemed to know each other and may have been working together. "They weren't from around this area and it shows the level of professionalism that they are using. They aren't randomly targeting locations," Schultz said. "Crimes occur in pockets and once we address one area
they move to another and it is continually moving. We make arrests and other groups show up. Revolving pockets of crime allows Sugar Land police to utilize a crime reduction unit which temporarily puts additional officers and patrols in hot spots. Homeowners are encouraged to make sure their alarm systems include motion sensors or glass breakage sensors in bedrooms because, according to Schultz, most do not and criminals will target their search in the bedrooms and not bother with the rest of the house. "But our most valuable weapon is residents reporting suspicious activity," Schultz said. "Look out for your neighbors."
of the story before approaching Officer Redmon. Font further testified that “The trustees felt Redmon was picking on them.” Font said, “Trustees are responsible for the actions in the jail. Personnel are just there to supervise the inmates running the jail.” Font went on to say, “After he (Redmon) refused to sign the document, he (Font) had the sergeant take his badge and ID and advise him to be in the major’s office in the morning.” Font said he did not believe what Redmon said about the incident; however Font revealed information about the inmate that cannot be printed in the paper. Font testified it was the policy of the sheriff’s office to relieve someone when they refused to sign, then he said, "Well, actually there is no policy but (it is) standard procedure." Font said Redmon was fired for moving an inmate without supervisor’s approval, taking trustee’s mattresses, and refusing to sign the discipline form. Major went through document line per line Major Jimmy Leach testified that Steven Redmon told him there were inaccuracies in the report and that is why he refused to sign. So Major Leach testified that he went through the document line by line with Redmon who said it was all correct. Leach testified that it was not written in policy that an employee must sign. He then testified that before he fired Redmon he and Captain Jackson, and Captain Rowland all met with Redmon for well over an hour, and he still was refusing to sign. Major Leach testified he fired Redmon because, “He (Redmon) refused to obey command, the way he (Redmon) talked to others
and plus he (Leach) reviewed his file.” Major Leach also testified that he called Officer Redmon “Lawyer Dagget” because he talked more like a lawyer than he did an officer. Never during any of the testimony could any of the officers say just exactly how many mattresses could any one inmate have. The law states that they must be provided at least one; however, it does not preclude more than one. In closing statements by the county’s attorney representing the sheriff’s office, he said this termination was not about mattress policy but about the policy violation of moving an inmate without a supervisor’s permission. Why was he fired, asked the county’s attorney? It was about his attitude; he was disrespectful. In his closing arguments CLEAT attorney Bob Thomas who represented Steven Redmon said this is a textbook case for Civil Service and exemplifies the why it is so very important to both the employees and the citizens of Fort Bend County. Closing arguments Thomas said, “This termination was a total overreach by the major and a failure to follow their own policy and procedure. They bypassed many of their own disciplinary orders.” Thomas went on to say that referring to the young detention officer as Lawyer Daggett was unacceptable. After a closed session the Civil Service Commission voted to reinstate Steven Redmon with a written reprimand. However, they declined to give him back pay. Redmon was out of work from June 24, 2012 until his reinstatement on October 14, 2012, the next payroll opening.
ASK US ABOUT OUR NEW ‘MINI TIGHT ROPE’ PROCEDURE TO FIX BUNIONS As Seen on TV's
THE DOCTORS
• Fix bunions without having to be in a cast or boot for two months. • We are the 1st in Houston that performs this procedure. • For more information visit our website at www.DiagnosticFootSpecialists.com
FIVE AREA LOCATIONS
Heights / Northwest • Greenway / Galleria Area • E. Houston Memorial / Town & Country • Fort Bend County / Sugar Land
Diagnostic Foot Specialist, P.C. Dr. Robert Leisten, D.P.M. | Dr. Amy L. Haase, D.P.M. | Dr. Mark Lisch, D.P.M.
713-862-3338 • 713-850-0125 www.DiagnosticFootSpecialists.com