Tallahassee Mayor Accused Of Being On AT&T's Payroll While Allegedly Diverting Federal Funds To AT&T Lobbying Group

from the buying-government dept

Fri, Sep 23rd 2011 6:29pm — Mike Masnick

There's been plenty of talk about AT&T's deep lobbying connections around government, and its ability to put the name of various front groups on letters and op-eds penned by AT&T lobbyists. Most of those are probably legal, if icky and manipulative. But, in some cases, it appears that things may have crossed the line. BroadbandReports has the details on how the Mayor of Tallahassee, John Marks, apparently has been on the AT&T payroll since 1990 as a "lawyer and consultant."

And it's paying off. Marks is now being accused of taking $1.6 million in federal funds, and diverting it to a group called "the Alliance for Digital Equality" (ADE), which claims that it's trying to help get internet access to poor people. Except.... the group is entirely funded by AT&T and: "uses its funds simply to lobby for AT&T, and did little to nothing to actually help the disadvantaged." Mayor Marks, beyond being paid by AT&T, is also a paid member of ADE's board of advisors -- something he apparently didn't think was necessary to disclose when he brought ADE to the City Commission in an effort to have that $1.6 million granted to the group. He also failed to disclose his relationship when he voted in favor of giving the money to ADE.

Both the Florida Commission on Ethics (who knew such a thing existed?!?) and the FBI are now investigating...

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Filed Under: alliance for digital equality, corruption, lobbying, tallahassee
Companies: at&t

19 Comments

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Bill W (profile), 23 Sep 2011 @ 7:07pm

Is this a surprise? Perhaps only to his constituents. I shake my head in wonderment but I have no solutions to offer. Are we lost? I pray not but I am not convinced.
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- AW (profile), 23 Sep 2011 @ 8:10pm
  
  Re:
  Apparently it's not a surprise anymore. I was thinking very similar thoughts to your own. I wonder if there are any studies that have public perception of corruption alongside actual known corruption statistics to see if there is a correlation.
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NotMyRealName (profile), 23 Sep 2011 @ 8:28pm

This seems like a big embezzlement scheme to me.

Following the money:
Taxpayer to govt. (taxes)
govt to grant fund (controlled by Marks and others)
grant fund to a.d.e. (lobbying group)
a.d.e. back to the people who gave the money to a.d.e (because they are in control of the cash)

Makes me wonder who else got a piece of this pie.
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- The eejit (profile), 24 Sep 2011 @ 1:42am
  
  Re:
  About half of the US Government, just it's done more circumspectly than here.
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Anonymous Coward, 23 Sep 2011 @ 9:28pm

Where are those people saying lobbying is A-ok without transparency and accountability again?

I saw one a-hole it was protected by the constitution, I wonder if he meant the corruption was protect by the constitution.
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Mike C. (profile), 24 Sep 2011 @ 4:10am

Nothing will happen to AT&T though...
Of course, we all know how this will turn out. The investigation will result in something "bad" (arrest, loss of position, etc) for the Mayor. Immediately after, AT&T will put out a press release stating that "these were the actions of a renegade individual and at no time were made at the behest of an AT&T officer"
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- Anonymous Coward, 24 Sep 2011 @ 3:49pm
  
  Re: Nothing will happen to AT&T though...
  Then after a couple of years they hire the guy again.
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That Anonymous Coward (profile), 24 Sep 2011 @ 4:15am

Do you, like myself, find yourself wondering if the only reason they are "investigating" is to prepare a memo to the other politicians they own on what NOT to do?
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The Devil's Coachman (profile), 24 Sep 2011 @ 5:06am

I'm shocked! Shocked!
Really! Corruption in government. No! Can't be! And in Florida, too! Lord, what is this world coming to?
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Thomas (profile), 24 Sep 2011 @ 5:52am

No surprise.
Definitely not a surprise. Corruption is a given in government, all the way to Congress, the SCOTUS, and the White House.
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anonymous, 24 Sep 2011 @ 6:35am

fucking good job! deserves everything he gets, as long as it's all bad! should be made to pay it all back out of his own pocket, removed from any and all public office and thrown in jail!
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- LayedBack, 24 Sep 2011 @ 9:03pm
  
  Re: BS
  What will he get?
  The same treatment as our actors and actresses receive or any other business man/politician "a new higher paying job" maybe a book wrote for him oh i mean wrote by him cough cough.
  Having wealth does one thing for you no matter how you came across with the wealth it guarantees nothing will happen.
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Overcast (profile), 24 Sep 2011 @ 7:42am

Typical politics, no doubt.
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Anonymous Coward, 24 Sep 2011 @ 8:23am

Oh boy ,is he in trouble.,,,
Wow, he's getting investigated by the FBI. I wish I could see the look on his face when the FBI give him the STERN look before going back to the office.

Now, if only he had downloaded a song, just one song. THEN be would be in real trouble.
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- Angry Puppy (profile), 24 Sep 2011 @ 2:12pm
  
  Re: Oh boy ,is he in trouble.,,,
  True, I doubt he'll even pay a fine.
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- Anonymous Coward, 24 Sep 2011 @ 3:48pm
  
  Re: Oh boy ,is he in trouble.,,,
  That STERN look is why the "I" is in the FBI.
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loaderboy (profile), 24 Sep 2011 @ 4:39pm

We are #2...
behind Illinois but we are working on it.
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- The Devil's Coachman (profile), 25 Sep 2011 @ 6:51am
  
  Re: We are #2...
  Hey, New Jersey ain't chopped liver, either.
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F.Thompson, 28 Jan 2012 @ 5:12pm

Marks has been on ADE's board for years and said he forgot when he voted in their favor.
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