MA
Senator Accused of Criminally Misusing Federal Funds
Gun owners who've been paying for her
anti-rights campaign are furious.
April 4, 2001
(Boston, MA) -- Massachusetts government watch
group Citizens for Truth in Politics
(CTP) has filed formal complaints against State Senator
Cheryl Jacques, charging her with criminal misuse of federally funded
workers for political action. CTP activists presented videotape and
letters proving that Senator Jacques solicited the involvement of 150 federally
funded City Year youth workers for the "First
Monday" rally calling for more gun control legislation. Jacques'
office sponsored "First Monday" on October 2, 2000.
Federal law under U.S. Title
18, Sections 666
and 641
prohibit the use of federal funds for political purposes. The law carries
a penalty of fines and imprisonment of up to ten years.
"Senator Jacques deliberately misled City
Year administrators into believing the rally was focused on public safety and
was not a political rally," asserts CTP founder Lawrence Savage. When
City Year administrators learned of the political content, they were forced to
withhold compensation from youth workers for the time worked at the rally.
"Senator Jacques basically stole these young people's labor," Savage
said. "We are calling for her to personally reimburse the youth
workers and to resign her position."
Irate City Year management immediately put into
place measures to prevent further abuse, and offered other work opportunities to
the workers. Over 20 City Year workers were used to set up shoes at Trinity
Church for the "Silent March" exhibit and to attend the rally to boost
tepid attendance.
Jacques, who has announced her candidacy for
Lt. Governor, has skillfully used the issue of gun control to seize the media
spotlight. She sponsored Massachusetts' 1998 gun control law, deemed the
nations' toughest. Critics of the law blame it for the dramatic increase in
violent crime recorded since the law went into effect. Civil rights groups from
the Massachusetts Gun Owners' Action League to
the Boston gay gun rights group the Pink
Pistols have condemned the law, claiming it has actually increased crime and
that it legalizes arbitrary discrimination by town police chiefs.
Under Jacques' law, each town police chief has
sovereign power to issue or withhold licenses based on any criteria they decide,
without providing the reason to the applicant. In the aftermath of the
workplace shootings in Wakefield,
Jacques called for even stronger gun control measures, but a letter
printed in the Boston Herald on January 11 emphasizes that one of the Wakefield
victims had a New Hampshire pistol permit and was denied a reciprocal license
under Jacques' own law. Senator Jacques is presently working with gun
control groups nationwide to export similar laws to other states.
"We are asking for criminal charges,
absolutely," emphasized Richard Kramer, the CTP activist who obtained
statements from City Year administrators proving Jacques' embezzlement.
"Misusing public funds is criminal. Exploiting City Year children is
wrong. This Senator puts lives of Commonwealth citizens at risk to further her
political career, and she uses our own money to do it. Public money should
be used for schools and roads, not to fund the gun control lobby."
Kramer noted that a string of criminal scandals this past month has exposed how
the gun control lobby bankrolls itself heavily from public funds.
In late February, California activist Jim March
proved that the Million Mom March (MMM), newest member of the gun control lobby,
had been fraudulently operating
as "The Trauma Foundation", occupying an entire floor of a California
state-funded hospital rent-free without the hospital's knowledge or consent, and
funding its gun control programs with federal grants from the Center for Disease
Control. Evicted from the hospital by angry administrators, the MMM laid
off 30 of 35 staffers, blaming "overly aggressive growth" in a New
York Times article. Officials place the value of public funds embezzled by
MMM in the millions, and March expects criminal charges to be filed.
Jacques recently spoke at a Million Mom March meeting in Wakefield, and featured
several MMM speakers at her "First Monday" rally.
Other recent criminal cases have dogged the gun
control movement. A D.C. jury recently convicted Million Mom March
organizer Barbara Graham of stalking, shooting, and paralyzing an innocent man
she mistakenly blamed for her son's murder. Then, on March 23, a story in
the Austin Statesman-American reported that Texas talk show host Alex Jones had
shot videotape showing members of the gun control lobby paying cash
payoffs to inner city children in exchange for testimony in favor of gun
control proposals at Public Safety Committee hearings in Texas.
"The people who pass criminal records
checks to get their gun licenses are not the criminals," Savage noted.
"But the gun control lobbyists and the officials who are in their pocket
could use some serious investigation."
About Senator Jacques' Criminal Activity
- Citizens for Truth in Politics has
documented that Senator Jacques improperly solicited federally funded City
Year workers to assist with and attend First Monday, an anti-gun rally.
- Senator Jacques misuse of federally funded
workers for political action is an ethical violation and a criminal action,
covered under embezzlement law (18 USC 641 and possibly 18 USC 666).
Violations are punishable by fine and imprisonment up to ten years.
- An attached letter from Alyson Carpenter,
City Year's Director of Government Relations, documents Jacques' criminal
activity. Photos of the City Year workers assisting with the rally are
attached.
- A September 28, 2000 media advisory from
Senator Jacques office promoting First Monday claims 150 City Year workers
would be used to erect displays for the event. A copy of the media
advisory is attached.
- First Monday drew almost no attendance, but
drew a significant body of orderly and effective counter-protesters
demonstrating against the widespread civil rights violations under Jacques'
1998 gun law, Chapter 180. If not for the attendance of the City Year
youths, counter-protesters would have outnumbered supporters.
- City Year administrators were misled by
Senator Jacques into believing the event was a public safety event and not a
political rally. When they realized the event's political nature, City Year
administration reacted swiftly and correctly, withholding work credit for
hours worked at the rally and instead offering other work opportunities to
the kids. They put measures in place to prevent future misuse of their
workers.
- Unfortunately, since City Year could not
legally credit their corps members for their rally attendance, the young
City Year volunteer workers went uncompensated for their time at the rally.
- City Year workers are young people who
volunteer a year of service to their communities. They are paid a small
hourly stipend to live on. Citizens For Truth in Politics holds City Year
and the committed young people who volunteer their service in the highest
regard and strongly condemns their exploitation for an elected official's
personal gain. CTP also commends City Year administrators for their prompt
and ethical handling of the situation.
- We have called for Senator Jacques to
personally compensate the City Year workers for their lost time and to
resign her position.
- Citizens for Truth in Politics has filed
official complaints and demands for investigation and criminal prosecution
in this matter. We have filed complaints with the U.S. Attorney in Boston,
the U.S. Inspector General, the state Attorney General, and the State Ethics
Commission.
Evidence Supporting This Legal Action
Against Sen. Cheryl Jacques
Our complaints, sent to the:
Additional Information Relevant to this Case
About Citizens for Truth in Politics
Citizens for Truth in Politics was founded in
September, 2000 by a grassroots group of Mass. citizens opposed to the State’s
oppressive laws regarding gun ownership. CTP’s first task was a peaceful
public protest the First Monday 2000 gun control lobby event.
CTP believes that self defense is a basic human
right and that citizen gun ownership is a cornerstone of freedom.
Americans lawfully use firearms over 5000 times every day to stop violent acts.
Ninety-eight percent of the time, the gun is never even fired. An armed
citizen is the best means of self defense and the most effective deterrent to
violent crime.
Massachusetts’ gun laws, especially 1998’s
Chapter 180, unjustly targets lawful gun owners without affecting the criminals
ability to obtain and use firearms in violent crime. Gun owners are not a
crime problem. The source of violence is in the hearts and minds of those
who commit violent acts.
CTP is not a non-profit corporation and is
staffed completely by volunteers. CTP is thus free to engage in political
action.
Citizens for Truth In Politics,
P.O. Box 671, Sudbury, MA 01776, (508) 561-9107, CONTACT:
Lawrence Savage
