BREAKING NEWS: Guv Will Request Termination of Bolejack, Gullans

The Guv's Office just put out a release that he will call for the termination of Indiana Criminal Justice Institute executive director Heather Bolejack and deputy director of programs Kate Gullans at a board meeting this afternoon.

Here's the release. We'll post more when we have more:

"Governor recommends termination of Criminal Justice Institute executive director

"INDIANAPOLIS (May 12, 2006) – Governor Mitch Daniels is recommending today that the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI) Board of Trustees terminate the Institute’s executive director, Heather Bolejack, and a deputy director, Katalina Gullans. The recommendation is based on findings of an ongoing Inspector General (IG) investigation. Upon completion, Daniels also has authorized the IG to submit his report to state and federal prosecutors for further review.

"The Governor placed Bolejack on administrative leave April 25, upon the IG’s recommendation pending completion of a review.

"According to the IG, the office initiated an investigation on February 3 after receiving a tip from a whistleblower. The investigation involves irregular travel expense reimbursements and the award of a grant to a Bolejack family friend without disclosure to or approval by the ICJI Board.

"'The Inspector General briefed the governor Thursday afternoon, and the governor immediately recommended these terminations. At a minimum, evidence suggests unacceptable misconduct and poor judgment. Whether any actions are more serious is a matter for prosecutors to decide,' said Mark Massa, the governor’s general counsel. 'The governor demanded tougher ethics rules and an Inspector General to police them precisely to make sure situations like this are dealt with promptly and forcefully.'

"By state law, the ICJI Board employs an executive director nominated by the governor. The board ratified Bolejack’s appointment in April 2005.

"Jon von Arx, the chairman of the Commission for a Drug-Free Indiana, and Jason Barclay, special counsel to the governor for public safety and chairman of the board of trustees of the Criminal Justice Institute, will continue to oversee the daily operations of the Institute.

"Since its creation in 2005, the Inspector General has made 42 referrals to prosecutors and achieved over $4 million in savings. In 2005, the IG issued more than 500 ethics advisory opinions.

"Office of the Governor media contact: Jane Jankowski, 317/232-1622, jjankowski@gov.in.gov"

Comments

That's his definition of speedy justice? She was left in charge of the agency for two months before they did anything!!

two people who will never work in Indiana again...

How closely does the McKenna/Bolejack/ICJI scam resemble the Raibly/girlfriend/FSSA scam? Will it be prosecuted with the same righteousness by Don Brizzi?

[Brody Murphy]

Silly poster...don't you know that you don't bite the only hand you've got. Brizzi (like Dubya) is attempting to re-arrange the deck chairs on the Titanic...

Brizzi won't investigate (seriously)... He doesn't care about fighting crime, but about getting in good with the state GOP and getting his Nixon-esque mug on TV...

Was Raibly a gubernatorial appointee, like Bolejack?

Meisenhelder...Brizzi...
Bolejack...Daniels...

Indy's Own Culture of Corruption...

[ThEdiths]

Just doing what Mitch promised. Cleaning up whenever wrong doing is found.

Under Kernan all was covered up.

No one thought 30,000 state employees would be 100% perfect - being humans, afterall - but we all understood that if they did wrong, they'd get run and they are.

He said he'd clean up problems and he is. Why do you lefties criticize it when your Gov's didn't clean up anything unless some union boss told them to.

[Tom]

Maybe we're criticizing cuz it's YOUR Gov's appointee's who seem hell bent on corruption. Apple never falls far from the tree does it?

under Kernan no agency heads pulled this kind of stuff, my friend. I think it's funny he even HAS to "clean up" with HIS OWN appointees ("new crew") 16 months into his term.

and this isn't about 30,000 employees. It's about an AGENCY HEAD, personally selected and appointed by the Governor himself.

ThEdithis = Another GOP apologist for corruption

[mitch sold more than the toll road]

Name one person who Joe Kernan failed to take action about while he was Governor for 16 months? name one agency head about whom you have suspicions? THEdiths? you are fucking assshole liar

Isn't Jon Von Arx, now the co-director I suppose, at some consulting firm that may have business with ICJI? That seems kinda curious.

The Dems really forced Mitch's hand on this one!!!

We can all sit here and argue the whole Kernan/Daniels debate-the real issue here is that $417,000 was issued to not only one grantee, but possibly a grantee that is bogus and not even helping anyone. Seeing that funding was cut last year on this particular grant, it is sad that such a large amount was cut to a single "agency" when that money could have been divided up to help out more kids in Indiana. Grantees that work everyday with limited funding to actually go out and help kids out.
This is a good example of the type of person Heather is and how she put her own personal intrests in front of the kids of Indiana.
Go ahead and defend her whoever you are-the facts are coming out

she is a hand picked failure and she failed an agency that does a lot of good work. disgraceful

And Brizzi isn't going to prosecute?

Probably not that wouldn't be scratching a buddies back.

These are people with greed and no compassion we are speaking of

How can Brizzi not prosecute? Is he seriously this beholden to our little man mitch?

I think the problem is that Brizzi is actually a partisan hack, not a politician.

Is anything going to happen to Silvia?

[TDW]

Abdul had reported on his blog this morning that she was also under investigation. I would be surprised if they didn't eventually get rid of Heather's hand-picked chief counsel (who reportedly received a $12,000 raise not long into her tenure at the agency).

My guess is that they might let her resign unless she had direct involvement in the contract deal.

So you think Silvia is too damaged to be left in her position?

One would certainly think so. If Silvia was in on anything, then there's the matter oh her bar license.

[Bibi]

Brizzi is damned if he does, damned if he doesn't.

If he doesn't go after her wit' a quickness it will damange him with the now D-leaning Marion Co majority in the fall -- i.e. he only prosecuted Democrat "corruption" w. Raibly, not Republican "corruption" w. Bolejack.

On the other hand, if he does pursue her, no doubt many Marion Co D's will note the contrast w. African American Heather's smackdown vs. Dick Rhoad's pass.

The Rhoad thing is going nowhere. The GOP called a "redo," and put things back where they were.

This Bolejack business cannot be unwound by calling down to HR. Carl might have a nice fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud case against Heather, Kate and Silvia.

Those are felony charges, folks.

[With the devil???]

The Associated Press reported this...

Ginny Maxwell, an attorney representing Bolejack, told The Associated Press earlier this week that she could not comment about specifics of the investigation or allegations. But she said Bolejack was "rock solid" personally and professionally and "I would go toe to toe for her with the devil."

well, Maxwell won't have to go toe-to-toe with the devil...Brizzi won't investigate...

Brizzi may well prosecute Heather now that Mitch has disavowed her. It makes it look like both are doing their job. Then maybe no one will notice that Brizzi is completely ignoring Jim Payne's role in the juvenile center problems.

[Inquiring minds want to know...]

Whadaa mean dude? What's Payne's role?

if i was Brizzi i would prosecute in a heart-beat. she is fair game now and carl can look bi-partisan...

In an interview just shown on the news, HB said she would never "knowingly or intentionally" violate the law. Those are words right out of criminal law. It may indicate that she and her lawyer have been discussing more than her firing.

To "Inquiring Minds:" Jim Payne was a control freak at juvenile court. Nothing went on without his knowledge. Damon Ellison hid nothing from Payne. Yet, I don't believe that Payne was even interviewed during the investigation. However, rumor has it that Brizzi called Payne "as a courtesy" to let him know that charges were being filed against his former employees.