Portland City Hall -- a den of corruption, both legal and illegal -- sees one of its practitioners take a fall. Under Sam Adams, transportation commissioner, of course.
Usually in a case like this, the next question is, "Who knew?" But in this case, everybody at City Hall knew that McCoy was up to no good -- including Adams, transportation director Sue Keil, and McCoy's supervisor, Lavinia Gordon. Keil and Gordon are gone now, and Adams will be soon. Maybe he ought to resign before the feds start sniffing around his office and bank accounts.
UPDATE, 2:59 p.m.: Maxine Bernstein at the O has lots of new details, including this interesting tidbit:
A day after the raid of his office in the Portland Building, McCoy professed his innocence to reporters, telling the media in multiple interviews outside his Hillsboro apartment that he did not take any kickbacks or bribes to influence any contracts.
Yet by then, McCoy had spent hours cooperating with federal authorities, admitting he had received checks from Levey and pleading to do his time at the federal prison in Sheridan. Because of his cooperation, the case was not taken to a grand jury.
UPDATE, 3:51 p.m.: Here's the U.S. attorney's press release, via Willamette Week. With just one count, it seems certain that a deal has been struck and he's going to plead guilty.
UPDATE, 11:24 p.m.: The criminal charge, contained in an "information," is here. He is charged with violating 18 USC sec. 666, which bears a prison term of up to 10 years and a substantial fine (we think up to $250,000, but don't quote us on that, and besides, McCoy's seemingly broke enough to have a federal public defender).
Yet by then, McCoy had spent hours cooperating with federal authorities,
O RLY?
Woah. Does anyone ever cooperate with the feds and then wind up being the only person charged?
Of course, the "big fish" here could be the owner of the smart meters, who may have similar financial arrangements with people in McCoy's position in cities all over the country.
How does he know what prison to ask to go to? Why would a normal person know that, I certainly have no idea?
Where did all the money go? He got $124k and he still gets a public defender and we have to pay to defend him? (I suspect it will come out that he has a gambling problem and the Oregon Lottery has gotten all of the money he received, thus completing the circle.)
How does he know what prison to ask to go to? Why would a normal person know that, I certainly have no idea?
Well, if you were facing federal charges and knew that you were guilty, and that the feds could probably prove it very easily, you might google "federal prisons in Oregon." The FCI: Sheridan is the very first link if you do that.
Weren't there one or more employees who complained about McCoy, and then were disciplined/harassed/pushed out of City employment? Wonder if their vindication will come at a price to the City?
McCoy persuaded the city in March 2010 to increase Cale’s contract from about $4.4 million to more than $20 million, without competitive bids.
Why?
McCoy’s consulting company was not a secret, as it was filed as a business with the Oregon secretary of state’s office since 2004. Asked how the city missed that McCoy had set up a consulting company, Adams said McCoy was questioned about it but denied violating city policies.
Adams said that the FBI on Sept. 1 showed him copies of checks from Cale Parking Systems and Levey to McCoy and McCoy’s consulting company.
“The city did not have the details regarding the checks until that interview,” Adams said.
Wasn't it enough that the city knew of this consulting company, seems Adams or someone from his large staff could have checked details if McCoy was questioned.
McCoy is due to appear in U.S. District Court in Portland on Dec. 8 at 1:30 p.m.
Any chance Adams or others may be called to testify under oath or is this only for McCoy?
I wonder how soon the feds will expose the kickbacks from all the meter coin collectors given to McCoy?
And when will the Oregon's Secretary of State and AG Kroger investigate, then fine, at minimum, the fiduciary irresponsibility of Sam Adams and Council, knowing about the sideline business of McCoy, conflict of interest, and contract going from $4 Million to $20 Million and not inquiring why/how? There are too many things that were overlooked where excuses can't be accepted.
Back in 2003 and 2004, Black Box Voting issued a "Gotta Be Replaced" list of election officials we considered to be particularly problematic . Most of them have since been fired or have resigned. On this list was Scott Konopasek of San Bernardino County, Calif., and his sidekick, Stephen Trout. Konopasek referred to citizens who wished to observe elections as "terrorists." In front of a New York Times reporter (Konopasek didn't realize that Adam Cohen was with the New York Times when he said this), Konopasek told Black Box Voting investigators that sometimes he had to "massage the data" as it comes in through the pipeline.
Trout was present at the time, and ran up to the counter to order Black Box Voting to stop videotaping. He was even more obnoxious than Konopasek, which is a bit of a feat. Shortly afterward Konopasek and Trout both resigned. Trout and Konopasek then joined with a third "Gotta Be Replaced" official, Riverside County's Mischelle Townsend, to form a consulting group.
It is with surprise, then, that we see the state of Oregon hiring Stephen Trout to head up its state elections division.
As the article says, he's a veteran elections official. Yes, and he has been a supporter of paperless touch-screens and worse, has demonstrated a dreadful attitude towards citizen oversight.
Oregon's 100% vote-by-mail system conceals not only the counting (done on optical scan machines) but also conceals who casts the ballots and the ballot chain of custody. With Trout's hiring, Oregon's elections will now be overseen by a public official who was hostile to public oversight in California. Not a good sign at all for Oregon, but perhaps this will at last take the varnish off Oregon's very popular but heavily concealed vote by mail system. There's nothing like an obstructive public official for motivating citizens to take a closer look!
Oregonians, Black Box Voting has put the on our Watch List due to this hiring decision, and we recommend renewed vigilence by public citizens for all facets of Oregon elections. We will assist by providing suggestions customized to your vote by mail system as we move toward the 2010 mid-term elections.
Charamba, Douro 2008
Horse Heaven Hills, Cabernet 2010
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills Pinot Grigio 2011
Avignonesi, Montepulciano 2004
Lorelle, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2011
Villa Antinori, Toscana 2007
Mercedes Eguren, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Lorelle, Columbia Valley Cabernet 2011
Purple Moon, Merlot 2011
Purple Moon, Chardonnnay 2011
Abacela, Vintner's Blend No. 12
Opula Red Blend 2010
Liberte, Pinot Noir 2010
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Indian Wells Red Blend 2010
Woodbridge, Chardonnay 2011
King Estate, Pinot Noir 2011
Famille Perrin, Cotes du Rhone Villages 2010
Columbia Crest, Les Chevaux Red 2010
14 Hands, Hot to Trot White Blend
Familia Bianchi, Malbec 2009
Terrapin Cellars, Pinot Gris 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2009
Campo Viejo, Rioja, Termpranillo 2010
Ravenswood, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2010
Waterbrook, Reserve Merlot 2009
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills, Pinot Grigio 2011
Tarantas, Rose
Chateau Lajarre, Bordeaux 2009
La Vielle Ferme, Rose 2011
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio 2011
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir 2009
Lello, Douro Tinto 2009
Quinson Fils, Cotes de Provence Rose 2011
Anindor, Pinot Gris 2010
Buenas Ondas, Syrah Rose 2010
Les Fiefs d'Anglars, Malbec 2009
14 Hands, Pinot Gris 2011
Conundrum 2012
Condes de Albarei, Albariño 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2007
Penelope Sanchez, Garnacha Syrah 2010
Canoe Ridge, Merlot 2007
Atalaya do Mar, Godello 2010
Vega Montan, Mencia
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2009
Portuga, Rose 2011
Revelation, Chardonnay, Pays d'Oc 2010
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 2005
Monte Alto, Tinto Reserva 2005
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Cabernet, Indian Wells 2009
Espiral, Vinho Rose
Vin-Koru, Pinot Gris 2011
14 Hands, Hot to Trot Red 2009
Rodney Strong, Cabernet, Sonoma 2009
Abacela, Vintner's Blend #11
Portuga, White 2010
La Bourgeoisie, Red 2009
Januik, Red 2009
Three Rivers, River's Red 2008
Kirkland, Alexander Valley Merlot 2008
Muga, Rioja Rose 2010
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
The Occasional Book
Neil Young - Waging Heavy Peace
Mark Bego - Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (2012 ed.)
Jenny Lawson - Let's Pretend This Never Happened
J.D. Salinger - Franny and Zooey
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Timothy Egan - The Big Burn
Deborah Eisenberg - Transactions in a Foreign Currency
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Kathryn Lance - Pandora's Genes
Cheryl Strayed - Wild
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt
Road Work
Miles run year to date: 21
At this date last year: 52
Total run in 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269
Comments (21)
Will the feds make McCoy do the perp walk?
Posted by reader | November 17, 2011 2:55 PM
Maybe he ought to resign before the feds start sniffing around his office and bank accounts.
And ask how he got caught up on his mortgage payments to avoid foreclosure ...
Posted by Garage Wine | November 17, 2011 3:03 PM
Maybe he never had to stuff that envelope of cash he dropped off for his boy-toy, and just passed it on?
Posted by Mojo | November 17, 2011 3:15 PM
Yet by then, McCoy had spent hours cooperating with federal authorities,
O RLY?
Woah. Does anyone ever cooperate with the feds and then wind up being the only person charged?
Of course, the "big fish" here could be the owner of the smart meters, who may have similar financial arrangements with people in McCoy's position in cities all over the country.
Posted by Dave J. | November 17, 2011 3:17 PM
Just exactly how did Sam the Scam pay for his mortgages?
Posted by Portland Native | November 17, 2011 3:34 PM
So what I can't believe:
How does he know what prison to ask to go to? Why would a normal person know that, I certainly have no idea?
Where did all the money go? He got $124k and he still gets a public defender and we have to pay to defend him? (I suspect it will come out that he has a gambling problem and the Oregon Lottery has gotten all of the money he received, thus completing the circle.)
Posted by Michael | November 17, 2011 3:38 PM
How does he know what prison to ask to go to? Why would a normal person know that, I certainly have no idea?
Well, if you were facing federal charges and knew that you were guilty, and that the feds could probably prove it very easily, you might google "federal prisons in Oregon." The FCI: Sheridan is the very first link if you do that.
Posted by Dave J. | November 17, 2011 3:52 PM
What did Sam know and when did he know it?
Posted by Mister Tee | November 17, 2011 3:59 PM
Weren't there one or more employees who complained about McCoy, and then were disciplined/harassed/pushed out of City employment? Wonder if their vindication will come at a price to the City?
Posted by umpire | November 17, 2011 5:44 PM
Now that the little fish has been charged how long before he rolls over and pleads out and fingers the big ones ?
Posted by tankfixer | November 17, 2011 6:06 PM
opps.. note to self.
read the whole thing first...
Posted by tankfixer | November 17, 2011 6:07 PM
Wow! And the County DA was all ready to prosecute too.
Posted by Langston | November 17, 2011 6:24 PM
One issue: these folks are not "commissioners". They are Portland City Council members. It's about time to stop inflating their egos.
Posted by Max | November 17, 2011 6:56 PM
Jack I thought you'd be yawning.
Whaddya think this is? Jersey? In more ways than one.
Posted by paul | November 17, 2011 7:03 PM
Max, Portland operates under the city commissioner form of government. You've posted that comment twice now. It's going nowhere.
Posted by Jack Bog | November 17, 2011 7:14 PM
All corrupt government officials shouldn't be in FCI Sheridan...a "white collar resort" prison.
They should be in ADX Florence, a "pound me in the ass" prison.
(My respects to Office Space.)
Posted by Erik H. | November 17, 2011 8:49 PM
That's waaaay wrong, Erik. Another example of how f'd up our society is.
Posted by Mojo | November 18, 2011 11:08 PM
Couldn't help but to recall this now:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bneviIHiIKs
Posted by Mojo | November 18, 2011 11:10 PM
McCoy persuaded the city in March 2010 to increase Cale’s contract from about $4.4 million to more than $20 million, without competitive bids.
Why?
McCoy’s consulting company was not a secret, as it was filed as a business with the Oregon secretary of state’s office since 2004. Asked how the city missed that McCoy had set up a consulting company, Adams said McCoy was questioned about it but denied violating city policies.
Adams said that the FBI on Sept. 1 showed him copies of checks from Cale Parking Systems and Levey to McCoy and McCoy’s consulting company.
“The city did not have the details regarding the checks until that interview,” Adams said.
Wasn't it enough that the city knew of this consulting company, seems Adams or someone from his large staff could have checked details if McCoy was questioned.
McCoy is due to appear in U.S. District Court in Portland on Dec. 8 at 1:30 p.m.
Any chance Adams or others may be called to testify under oath or is this only for McCoy?
Posted by clinamen | November 19, 2011 1:12 PM
I wonder how soon the feds will expose the kickbacks from all the meter coin collectors given to McCoy?
And when will the Oregon's Secretary of State and AG Kroger investigate, then fine, at minimum, the fiduciary irresponsibility of Sam Adams and Council, knowing about the sideline business of McCoy, conflict of interest, and contract going from $4 Million to $20 Million and not inquiring why/how? There are too many things that were overlooked where excuses can't be accepted.
Posted by lw | November 19, 2011 6:02 PM
I lost faith in Kroger when nothing was done regarding Mayor taking an envelope of cash to the clerk’s desk...
I lost faith in Kate Brown, Secretary of State when she hired our State Elections Director.
http://www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/165/80612.html?1291613475
Back in 2003 and 2004, Black Box Voting issued a "Gotta Be Replaced" list of election officials we considered to be particularly problematic . Most of them have since been fired or have resigned. On this list was Scott Konopasek of San Bernardino County, Calif., and his sidekick, Stephen Trout. Konopasek referred to citizens who wished to observe elections as "terrorists." In front of a New York Times reporter (Konopasek didn't realize that Adam Cohen was with the New York Times when he said this), Konopasek told Black Box Voting investigators that sometimes he had to "massage the data" as it comes in through the pipeline.
Trout was present at the time, and ran up to the counter to order Black Box Voting to stop videotaping. He was even more obnoxious than Konopasek, which is a bit of a feat. Shortly afterward Konopasek and Trout both resigned. Trout and Konopasek then joined with a third "Gotta Be Replaced" official, Riverside County's Mischelle Townsend, to form a consulting group.
It is with surprise, then, that we see the state of Oregon hiring Stephen Trout to head up its state elections division.
As the article says, he's a veteran elections official. Yes, and he has been a supporter of paperless touch-screens and worse, has demonstrated a dreadful attitude towards citizen oversight.
Oregon's 100% vote-by-mail system conceals not only the counting (done on optical scan machines) but also conceals who casts the ballots and the ballot chain of custody. With Trout's hiring, Oregon's elections will now be overseen by a public official who was hostile to public oversight in California. Not a good sign at all for Oregon, but perhaps this will at last take the varnish off Oregon's very popular but heavily concealed vote by mail system. There's nothing like an obstructive public official for motivating citizens to take a closer look!
Oregonians, Black Box Voting has put the on our Watch List due to this hiring decision, and we recommend renewed vigilence by public citizens for all facets of Oregon elections. We will assist by providing suggestions customized to your vote by mail system as we move toward the 2010 mid-term elections.
Posted by clinamen | November 19, 2011 9:41 PM