Democrats Misfire In Effort To Smear Brizzi

Marion County Democrats are feeling a little uneasy these days with skyrocketing crime in the city and major scandals developing in the sheriff's department, the coroner's office and the Center Township Trustee's office--all offices under their management. They thought they were going to have a one-two punch, starting with Rep. Julia Carson's false accusation that her Republican opponent "beat his wife to a pulp," but the second punch really blew up in their face.

It seems Democrats tried in a press release this week to accuse Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi's office of doling out legal work to House Speaker Brian Bosma's law firm without a contract, and they demanded that an independent audit of his office be conducted. As it turned out, a 10-year contract the office had prior to Brizzi taking office was actually terminated last year. Tucked away in today's "Behind Closed Doors" column in the Star is this little tidbit:

Marion County Democrats nailed Prosecutor Carl Brizzi this past week -- or thought they did. In a news release headlined "Carl Brizzi takes care of his friends," Terry Burns, the party's executive director, blasted Brizzi for paying a politically connected law firm without a contract. More than $60,000 was paid from 2003 to 2005 to Kroger, Gardis and Regas, a firm that includes Indiana House Speaker Brian C. Bosma, R-Indianapolis.

The Democrats, who called for an independent audit of the office's finances, got the information from a public records request.

But Brizzi, a Republican running for re-election against Democrat Melina Kennedy, said they asked for the wrong information.

The Democrats requested any written agreements with the firm. The prosecutor's office replied that it "has no contract or agreement or letter of engagement with this law firm."

Not that it never did.

"We took it to mean current contracts," Brizzi said. His office had a written agreement for the firm to provide guardianship work but terminated it last year, he said. The office hires a handful of outside law firms for some work, and Brizzi said Bosma's firm had worked with the prosecutor's office for 10 years.

"We can only go with what the prosecutor's office tells us," said Burns, adding that he still thought an audit of the office was needed.

Instead of accepting blame for the misfire, the Marion Co. Democrats blame Brizzi's office for providing them inaccurate information. Note that no one in the Democratic Party has called for an independent audit of the Center Township Trustee's office after the Star revealed that Marion Co. Trustee Carl Drummer handed over government-owned space to political insiders to construct a bar illegally without entering into a lease. Note also that the Star relegated this item to its weekly gossip column--no editorials and no newstory. To have done so would have shown the Democrats to have eggs on their face.