Ethics Committee Votes To Censure Gray

It was supposed to be a bipartisan vote of the City-County Council Ethics Committee to decide whether to censure former CCC President Monroe Gray for failing to disclose his business relationship with a city contractor on his financial disclosure statement, but Democratic member Paul Bateman resigned a few hours before the meeting because of an impending grand jury investigation against his involvement in the Russell Foundation and Councilor Bill Oliver didn't show up for the meeting. The Ethics Committee's two Republican members voted to recommend a censure of Gray to the full council and forward a copy of its report to the Marion County Prosecutor. "The entire intent of this committee was to restore confidence in the public with City Council that we're doing things in an ethical way," the Star's Francesca Jarosz quotes Councilor Pfisterer as saying about the recommendation. Marion Co. Prosecutor referred Gray's case of alleged ghost employment at the Indianapolis Fire Department to a special prosecutor last year. As with all of these cases of public corruption in Marion County, nothing has become of Gray's case. Memo to U.S. Attorney's Office: HELP!