Straub Trying To Fix Bisard Investigation To Protect Image According To Police Source

A police source familiar with the internal investigation of IMPD's handling of the fatal DUI investigation of K-9 Officer David Bisard had made a damning accusation against Public Safety Director Frank Straub to Fox59 News. According to the anonymous police source, Straub met with a detective writing the internal report for IMPD and was disturbed with findings contained in the draft report that are unfavorable to him. The source claims Straub asked the internal affairs investigator to amend the report to omit any mention of his name in it. Further, the source alleges Straub has been given access to a preliminary report prepared by the FBI and has asked that any mention of his name or Chief Paul Ciesielski be redacted from the report. According to Fox59 News, Straub denies the allegation made by the anonymous police source. Straub told news sources today final reports would be issued by IMPD and the FBI before the end of this month.

You may recall earlier reports about how Straub and Ciesielski were in a meeting discussing Straub's image problems at the time high-ranking officers had responded to the accident scene where Bisard had struck and killed one motorcyclist and seriously injured two other motorcyclists. Those two high-ranking officers, Darryl Pierce and Ron Hicks, were ordered by Ciesielski to return to IMPD headquarters for a meeting to prepare for an afternoon press conference intended as a show of unity and support for Straub. Pierce and Hicks later joined Ciesielski at the press conference but declined to say anything in support of Straub. The two were later demoted as punishment for their supposed failure to take charge of the Bisard accident scene, even though both had been summoned to leave the scene and report back to IMPD headquarters for the meeting to discuss Straub's image.

Miller Out As BMV Commissioner

Gov. Mitch Daniels' tells WRTV's Norm Cox this afternoon that BMV Commissioner Andy Miller will be replaced one day following his arrest at a public restroom in Claypool Court that is notorious for gay sex encounters. It is unclear whether Miller resigned or was fired. Miller was charged with public indecency, a Class C misdemeanor, after an undercover police officer claimed Miller led him into a bathroom stall, dropped his pants and began masturbating in front of the undercover police officer. He bailed out the Marion Co. jail last night for $150.00. Miller declined to speak to reporters as he walked out of the jail last night.

UPDATE: Here's a statement from the Governor's office on the resignation of Miller and the naming of Miller's chief of staff, Scott Waddell, as Miller's replacement alluding to his arrest yesterday as "an extremely sad situation":

This afternoon, Andy Miller resigned effective immediately as the Commissioner of the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. The governor has named R. Scott Waddell, the BMV's chief of staff, as the new commissioner. Governor Daniels issued this statement about Andy Miller:

"Andy Miller has been an exceptional public servant. Indiana farmers, flood victims, motorists and taxpayers in general all have benefited from his hard work and leadership in three important capacities. I also know him to be a devoted father to three children, including one saved from cancer by Riley Children’s Hospital, for which Andy in turn has raised substantial funds in gratitude. If things are as reported, the law must be respected, but either way this is just an extremely sad situation."

Waddell joined the BMV in March 2009 as deputy commissioner for policy. He later was named chief of staff for finance and administration. He owned and was president of Standard Locknut, Inc., a precision component manufacturing company in Westfield from 1977 to 2007, when he sold the company.

Hat tip to Indiana Law Blog.

Pittsburgh City Council Closely Scrutinizing Parking Meter Deal

The Pittsburgh city council is questioning whether the city's mayor, Luke Ravenstahl, has misrepresented to them the financial circumstances surrounding the city's unfunded pension liability as a way of pushing a 50-year lease of the city's parking meter business and city-owned garages for a one-time upfront payment of $452 million from LAZ Parking, the same company to which Chicago Mayor Richard Daley leased that city's parking meter business for a $1.2 billion, 75-year lease. The Post-Gazette reports on the council's latest action:

Pittsburgh City Council took the unusual step Wednesday of issuing a subpoena to Mayor Luke Ravenstahl for pension fund data, saying the information is needed to determine whether a state takeover of the fund would be as dire as the mayor has suggested it would be.

The subpoena to Mr. Ravenstahl and a handful of his advisers seeks lists of employees and retirees, plus details about their retirement benefits. It demands that the data be turned over to James Allen, secretary of the Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement System, by noon Friday . . .

Mr. Ravenstahl has proposed leasing the city's parking garages and meters to a consortium of investors for 50 years and using some of the proceeds to avert a pension fund takeover. He said the state would increase the city's pension fund obligations by as much as $27 million a year, something that would require tax hikes or service cuts.

However, some council members have questioned whether a takeover would be as dire as Mr. Ravenstahl said. To find out, they want the state to use subpoenaed pension data to perform an actuarial evaluation.

Council is considering alternatives to the mayor's parking lease plan, such as a pension bond backed by parking rate increases, or simply acquiescing to a takeover.

"We have to have the Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement System run the numbers before we can make a decision," council President Darlene Harris said.

Pittsburgh's City Controller had already severely criticized the deal and proposed an alternative plan where the city would maintain control of the assets without raising rates nearly as high. The Post-Gazette reported earlier on the Controller's alternative plan:

Saying a mayoral plan to lease parking garages and meters would raise rates too high and cede too much control, Pittsburgh Controller Michael Lamb today outlined an alternative means of avoiding state takeover of the city's pension fund.

Mr. Lamb suggested that the Pittsburgh Parking Authority could buy, from the city, the parking meters, Mellon Square Garage, and several surface lots the city owns. His proposed purchase price, $150 million, would go into the city's ailing pension fund.

The authority would have to borrow the money to make that payment, but could pay off the debt by raising rates around 3.5 percent a year for five years. Mr. Lamb characterized that increase as around one-third of the rate hikes that would result from Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's plan to lease the garages and meters to a private consortium.

"This is a system that is far less expensive to future ratepayers than the mayor's lease," said Mr. Lamb. It also alleviates concerns about transferring control over so much property to a private company for 50 years, as the mayor's plan would do.

As we've learned in recent weeks, the City of Indianapolis has quite a bit of surplus TIF revenues floating around that could be used to finance an electronic metered parking system, coupled with modest rate increases, without giving up ownership of our parking meters for the next 50 years. Instead of diverting those property tax revenues to fund the CIB, build skywalks or finance private development deals downtown, the City could be using those funds to modernize our parking meters and increasing revenues to the city. Of course, that would cut out all the benefits that attend these pinstripe patronage deals cooked up by political insiders to line their pockets and, in turn, fill the campaign re-election coffers of Mayor Ballard.

The Post-Gazette noted in its story how Mayor Ravenstahl had headed out of town on a 10-day trip to Asia just as the council issued the subpoena for the pension fund data. It looks like Pittsburgh's mayor likes taking overseas trips as much as Mayor Ballard.

BMV Head Caught Jacking Off In Public Restroom

BMV head Andrew Miller literally got caught with his pants down and his thing in hand at a bathroom in Claypool Court. WRTV's Jack Rinehart has the scoop on the 40-year-old married man's unfortunate encounter with an undercover police officer:

The head of the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles has been arrested after soliciting an undercover officer in a restroom downtown.


Andrew J. Miller, 40, of Carmel, was arrested Wednesday afternoon at Claypool Court, connected to Circle Centre Mall near Washington and Illinois streets, on a preliminary charge of public indecency and indecent exposure, 6News' Jack Rinehart reported.

According to the probable cause affidavit, an Indianapolis police officer conducting an undercover vice investigation said Miller made eye contact with him before looking back at him and walking into the men's restroom.
 
The officer said he followed and found Miller inside an open stall with his pants down, masturbating.


The officer said Miller then engaged him in conversation, while continuing to touch himself, asking the officer if he wanted to go somewhere, if he wanted to touch his genitals and if he was married.

"Miller stated he was married too, and that it would be OK," according to the probable cause report.

The officer said he then arrested Miller.

It's hard to believe Miller would engage in such conduct in a restroom known to be a target of undercover police for such acts of public indecency. In May, 2006, an undercover police officer arrested a Republican Township Assessor from Evansville for engaging in a similar act in this bathroom. A few years earlier, a New Albany school principal and member of the State Board of Education, got busted in this same bathroom for public indecency. I guess misery loves company.  Miller and his wife live in Carmel with their three children and are active members of St. Maria Goretti Catholic Church in Westfield according to Rinehart. Gov. Mitch Daniels' office was unaware of Miller's arrest when contacted by Rinehart. He reportedly had gone home sick earlier in the day.

LAZ Parking Using ACS Playbook In Pittsburgh To Sell Parking Meter Lease Deal

The partners offering a $452 million upfront payment to lease Pittsburgh's parking meters and garages is promising to bring jobs, a regional headquarters, improved parking facilities and charitable donations to the city to entice the city council there to approve the deal. LAZ Parking also says it will invest $440 million in capital upgrades to the city's garages and metered parking system over the life of the lease. Sounds a little bit like ACS' promise to bring 200 new jobs to the city if the city council goes along with Mayor Greg Ballard's plan to lease the city's parking meter business to the politically-connected company and invest $8 to $10 million initially on a new metered parking system. The Post-Gazette reports on LAZ Parking's offer to the City of Pittsburgh:

J.P. Morgan Asset Management of New York and Connecticut-based LAZ Parking Ltd. said they would spend $440 million on capital upgrades to the city's garages and metered parking system over the life of the lease, including $90 million in the first seven to 10 years.

They said the overhaul of at least three garages would add 1,800 parking spaces Downtown and bring motorists new conveniences, such as window-washing stations and battery jump-starts.

Motorists would be able to pay by credit card, pre-paid card and cell phone, and the would-be operators said they'd establish a website, hot line and "street team" to help the public adjust to a privately managed parking system.

One of the nation's largest parking operators, LAZ also plans to open a regional headquarters in town, settle a regional vice president here and create about 50 jobs. It would inherit another 80 or so workers from the city parking authority.

The investment LAZ Parking is offering Pittsburg is far larger than what ACS is offering Indianapolis, but their deal includes a number of city-owned parking garages that aren't part of Indianapolis' deal. Pittsburgh also has a lot more metered spaces than Indianapolis, and the concessionaire plans to add another 1,800 downtown parking spaces through improvements to the parking garages. I have to wonder how ACS plans to create 200 jobs in Indianapolis compared to the 50 jobs LAZ says it will add in addition to the 80 or so employees it will inherit from the city's existing parking authority as part of the deal given that the size of Pittsburgh's parking business appears to be nearly double that of Indianapolis. LAZ's initial investment of $90 million during the first ten years also far surpasses what ACS plans to invest in Indianapolis.

Money Does Fall Out Of The Sky

That's the scene taking place at the corner of Meridian and Washington Streets this morning. Millions of dollars began blowing around the intersection as people began chasing after the green. Fox59 News says it appears a large bundle of money fell off of an armored truck and the bound money broke free after being struck by a car, causing $20 bills to start flying everywhere.

Poll Workers Needed

More than 3,500 workers are needed to work the November 2 general election in Marion County. If you would like to volunteer to work at the polls on election day, please contact the Clerk's office at 327-5100, or you can fill out a form to volunteer by clicking here. I'm still looking for one additional Republican for my precinct. It's incredible how many excuses people make up to turn down a paid volunteer opportunity. Civic duty isn't a virtue anymore, I guess. Please e-mail me if you are interested in a spot at my downtown precinct that votes at the senior center on East Michigan Street just east of College Avenue.

UPDATED: I found the volunteer I needed, but many more are still needed to work other precincts so contact the Clerk's Office if you can offer your services on election day.

Daniels Fires IURC Chairman Over Ethics Flap

Gov. Mitch Daniels has shown just how far he is willing to go to demonstrate his own outrage over the IURC's chief legal counsel leaving his position to become counsel for Duke Energy, a move a state ethics panel ruled was permissible, notwithstanding the state's one-year revolving door law against certain employees and officials accepting outside employment pertaining to their government positions. The AP reports on Daniels' firing of IURC Chairman David Lott Hardy:

Gov. Mitch Daniels has fired the chairman of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission and sent an ethics memo to state agency heads following Duke Energy's hiring of the panel's former top attorney.


The governor's office said the dismissal of David Lott Hardy on Tuesday is effective immediately. Daniels named IURC Commissioner Jim Atterholt the new chairman.

The commission's former general counsel, Scott Storms, left that job last month for a new position as an attorney in Duke's regulatory division. That prompted criticism from watchdog groups since Storms had handled matters related to a $2.9 billion coal-gasification plant the utility is building in southwestern Indiana.

Daniels' general counsel David Pippen sent a memo to all executive branch agency heads saying the governor will "not tolerate even the appearance of impropriety."

The IBJ's Chris O'Malley has more on why Daniels decided to take such swift action against Hardy:

Pippen said an internal review found that Storms was communicating with Duke about a job even while he was presiding over administrative hearings concerning Duke.


"Additionally, the agency head (Hardy) was aware of the communications and did not remove the lawyer from matters for which the lawyer was now conflicted,” Pippen told agency heads.

He added: “I wrote a letter to the IURC explaining the governor’s interpretation of the spirit and intention of the ethics reform he spearheaded when he came to office.”

Moreover, Daniels has directed that administrative opinions over which Storms presided will be reopened and reviewed “to ensure no undue influence was exerted in the decisions.”

It was not immediately clear which Duke cases those involved.

Daniels also directed that a one-year cooling off period for decision makers is to be considered for those at the administrative law judge level, as well.

Further, the administration said it has referred the matter to the Inspector General to determine if any laws were broken or whether misinformation was presented to the Ethics Commission.

Hats off to Daniels for taking a strong position against the revolving door problem with influence peddlers within state government. Let's hope he uses a Republican-controlled legislature next year to push through even tougher ethics laws to prevent this sort of thing from happening in the future.

UPDATE: Duke Energy announced it has placed its head of Indiana operations, Mike Reed, on administrative leave after learning the latest in the circumstances surrounding the hiring of IURC's chief legal counsel, Scott Storms, according to the IBJ's Chris O'Malley. Duke is also placing Storm on administrative leave from his position in the legal/reguatory department of the utility pending the outcome of an internal investigation.

Ballard's North Of South Taxpayer-Financed Deal Fraught With Risk For Taxpayers

It's all about making the city look good for the 2012 Super Bowl and raising money for his re-election campaign. Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard could give a damn less how much he is putting taxpayers at risk in a proposed $155 million development project that includes a high-end hotel especially designed to serve Eli Lilly's needs, apartments and retail space called North of South on the southern edge of the downtown area. Despite this being everything against what he stood for as a candidate in 2007, Ballard sees nothing wrong with pouring out tax dollars into a private development and even making taxpayers serve as the principal guarantor. Experts tell the Star's Jeff Swiatek the deal is "stacked with risks" and "highly unusual."

A former mayor of Pittsburgh finds it "gutsy." A New York real estate attorney calls it "extremely unusual."


They're referring to Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard's proposal, revealed last week, to guarantee an $86 million loan to build a hotel, apartments and office and retail space near Eli Lilly and Co.'s headquarters on the south edge of Downtown.

In essence, the city would be taking on the role of banker by financing the privately developed, mixed-use project. Few cities are willing to go that far.

And, perhaps, for good reason.

The move is fraught with risk, putting taxpayers on the hook for the success -- or failure -- of a $155 million development at a time when there's an oversupply of hotel rooms and office and retail space and most lenders are avoiding new commercial real estate . . .
 
Ballard's proposal would make the city the mortgage holder on the proposed 14-acre development, called North of South, and guarantee its construction loan with property tax revenues from Downtown tax-financing districts.


In past public-private projects in Indianapolis, such as Circle Centre mall and the JW Marriott hotel, the city became a minority equity investor or financial partner, but it has never backed the main loan with its taxing power on a private project of this size.

"The risk of not doing it outweighs the risk of doing it," said the executive director of the Indianapolis Bond Bank, Deron Kintner. "It just made sense here. We don't intend it to be an everyday practice" . . .

The city has rejected other requests for similar city loan deals from other developers, said Cagann, whose company several years ago submitted a proposal to redevelop the former Market Square Arena site.


"We're encouraged the city is considering alternate financing mechanisms with the current situation in the market," he said, but "it puts a project with city backing in competition with everyone else. I don't understand how they (the city) go about selecting this one over other things proposed."

"We don't intend it to be an everyday practice," Kintner tells Swiatek. Just a practice for people who stuff Ballard's campaign re-election committee with big bucks, buy him expensive meals at upscale restaurants and give him free memberships to country clubs. Former Mayor Bart Peterson, now a V.P. at Lilly, is having a good laugh at Ballard's expense at how easy it is to get Ballard to do unpopular things that will ensure his defeat in next year's election, while paving the way for his former deputy mayor, Melina Kennedy, to regain control of the mayor's office for the Democratic Party.