"State moves to remove officer by court-martial; Says Guard aide misused funds" by Andrea Estes, Globe Staff | January 9, 2010
Like the state authorities and officials should be pointing fingers at anyone.
Yeah, yeah, I know it is their job, which makes their own pocket-stuffing performances even more mystifying, 'eh?
Enjoy the rot, readers!
A top official in the Massachusetts National Guard faces possible removal by court-martial after state and federal investigations uncovered a range of alleged improprieties, including misusing federal money, hiring a convicted felon to do legal work, and threatening a whistleblower.
Quartermaster Mark P. Murray, who oversees all state-owned National Guard property, makes $145,000 a year and collects a federal military pension, is accused of violating a host of federal and state rules and regulations. Yesterday, Murray received a hand-delivered letter accusing him of “waste, fraud, and abuse’’ and ordering him to resign by day’s end or face a court-martial convened by Governor Deval Patrick. State officials could not find a documented court-martial in recent Massachusetts history. Murray informed the Guard that he would fight the charges, officials said.....
the head of the Guard, Adjutant General Joseph Carter,
US and state officials accuse him of depositing federal funds in two interest-bearing accounts and using the interest to cover some expenses, in violation of federal rules. The state may now have to pay back the interest, which officials described as a “slush fund’’ and estimated at more than $1.6 million, to the US government.
Can't the federal government -- you know, the one looking out for us -- forgive the debt seeing as we are in such a fiscal hole? Are we not in this thing together?
In the letter, which detailed seven charges, Murray was also accused of other misconduct, including claiming as his own the expenses of a female subordinate who traveled with him to a conference in Florida and threatening a whistleblower who had accused him of spending the interest that belonged to the federal government....
And WHO is the federal government, taxpayers of AmeriKa?
Why, THAT'S sort of you in this case.
For the record, I RESENT any time the MSM calls it the "government's money."
It's YOUR MONEY that THEY ARE STEALING, American!
Ah, the PRICE of MILITARISM and EMPIRE, 'eh?!!
In addition, the letter accused Murray of rehiring, at a rate of pay much higher than allowable under National Guard rules, a friend who had recently retired.
Don't POLITICIANS do that ALL the TIME with their LOBBYING FRIENDS?!!
At the court-martial, state officials say, they may also question some of Murray’s travel expenses. He attended an average of three conferences a year between 2003 and 2008, officials said. The trips were to such places as Hawaii, Orlando, Las Vegas, and New Orleans.
But politicians can be bought off at corporate-funded getaways, that's okay.
So what did this guy do to piss someone off, huh?
It was unclear why the Patrick administration, which has had most of the audit results for months, has only now decided to act.
Someone say DAILY NEWS DIVERSION and DISTRACTION?
Former National Guard officials had sought to intervene on Murray’s behalf with Lieutenant Governor Timothy P. Murray, but a meeting scheduled for this week was called off. National Guard officials would not release the details of the federal investigations, saying they were not public records.
Not public records? WE PAY FOR THEM!!!!
And WHAT could be MORE PUBLIC than the NATIONAL GUARD, 'eh?!!!
It's CITIZEN SOLDIERS sent of to WAR!!!!
The October audit conducted by the office of state Auditor Joseph DeNucci found that the “quartermaster could not adequately ensure the integrity of their records and assets, including over $30 million in various federal funds advanced annually to the Commonwealth.’’
The court-martial will take place within 60 days, officials said. The governor will appoint three hearing officers who will weigh the evidence and decide whether Mark Murray should be removed from his job. The court martial will be an administrative, not criminal hearing, and an adverse finding would not affect Murray’s military status.
Translation: STATE THIEVES and LOOTERS are ABOVE the LAW!!!!
Welcome to the FASCIST STATES of AmeriKa, readers, where MEMBERSHIP in the PARTY trumps everything!!!!!
If the hearing officers find sufficient cause, Murray will be terminated. The National Guard would also recommend that he forfeit his right to a state pension. He would otherwise be eligible for state benefits, in addition to his federal pension, of roughly $57,000 a year.
After STEALING ALL THAT $$$ and MAKING YOU PAY IT BACK, taxpayers!!
I say we HANG the FUCKER!!!!!!!!!!!!
State officials last encountered a major problem with the arcane state law on court-martials in 1999, when Cellucci fired the controversial head of the Guard, Raymond Vezina, after reports that he allegedly pressured subordinates to make political donations and wore the uniform of a higher-ranking officer in a Veterans Day parade. Vezina sued, charging that he could not be removed except by court-martial. He settled the suit out of court in 2002.
So how much did we have to pay for that one, Globe?
