Archive for October 4th, 2013

Obit watch: October 4, 2013.

Friday, October 4th, 2013

I was taught you should say only good of the dead.

By way of Lawrence, I have learned that General Vo Nguyen Giap, described by the NYT as “the relentless and charismatic North Vietnamese general whose campaigns drove both France and the United States out of Vietnam”, has died.

Good.

(I’ll have to go back and look: did the NYT ever describe Hermann Göring or Erwin Rommel as “relentless and charismatic”?)

Banana republicans watch: more Rizzo.

Friday, October 4th, 2013

The LAT‘s second day story on Robert “Ratso” Rizzo’s plea answers a few questions from yesterday.

His attorney said Rizzo would probably be required to pay between $1 million to $3.2 million in restitution to the city.

We already knew that Rizzo was rolling on his former assistant, Angela Spaccia. You may remember that the former Bell city council members who went on trial adopted the “throw Rizzo under the bus” strategy. Now that Rizzo is taking a plea and cooperating, his plan is to throw Spaccia under the bus:

[James] Spertus [Rizzo’s lawyer – DB] accused Spaccia of coming up with plans to boost the salaries and benefits of Bell administrators while persuading other officials that the increases were proper. He said she also acted as Rizzo’s bookkeeper and hatched a plan to file fraudulent tax filings for Rizzo and for herself. Spertus said he expected federal prosecutors to file charges against Rizzo and Spaccia in connection with the alleged tax scheme sometime in the next several weeks.

I don’t think Spaccia has anyone left to roll on. Possibly the council members, but if Rizzo’s already rolling on them as part of his deal, why does the prosecution need Spaccia?

And how do the people of Bell feel, now that Ratso’s pled guilty? Relieved and disappointed, according to the paper.