| In the photo below, Bonaventura "goes victim" after being nailed scamming her own court employees (except her favorite employees, of course) out of thousands of dollars. Where did the money go? Is that a new outfit, Mary Beth? |
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| --PEERgroup --Parental Equality Enforcement Resource |
| ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ |
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| "All the cards were marked in advance. The trial was a pig-circus, he never had a chance." - Bob Dylan, Hurricane |
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| Photo: (Zbigniew Bzdak / The Times) |
| You don't really expect ME to follow the law, do you? The law is for you little people. |
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| Lies and cheats |
| Does not lie and cheat |
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More Elitist Antics from... p p"She Who Must Be Obeyed" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
| BUDGET SCAM TIMELINE: April 20, 1998: Councilman Troy Montgomery issues a memo to all judges warning them to abide by the council's mandated salary guidelines for court employees. August 15, 2001: The Times prints an article in which Bonaventura reports that the 40 or so, probation officers in her court are paid the council-mandated $41,000 per year. Immediately, probation officers from Bonaventura's court contact The Times to report that she is lying. They point out that they are paid $9,000 less than what was attributed to them by the information from Bonaventura The Times. August 16, 2001: The Times reports that Judge Bonaventura significantly inflated salaries for her employees by name, resulting in the county allocating money to her for these salaries. However, these employees were actually paid less by Bonaventura. Total dollar amount withled by Bonaventura: about $300,000. August 20, 2001: Bonaventura admits that none of the money she skimmed from her employees was spent in her court. The Times editorializes that "Bonaventura has some serious explaining to do", and states that "this is just one more example of a taxpayer-supported county with what certainly appears to be little or no accountability." August 21, 2001: Bruce Hartman, county finance specialist, confirms that Bonaventura's action violates the law and stresses that no elected official has the right to change a salary once it is enacted into law by the county council. Councilwoman Bernadette "Bobbi" Costa goes on record saying she is optimistic that no probation officer would come forward to demand the pay withheld from them illegally by Bonaventura. The Times article remains silent on the sanity of Councilwoman Costa. August 22, 2001: The Times reports,"[C]ontrary to what they have said publicly, some county officials were aware that the county was violating state...". No surprize here. August 23, 2001: In an unbelievable attempt at blame-shifting, the sardonic Bonaventura tells the same employees she's ripped-off for years to "Let your conscience be your guide" about whether or not they should seek the pay that was illegally withheld from them. Some were owed as much as $50,000. Bonaventura tells The Times that any employee who requests his/her back pay would be "capital[izing]" on the situation. Bonaventura adds that she would "be hurt" if any of them "cash in." She further states, "I know them all them personally, I think they'll do the right thing." August 29, 2001: The Times reports that while Bonaventura was underpaying some of her employees, she was overpaying others! No comment from Bonaventura about whether or not her overpaid employees should "let their conscience be their guide" and re-pay the county. Apparently conscience is a quality only for the underpaid. September 21, 2001: Side note: Probation officer under the honorable Mary Beth Bonaventura, Ms. Daveda Hawkins, is caught working out in the gym and submitting these off-duty hours as payable work-hours to the county. Bonaventura says she's "never heard of this person", although resords show she works for Bonaventura. Note the above quote on August 23, 2001, when Bonaventura states she knows all her probation officers "well". Apparently she forgets them quickly when their caught breaking the law. Love is fickle. November 1, 2001: Indiana Code 33-13-12-8.2 states that "the county served by the magistrate shall pay $41,393" of a magistrates total salary. Not one to ever be intimidated by little obstacles like state and federal law, Mary Beth Bonaventura attempts to boost each of three magistrates by $10,000, a whopping 24.4% increase over the state legal limit! Remember, these are the same three magistrates that were overpaid while all probation officers were underpaid by about $9,000! (Bonaventura's pets, do you think?) AND, Bonaventura asks the county council for an additional $29,094 appropriation for "unidentified professional services". (Hair and nails, do you suppose?) November 19, 2001: Twenty one county probation officers from Bonaventura's court hire an attorney to seek "hundreds of thousands dollars". No word from telepathic Councilwoman Bernadette "Bobbi" Costa on whether or not she clings firmly to her prediction of August 21, 2001, that no one would come forward to claim the money they were entitled too. (Where's the Dionne Warwick psychic hotline when you need it?) Today: And what happened to Judge Bonaventura because of all of this, you ask? Why, nothing of course. This is Lake County. |
| "A threat to justice anywhere, is a threat to justice everywhere." -- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963 |
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| Pig |
| Judge Mary Beth Bonaventura |
| Budget Scam |