Black senses 'eerie calm' over caucus legal fees
10:49 AM 9/23/02
Dee J. Hall Wisconsin State Journal
indentWith the cost of legal bills in the caucus scandal remaining steady at just under $800,000, Assembly Minority Leader Spencer Black warned Monday that taxpayers may face a glut of bills after the Nov. 6 general election.
indent"The truth, and the whole truth, about legislators' legal fees needs to come out before the election so voters can be informed before they cast their ballots, instead of becoming victims of a Nov. 6 surprise," said Black, D-Madison.
indentBlack called on Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen, who has received more than $50,000 worth of personal legal representation in the case, to order the Assembly chief clerk's office not to pay any bills submitted after Nov. 1 for work done before then.
indentJensen spokesman Steve Baas said the speaker has no plans to change the original agreement made last year by all the legislative leaders, including Black, to pay for legal representation for legislative employees caught up in the John Doe investigation into illegal campaigning and fund-raising in the Legislature.
indentAdded Baas: "If the representative has any information (that lawyers are withholding legal bills until after the election), he should come out with it. It appears he's just trying to sell innuendo."
indentBlack said his concern is fueled by the fact that there's been a dropoff in the submission of legal bills to the Assembly chief clerk's office, despite recent court hearings involving the John Doe probe. He said he fears attorneys are withholding their bills until after the election at the request of clients.
indent"With so many lawyers so busy on the caucus scandal, there is only one plausible explanation for this eerie calm at the cashier's window: Election Day," Black said.
indentBills submitted so far in the investigation show that 66 people have sought taxpayer-funded legal help. Included are five lawmakers who have submitted bills: Jensen, R-Waukesha; Rep. Steve Foti, R-Oconomowoc; Senate Majority Leader Chuck Chvala, D-Madison; Rep. Shirley Krug, D-Milwaukee; and Sen. Brian Burke, D-Milwaukee. Chvala has since repaid the Legislature $10,000 for his legal bills.
indentBurke is the only lawmaker charged so far in the 16-month investigation being conducted by Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard and Milwaukee County District Attorney E. Michael McCann. Burke was charged in June with 18 felony counts of using his Senate office for campaigning and fund-raising; altering and withholding documents subpoenaed in the probe; and falsifying expense reports.
indentBlack, whose office has been tracking the legal bills, said $778,781 in bills had been submitted as of late August, with none submitted since then. Included in the figure is the cost of defending the Legislature against two lawsuits and the cost of crafting an agreement last fall that abolished the caucuses.
indentThe 66th person to submit a bill in the scandal was Michael Marquardt, a former Senate Republican Caucus employee who now works in the Senate chief clerk's office, records indicate.