out of these missing files?
Lost and Found
First Lady Hillary Clinton was at the center of an investigation into numerous missing files on the Whitewater affair that suddenly reappeared inside the White House during the height of the investigation. A similar tale is now being told by Robbins and the Funeral Commission’s chief investigator, Ed Kubicek. Over the past few months, Robbins and the Commission chairman, Austin lawyer Harry Whittington, have repeatedly said their efforts to reopen the investigation into S.C.I. were stymied because they could not find all of the documents compiled by May and her investigators. But during an interview in late April, Robbins and Kubicek said two file boxes full of S.C.I.-related materials had suddenly materialized in the Commission’s file room, in their rented office space in downtown Austin. "Two boxes just appeared," says Kubicek. "Either I’m the most inept investigator ever to put on a pair of cowboy boots, or information just arrived."
Neither of the men offered any explanations on how or why the files could have been removed and later replaced. But it seems the magical reappearance of the files will help the Commission pursue its case against S.C.I., though it’s not clear to what extent Robbins and Kubicek will fight to maintain the $445,000 fine imposed against the company. Robbins said he would not testify during the administrative hearings, because he was not at the funeral agency during the time of the investigation. Instead, Kubicek, who was also working elsewhere at the time of the investigation, is likely to be the Commission’s chief witness. According to the two men, only one Commission employee still with the agency, Earl Monreal, an inspector, was on the payroll at the time of the S.C.I. investigation. They were not sure if Monreal will be asked to testify.
The confusion over the preparation of the S.C.I. case and the cost of a hearing at the State Office of Administrative Hearings has put Robbins under a great deal of scrutiny. The Commission, which has ten employees, operates on just $501,000 per year. And Robbins doesn’t know how his agency will be able to afford the hearing, which is expected to cost at least $20,000. "We are going to do the best job we can," he says.
http://www.texasobserver.org/showArticle.asp?ArticleID=915edit: one more
DUBYA AND THE GRAVEDIGGER.
Ex-funeral agency chief settles suit
11/09/2001
By GEORGE KUEMPEL / The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN – A former state funeral home regulator who said she was wrongfully fired for investigating a large funeral home chain operated by a longtime family friend ofGeorge W. Bush has settled her 2-year-old whistleblower lawsuit for $210,000.
The state will pay Eliza May and her lawyers $155,000 and Houston-based Service Corp. International will pay $55,000, said sources familiar with the agreement.
Ms. May contended in her lawsuit that she was fired in 1999 as executive director of the Texas Funeral Service Commission after SCI Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert Waltrip met with Joe Allbaugh, a top aide to Mr. Bush while he was governor, to complain about the agency's investigation of the company's homes.
After the investigation, fines totaling about $450,000 were assessed against more than 20 of SCI's affiliated funeral homes for using unlicensed embalmers. SCI has appealed, and a state hearings officer is expected to rule soon on the case.
Neither SCI, Mr. Bush nor any of the other defendants admit wrongdoing under the terms of the settlement. Attorney General John Cornyn, who was also named as a defendant as a result of a legal opinion he wrote that was favorable to SCI, represented the state in the case.
<snip>
Harry Whittington of Austin, who was named presiding officer of the Funeral Service Commission after a major shakeup of agency in 1999, said his board reluctantly agreed to pay $50,000 as part of the settlement to end the 2-year-old case.
http://www.bushwatch.com/gravedigger.htm
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