In light of Cheney Shootings... FuneralGate Revisited

[dave29]

http://www.bushwatch.com/gravedigger.htm

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.

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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.

It was unclear which state agency or agencies put up the other $105,000.

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Mr. Allbaugh went on to manage Mr. Bush's 2000 presidential campaign and is director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency

Mr. Whittington went on to get shot in the face by Dick Cheney at Ranch Halliburton

tragically small world.

[Wickerman]

1. excellent find!

:kick:

[Oceansaway]

2. Touche !!..excellent find !!n/t

[TomInTib]

3. This was so big in Texas back then and just went away.

The whistleblower took the hit.

It was truly bizarre.

Something about a "found" deposition tape.

KKKlassic KKKarl.

[dave29]

4. MORE

http://www.bestofaustin.com/issues/dispatch/1999-09-03/pols_feature3.html

The appointment of Whittington appears to be a good move. A well-respected lawyer, Whittington has served on other controversial state positions in the past, including a stint on the Board of Corrections, the precursor to the Board of Criminal Justice, which oversees the state's prison system. During his stint on that board, from 1979-1985, Whittington dealt with a number of difficult issues, including the Ruiz lawsuit, which forced the Texas prison system to institute a series of reforms and improve prison conditions. Whittington also served six years on the Texas Public Finance Authority, to which he was appointed by former Gov. Bill Clements.

Whittington said his motivation for taking the job comes both from his age and his desire to serve the public. "I know it's a challenge," he said. "But we have 150,000 people dying every year in Texas. That's a lot of funerals, and my generation is getting closer to them every day. It's a big part of our lives that needs to be dealt with."

Some people even die from getting shot by the veepinator

[raysr]

5. bring it to the surface again, yes!

[UTUSN]

6. & don't forget Katherine ARMSTRONG

*QUOTE*******

http://www.gulfbase.org/person/view.php?uid=karmstrong

Katherine Armstrong

Katherine Armstrong was appointed the first female chairman of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission by Governor Rick Perry. She is a member of the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies advisory board. She believes the Gulf is a valuable resource, not only to Texas, but as indicator of the overall ecological and economic health of the United States fisheries.
Home Page URL: http://www.hri.tamucc.edu/member-armstrong.html

********UNQUOTE*******

[dave29]

7. Complete Bio of Whittington - seems like he's worked against prison abuse

http://www.statesman.com/metrostate/content/metro/stories/07/17harry.html

For six years Whittington has been battling City Hall over a parking garage Austin built on his land — land the city condemned that is located next to the convention center downtown.

Whittington has racked up two court victories so far. One long-shot outcome: that he will end up owning the $10.5 million garage and its $19.3 million Austin Energy chiller.

But Whittington's tenacity surfaced long before his scuffle with City Hall. Over 26 years serving on state boards, he has tangled with the state's then-notoriously corrupt and brutal prison system; faced off against bond lawyers who had a stranglehold on the state's lucrative debt business; lobbied against the execution of people with mental retardation; and, most recently, tried to clean up the state's abuse-ridden funeral industry.

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Whittington aggravates people in a way that seems to leave few bruised feelings. His wide circle of friends includes retired Catholic Bishop John McCarthy, with whom he often has coffee. He plays cards with former Texas Supreme Court chief Joe Greenhill, who is 90.

He and his wife, Merce, like to hang out at Tarry House, a private social club whose membership is a who's who of Old West Austin. He founded the club in 1968 after — what else? — a three-year zoning battle with a neighborhood group opposed to it.

What was he doing hunting with Cheney and Armstrong?

[dave29]

8. Smoking Pellet Gun: SCI Awarded Contract to deal with Katrina victims

SCI, of funeralgate fame, was awarded the job of dealing with the victims of Katrina. Halliburton was awarded the contract for cleanup. So what was Cheney doing on the ranch with his Halliburton buddies, and Whittington, who was appointed (by Bush) to clean up the mess SCI made in Funeralgate?

http://rawstory.com/news/2005/FEMA_outsources_Katrina_body_count_to_firm_implicated_in_bodydumping_scan_0913.html

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has hired Kenyon International to set up a mobile morgue for handling bodies in Baton Rouge, Louisiana following Hurricane Katrina, RAW STORY has learned.

Kenyon is a subsidiary of Service Corporation International (SCI), a scandal-ridden Texas-based company operated by a friend of the Bush family. Recently, SCI subsidiaries have been implicated in illegally discarding and desecrating corpses.
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"It is appalling that the Bush administration –- which has already badly bungled its response to hurricane Katrina –- would hire a company with a record of gross mismanagement of mortuary services," said Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, a Washington D.C.-based watchdog group. "I can only imagine that this decision was made because of President Bush's long-time friendship with the head of SCI, Robert Waltrip."

[kitkat65]

9. Was wondering if the Whittington feller might know where some of the

skeletons are buried. It seems he does . . . literally!

[dave29]

10. kick

:kick:

[f-bush]

11. Much of this reeks of divine karma!!

I love it!