Buchanan County Presiding Commissioner candidate Tom Mann may find himself in deep water for committing forgery in campaign reports that, in an ironic twist, he wasn't even legally required to file.
A statement documenting the receipt of Mann's 8-Day report notes that Mann requested blank 8-day report forms and a pen, filled out and returned his reports while he was at the front counter of the County' Clerk's office. The problem? The blank sheets he returned had his treasurer's signature, who was never in the room.
That sounds like forgery, which is a class C felony punishable by up to seven years in prison. Forgery is no joke - this could be a big problem for Tom Mann.
Comparing the signatures on the 8-Day report with the statement of committee organization will be interesting.
Mann also backdated his statement of committee organization by nearly a month, after filing it past the legal deadline. Note the receipt date and compare that to the date that Mann filled in before he returned the form:
Adding to the confusion, Mann filed an additional 8-day report with the MEC electronically (for reasons we don't totally understand). It was filed a day late and numerous parts of the form are filled in incorrectly. It really looks like he has no idea what he's doing.
We'd be more inclined to describe all of this as the amusing antics of a terminally confused and hopeless candidate if the prospect of a forgery charge wasn't looming over him.
We'll keep following the story - look forward to seeing some updates.
Rules Need Not Apply (Oct 16, 2010)
http://blog.missourivalues.org/?p=367
Long-time political boss Tom Mann hopes that Buchanan County voters will forget why they fired him four years ago. The hidden agenda and careless spending practices didn’t survive exposure then, and hiding campaign details won’t sit well with voters this time.
Unfortunately for Mann, we were reminded of his “My County, My Rules” and “Laws Don’t Apply To Me” attitudes early on when the Missouri Ethics Commission (who actually enforces those laws) kicked him off the ballot in April for failing to report his financial condition and obligations (as ALL candidates must do and are informed of when they file to run for office)....more
Posted by: Andre | October 28, 2010 at 10:24 PM