highnote
10-14-2005, 11:45 AM
The slots deal: A wink for GTECH
http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/opinion/archive/s_383490.html
Thursday, October 13, 2005
A partner in a law firm where then candidate Ed Rendell pulled down a $250,000 annual salary for a do-nothing job was retained by the company later hired to run the state's main slots computer.
Ken Jarin of Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, a Philadelphia firm, provided "legal service help with contract negotiations" to GTECH.
The Revenue Department awarded the Rhode Island company a $6.3 million annual contract but will not say why GTECH was best or who the other bidders were. So we cannot ask them if they also hired Friends of Ed.
Mr. Jarin is quite the member of Rendell's inner circle. The Pennsylvania Report political newsletter ranked Jarin 78 on its list of 100 top movers and shakers "because of his influence as perhaps the premier Democratic fundraiser in the state." Jarin has donated $40,000 in campaign money to Gov. Rendell since 2000.
Jarin is treasurer of the national Democratic Governors' Association, which gave Rendell $462,000 for his 2002 campaign. GTECH has donated $481,267 to the association since 2000, $50,000 six days after it won the state contract. GTECH has given $169,060 to the comparable Republican group.
A Revenue Department spokesman says that, to his knowledge, Jarin did not lobby for GTECH. Rendell's spokeswoman says the governor had nothing to do with the contract award.
Thus we are to believe in astounding coincidence -- honest government and clean gambling.
Oh, we do. Wink-wink.
http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/opinion/archive/s_383490.html
Thursday, October 13, 2005
A partner in a law firm where then candidate Ed Rendell pulled down a $250,000 annual salary for a do-nothing job was retained by the company later hired to run the state's main slots computer.
Ken Jarin of Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, a Philadelphia firm, provided "legal service help with contract negotiations" to GTECH.
The Revenue Department awarded the Rhode Island company a $6.3 million annual contract but will not say why GTECH was best or who the other bidders were. So we cannot ask them if they also hired Friends of Ed.
Mr. Jarin is quite the member of Rendell's inner circle. The Pennsylvania Report political newsletter ranked Jarin 78 on its list of 100 top movers and shakers "because of his influence as perhaps the premier Democratic fundraiser in the state." Jarin has donated $40,000 in campaign money to Gov. Rendell since 2000.
Jarin is treasurer of the national Democratic Governors' Association, which gave Rendell $462,000 for his 2002 campaign. GTECH has donated $481,267 to the association since 2000, $50,000 six days after it won the state contract. GTECH has given $169,060 to the comparable Republican group.
A Revenue Department spokesman says that, to his knowledge, Jarin did not lobby for GTECH. Rendell's spokeswoman says the governor had nothing to do with the contract award.
Thus we are to believe in astounding coincidence -- honest government and clean gambling.
Oh, we do. Wink-wink.