Hilarious Lapses in Judgment
Our state representatives don’t have time to get into much trouble lately because of the late budget. In their defense, it takes a lot of concentration to create new sources of revenue ex nihilo.
So let us turn to other areas of government for amusement. Two stories out of the Buffalo News caught my attention because they included the triumvirate of political humor: (1) Politician; (2) Sex; and (3) Hilarious bad judgment.
First, we have the story of the (Democratic) Niagara County Coroner, who befriended a Chinese businessman and his wife, and then brought them around to political functions to introduce them to local politicians and businesspeople. Allegedly, this “legitimate businessman” planned to bring Asian investors to the Niagara Falls region. Instead, he opened a string of massage parlors that are being investigated as fronts for a prostitution ring.
The funniest part of the story involves the Niagara County Sheriff, Thomas A. Beilein: “At one gathering, Tsui [the "legitimate businessman"] and his wife asked Beilein to pose for a picture with them, the sheriff said. Beilein said he agreed to do so, in part because [the county coroner] had vouched for the couple. Beilein said he was upset months later to learn that the couple had hung his photograph with them in a prominent place in their Wheatfield massage parlor.” Oops.
The second story involves a recently retired Erie County Supreme Court judge who sentenced a woman to jail time for drug possession and offering to commit prostitution with two undercover cops. After serving her sentence, this same woman soon got a job as a cleaner at the Courthouse, and that part of her duties included cleaning the judge’s chambers.
According to the story, “the woman frequently visited with [Judge] Tills in his court chambers.” Apparently, they became pretty good pals, because she accompanied him on an overnight, out-of-state trip to a convention. “Investigators are trying to determine whether the woman offered her services as a prostitute at the convention or whether she was just a guest of the judge.”
You know things have gone south when federal investigators are trying to determine if you brought a prostitute to pass around at a convention (crime) or if she was just your special guest at said convention (I guess not a crime, but … yuck).
I think we need to create a new tag for these kinds of stories. I would suggest “pulling a Spitzer,” but I’m open for suggestions.
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