Oren Paris III of Ecclesia College Pleads Guilty to Fraud
Oren Paris III, the president of Ecclesia College in Springdale, pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of fraud in a corruption scandal involving kickbacks on state grants. read more >
Oren Paris III, the president of Ecclesia College in Springdale, pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of fraud in a corruption scandal involving kickbacks on state grants. read more >
I hope I never get accustomed to public officials being on the take, but it’s especially disheartening when they use religion as part of their rationalization. And I’m detecting a pattern. read more >
Rusty Cranford, a former Arkansas lobbyist, was recorded trying to hire someone to murder a co-defendant who pleaded guilty in an embezzlement case in Missouri, according to prosecutors. read more >
Has government corruption become the rule rather than the exception? read more >
Like a Russian novel, overlapping federal criminal investigations in Missouri and Arkansas may need a cast of characters, and it's getting hard to identify either hero or victim. read more >
Arkansas students are required to pass a civics test, the same test immigrants must pass to become naturalized American citizens, to be eligible for high school diplomas or General Educational Development certificates. If only legislators had to take it too. read more >
The Fort Smith Republican waived indictment and pleaded guilty to wire fraud, money laundering and bank fraud in connection with money routed to him from the state General Improvement Fund. read more >
A political operative who pleaded guilty Monday to a federal felony in Missouri was involved in a conspiracy with Arkansas lobbyists fitting the descriptions of Milton R. "Rusty" Cranford and former state Rep. Eddie Cooper of Melbourne. read more >
I’m weary of the trope about running government like a business, but both honest government and honest business require enough employees to segregate duties and create internal controls. read more >
The Arkansas Supreme Court's ruling striking down a grant system used to fund local projects didn't necessarily kill outright lawmakers' efforts to divert surplus money to pet needs in their districts. read more >
With the Supreme Court’s latest action, the state's General Improvement Fund is presumably a thing of the past. That’s probably cold comfort to legislators who are still being investigated. read more >
The worst-kept secret at Arkansas' Capitol over the past several months is the waiting game lawmakers, lobbyists and others play as they eye federal probes into local project money that have already targeted two former legislators. read more >
The state Supreme Court on Thursday will hear oral arguments in a case challenging $2.9 million in state surplus money that went toward the Central Arkansas Planning and Development District in 2015. read more >
Ecclesia, the private Christian college in Springdale, is facing yet another federal investigation, this one by the U.S. Department of Education. read more >
One afternoon provided two exercises in compartmentalization: Richard Johns' plea agreement and the indictment of former state Sen. Jon Woods and Oren Paris III. read more >
Randell Shelton Jr., a mutual friend of Woods and Paris is also charged in the 13-count indictment that represents the second phase of a corruption scandal that came to light with a guilty plea in January by former state Rep. Micah Neal. read more >
Federal prosecutors may soon take more action in the kickback case involving former Rep. Micah Neal, who pleaded guilty to a federal felony in January. read more >
A former Arkansas lawmaker's admission to arranging kickbacks from government money earmarked for economic development may help hasten the demise of the fund, once considered a hallmark of legislative politics in the state. read more >
The recent downfall of former state Rep. Micah Neal provides us a good opportunity to make an appeal to his former colleagues in the Legislature to undo some of the damage he did. read more >
It’s only been eight months since I pulled out the Moritz Scale of Political Bad Behavior, but Micah Neal’s surprise guilty plea last week is just irresistible. read more >
