Sizemore in Jail, part 2
Kari Chisholm
As much fun as it is to simply point and laugh at Bill Sizemore, there's a serious legal battle that has, today, finally landed him in jail (however temporarily). And it's worth understanding.
The Oregonian explains the back story and today's finding:
The latest contempt finding against Sizemore stemmed from a lawsuit filed by the Oregon Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers in Oregon. In 2002, a Multnomah County jury found that Sizemore had engaged in a "pattern of racketeering" that included forged signatures and the filing of false financial reports as part of his effort to place two anti-union initiatives on the 2000 ballot.The jury awarded $2.5 million plus attorneys fees to the unions from two now-defunct organizations that Sizemore controlled. Another judge in that case issued an injunction restricting Sizemore's use of tax-exempt organizations to advance his political activities.
This time, Wilson ruled that Sizemore violated the injunction for a fourth time through his use of the American Tax Research Foundation, a tax-exempt foundation that Sizemore set up in Nevada in 2006. Hundreds of thousands of dollars were funneled through the foundation to support Sizemore and his family and for work on 2006 and 2008 ballot measures. ...
Wilson devoted much of her 42-page ruling to a description of a dizzying array of organizations that she said Sizemore used to conceal the source of his funding. She cited $569,000 that went to Sizemore or his wife, Cindy, and said that did not include more than $13,700 in ATRF-paid personal expenditures at Fred Meyer and other grocery stores, restaurants and convenience stores and gas stations.
"The inescapable conclusion is that ATRF was a sham charitable organization set up to pass money provided by Loren Parks and Dick Wendt to compensate Mr. Sizemore for his work on initiative measures," Wilson said.
Wilson ordered Sizemore jailed until the 2006 and 2007 federal and state tax forms for charitable organizations are filed.
Hartman said that the filing of false forms is a potential criminal violation and that filing accurate forms could expose Sizemore to a potential tax liability for the money he received from ATRF.
In other words, Sizemore is sitting in jail until he actually files the federal and state tax forms for his supposedly charitable organization. Why hasn't he filed the forms? Because he's got a choice to make: Either file false tax forms that hide the transfer of money for personal purposes - or file truthful forms that fully disclose what he's done.
Either way, he's in a world of hurt. And if they knew what was going on (and I suspect that they surely did), then sexual hypnotist Loren Parks and timber baron Dick Wendt are too. They could all be going to the big house for federal and state tax fraud (and conspiracy as well, I suppose.)
As Judge Wilson said today:
"Mr. Sizemore is so blinded by his hatred of the unions who are plaintiffs in this case that he seems to have concluded that he is not required to follow the law."
Two more good roundups from the Associated Press and Swing State Project.
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1:00 a.m.
Dec 2, '08
It should be noted that Mr. Sizemore's attorney is Greg Byrne. Mr. Byrne is one of a gaggle of people who thinks Sizemore is right, supports him all the way, and differs very little from Parks and Wendt. Byrne was a candidate for the Supreme Court once upon a time but fortunately we were spared that fate.
1:03 a.m.
Dec 2, '08
Mr. Sizemore's attorney is Greg Byrne. Mr. Byrne is one of a gaggle of people who thinks Sizemore is right, supports him all the way
I should hope so. Certainly, if I was ever in trouble, I'd hope that my lawyer would support me all the way.
Dec 2, '08
Don't you love those ratty-looking mugshots? Didja see Ryan O'Neal's a couple of months ago?
Bob Tiernan
Dec 2, '08
thanks Bob for helping me put a finger on that picture...
If it looks like a rat, smells like a rat, and acts like a rat...
Must be Bill Sizemore.
Dec 2, '08
Watch out for karma. It hit Sizemore and it may it us too if we gloat too much. Recall our former child screwing governor Neil Goldschmidt.
Dec 2, '08
This should disqualify his latest attemots at more initiatives automatically.
Arrested + Put in jail = Convicted Felon in my book. Convicted felons lose some rights and the initiative process should be one of those rigghts he can never do again.
This and his failed initiatives last November should give him a clue and tach min a very valuable message.
Dec 2, '08
to be a convicted felon, you must have been convicted of a felony. bill is in jail for civil-not criminal-contempt.
loren parks is already in u.s. tax court for misuse of his foundation. at most he and wentz would be subject to additional tax liability but there is nothing to suggest they might have criminal liability.
Dec 2, '08
Hi Kari.
Can you give me a call and we can discuss a fee for your usage of my photo?
Cell is 503 502 2106.
Matt
Dec 2, '08
KXL is refusing to report Bill Sizemore, ONE OF THEIR OWN RADIO HOSTS, has been arrested as a felon and is under suicide watch at county jail.
The truth hurts so much, they ignore it. On the air, on the web. Even though it is a front-page story.
Oh, yes, hi Steve!
And hi to Yoko from the family!
9:06 a.m.
Dec 2, '08
Matt -- I've pulled the photo for now. I'll call when I'm out of my meetings today.
Dear readers, to see Matt's "perp walk" photos, head on over to the Portland Mercury.
Dec 2, '08
Isn't this civil contempt - unrelated to the criminal code? Irregardless, Mr. Sizemore finds himself in good company - alongside child support evaders, etc.
Have yourself a merry little Christmas, Bill. Maybe Lars and Loren will stop by with a little something for your inmate savings account.
Dec 2, '08
Thanks for posting my SSP recap Kari! Btw, I posted my own update on the story at DKOS at: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/12/2/12289/1089/692/668496
Dec 2, '08
Sid do tell you from KXL is in jail? I feel like I'm watching TMZ TV, all of these celebrities doing the perp walk, live if grand!
Dec 2, '08
So he's going to end up a felon either way. Everyone that denied that basic premise for the last week to say, "it's not illegal to", "you don't get it", etc., can line up to kiss my sweet patootie!
I don't care what the political ilk. Anyone that believes that the ends justify the means should be hung by the balls and ritually flogged. Have you noticed the way he hides the goatee? Not even proud to be a jerk!
Dec 2, '08
Heya Bill!
Love your new neck tattoo!
That'll make you feel right at home... in jail.
10:17 a.m.
Dec 2, '08
KXL is refusing to report Bill Sizemore, ONE OF THEIR OWN RADIO HOSTS, has been arrested as a felon and is under suicide watch at county jail.
I just checked the KXL website. They have in fact reported on Sizemore's arrest and jailing. You can download it from this morning's podcast here.
Dec 2, '08
Now we all have Matt Davis' phone number!
Dec 2, '08
Good news: Bill gets out of jail when the federal tax returns are filed.
Bad news: (my suspicion) Whoever signs the tax returns is likely to be committing a federal felony.
Solution: (conversation beneath Burnside Bridge at this moment) Sir, I can offer you a full bottle of Thunderbird and twenty, yes twenty, dollars, to become the "Chief Operating Officer" of American Tax Research Foundation. Congratulations on your new appointment. All you need to do is sign right here on this tax return.
Dec 2, '08
Sizemore is not a radio host at KXL nor is he a felon (although he could become the latter if he doesn't play his cards right).
Dec 2, '08
20-1, Junior pardons him...
Dec 2, '08
Sizemore has filled-in at KXL many many times over the years. And KXL updated their website a few minutes ago. Bravo!
Not sure why KXL kills me. They used to be so great! Gallagher. Bickel. Real news.
Now, just self-hating Jews, like Savage, and his odd Hitler Youth fetish, and Billo the Bully, who is despised by billions, including his very own boss, Rupert Murdoch.
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Author_Murdoch_absolutely_despises_bullying_Bill_1128.html
Pull the plug. It is over.
Dec 2, '08
It amazes me that people can be so delusional. Not just Bill, but the wealthy who support him. If he has to manufacture signatures, it's not going to succeed. These people do not belong in a democracy. I guess being subject to the government of a jail is more fitting. It's more like what they wanted, "so long as they were the dictators." Guess that part didn't wuite work out for them.
Dec 2, '08
I just hope Bill gets used to being in jail, when they get him on this tax fraud he can do his petitioning in prison all he wants where he can't hurt anyone.
He can petition to have his cell cleaned and for his cell mates to get drug & alcohol treatment to the wardens.
I just don't see how this man gets any credibility anymore he is a hypocrite and liar.
I for one won't miss him from the political process because you can't hear when everyone is yelling he certainly was yelling over a large majority of Oregon.
Dec 2, '08
Response to: Posted by: Law-n-Order D | Dec 2, 2008 6:28:17 AM
It is true that hubris is followed by nemesis.
But do you really think anyone would have been wearing For Oregon: Neil buttons if they knew his sordid past? Wouldn't Norma have been elected Gov. had that been known in the general election?
Surely if it has been known to his primary opponent (anyone but me remember who that was?) it would have come out then---many voted for Neil to get back at his primary opponent, not because they knew Neil all that well.
It would be wonderful if something could end the careers of the other obnoxious ballot measure types like McIntire---a star was born in 2000 when a small college town mayor debated McIntire and gave him "the perfect squelch". The story passed like wildfire from those in the audience to their friends and then to their friends, and so on. I eventually heard it from 2 people, first a co-worker, and then a legislative staffer.
This Sizemore story makes me remember all my friends when I was working in retail, esp. as a product demonstrator. Buffalo Bill Seizemore may have seen this as his own personal war against unions. However, add up every union member AND every anti-taxer (personal friend of Sizemore, McIntire, et al or just supporter of their ballot measures) and I doubt you'd get 50% of the Oregon voting population.
What about that other half--the kind who felt an avalanche of ballot measures descending on them? Think of the enablers in the press (1990s local newscaster, "Sizemore, who WILL have a measure on the ballot this fall" months before anything was certified for the ballot) and others who just told us we had to get used to this crowd because they controlled our political process and elected officials were secondary. There were individuals in that other half who were very angry, but what could those people do as individuals?
One thing they could do was cheer the court decisions which went against the initiative industry: "property rights" where big box stores like Costco got the right to ban petitioners from the front of their stores if customers complained "single subject rule" where Mannix's measure was split up into several pieces.
All the advertising on that second one was either "vote for all of them" or "reject all of them". But I knew, just listening to conversations while I was working in a retail enviornment, that chances were good for a split decision. And that is what happened--the ol' 6 of one, half a dozen of the other response.
There are many people who work hard, play by the rules, and think everyone else should as well. There were people who responded to the avalanche of measures in 2000 by "going on strike"----discussing among themselves a few measures that they or a friend was seriously involved in one way or another, and just ignoring the rest, refusing to even read about them in the Voters Pamphlet.
No one can force every voter to read every ballot title--regardless of what some consultants believe "people do".
Dec 2, '08
Does anybody have a link to the actual court ruling? I'd like to read the details. Thanks.
Dec 2, '08
backbeat,
Sure, skywaker9 does, in his diary at DailyKos.Scroll down to "Key Links". -Jay-
Dec 2, '08
Sizemore has filled-in at KXL many many times over the years.
Maybe in the 90's.
Dec 2, '08
Bill's outta jail.
http://www.kptv.com/news/18181017/detail.html
Hang on to your wallets.
And shredders.
3:14 p.m.
Dec 2, '08
backbeat,
Becky Miller, a former Sizemore aid turned state's witness against him, just put up a post at PK delving extensively into the Judge's contempt ruling. She includes a link to the ruling in it's entirety, but her commentary is well worth the read too since she knows Sizemore personally.
For the backstory on Becky, check out a guest column she wrote which was published right here at Blue Oregon almost 4 years ago: From Winger to Thinker: My Political Transformation
Dec 2, '08
KGW 8 showed Bill's release from jail as their top story at 7:00 PM. Among many other statements, Bill seemed to think that he was forced to sign those tax forms under duress in order to be released. In other words: I had to sign the forms or I wouldn't get out of jail so I signed the forms to get out of jail but I can't be held responsible for signing those forms because I wouldn't have signed them unless I could get out of jail therefore my signature on those forms doesn't mean anything.
Talk about denial! I'm told that jail is full of people who don't think they did anything wrong.
KGW also showed a pre Nov 4 election interview where Sizemore claimed that he didn't have anything against the "unions" until "they" came after him and his family.
Bill's decent into hell is picking up speed. I'm beginning to feel sorry for the bastard..... NOT!
Dec 2, '08
jaybat and Kevin, thanks very much!
Dec 3, '08
Posted by: j_luthergoober | Dec 2, 2008 11:17:43 AM
20-1, Junior pardons him...
The horror, the horror...
How 'bout the Congress get a backbone and pass some emergency legislation suspending the President's ability to issue pardons based on a demonstrated pattern of malfeasance?
Dec 3, '08
Memory does not always prove to be accurate but somehow I recall on this site a quote from an Oregon Supreme Court ruling that described Bill Sizemore. That quote used the term racketeering to describe his activities. Now, how is he going to claim that he has been slandered by the action taken forcing his arrest? Mr. Sizeless has gotten so tiny.
Dec 3, '08
Y'all see Cindy Sizemore say that Portland is "communist"?
If Portland was communist, honey, you'd be working at the MILL, not on your tan at the MALL.
Get a job! Your family will need it. Soon.
Dec 4, '08
How 'bout the Congress get a backbone and pass some emergency legislation suspending the President's ability to issue pardons based on a demonstrated pattern of malfeasance?
Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution gives the president "Power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment." A reprieve reduces the severity of a punishment without removing the guilt of the person reprieved. A pardon removes both punishment and guilt. As judicially interpreted, the president's power to grant reprieves and pardons is absolute. Individual reprieves and pardons cannot be blocked by Congress or the courts.
"Congress getting a backbone" has nothing to do with it except for silly pontificating. And of course the business of pardons is irrelevant to Sizemore except as an intentional distraction.
Dec 4, '08
Some things just make you smile. Bill Sizemore's mug shot is one of those things.
I think I will post copies of it in my car, on my front door and certainly in my office.
The economy is awful, my retirement fund has put me on the 10 more years plan. I still have M.S. which sucks. My son is still on strike at Oak Harbor with no end in site and that really sucks.
But, Bill Sizemore went to jail and I have copies of his mug shot - that makes me smile.
And I am hoping to get a picture of him in an orange jumpsuit too. Now that would just make me laugh out loud.
My grandmother told me is was not good to relish others misfortune. It will come back on you she would say.
I hope not - because with all that is bad right now this makes me smile and thoughts of orange attire does make me laugh a little.
Mary B