In the comics, Bizarro is a supervillain who is the opposite of Superman. In the comical mind of Gubernatorial Candidate Tom Corbett, Bizarro BIG is the opposite of BIG.
BIG is, of course, the Beaver Initiative for Growth, a nonprofit that received taxpayer dollars to fund economic development projects in Beaver County.
Bizarro BIG is the Blairsville Improvement Group, a nonprofit that received taxpayer dollars to fund economic development projects in Blairsville, Indiana County.
They sound awfully similar, even though Bizarro BIG was much smaller in scale than BIG. So, what makes the Indiana County BIG Bizarro? Simple: BIG's patrons in the General Assembly, Rep. Mike Veon and Sen. Gerald LaValle, are Democrats, and Bizarro BIG's patrons, Sen. Don White and Rep. Dave Reed, are Republicans. In fact, Republican Reed is the former Executive Director of Bizarro BIG. Therefore, BIG's activities are criminally suspect, while Bizarro BIG's are hunky-dory.
Obviously, no one bothered to explain to Blairsville's police chief and the new president of the board of Bizarro BIG's directors that Republican-sponsored nonprofits that receive state funds are allowed to do whatever they want without scrutiny.
CasablancaPA has already provided a long list of examples: Rep. Nick Micozzi and the Clifton Heights Economic Corp., former Rep. Gene McGill and the Historic Property Preservation Institute, Rep. John Perzel and the Mayfair Community Development Corporation and the 8001 Torresdale Corporation, and former U.S. Sen. (and please, oh, please, the 2012 Republican nominee for President) Rick Santorum and Operation Good Neighbor.
If only she'd heeded the Rules According to Corbett, Bizarro BIG board president Margaret Kinter would have known how silly and unreasonable she was being when she requested Bizarro BIG's financial documents and asked that Bizarro BIG be audited.
Why, that's as outrageous as expecting Corbett to investigate the largest legislative bonus in the entire General Assembly that was awarded to the Senate Republicans' most prolific campaign operative!
The only financial information anyone needs to know about Bizarro BIG is that Sen. White contributed $8,500 to Corbett's campaign.
Excellent analysis that links Blairsville BIG to bigger picture including Beaver BIG. If they all did it, as Mike Veon alleges, and if it is illegal, as the AG alleges, then they should all be held criminally accountable. The AG's politicizing this prosecution is very, very seriously undermining the Rule of Law.
ReplyDeleteThanks for following this investigation and for insightful commentary.
So Bizarro BIG must have actually dispersed the money to the community, unlike Veon's BIG, which took in millions and kept it.
ReplyDeleteObviously, it's unclear what Bizarro BIG did with its money. For sure, certain members are willing to go to extreme lengths to prevent anyone finding out!
ReplyDeleteSomeone should check on another Non-Profit set up in Mount Airy by Dwight Evans.
ReplyDeleteFumo's folly is catching everyone today.
Dwight Evans is one of the honorable men in the legislature and trust me; he would not be part of any scheme or cover up.
ReplyDeleteThis means when Manzo, Foreman, and Lavelle are sentenced, they will be given weeks, months, and years in freedom, since they pleaded "Guilty".
ReplyDeleteAt the same time, it means those that pleaded "Not Guilty", will be given Prison time even if found innocent.
There will not be a Jury of Peers, but a Jury of Pears!
Such is life in the Bizzaro World of Bug Eyes and Meatballs, from Missouri.
In the Bizzaro World or any world, Corbett would be the Defendant and the Defendents would be the jury.
ReplyDeleteAnd all would be found Not Guilty, and sooner not later.