Read Online An Almost Perfect Murder by Gary C. King - Free Book Online
Authors: Gary C. King
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don’t expect anybody to embrace Kathy Augustine and say, ‘Hey, Kathy, what you did here was good,’” Gentile said to reporters at one of several news conferences. “But they should say, ‘Hey, Kathy, the fact that you admitted you should have known about this is good.’ This is not the stuff you remove people from office for. It’s what we fine them for. If they approach it with an open mind, Kathy Augustine wins.”
Chapter 5
As Kathy Augustine’s impeachment trial drew nearer, the political mudslinging intensified in Carson City and throughout Nevada. A columnist for the Las Vegas Review-Journal had earlier written, when news of the allegations against Kathy had come to the forefront, that State Controller Kathy Augustine is finally going to get hers. The columnist Jane Ann Morrison indicated that the two female politicians that Kathy had unseated in two separate elections, using unscrupulous campaign tactics against them, had waited for more than ten years to see Kathy Augustine finally get what was coming to her. Some called it Karma.
“It’s hard to wish anyone badly, once you yourself have moved on,” said Lori Lipman Brown. “But anytime anyone has done something wrong, you hope justice is done.”
Brown admitted that she was gloating over Kathy’s legal problems, but not much, except with her husband. Based on those types of comments, it was clear that Kathy had few friends, at least politically, in Nevada.
By the middle of November 2004, although she had already apologized to the people of Nevada for her legal problems, she appeared in an exclusive interview with investigative reporter George Knapp on Las Vegas’s CBS News affiliate channel 8. She apologized once again for the mistakes that she had made that led to her impeachment. Knapp’s interview with Kathy Augustine was the first television interview that she had granted since her ethics problems began, and it had been granted with the understanding that she would not be asked any direct questions about the impeachment case.
“It’s very upsetting as an elected official and a constitutional officer that this would have occurred,” she told Knapp. “Yes, it’s embarrassing as well.”
She was adamant, however, that her mistakes did not justify her being removed from office. She explained how she had admitted that she should have known that more time was being spent on her campaign work than there should have been.
“That’s what I admitted to,” she said. “But I don’t believe that’s cause for removal from office. I believe, again, that I will receive a fair trial and will not be convicted in the senate.”
As Knapp explained that a number of people had described her as a tough boss and had used the “B” word to describe her character and personality, Kathy explained that in her position it was tough to have many friends, particularly in the workplace. She conceded that she was not well-liked, particularly in Carson City, in part because of the manner in which she ran her office.
“After all, I’m the watchdog for the state’s finances and it’s my duty,” she said. “I won’t have a lot of friends when I’m watching how the taxpayer dollars are spent.... I’m very independent and I make decisions based on what I believe is best, not only for my office but for the people of the state of Nevada, especially concerning taxpayer dollars. It’s another reason this is upsetting to me. I hate that we’re spending taxpayer dollars on these proceedings. But I know with due process that you have to go through it.”
She explained how she had accepted full responsibility for what had occurred, and that she was paying the $15,000 fine, which had been levied against her, in monthly payments.
“That was a huge fine,” she said. “I’m paying it back personally, writing personal checks to the ethics commission. The first of every month, I send them five hundred dollars. That’s in the stipulation. It’s quite a
Chapter 5
As Kathy Augustine’s impeachment trial drew nearer, the political mudslinging intensified in Carson City and throughout Nevada. A columnist for the Las Vegas Review-Journal had earlier written, when news of the allegations against Kathy had come to the forefront, that State Controller Kathy Augustine is finally going to get hers. The columnist Jane Ann Morrison indicated that the two female politicians that Kathy had unseated in two separate elections, using unscrupulous campaign tactics against them, had waited for more than ten years to see Kathy Augustine finally get what was coming to her. Some called it Karma.
“It’s hard to wish anyone badly, once you yourself have moved on,” said Lori Lipman Brown. “But anytime anyone has done something wrong, you hope justice is done.”
Brown admitted that she was gloating over Kathy’s legal problems, but not much, except with her husband. Based on those types of comments, it was clear that Kathy had few friends, at least politically, in Nevada.
By the middle of November 2004, although she had already apologized to the people of Nevada for her legal problems, she appeared in an exclusive interview with investigative reporter George Knapp on Las Vegas’s CBS News affiliate channel 8. She apologized once again for the mistakes that she had made that led to her impeachment. Knapp’s interview with Kathy Augustine was the first television interview that she had granted since her ethics problems began, and it had been granted with the understanding that she would not be asked any direct questions about the impeachment case.
“It’s very upsetting as an elected official and a constitutional officer that this would have occurred,” she told Knapp. “Yes, it’s embarrassing as well.”
She was adamant, however, that her mistakes did not justify her being removed from office. She explained how she had admitted that she should have known that more time was being spent on her campaign work than there should have been.
“That’s what I admitted to,” she said. “But I don’t believe that’s cause for removal from office. I believe, again, that I will receive a fair trial and will not be convicted in the senate.”
As Knapp explained that a number of people had described her as a tough boss and had used the “B” word to describe her character and personality, Kathy explained that in her position it was tough to have many friends, particularly in the workplace. She conceded that she was not well-liked, particularly in Carson City, in part because of the manner in which she ran her office.
“After all, I’m the watchdog for the state’s finances and it’s my duty,” she said. “I won’t have a lot of friends when I’m watching how the taxpayer dollars are spent.... I’m very independent and I make decisions based on what I believe is best, not only for my office but for the people of the state of Nevada, especially concerning taxpayer dollars. It’s another reason this is upsetting to me. I hate that we’re spending taxpayer dollars on these proceedings. But I know with due process that you have to go through it.”
She explained how she had accepted full responsibility for what had occurred, and that she was paying the $15,000 fine, which had been levied against her, in monthly payments.
“That was a huge fine,” she said. “I’m paying it back personally, writing personal checks to the ethics commission. The first of every month, I send them five hundred dollars. That’s in the stipulation. It’s quite a
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