Like a lot of people, I'm frustrated by the lack of information about the John Doe investigation. I believe that voters in Wisconsin should know whether Gov. Scott Walker is the target of the investigation, who's paying his six-figure legal fees, and what, exactly, prosecutors suspect Walker of doing. Otherwise, voters will be making a very important decision based on incomplete information. And if Walker survives the June 5 recall, he can't be recalled again during this term. It's now or never, Wisconsin.
That said, I keep going back to the alleged bid-rigging in 2005 and 2010 that investigators are—allegedly—looking into.
It was first reported in a hell of a confusing Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article, for starters. It's a complicated situation involving deals in 2005 and 2010 and an even more complicated article.
Let's unpack the 2005 deal.
When the JS article appeared, Boerke Co. real estate agent Andrew Jensen had been fussing about not wanting to be granted immunity from prosecution because that information would become public. So when I read the article back in January, I was focused on his role in the alleged scheme and tried to figure out how he was connected to Walker.
When I re-read the January article recently, what popped out was how many Walker campaign staffers were involved in this alleged scheme:
Walker campaign adviser Hiller lobbied on the 2005 deal, according to Dennik, who said at the time he viewed Hiller as speaking for Boerke.
Hiller, one of Walker's closest confidantes, served as treasurer of Walker's county and gubernatorial campaigns, a position he left in May 2011. He also led Walker's transition team after his 2010 election. He was familiar with Dennik, who had served as director of Walker's 2002 campaign for county executive.
Hiller, himself a real estate broker and developer, said he "probably" pointed the Reuss owners to the county opportunity, and discussed the situation with Dennik. Hiller told the newspaper in 2005 he was hired by the Reuss owners to develop strategies to fill empty offices there.
Hiller at the time downplayed his own role, but said he advised Boerke Co. on which county supervisors to approach to prompt a rebidding of the deal. Hiller said he called Rice, another of Walker's close allies, to urge him to talk to Boerke Co. about doing a "best and final offer" round.
Records show Jensen wrote a letter to key supervisors, including Rice, who later made the motion to reopen the bidding, citing potential savings.
Meanwhile, the Markesan Group—a lobbying firm set up by former Walker chief of staff Jim Villa—lobbied on the 2005 deal, according to Dennik. It couldn't be determined if Villa personally lobbied for it.
Villa left the firm in December 2003 to do Walker campaign work, but in August 2005—in the midst of the Aging Department bid process—returned to the county executive's office.
Hiller said he did not talk to Villa about the process at that point; Villa felt that ethically he should stay out of it, Hiller said. Villa declined to comment for this story.
The Markesan Group was the main consultant behind Walker's 2004 county re-election effort and helped him launch his 2006 gubernatorial bid. Records show it was paid $126,000 in 2005 by Walker's campaign fund. Hiller said he used to work for Markesan Group, but not in this case.
Moira Fitzgerald was the lobbyist officially registered for the Reuss owners on the issue. She also made contacts with county supervisors. She declined to comment. Dennik did not respond to interview requests this month.
Let me make this clear: Scott Walker's campaign treasurer John Hiller was “lobbying” on the deal, whether he was registered or not. Hiller was getting paid by a company that wanted to win the contract.
The JS kind of softens this by calling John Hiller a Walker “advisor” and “one of his closest confidantes.”
But Hiller was Walker's treasurer for 18 years, up until he resigned last May when the John Doe was underway. Let me repeat: he was Walker's campaign treasurer at the time of the 2005 deal and 2010 deal.
(The Democratic Party of Wisconsin has helpfully provided a round-up of the lowlights of Hiller's career as Walker's campaign treasurer.)
According to a more recent Dan Bice article in the JS, some 2010 Walker-Hiller emails are seen as a "bombshell" that could crack the case. The JS downplayed the Walker-Hiller emails' importance in an article titled "Significance of Email Exchanges Won't Be Revealed for a While."
What other Walker ally was involved in the bidding?
Why, Jim Villa, who was Walker's chief of staff at the time of the 2005 deal. He was also the owner of the Markesan Group, a lobbying firm, from 2004-2005, according to Villa's LinkedIn profile. Did Villa own Markesan at the time of the deal? He told the Journal Sentinel that he wasn't involved in lobbying for this deal, since he was working for Walker at the county at the time it was going down.
Jim Villa, prosecutors wrote in Kelly Rindfleisch's criminal complaint, “rented a room to Kelly Rindfleisch in West Allis, Wisconsin, between March 2010 and the election in November 2010.”
Villa supported Brett Davis for lieutenant governor—the candidate who employed Rindfleisch while she was renting a room from Villa and working at the county for Scott Walker. According to a news report today, Villa's house was raided in connection with the John Doe. That doesn't surprise me, since Villa was Rindfleisch's friend and landlord when she worked for the county and Brett Davis and allegedly committed her felonies.
So here's the question: Why the hell were Walker's campaign treasurer (Hiller) and the lobbying group "set up" by Walker's chief of staff (Villa) involved in some way in 2005 to push for a highly unusual rebidding of a contract? Why was Walker emailing his campaign treasurer/broker about the deal in 2010?
Does that sound even remotely ethical to you?
And what did Walker know?
