skippy the bush kangaroo: mitt out authority

Friday, July 20, 2007

mitt out authority

readers of this space will recall that mitt romney's director of operations was under investigation for impersonating an officer of the law, allegedly in order to harass reporters, among other things.

now, according to bosherald, jay garrity, the man in question, was only the tip of the impersonating-an-officer iceberg:

in an apparent violation of the law, a controversial aide to ex-gov. mitt romney created phony law enforcement badges that he and other staffers used on the campaign trail to strong-arm reporters, avoid paying tolls and trick security guards into giving them immediate access to campaign venues, sources told the herald.

the bogus badges were part of the bizarre security tactics allegedly employed by jay garrity, the director of operations for romney who is under investigation for impersonating a law enforcement officer in two states. garrity is on a leave of absence from the campaign while the probe is ongoing.

a campaign source said garrity directed underlings on romney’s presidential staff to use the badges at events nationwide to create an image of security and to ensure that the governor’s events went smoothly.

“they (the aides) knew the badges were fake and probably illegal,” said a presidential campaign source who asked for anonymity because the story could damage the individual’s career. “but they went along with it because jay (garrity) pushed it on them.”

a spokesman for romney issued an e-mailed statement. “no one on the mitt romney for president campaign is authorized to use a badge, nor has the campaign provided anyone with a badge,” the statement reads. “jay garrity is not working on the campaign because he continues to be on a leave of absence.”

let's hope the leave of absense includes a stint at rikers.

Labels: corruption, romney