Feds accuse gay Iowa lawmaker of extortion

[Ian David]

Source: Gay.com

Iowa's highest-ranking openly gay elected official has been indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice for extortion, facing fines up to $250,000 and 20 years in prison.

State Sen. Matt McCoy, 41, allegedly attempted to obtain $100 for each installation of a home security system from an ADT dealership in Des Moines, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The motion-sensor system, called QuietCare, is placed in senior citizens' homes to keep track of their safety. The indictment alleges that McCoy collected about $2,000 from the company between Dec. 29, 2005, and March 24, 2006.

McCoy, who was outed on the Senate floor in 2003 by ultraconservative Republican Sen. Ken Veenstra, was first elected to the state House in 1992. Veenstra lost his bid for reelection in 2004 after outing his colleague, as did several other antigay Iowa officials.

Read more: http://www.gay.com/news/article.html?2007/08/16/1

[graegoyle]

1. In light of Alberto Gonzales's problems, read the entire article. n/t

[evilkumquat]

2. Can We Really Believe ANYTHING the "Feds" Say Now?

Seriously?

After all the crap during the last six years, unless it is a Republican, I do not believe a WORD of any indictments against anyone else Bush or his flunkies bring, up to and including everyone at Gitmo.

This Administration has ZERO credibility. PERIOD.

Evil Kumquat

[keopeli]

3. This smells. That's such a peculiar accusation. Is this a Gonzo charge? Repubics lie and hate.n/t

[yardwork]

4. This looks like a trumped-up case

The FBI had a guy McCoy met at AA wear a wire and then they built this case.

The FBI brought evidence of extortion to Whitaker through 12 hours of recorded discussions. McCoy said that after he and his legal counsel reviewed the tapes, it's nearly impossible to extract any evidence of extortion.

"What they've done is taken these tapes and parsed them together, to somehow speculate that this whole attempted extortion revolved around this conversation," he said.

[Ian David]

5. Ding ding! Bingo! We have a winner! n/t

[gratuitous]

6. Whoa, two thousand dollars!

I can see why the federal Department of Justice brought this case. And I'm sure his being a gay Democrat had nothing whatsoever to do with bringing this case, so stop saying that.