ARKANSAS ETHICS COMMISSION FINDS PROBABLE CAUSE THAT FORT SMITH DISTRICT JUDGE JIM O'HERN AND HIS CAMPAIGN TREASURER WILLIAM WARREN VIOLATED ARKANSAS LAWS BY ACCEPTING ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS

WORD IS O'HERN AND HIS METH USING PROSTITUTE GIRLFRIEND ARE NO LONGER LIVING TOGETHER. O'HERN WAS THE ONLY SITTING JUDGE LIVING WITH A FELON ON PROBATION IN THE STATE.

On Friday, April 20th, the Arkansas Ethics Commission found probable cause that Fort Smith District Judge Jim O'Hern and his campaign treasurer William "Bill" Warren accepted illegal campaign contributions from the Fiori Family Trust administered by Sam & Susan Fiori and from Sagely Properties LTD.

Changes in Arkansas campaign fiance laws made it illegal for trusts and businesses to contribute funds to campaigns of judicial candidates.

The Fiori's using their family trust made illegal contributions to O'Hern campaign. They also made separate individual contributions as to his campaign as well which were not in violation of Arkansas laws.

 

SAM & SUSAN FIORI

The change in Arkansas law required donations to be made by a "person" and a trust and a business do not fall under the definition of a person under the law.

The Commission found probable cause that O'Hern and his campaign treasurer Bill Warren violated A.C.A. § 7-6-203 by accepting the donations from the Fiori Family Trust and Sagley Properties LTD.

The Commission will send (and probably already has) an Offer of Settlement to both O'Hern and Warren. If they refuse to sing the Offer of Settlement (basically an admission that they violated  A.C.A. § 7-6-203) they might be fined and cautioned not to commit such a criminal offense again. If they refuse, they can request a final hearing or the Commission will set a final hearing if the letters are not returned within 10 days or the scofflaws do nothing.

The Commission can also refer the matter to other law enforcement agencies, but the Arkansas Judicial Disciplinary & Disability Commission has an on-goin investigation of O'Hern at the present time.

A finding that O'Hern violated the law could result in O'Hern's removal from the bench which complied with the scandal with him and his now felon prostitute, meth using girlfriend or ex-girlfriend.

Commission attorney Jill Barham told Commissioners that the complaint against Warren was a first for the Commission as usually complaints are made against a candidate, but that the statute states that "It shall be unlawful for any candidate for any public office or for any person acting on the candidate's behalf..."which would include Warren.

The Commission took pity on the Fiori's and thought that the change in the law "messed them up" and dismissed the complaints against them.

The letters sent to the Fiori's can be viewed by clicking here. 

Stay tuned for updates.

JUDICIAL CANDIDATE LATONYA AUSTIN LAIRD ARRESTED FOR DRIVING WITH AN EXPIRED LICENSE - SHE STILL OWES THOUSANDS IN UNPAID STATE INCOME TAXES TOO

LATONYA HAS A HISTORY OF BEING ARRESTED - THIS TIME IT'S FOR TRAFFIC RELATED OFFENSES

We posted about Latonya on our Bad Attorney's in Arkansas blog a while back - you can see that post by clicking here.

We pointed out that she has some issues that make her the worst possible candidate to hold any public office, especially that of a judge.

Well, Latonya is back in the news. This time she was arrested for driving with an expired drivers license. Corporal Joy Bean with the Arkansas State Highway Police, stopped Latonya on April 11th, for speeding and following too close to another vehicle.

CORPORAL JOY BEAN -ASHP

Corporal Bean discovered that Latonya's driver's license had expired the previous month.

Take note of the details in all caps in the docket entry. Latonya let Officer Bean know she was running for a judgeship and was an attorney. Was Latonya trying to impress or intimidate Corporal Bean? 

If Latonya was in her own vehicle, she didn't need to state she was a candidate as she has a huge magnetic sign on both the driver and passenger doors of her car.

Apparently Austin ignored the notice from the Department of Finance and Administration about needing to renew her driver's license (sent out a mother or so before it expires) just as she did the ones about paying those pesky state income taxes.

Stay tuned for developments.

FORT SMITH DISTRICT JUDGE JIM O'HERN FACING HEARING ON ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION BY FAST FOOD FRANCHISE KING

JUDGE JIM O'HERN, BILL WARREN JR., SAM & SUSAN FIORI ARE FACING ETHICS VIOLATIONS

The Arkansas Ethics Commission that for some unknown reason cancelled the probable cause hearing last month has reset it for April 20th at 9:00 a.m. 

The complaint centers on illegal campaign contributions made to O'Hern by Sam and Susan Fioir of Fort Smith and received by O'Herns campaign treasurer, William C. Warren. Jr.

Judge Jim O'Hern, et al Arkansas Ethics Complaint Probile Cause Hearing Notice by Russ Racop on Scribd

One of our previous posts about O'Hern and the ethics complaint: http://badgovernmentinarkansas.blogspot.com/2017/11/more-problems-for-sebastian-county.html

O'Hern is also the subject of an on-going investigation by the Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission for his and his prostitute girlfriend's arrest for having meth in their hotel room in December 2016.

Stay tuned for details.

 

PSYCHO PSYCHOLOGIST EXTRADITED BACK TO ARKANSAS - BEING HELD IN PULASKI COUNTY JAIL WITHOUT BOUND HER FORMER PATIENT BACK IN STATE HOSPITAL

You can read the post our our sister blog, Bad Arkansas Department of Human Services.

https://badarkdhs.blogspot.com/2018/04/psycho-psychologist-extradited-back-to.html

FORMER GATEWAY POLICE CHIEF CURRENTLY IN PRISON FOR MURDER IS CHARGED IN A 1997 RAPE OF A ROGERS SCHOOL TEACHER

ADC CONVICT GRANT MATTHEW HARDIN - FORMER POLICE CHIEF OF GATEWAY, AR

Grant Matthew Hardin, 49, the former Gateway, AR police chief pleaded not guilty yesterday to the 1997 rape of a Rogers school teacher.

Hardin is charged with three counts of rape, sexual abuse and kidnapping. He entered the plea during his arraignment before Benton County Circuit Court Judge Robin Green.

BENTON COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT JUDGE ROBIN GREEN

Rogers police obtained a warrant in 2003 for a "John Doe" suspect in the case. A John Doe warrant is an arrest warrant for an individual whose name isn't known. The statute of limitations for rape in Arkansas is six years, and the warrant was filed before time expired.

Hardin's arrest came after DNA linked him to the case that's more than two decades old. The state obtained Hardin's DNA after he pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in October 2017 and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Hardin admitted last October to shooting and killing James Appleton, 59, while he sat in his pickup on Feb. 23, 2017.

The sample of Hardin's DNA matched DNA from the rape case, according to Rogers Police Chief Hayes Minor.

ROGERS POLICE CHIEF HAYES MINOR

The rape occurred on Sunday, November 9, 1997 after the teacher left her classroom to use the restroom, according to an earlier news release.

The teacher "routinely went to her classroom on Sunday mornings to prepare lesson plans and tidy up her classroom for the upcoming week," the release states.

On that Sunday, some 250 people who normally would not have been at the school were attending a church service in the cafeteria.

About 11:30 a.m., the teacher decided to use the restroom in the teacher's lounge. When she exited the restroom a man wearing a knit stocking cap, sunglasses and was shoe-less wearing only white tube socks, brandished a pistol raped her and fled, according to the news release.

Rogers police obtained a warrant in 2003 for a "John Doe" suspect in the case. The statute of limitations for rape in Arkansas is six years, and the warrant was filed before time expired.

The 1997 case was frequently publicized in hopes of getting new information that would lead to an arrest.

In 2016 then Minor, a captain with RPD at the time,  stated "It's safe to say that the suspect had some very perverse sexual habits that he liked that would be considered painful to most people...to the point where he instructed the victim to try and hurt him."

At the time of the rape, the victim was married to a Roger Police Officer. 

She is now living in Oklahoma and was featured in a television news report after Hardin was arrested and charged in connection with the 1997 rape.

Hardin was being held in the Benton County Jail. The judge granted a request from Benton County Chief Public Defender Jay Saxton, Hardin's attorney, to allow Hardin to be transported back to the Arkansas Department of Correction.

Hardin was the Gateway police chief from January 2016 to May 2016.

Stay tuned for updates.

 

FORT SMITH POLICE DEPARTMENT SPECIAL OLYMPICS TORCH RUN SNAFU BLAMED ON "MISUNDERSTANDING" AFTER HUNDREDS OF CALLS ARE MADE TO CITY OFFICIALS

FT. SMITH CITY ADMINISTRATOR CARL GEFFKEN & POLICE CHIEF NATE CLARK GOT AN EARFUL FROM ANGRY CALLERS

On Saturday we shared a link to a story by our content sharing partner in NWA, Today in Fort Smith, that revealed that Fort Smith Police Officers were told that participation in the Special Olympics Torch Run was coming to an end for them. 

Click on the photo below to read the post by Today in Fort Smith.

In our post, we listed phone numbers for Geffken and Clark and suggested that folks call them about their dissing Special Olympics.

Apparently that happened.

Before 11:00 a.m. today, a press release was issued that claimed a "misunderstanding between members of the command staff" was to blame and 
FSPD would be involved in the Special Olyumpics Torch Run after all.











































At last count there have been over 11,000 hits on our post. Calls, emails and letters have been pouring in from readers in Fort Smith about that post as well as the one about the porn viewing city employee.

A common thread in the communications is problems that exist with Fort Smith city leadership (does that sound familiar to readers of our Bad City of Little Rock blog?).

From the information that has been flooding into us and what we have seen reported by Today in Fort Smith,  they need to clean house up there like we do down the river in Little Rock.

 #TimeForChange

DID ARKANSAS STATE HOSPITAL PATIENT/INMATE CORY CHAPIN USE HIS "POWERS" TO SEDUCE PSYCH EXAMINER MICHELLE MESSER?

DID CHAPIN PUT MESSER UNDER A SEDUCTION SPELL?

Runaway DHS/Arkansas State Hospital Patient/Inmate Cory Chapin and now former DHS/ASH employee Michelle Messer are in the process of being extradited back to Arkansas to face various misdemeanor and felony charges regarding contraband (cellphone and vaping device) Messer provided to Chapin and his escape.

That process could a take a week or more. 

It will be interesting to hear what Messer has to say about this ordeal.  

Will she claim that she was seduced by Chapin (it has been reported by other news sources that she is a lesbian and was living with another female).

While Crazy Cory Chapin was on the run from the Arkansas State Hospital in 2017 and could not be located, he posted a shitload of content on the internet. 

Chapin made hour long live-streams on Facebook, constructed a website, started a GoFundMe page and posted videos on a YouTube channel.

 

A lot of his ramblings mention that he has special abilities and knowledge.

Chapin has a video posted on his YouTube channel titled "How to be a fuckin G... Seduce Anyone, Fuck bad bitchez".

Maybe Messer will claim that Chapin seduced and brainwashed her to provide him with the cellphone and smoking device then help him escape a second time from DHS/ASH custody once the contraband was discovered.

We understand that Pulaski Court Judge Morgan "Chip" Welch flew out to Vegas to present Chapin with an award for the "Arkansas Escapee of the Year".

PULASKI CO. CIRCUIT COURT JUDGE MORGAN "CHIP" WELCH  GIVES ESCAPE AWARD TO CHAPIN

Welch is up for re-election and will not miss an opportunity to get some free publicity and a photo to circulate on social media.

Stay tuned for continued coverage.