A Bad Heart
James Dannenbaum was known as a political Sugar Daddy, or maybe whore depending on how you looked at it, all around Texas.
He had no political core values. He just gave to people who could hire his engineering company to do government business. His political money went from congressmen to county commissioners. At the county commissioner level, they get to award “professional contracts” without any bidding process to architectural, engineering, and legal firms. That’s why county commissioner is the most easily corruptible political office in Texas.
Well, James Dannenbaum finally got caught. I interviewed him years ago for the newspaper. I’ll tell you the story sometime, but he tried to wiggle his way out of a little jam by talking about all his church work and his charities. Of course, he only gave them about 10% of what he scammed.
So, the wheels of justice, which buys lots of lawyers, finally rolled over Dannenbaum. Late last year —
A former University of Texas regent pleaded guilty Friday to circumventing federal election law in 2017, characterizing the plea as a solemn turning point in his 80-year life otherwise centered on family, church and philanthropic work.
Houston resident James Dannenbaum, the former CEO of a prominent Texas engineering firm, admitted to a federal judge he illegally reimbursed employees for donations to a candidate for the U.S. Senate and two candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives. He pleaded guilty to making contributions between $10,000 and $25,000 in the names of other people.
He’s due for sentencing on March 5th. His lawyers have already announced they may have to adjust his hearing for his expected heart surgery.
Oh yeah. Of course.
And then his lawyers filed this today. They want to know the sentences received by other 80 year olds.
Y’all, I know this man. I have seen what he’s done. He has a bad heart, in more ways than one. He’s had 80 years of fun, two years of paying for it won’t kill him.
Ah the sweet taste of karma and schadenfreude swarming with justice for Republicons. 2020 is shaping up to be a spectacular year for the ladies of Justice, Karma and Schadenfreude. If Senator Kamala Harris is driving the train at DOJ as US Attorney General in 2021, it could be one hell of a decade for Republicons.
1That’s just like Harvey Weinstein showing up for trial with that cheap walker. No sympathy – he can go to jail and have heart surgery gratis of Medicare and the State!
2Talk about the wheels of justice moving slowly.
3Yeah, it may kill him – but I don’t really care, do u?;
4Has anyone ever heard a conservative say “If you can’t do crime don’t do the crime?”
5For years people said Houston had no zoning. My standard answer, it does, but it is not at city hall. The zoning is done in Dannenbaum’s office. I went to school with him.
And i have had angioplasty. he can go to jail for a couple years without endangering his health. And who the hell cares about the health of other inmates?
6In hawaii parellel case where a big shot filled in spillways on a “private” dam after being told it was illegal and dangerous ( he wanted a bigger “private lake and beach) when the rains came the dam failed and people downstream died and property destroyed.
7After dragging it through the courts when it came time for sentenceing on reduced charges he claimed he wa to old and feeble to face justice.
Not to old and feeble to commit manslaughter just to old and feeble to be held responsible. Pfuelger
Prosecutors should ask the Judge about the effect of the number of years of lawbreaking on sentence length.
8Grandma Ada, you beat me to it. I was going to suggest that he might try to borrow Weinstein’s walker and take lessons from the same acting coach. It would be too much to hope that the stress of Harvey’s crimes catching up with him actually took that kind of toll on his health. We can wish though, can’t we?
9Perhaps given the alternative of being stripped of every asset, made to wear a permanent ankle bracelet limited to a 1/4 mile square in the boondocks of idaho 20 minutes away from anything with no phone or technology at all they might rediscover their health and serve time.
10All in solitary confinement barred from receiving any visitors or communications whatsoever.
“a life … centered on family, church and philanthropic work”. Uh-hunh. Here’s my guess on what that means:
1. Getting money to get his spawn into a top 10 Ivy League college, when otherwise the mouth-breathing little snots would have a hard time getting into Tarrant County Junior College.
2. “Church”, as in the megachurch whose pastor can pull strings with the Dominionists to give even more juicy contracts to his engineering firm.
3. “Philanthropic work”, with an emphasis on things that will get him in the society pages of the papers, while his real principle is “charity begins at home”. I have never heard about this defense being brought up by the folks (and there are many) who really follow the rule of giving so that the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing.
11I hear it’s ok to do that sort of thing, if you truly believe that it’s in the best interest of the country. I heard it from an apparently reliable source. At least, the United States Senate seems to think so.
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