doubledog said:
I would give McMullen the benefit of the doubt. It is a simple mistake for you or a vendor to "mix-up" personal and business credit cards. She immediately informed the council and re-paid the amount due. I personally do not see any harm done to the arts council or the taxpayers.
I'm ok with innocent until proven guilty.doubledog said:
I would give McMullen the benefit of the doubt. It is a simple mistake for you or a vendor to "mix-up" personal and business credit cards. She immediately informed the council and re-paid the amount due. I personally do not see any harm done to the arts council or the taxpayers.
I give her the benefit of the doubt too. I bet if there was no history with Arts Council corruption she would not have been indicted. Hopefully she gets a good lawyer like Gaines West and puts this behind her.agrab86 said:I'm ok with innocent until proven guilty.doubledog said:
I would give McMullen the benefit of the doubt. It is a simple mistake for you or a vendor to "mix-up" personal and business credit cards. She immediately informed the council and re-paid the amount due. I personally do not see any harm done to the arts council or the taxpayers.
But the DA isn't going to seek an indictment unless they really think a law is broken. Plus, DAs don't like to lose so they must think they have a really good case here. If it were only the 2 single, reimbursed uses mentioned by McMullen totaling less than $700, then I doubt a state felony indictment would have been sought in the first place.
Yeh, I'm pretty sure she will need to look elsewhere for representation. Gaines West was hired by the Arts Council to protect their interest.techno-ag said:
I give her the benefit of the doubt too. I bet if there was no history with Arts Council corruption she would not have been indicted. Hopefully she gets a good lawyer like Gaines West and puts this behind her.
Very cool. When it comes to issues like this, he's the first to spring to mind.mathguy86 said:Yeh, I'm pretty sure she will need to look elsewhere for representation. Gaines West was hired by the Arts Council to protect their interest.techno-ag said:
I give her the benefit of the doubt too. I bet if there was no history with Arts Council corruption she would not have been indicted. Hopefully she gets a good lawyer like Gaines West and puts this behind her.
The DA must prove intent in this case. The charge was found about 1 billing cycle after the purchase. What if McMullen was still not aware of the charge to the business card at that date? We are not talking about months later that the charges were found. I agree with the previous poster, something is not right.Gangster Octopus said:
This article paints a different picture.
https://www.kbtx.com/content/news/Former-Arts-Council-CEO-arrested-for-credit-card-abuse-509605911.htmlQuote:
The credit card abuse charges stem from a case involving McMullen while she was employed at the Arts Council. Representatives from the Arts Council said McMullen misused a credit card in December 2018.
McMullen told KBTX in January that she made a mistake in using the Arts Council's American Express card for personal purchases, but wrote a check for the full amount to reimburse the organization.
Representatives from the Arts Council painted a different picture of the situation in January. Those representatives say McMullen misused the card and that it was discovered after some internal checks and balances.
When you are receiving tax money from the city, you can't just "handle it internally".Goose61 said:
Sounds like someone has an axe to grind.
As above, this seems to be something that should have been handled internally, especially if restitution had already been made. All very strange.
Agreed. Maybe the Arts Council shouldn't have credit cards to begin with if they're out there using city money.Goose61 said:
Sounds like someone has an axe to grind.
As above, this seems to be something that should have been handled internally, especially if restitution had already been made. All very strange.
Agreed in part. As I stated and thanks for agreeing, were it not for past history she would not be indicted. You are correct in that part.cslifer said:
A lot of people called P. David Romei an "upstanding member of the community"...something to think about.
And lets slow down on the hyperbole, nobody is going to spend time in TDCJ for this, probation or a very short time in county at the absolute worst.
You do realize the Arts Council distributes most of their funds to community arts groups correct? Dozens of groups could not operate without their help so yes, I think your life would be different.nought said:doubledog said:
I would give McMullen the benefit of the doubt. It is a simple mistake for you or a vendor to "mix-up" personal and business credit cards. She immediately informed the council and re-paid the amount due. I personally do not see any harm done to the arts council or the taxpayers.
I agree 100% with giving McMullen the benefit of the doubt.
However, there is harm done to the taxpayers, and that is the sum of money the CoCS gives each year to the Arts Council. The quality of life would not change at all in this town if that taxpayer money weren't wasted. The city should stick to essential services, and then they wouldn't need to go try to lobby the state legislature to try to make sure they can keep jacking up property tax rates at will.