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| Looks good with stripes. |
Remember Don Balfour, the Georgia state senator who almost pushed through a bill that would make it a felony to conspire to picket (we're not making this up)?
Well, now he's being investigated ... for committing a crime. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports,
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has launched a criminal investigation of state Sen. Don Balfour, R-Snellville, for filing false expense reports, state law enforcement officials confirmed Tuesday to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution....
The Senate Ethics Committee fined Balfour $5,000 for filing inaccurate travel reports to claim expenses. Balfour was also told to repay about $350 to the state for the lapses...
Balfour was accused of billing the state for mileage while out of town on lobbyist-funded trips, and for failing to create a subcommittee to audit all senators’ reimbursement vouchers.
Balfour, who had acknowledged mistakes in filing reimbursement claims, in March returned nearly $800 to the state based on a couple of instances. He then amended other reports after an analysis by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution found eight additional instances where Balfour claimed reimbursement on days lobbyists reported buying him meals or lodging in other cities.
We imagine our valiant brothers and sisters at Teamsters Local 728 in Atlanta aren't terribly upset by the news. They fought long and hard to defeat Balfour's heinous effort to destroy workers' right to free speech.
