Personal fiefdoms

Government officials who are defensive about any perceived encroachment on their authority are often referred to as protecting their own personal fiefdom.

But, compared to Appalachia, Va., most have, at best, only a pale imitation of a fiefdom:

APPALACHIA -- A sweeping indictment alleges a town election fraught with fraud, with two candidates and their supporters buying votes with beer and cigarettes, stealing mail-in ballots and voting repeatedly for themselves in the name of a deceived electorate.

The indictment returned Thursday by a Wise County grand jury contained more than 1,000 violations of election laws -- about two crimes for every vote cast in the May 2004 election in Appalachia.

At the center of the alleged conspiracy is Ben Cooper, the mayor and acting town manager of this small town in far Southwest Virginia.

According to the 300-page indictment, one of the goals in electing Cooper and his two running mates to town council was "the control of the town of Appalachia by one person, Ben Ellis Cooper."

Not only did Cooper and his allies buy and steal votes to accomplish that goal, the indictment alleges, but they also used their stolen mandate to create a corrupt police department that was given the authority to harass their political enemies.

In one case, Cooper is charged with settling a personal grudge by directing police officers to seize money and property from an enemy's home in an illegal search.

Two police officers were among the 14 defendants charged Thursday.

Read the whole appalling story.

Posted by Chip on March 03, 2006 at 11:38 AM
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