I’m just a cardboard cutout, how could I have known Richard Benda was pulling a fast one? Why don’t you ask him? Wait he’s dead. Oh darn.
You can HEAR & READ all about the EB-5 investigations to your heart’s content, but I’m not buying Round’s story of ignorance;
“One of the documents in question is the letter of authorization that basically said that they could receive a Future Fund payment for construction costs had been changed slightly and it had a different date on it than the one I authorized,” Rounds said.
It’s pretty easy to take Rounds’ word on this? Right? Because our chief witness is dead. Benda, who was originally hired in 1979(?) by another dead guy, Bill Janklow.
While I am NOT sure that no criminal charges against Rounds can be brought up, with the whole document altering and such, one has to own up a bit about ‘what Mike knew.’
• While a document manipulation can certainly go under the radar of the Governor’s office, you can’t tell me ‘other’ (alive) people are not involved.
• Who cut the check to the SDRC? Isn’t that the job of the auditor and treasurer? Why didn’t they inform Rounds about the check?
• There obviously would have been a lot of legal commentary that goes with such a contract? No one in the AG’s office questioned these fees?
• No one in the GOED office, auditor’s office, SDRC office, heck, the freaking Post Office, told the Rounds administration that they thought this payment was a little suspicious?
• Richard Benda (who is conveniently dead) masterminded this whole scam on his own? No help from anyone? No oversight? No whistle-blowers? No patsies? Nothing. Zilch. Zero?
My speculative conclusion is this on the EB-5 programs;
Rounds might have known what happened after the fact and failed to investigate or inform Federal authorities. While manipulating his signed documents is certainly out of his control, knowing about something that was possibly illegal after the crime is committed and not telling authorities, then you have a problem. “Because, like, you were in charge and all of the state, like, you were the governor, man.” (sorry, that was my best ‘Dude’ impression)
All I can say, is let’s hope my speculation is wrong, would hate to see (another) former governor go to jail. No worries Mike, probably only get a 99 days. It’s not like you killed a man, governors only get a 100 days for that.