re: Favre-Gate real problem in Mississippi, Tator Tot and Bryant may be indicted

Tater Tot helped steal welfare money so his personal trainer could set up a fat camp for rich fat asses (Most surprising aspect of this shite is that Tator Tot has had a trainer for ten years, what the hell does that lard arse eat)
Mississippi could have two governors in a row indicted on this shite, super talk could have to pay back 300k, like I said this river is deep and runs all over the state

From Mississippi Today

Gov. Tate Reeves inspired welfare payment targeted in civil suit, texts show
In 2019, then-Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves met with his personal trainer Paul Lacoste, a target in the state’s ongoing civil suit, and John Davis, the now-indicted state welfare director, to discuss their welfare-funded fitness initiative. Two days later, text messages obtained by Mississippi Today show, Davis asked his deputy to covertly transfer money to the project, which he called “the Lt. Gov’s fitness issue,” and said Reeves was “very supportive of what we are doing.”
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by Anna Wolfe
August 12, 2022

Mississippi’s former welfare director said he was acting on behalf of then-Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, text messages indicate, when he funneled $1.3 million into a fitness program that the state is now targeting in its civil lawsuit to recoup millions in misspent federal dollars.

Reeves’ longtime personal trainer and buddy Paul Lacoste is a defendant in the suit – the state’s primary response to the blockbuster scandal uncovered in 2020. The lawsuit has an uncertain fate now that the Reeves administration has fired the attorney bringing the case and Reeves made clear he is calling the shots in the litigation, which is now stalled.

Over the last decade, Lacoste ingrained himself in Mississippi politics, prompting the state’s welfare program to strike a lucrative partnership with his foundation. Not only was the expenditure a violation of federal regulations, auditors and attorneys eventually argued, but emails obtained by Mississippi Today allege Lacoste also paid himself upwards of $300,000 in bonus paychecks from the program.

The trainer was so gung-ho about getting his grant funding from the state, he even told former welfare director John Davis that he’d bring the hammer down on Reeves and another lawmaker in their workout if they didn’t give Davis the budget he wanted. And that the politicians agreed to oblige.

“I told Tate and Senator Josh Harkins this week at training to fully fund you or I would make them pay for it at training,” Lacoste wrote to Davis in a February 2019 text obtained by Mississippi Today. “They told me…”oh, we are taking care of John.””

Months before, Davis, who is now facing charges of fraud and bribery in the scandal, helped the trainer secure a welfare grant from the nonprofit run by Nancy New, another defendant in the criminal and civil cases.

But during the 2019 Legislative session, Lacoste was pushing Davis for meetings with Reeves, who wielded great control over appropriations in the Legislature, and other lawmakers to “share our hearts with them and to get them on board with us politically and financially.” One proposal suggests a 10-year, $13 million commitment from the welfare program for his fitness classes.

Lacoste told Davis that Reeves had selected a date and location for their meeting, and that Reeves wanted to meet with the two men alone before the full meeting to discuss the project. “Tate wants us all to himself!” Lacoste wrote.

Two days after meeting with Reeves, Davis asked his deputy to find a way to push a large sum of money to New’s nonprofit without triggering a red flag in an audit, so that the nonprofit could fund Lacoste’s boot camp. Davis called the project “the Lt. Gov’s fitness issue.”

Auditors say Lacoste’s organization Victory Sports Foundation improperly received over $1.3 million in funds from a federal welfare program called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, to conduct free boot camp-style fitness courses for well-to-do community members.

Months later, Lacoste cut commercials publicly endorsing Reeves for governor. Reeves won the election with 52% of the vote.

Reeves did not grant Mississippi Today an interview for this story. But when presented with Mississippi Today’s findings, Reeves staffer Cory Custer responded in a written statement: “It’s entirely possible that—before the abuse was uncovered—Tate Reeves said nice things in passing about people he is now suing and/or the stated goals of DHS. This was all before the fraud was revealed. How is he supposed to remember inconsequential conversations from years ago?”


The governor publicly accused attorney Brad Pigott, a former Bill Clinton-appointed U.S. Attorney who was closing in on many of Reeves’ campaign donors and supporters, of having a political agenda in his handling of the case. Reeves is also accusing Mississippi Today, which has led coverage of the scandal and published damning text messages related to welfare spending that officials have tried to keep out of the public, of “political games.”

“Secondhand characterizations of passing conversations and participation in a workout program that long-predated TANF abuse are hardly newsworthy. They certainly don’t help the argument that Mississippi Today is anything more than a left-wing blog that prioritizes rumors and political games over journalism.”

Gov. Reeves office’s written response to this story
In addition to conducting the workout courses as hired, Lacoste used the money to pay himself a monthly salary of about $11,000, in addition to separate payments of as much as $25,000, purchase a $70,000 vehicle, launch high-price marketing campaigns and treat himself and others to steak dinners, according to audit reports and ledgers Mississippi Today examined.

The civil suit also accuses Lacoste of charging participants a fee for courses he was already being paid with grant funds to conduct – an assertion Lacoste’s attorney denies.

An email from the Nancy New nonprofit says the nonprofit’s internal review found Paul Lacoste received more than $300,000 in bonus paychecks.

“LaCoste never proposed or intended to provide services designed specifically to accomplish any lawful TANF purpose. Nor did he ever do so in response to the TANF funding he and Victory Sports sought and received,” wrote Pigott, who was hired on contract by the welfare department to bring the civil litigation.

In a reply in support of a motion to dismiss the case, Lacoste denies he broke any laws or contract obligations, saying neither the state welfare agency nor the nonprofit told him the payments he received were from TANF funds.

While criminal investigations are ongoing, officials have not accused Lacoste of any crime.

In recent years, auditors found that Mississippi officials and political cronies stole or diverted at least $77 million intended for needy residents to other projects in violation of federal law. Federal law gives states extreme flexibility to define for itself what helping the needy looks like, but auditors say Mississippi crossed the line in its use of TANF funds, which were controlled by an agency under the authority of Gov. Phil Bryant.

Much of the money officials squandered was funneled through the nonprofit founded by former First Lady Deborah Bryant’s friend Nancy New, who has pleaded guilty to several charges of fraud and bribery and agreed to aid prosecutors in their ongoing probes.

Did she get stolen welfare money too?

Brett is a baby fish is this scam. Give me a dozen agents, decent budget and two years and I , or any competent lawyer could bring down damn near the entire political establishment on this one, indict 100s of people before it’s over.

It will not happen as too big

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bring down damn near the entire political establishment on this one, indict 100s of people before it’s over.

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Would love to see Mississippi set the precedent here. I absolutely despise political corruption.

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 The poor need to up their game,

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This would be nice, but why do so when you've grown accustomed to a subsistence state of being?

Absolutely. But if diverted properly, it would have been put to much better use by improving infrastructure like rural roads and bridges, more police in Jackson, maybe even more state patrol officers. Not to make the ol’ boys’ network richer.

And yeah, I can’t believe the hamplanet Tater Tot has a personal trainer that he’s worked with for years and years and is a few servings of biscuits and gravy away from looking like a pale version of the shite emoji.

Why did anyone, other than Favre, involved in this scheme care so much about a volleyball facility at USM???

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Why did anyone, other than Favre, involved in this scheme care so much about a volleyball facility at USM???

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Because they're corrupt Mississippi good ole boys with an opportunity to make friends with Brett Favre.

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California revives about $13 in federal funding per resident.

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Link??