Mass. Homeless Shelter Chief Faces Charges

[DoYouEverWonder]

January 13, 2006, 3:48 PM EST

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- The former director of the city's homeless shelter was charged Friday with siphoning off $350,000 in taxpayer money to outfit his beach home and pay for two friends' no-show jobs.

Prosecutors said grant money meant for renovations to the shelter in 1997-2002 instead went toward buying building materials for Francis Keough's second home in Rhode Island, which then was furnished with mattresses, refrigerators and other items meant for the shelter.

Prosecutors said Keough also told two shelter employees to submit false time sheets showing they were working in early 2000.

He was charged with fraud, tax evasion and other offenses. He has been in jail since August on earlier charges that included extortion and witness tampering.

"He's maintained his innocence all along," said Keough's lawyer, Dan Kelly. "These charges will be fought as aggressively as they've been brought."

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-brf-springfield-corruption,0,954772.story?coll=sns-ap-nation-headlines


Gee imagine a homeless provider taking advantage of homeless people. Oh that could never happen.

[Poll_Blind]

1. Holy shit. What the hell was this numb-skull thinking? Oh...

...I'm sure he's a Republican.

PB

[Indykatie]

2. Lock Him Up and Throw Away the Key!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm not sure that he's a Repub. We have our share of crooks too.

[GrumpyGreg]

3. A Francis Keough in Massachusetts is probably a Democrat---no

matter what he is he's slime.

[Cobalt Violet]

5. Hard to say.

We have our share of useless pukes here too. Lots of unenrolleds too.

[hughee99]

10. Not sure what party he is,

but if this is him, he's only donated 3 times, only to Democrats, and only small amounts.

http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_detail.php?city=SPRINGFIELD&st=MA&last=Keough&first=Francis

[superconnected]

4. Lock him up.

taking from the poor is the lowest of the lows. I'm sure that's why bush's karma sucks.

[Richard Steele]

6. Life in prison would not be unfair for this sleaze.

Stealing from the HOMELESS,
to upgrade his 'Summer Mansion'?

It doesn't get much LOWER than that!

What does he do in his spare time,
kick puppies and trip old blind ladies on the street?

If there were any justice, this scumbag would never again see
the sun without iron bars framing it.
But, here in B*shCabal™ World...
he'll probably pay a fine, and turn up as the #2 guy at HUD in 6 months.

[Bombero1956]

7. I know this clown

not his first run in with the law. He was once city council president, he was targeted in a state corruption probe and pleaded guilty to tax evasion. He avoided going to jail by singing like a canary. The mayor hired him to run the shelter even though there were more qualified candidates for the job (locals think he has the goods on the mayor and this was a way to keep him quiet). Part of the indictment alleges that he traded rooms at the shelter for sex with two female residents.

[Richard Steele]

9. You should use your knowledge to gather some links regarding his past...

...and then put them together for a nice big post in GD.

[meganmonkey]

8. That's so fucked up

and whenever people justify their lack of charity with examples like these I just puke. Because the thousands of nonprofits who do good work don't get in the fucking paper, just assholes like this.

:puke:

[REP]

11. 20 People Could Have Lived Off That Money For a Year

$17,500.00 wouldn't bring a luxurious life, but it's enough for a room inside with plumbing and a kitchen, an address, a start to getting life on track in a more settled (and safe way). A stable address could help some of those sheltered get either the SSD benefits they qualify for - or a job, for those who are able. A stable address could have meant so much to 20 people.

20 people could have been taken off the street and put into their own places. 20 people no longer dependent on getting "help" from lowlife scum like this motherfucker.