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Council of the District of
Columbia February 2, 2005 Deborah K. Nichols VIA FACSIMILE/U.S. MAIL Dear Ms. Nichols, The purpose of this letter is to request that you examine the contracts for service surrounding the construction of a ballpark authorized by Act 15-717. WTOP news radio investigative reporter Mark Segraves reported today that the District of Columbia has spent nearly $500,000 on consultants hired to secure and assist Major League Baseball’s relocation of the Montreal Expos to the District of Columbia. Among the consultants named by Mr. Segraves are Ira Sockowitz, a former Clinton administration official accused of pilfering top secret documents from the Department of Commerce and Jane Brunner, a former Councilmember from Oakland, California. The Mayor asserts that no public funds are being used to plan, design and build a state-of-the-art baseball facility. Please provide me with a complete list of the consultants hired to assist with the baseball issue, how much money they have been paid, and the source of those funds. Also, please provide me with an accounting of any money spent on the travel and related expenses incurred by the consultants and the source of those funds. Sincerely, cc: All Councilmembers CATANIA REQUESTS BASEBALL CONSULTANTS INQUIRYCOUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA February 2, 2005 D.C. Councilmember David Catania, troubled by reports that the Mayor has paid baseball consultants almost $500,000, today called for an investigation into how those contracts were funded. Throughout his quest to secure a financing package attractive enough to entice Major League Baseball, Mayor Williams insisted no public funds would be leveraged to plan, design, or build a state-of-the-art baseball facility for the owners of the Montreal Expos, i.e. MLB. "One month into our experience with baseball, we've hired an out-of-town firm to renovate RFK and now we learn that highly paid consultants were on somebody's books throughout the latter half of 2004," Catania asserted. "At every step thus far, the Mayor's team has demonstrated an amazing lack of foresight as it relates to this boondoggle. I can only hope this doesn't get any worse." According to WTOP radio, the District of Columbia has spent nearly $500,000 on consultants hired to secure and assist Major League Baseball's relocation of the Montreal Expos to the District of Columbia. Among the consultants named by WTOP are Ira Sockowitz, a former Clinton administration official accused of pilfering top secret documents from the Department of Commerce and Jane Brunner, a former Councilmember from Oakland, California. |
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