It’s beginning to look like just being a Republican is an admission of guilty participation in a scam that netted millions of dollars. Justice has taken a small step in giving Wayne LaPierre of the NRA what he deserves.
After a bitterly fought six-week civil trial, a New York jury on Friday found ex-National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre liable for improperly spending millions of dollars of the pro-gun group’s money on luxuries such as private jet flights, extravagant vacations, and sun-soaked stays on private yachts.
LaPierre’s profligate ways violated his fiduciary duties and cost the NRA some $5.4 million, the jury determined. He has reimbursed the organization $1.5 million, thus far.
Jurors deliberated for five days before returning their verdict on the state’s allegations of brazen corruption by the 74-year-old LaPierre. In court, prosecutors from the New York State Attorney General’s Office laid out a broad array of evidence to demonstrate what they described as a high-living chief executive using the NRA as his own personal slush fund.
LaPierre delivered the most unlikely justification for his years of theft.
When questioned on the stand about receiving luxurious gifts including Italian suits worth nearly $300,000, LaPierre insisted he considered the clothes to have been “work items.”
“I did all the television for the NRA,” he testified, explaining that his publicist wanted him to look good onscreen.
Seriously, dude? You’re the most Lon Chaney looking motherfucker on the planet. You always looked like a raging lunatic, and you thought you were looking good?
For comparison purposes:
But seriously, he shouldn’t be penalized for being a funny-looking guy (neither should I!), and being convicted of embezzling is the least of his crimes. He should be imprisoned for his long career of promoting mass murder and irresponsible gun ownership.
Oh good !
Nah Still reckon Lon Chaney Snr. had better suits.
My laptop screen is covered in muesli. Well played, PZ, well played!
A suit for $300k instead of $3k. Why are these people always shameless by orders of magnitude? I followed the covid death toll in Israel early on because an Israeli-American Noble Disease victim expected “no more than about 10” deaths from covid in Israel. I marked each time he was off by another order of magnitude. I know it passed 10k.
@5 *Nobel
We need to see more of these cases against the Christians, the far right, the gun propagandists, and MAGA lovers end up with them on the guilty end of the verdict. It feels like a slow trickle but at least it is happening.
“I did all the television for the NRA,” he testified, explaining that his publicist wanted him to look good onscreen.
Actually, that is a plausible reason for buying at least some very expensive clothes (assuming they’re expensive because they’re well-made). But his paymasters would have had to AUTHORIZE such expenses. And it certainly doesn’t require a suit costing $300K — I mean seriously, why would anyone think that’s a good deal? I once saw a really nice-looking dressy overcoat, in a posh Paris mall, for a paltry 800 euros!
Wayne LaPierrre is an idiot and he can’t even grift right. Whoever sold him that $300K suit is probably laughing his ass off — and probably spending it a lot more wisely than its previous owner had. Seriously, if I had $300K to burn, I’d spend it on travel, and still have enough left to buy myself at least one nice suit and lots of semi-formal items to wear to parties where real people dress up sensibly.
Those pics look almost like my “surprised” face
I think NASA has purchased $300K suits, maybe even more expensive.
Someone plz put LaPierre in orbit to see if he got the correct suit?
Latitia James brought down both the Trump New York business empire and Wayne Lapierre, in the same month. I wonder if she now has plans for running for a higher office. She’s definitely earned the cred to do so.
Snarki @ #9 — Please don’t Wayne in space in a $300k space suit. In fact, don’t put him in space without the suit. We don’t need that greedy piece of shit up there. Put him in jail, if we’re going to put him anywhere. (Civil suites are fine, but what about criminal charges. His greed has resulted in thousands of unnecessary deaths.
Read more carefully: “…gifts including Italian suits worth nearly $300,000…”. Some unspecified number of suits totaling $300K, not one suit for $300K. $300K for a suit seems excessive even for Italian designers.
Men’s Wearhouse $99 specials would have been good enough. More than he’s actually worth.
ADX Florence freebie would be best of all.
@hidarimark #10
She did consider running for Governor of New York State. She decided to bow out of the race in favor of their current governor, Hochul. Given that Hochul -who is supposedly Democratic Party member- once she became governor tried to appoint a nutcase radical reich judge to that state’s supreme court, James wasn’t wrong to try. (This is the same state that elected George Santos.)
It’s a good thing she didn’t choose to continue running, if these cases are an example of what needs to be done. Maybe when she’s done with these cases?
But if LaPierre needs to reimburse the NRA for the money he grifted from them, doesn’t that mean the NRA is getting more money? I was under the impression that the NRA is losing money. They can ride this as the “we’re the innocent victim and we’re getting back what’s owed us” and then use that money to keep themselves afloat and possibly restore their reputation and status.
rrhain:
Reimbursement means it’s money they would have had, were it not for his misappropriation, so no, not more money. Besides, it’s small beer, in the grand scheme of things.
Such as it is, I suppose.
I read this some time ago: https://theconversation.com/the-nras-journey-from-marksmanship-to-political-brinkmanship-92160
I think we should give him a medal for diverting NRA resources in a harmless manner.
In fact, Republicans and others of that ilk that use organisational resources for their own personal gains should be encouraged and praised.
It does remind me of my adventures back in my long-ago single days. I stopped by a candy stall exhibiting free samples. As I took one, I used the same lame joke I often tried back then.
“Is this guaranteed to make me good looking?
The young lady behind the counter, studied me carefully, and answered, “You’d better take two.”
Okay, so if I was hanged for being physically irresistible, I would die an innocent man.
On the other hand, I was not busted for massive corruption.
Good luck, Wayne.