“I wanted to find the holes. We found them.”
That is good spin. But it is all it is.
The heat is on Insurance Commissioner Karen Weldin Stewart this morning after an audit of her department finds that her office awarded $16.1 million in contracts without following procedures under state procurement law, including maintenance of signed contracts and complete vendor files. To be clear, it is not like there is $16.1 million missing, but since procedures were not followed in assigning and maintaining these contracts, we have to wonder if the awarding of the contracts themselves are on the up and up.
KWS is spinning the audit as one she requested and that the findings are what she wanted.
Insurance Commissioner Karen Weldin Stewart requested the audit last year to identify “holes” in financial procedures she says predate her 2008 election. “I wanted to find the holes. We found them,” Stewart said. “It’s not as bad as I thought it was.”
So she wants us all to believe that the problems that have been found occurred during the watch of her predecessors, Democrat Matt Denn and Republican Donna Lee Williams, and that she was proactive in requesting the audit last year so that she find where the department was deficient. It may be true that some of the contracts were made before her tenure. But the problem is Karen Weldin Stewart did not request an audit to discover where her department was deficient. She requested an audit to test the ability of the Insurance department to prepare financial statements that following generally accepted accounting principles. So the auditing firm hired to do the audit, the Santora CPA Group, reviewed 7 random contracts, and found that the department violated Delaware law in each contract, whether by having unsigned contracts to a complete lack of vendor paperwork.
So the department has horrible bookkeeping, and we have to assume that the department is not compliant with Delaware law with respect to every contract the department has issued. Further, the audit found that the Commissioner has engaged in some no-bid contracting herself.
Contracts highlighted by the Santora audit include those awarded to Steve Kinion and Ed Ianni, who lead the insurance department’s captive insurance bureau, which regulates large self-insurance companies. Stewart hired Kinion and Ianni, supporters of her 2008 campaign, in 2009 at rates above $16,000 a month without seeking competitive proposals.
Here is my main problem with KWS’ spin that she asked for this audit and the audit found what she was expecting: she was elected in 2008 and took office in 2009. More than a year passes until 2010, when she requests this audit. If she was such the cleaner upper she is portraying herself to be, wouldn’t this be one of the first things you do once you take office. Further, the spin that the problems are with contracts that predate her tenure as IC is bogus, since the audit did not find any contract that was compliant. Not one.
KWS says she and her department will correct all the discrepancies. That’s nice. But I have a little question? What has she been doing until now?
Its earth shattering you F’n DUNCE. The Current IC ASKED for it! It was stopped because of incomplete records going back to the Shyster Developer from Middletown, continuing through the Blonde bimbo, as well as the short one:. The fortunate son has forever forfeit his credibility in investigating an elected official. But Good luck, Schmuck:)
It was stopped because of incomplete records going back to the Shyster Developer from Middletown, continuing through the Blonde bimbo, as well as the short one
That’s not what the report says. All the issues cited are from 2010.
Insurance Commissioner Weldin Stewart asked for the audit when the Caesar Rodney Institute was attacking and the General Assembly was demanding answers – she was saying – look here – I’m taking care of my problems. However, when the pressure died down and she couldn’t produce records to back up her claim of no wrongdoing by her – she stopped the audit and is now trying to blame Matt Denn.
Weldin Steart said she plugged the holes – yea, with contracts for her friends. Including new no bid contracts for friends AFTER the espose by the Caesar Rodney Institute. KWS cannot claim she did not know this was illegal. She knew and did it anyway.
Now, that KWS is caught again, she says she is going to correct the problems she knew about from members of her transition team in 2009 – it’s almost 2012. More than 2 1/2 later. No excuses can justify this trainwreck.
DL spent lots of time talking about this very thing in 2009. I remember a lot of posts, but here’s a good one I could find:
http://delawareliberal.net//2009/05/26/doi-wired-rfp-episode-4-the-finale/
Karen Weldin Stewart in done!
KWS’s henchmen will now say that the office doesn’t use taxpayer money so it’s all OK. But her office does use state office space, state cars and other state resources, and whatever money her office makes is supposed to go into the general fund.
So all of the money she’s wasting on hiring her buddies for outrageous salaries (more than the Governor makes in some cases)could be used for the good of ALL Delawareans and not just the good of a few of KWS closest cronies.
Now, someone needs to find out how much money she’s spending every month on contract employees. These are employees that she brought in as “contractors” to circumvent the state’s hiring clampdown.
Wagner needs to do a full audit of her office. Down to the last staple.
So Stewart gives a ‘no-bid’ $16 K a month contract to Kinion and Ianni? The SAME Ed Ianni who had a brief run on Wilmington City Council and for whom KWS was his campaign treasurer?
Her only hope is that the Auditor and AG display the same lack of diligence they have thus far displayed towards Dick Cathcart and Tony DeLuca.
I mean, either they have a double standard or they don’t.
Karen Weldin have you no shame? Since taking office you have attempted to blame Matt Den for your criminal, and selfish behavior. Denn left you with an efficient, well run office which was scandal free.
You on the other hand, think of this office as your own personal candy store for the benefit of you and your friends, and you got caught….
The amount of the outrageous salaries you’re paying your friends isn’t sitting well with a public that is suffering with the current financial crisis. Perhaps you should have waited for a better time to fleece the public. But as the saying goes, “sunshine is the best antiseptic”, and you my friend are on political hospice!
So my advice is surround yourself with your band of pirates as they hold your hand and tell you we can continue to blame everything on Denn. Let them make you as comfortable as possible until your political death is complete.
Karen Weldin Stewart, RIP 2012
She found the holes. But did she find the one in her empty head? Ugh…
For those individuals who have not read the auditor’s report – it is a must read – incredible!
http://resolutedetermination.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/dept-of-insurance-final-audit-wagner-stewart-2011.pdf
It is almost unheard,if ever, for an accounting firm to not issue a favorable opinion in all material respects. In fact, I have never seen one. There is always the first.
I’ve taken heat for publicly supporting some local Republicans in elections, but I’m glad I supported and voted for Brady over KWS. And now he’s a Democrat! The first time I heard KWS speak I realized she was a trainwreck and that it would be irresponsible to support her.
True, Dana. It’s hard to believe anyone would have supported her just because of the “D” in front of her name.
This is government at its worst. The auditor in something Ive never seen disengaged himself from the audit because the ins comm office couldn’t or wouldn’t provide him with the information to complete the audit. Perhaps the AG could convene a grand jury to facilitate providing the information necessary to insure the public that these funds are being used legally and approriately.
Good idea, Sysyphus. Especially since she may soon be the sole arbiter of over $70 mill in Blue Cross/Blue Shield reserves.
Put Karen Weldin Stewart and $70 mill in the same sentence, and you have the potential for perhaps the greatest fraud in Delaware history.
And UCBFS once again shows he’s a lapdog for KWS. Hope she remembers to give him his kibble tonight.
Do any of you really think KWS awarded ridiculous contracts without competitive bids and paid outrageous amounts to other vendors for work mostly not performed just to benefit her campaign contributors? Hellooooo……
And Elliott, under whatever bogus name you’re writing, STFU already. No one wants to hear your stupid rantings. You’re lucky you and your boss aren’t in jail. Yet.
With respect to El Somnabulo’s reference to $70 million in Blue Cross reserves. I thought the NJ story said $185 million.
@JoeC:
The Department of Insurance is better than a candy store for Karen Weldin Stewart. It’s like the rich husband she always wanted to support her but never got because she’s stupid and a duplicitous, narcissistic, promiscuous b**ch. She doesn’t have to work and can shop all the time (her favorite activity especially with someone else’s money) and travel all over the place, and an added benefit is she doesn’t have to justify it to any husband. Nice work if you can get it.
Sysyphus is right–almost. It was actually $170 mill, and a later estimate following even more proceeds (remember, they’re not ‘profits’) being deposited into the reserve coffers, is somewhere around $181 mill. If only I’d read my own stories:
http://delawareliberal.net//2011/07/21/markell-has-signed-sb-146-quietly-very-quietly/
BTW, those whacky screeds are not being written by Eliot. WE know who it is, but our outing policy prevents us from letting you know who it is.
@sysyphus – you’re close, the BCBS surpus is up to $181 million.
http://blogs.delawareonline.com/delawareinc/2011/07/20/blue-cross-surplus-climbs-to-181m-up-48-since-08/
The News Journal: Blue Cross surplus climbs to $181M, up 48% since ’08, Posted on July 20, 2011 by Jonathan Starkey
KWS’s didn’t let BCBS off the hook for the infamous heart test denials out of the kindness of her heart any more than she awarded any outside contracts in gratitude for campaign contributions that she swore during her campaign she wasn’t taking. She’s getting kickbacks from all of them that together are now in the multiple millions.
She approved the changes in BCBS’s contract language that allowed the heart test denials and then faked outrage when they actually did it. And it goes without saying that no state insurance commissioner should have any say whatsoever over any insurer’s reserves. That this is allowed in Delaware gives a corrupt IC like Stewart tremendous leverage to extort ever more money from them in order for her to allow irregularities.
KWS’s relationship with BCBS netted her the largest single haul, but vendors have been keeping her flush, too. As soon as she was sworn in she started paying them amounts that caused the DOI accounting department to start asking questions. Because she was broke and couldn’t even afford a car due to the default judgments against her and her related bad credit, she had them all set up prior to her election that was assured after she won the primary. They immediately started to receive department money for work often not performed so they’d kick back a large chunk of it to her. And they did.
All this would have become public knowledge a long time ago if Jacobson hadn’t threatened any employee who talks to “outsiders” with termination and continued to intimidate them as time went on. KWS and her cronies, especially Jacobson, have all the bases covered. The only question is, when will they be prosecuted and removed from office?
If only there was a J. Connorjr. to clean her house…wait a minute!
El Som: Ed Ianni toppled Holloway, Sr. [the Gene Reed/Dan Rappa candidate to be the developers’ stooge] to win a four-year term on the New Castle County Council in 1986. He served in the city-based seat, succeeding Mimi Boudart, who performed a similarly Herculean feat to end Fran Schneider’s career in 1982, and being succeeded by Penrose Hollins in 1990. KWS was a harmonica player, at best, in those efforts, which drew heavily on the organization and energy of the forces that helped Frawley upend Leo Marshall’s machine in 1984 and save the City from a Frank Vari mayoralty.
I have combed through Stewart’s 2008 campaign finance reports and don’t see that Ianni gave her a dime. Of course, hardly anyone else did either. She’s as lazy in fundraising as anything else.
Professional services are not subject to low-bid laws. However, KWS clearly erred in proceeding without an RFP or seeking other bids.
Stewart’s lack of professionalism shouldn’t smear Ianni, who is a capable professional – Princeton-educated lawyer, etc. – and one of the good guys on financial issues, as Nancy noted a while back: http://delawareway.blogspot.com/2010/05/ed-ianni-writes-today-we-need-to.html
@John Manifold – I understand that Ed Ianni was fired by Insurance Commissioner Weldin Stewart.
@JoeC – Uh oh….the first victim of Stewart’s “blame somebody else” game. Did anyone see she just put a kind of ad on Google as “Insurance Consultant” that extols the virtues of her non-existent expertise? It leads to karenweldinstewart.com, her old campaign website she shut down right after she was sworn in. It’s basically a dead link but I’m sure they’ll be getting it back for the inevitable clean-up job and her future fruitless efforts to get reelected.
Does someone have a link to an Ed Ianni firing? Like JM said above, Ianni is not only a force of good in the IC office, but one of the only locals.