NOTE: This blog is about Frank Vennes, not James Fry.
James Fry, pardon the pun is small fry.
It's entirely possible that James Fry would have been just another hedge fund manager if he hadn't heard the sirens' song of quick and easy riches sung by Frank Vennes and Tom Petters.
James Fry was not the self-described financier for Tom Petters. James Fry was not a major source of funds for extremist, right-wing politicians including two presidential candidates.
James Fry did not distort the once-proud, progressive reputation of Minnesota politics into a twisted caricature of bigotry and demagoguery that is only now being repaired by a legislature that passes laws in the best interests of the state's citizens instead of grandstanding on divisive "wedge issues".
Politicians facilitated the illegal fund-raising of Mr. Vennes by writing letters supporting a presidential pardon for Mr Vennes - letters Vennes showed
One politician in particular, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann accepted boatloads of dirty money from Vennes and his cohorts when she was lagging behind her Republican rivals. There is no question Ponzi money played a part in Bachmann getting that crucial endorsement. It is very likely that Michele Bachmann would not be representing Minnesota's 6th Congressional District if it weren't for the purloined largesse of Frank Vennes and his cohorts.
Michele Bachmann continues to embarrass her district's constituents and the state of Minnesota, most recently when Bachmann was the only one of the state's congressional delegation to vote against the Violence Against Women Act.
With the plea deal canceling the trial of Mr. Vennes, we are unlikely to learn more about the role Ponzi money played in distorting our political system. Without the facts to alert and inform citizens and public officials how this occurred, the chances are favorable to it happening again.
So, I will not blog every legal maneuver leading up to Mr. Fry's trial, plea or whatever. I have other, more important, interesting things to do.
