Heads and tales: White-collar criminals

Touched by a devil: Birmingham-based Eternal Word Television Network knowingly employed a priest and self-admitted pedophile for seven years. The Rev. Real Bourque, who started at the religious cable network in 1991, remained employed until 2002, even after receiving treatment at a program for abusive priests in the mid-’90s. Borque has never been charged with any crimes. As pointed out in the article, the EWTN Web site advocates “severe punishment” for such a transgression.

The 78-year-old retiree could still face prosecution if a witness comes forward. Bourque, seen here as a speaker at a religious youth retreat in June 2002, resides in Illinois but has worked or lived in Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Washington, DC. Holy moly.
• Alabama-based Catholic network kept abusive priest on staff [Associated Press]

Shell game: Think your ballot counts? Maybe, but not as much as your big buckin’ checkbook. Political action committees not only grease the wheels of Alabama campaigns, but also hide who their true donors are. PAC money makes up 44 percent of campaign funds in major state races, nearly $4 million. One Tuscaloosa accountant has raised a quarter of that through six PACs, with big chunks coming from lawyers and teachers. All thanks to a loophole in state law — and a ruling from then Attorney Gen. Don Siegelman. Anyone wanna form a PAC with us?
• PACs often mask who’s behind gift [Birmingham News]

Thank you for smirking: Birmingham’s crackdown on smoking in restaurants is a year old — and results are mixed. Some owners are reporting no effect, while others have seen a drop in business to towns without the ban. The Birmingham law prohibits smoking in public places, except bars and lounges. Meanwhile, small towns such as Luverne, Cottonwood and Headland have passed their own smoking bans.
• Smoking bans catch fire – and some heat [Birmingham News]

Also:

• Young professionals fight to be heard, then say nothing
• Teachers’ dirty looks running in short supply near end of school year
• Next week: Iced Tea Turnoff Week

• • •

Send us your news tips.

Posted: Monday, April 24, 2006, 5:52 pm, in Headlines.
For this entry: E-mail | comments feed | trackback.