Bringing baseball to D.C. won't cost taxpayers anything -- or will
it? A new WTOP Radio investigation reveals that the District of
Columbia has spent nearly $500,000 on consultants to help with bringing
baseball here. Documents obtained by WTOP through the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA), spell out the details. The documents show the
city has paid at least $465,000 to consultants linked to
baseball. One of the consultants brought on board is Ira
Sockowitz. He was contracted for $75,000 to manage the mayor's baseball
war room, to help win council approval of a new stadium. Sockowitz was
an appointee of former President Bill Clinton at the U.S. Department of
Commerce. After the death of Commerce Secretary Ron Brown,
Sockowitz was accused of taking top secret documents. He was never
charged with any wrongdoing and says he returned the documents. Another
consultant hired by the District is a city council member from Oakland,
Calif. Jane Brunner was a staunch supporter of D.C.'s City
Administrator Robbert Bobb when he was City Manager of Oakland.
Documents show Brunner is being paid $90,000 by the city to negotiate
labor agreements for the new stadium. D.C. pays for travel and
related expenses, so Brunner can come to the nation's capital from
California.[more]
Article originally appeared on (http://brownwatch.com/).
See website for complete article licensing information.