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Court filing alleges Gov. Phil Bryant directed welfare funds for illegal volleyball and concussion drug projects

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For the first time in a court filing, a key defendant in the Mississippi welfare scandal is alleging that former Gov. Phil Bryant was behind the use of welfare agency grant funds for two projects now deemed illegal.

The nonprofit founded by Nancy New, one of the central figures of the scheme, is alleging that Bryant was involved in directing welfare funds towards the construction of a volleyball stadium and a pharmaceutical startup company — two projects former NFL quarterback Brett Favre lobbied officials to support. Favre has also alleged that Bryant supported the nonprofit’s payments to the two ventures.

“Based on the foregoing, as well as evidence that will be presented at trial, Bryant was involved, both directly and indirectly, in directing, approving, facilitating, and/or furthering MDHS’s use of federal grant funds for Prevacus and for construction of the USM volleyball center,” reads a Dec. 12 court filing by Mississippi Community Education Center’s attorney Gerry Bufkin.

Bryant has previously denied involvement in the use of welfare funds for either project. Through his attorney, Bryant declined to answer questions about the allegations made in the Dec. 12 filing. Bryant, who is suing Mississippi Today for defamation, has sent threats to the news outlet for continuing to report this story, including basic updates about public court documents.

The court filing also details how at least some of the welfare money sent to the concussion drug company Prevacus may have actually ended up in the hands of scammers in Ghana.

READ MORE: Mississippi welfare funds wound up in a Ghanaian gold bar hoax, court filing alleges

New is one of eight criminal defendants and 47 civil defendants that Mississippi Department of Human Services is suing in an attempt to recoup $77 million in stolen or misspent federal funds.

Last year, New alleged in a filing that Bryant instructed her to make a $1.1 million payment directly to Favre, but this is the first time she or her nonprofit have alleged Bryant was behind payments to the other Favre projects.

Mississippi Community Education Center’s 81-page answer to the complaint, filed Dec. 12, alleges that Bryant conferred with then-agency director John Davis to channel agency grant funds towards the projects, but that the state has purposefully left the former governor out of the lawsuit. The filing also argues that the welfare department has been exploiting flexibility in federal law around state spending since the inception of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program in 1996.

“By omitting Bryant, and by attempting to disavow Davis, MDHS seeks to distance itself from its 25-year course of performance in relation to TANF and other grant expenditures,” the filing reads.

This is a similar argument to those made by other defendants such as Favre, fitness trainer Paul Lacoste and the nephew of the former welfare director.

The timeline

The latest court filing contains a lengthy timeline of Bryant’s alleged involvement in the Favre projects using texts and documents, most of which have been previously produced in court or published by Mississippi Today.

The relevant messages include texts New has produced between herself and Favre and Bryant; texts Bryant produced between himself and Favre; texts Vanlandingham produced between himself, Bryant and Favre and other associates.

The texts contain gaps that defendant testimony — which has not yet been gathered — may fill. Mississippi Community Education Center’s latest filing contains references to records and unspecified “evidence that will be presented at trial” to back up its claims against the former governor.

The following is an abbreviated timeline of the events as described in the court document. It reflects only Mississippi Community Education Center’s side of the story, and Bryant is not a defendant in the case.

Nov. 1, 1996: Phil Bryant became Mississippi’s State Auditor, the same year Congress passed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, which replaced the former entitlement cash welfare program with the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families block grant.

Jan. 11, 2016: Elected governor four years earlier, Bryant appointed John Davis as the director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services.

April 20, 2017: Favre first texted Bryant to say that he was working to build a volleyball facility on University of Southern Mississippi’s campus, and “I need your influence somehow to get donations and or sponsorships.”

July 2017: Favre again asked for the governor’s help, texting, “you are the governor and on our side and that’s a good thing.” The governor communicated with Davis, the filing alleges. Davis then met with Favre, New and others at USM, where Davis committed $4 million to the project.

August 2017: USM would not immediately accept the funds. Favre contacted Bryant for help, the filing alleges, then Bryant contacted New. New texted Favre, “Wow, just got off phone with Phil Bryant! He is on board with us! We will get this done!” Days later, USM accepted the grant funds after someone arranged a deal that the university could take $1 million of it for its own improvement projects.

September 2017: Worried about a funding shortfall for the volleyball facility, Favre again contacted the governor, the court filing alleges “based on information and belief.” “I saw the Governor last night,” New texted Favre. “It’s all going to work out.” Soon after, the filing alleges, the welfare agency increased its commitment from $4 million to $5 million.

May 2018: Construction again faced a funding shortfall. Favre reached out to Bryant, texts show. One week later, the project received additional funding. “Good News. I have a little money for the ‘project’ – $500,000!” New texted Favre.

October-December 2018: Favre and Vanlandingham, the Prevacus founder, had been in talks with a Mississippi-based investor group, but the deal fell through after the group asked for 95% shares in the company, with no cash investment, solely for them to use their “political clout” to secure FDA approval. So they reached out to Bryant. They offered him stock in the company. All three, in addition to others, met for dinner at Walker’s Drive-In to discuss opportunities for the company. Mississippi Today has reported on this meeting and the text exchanges surrounding it.

January-June 2019: Days after the Walker’s meeting, welfare officials met at Favre’s house and agreed on a $1.7 million grant for Prevacus. Vanlandingham texted the governor to express his excitement about working with his welfare officials. “1.95M with the Governors help,” Vanlandingham texted another Mississippi official and potential investor, according to the court filing. New began sending payments to Prevacus and Favre informed the governor of the cash flow. Vanlandingham, Favre and Bryant texted continually about Prevacus business developments. Read more in Mississippi Today’s series “The Backchannel.”

June 11, 2019: Vanlandingham met Gov. Tate Reeves, then a candidate for governor, in New Orleans. Discussing the meeting with other Prevacus board members, Vanlandingham said, “I’m meeting the governor and who he’s supporting to take his place in Mississippi. Hoping to keep that non-dilute running our way!!!” Read more in Mississippi Today’s October article.

June 21, 2019: Bryant received a tip about Davis allegedly committing fraud, which he turned over to State Auditor Shad White, effectively forcing Davis out of office.

July 2, 2019: Bryant met with New, the court filing alleges. “MDHS owed reimbursements to MCEC and New told Bryant she could no longer fund Prevacus and volleyball without the reimbursements,” the filing reads.

July 12, 2019: New texted Vanlandingham, “we can send 400k today [but] I will need to let Brett know that we will need to pull this from what we were hoping to help him with [volleyball]….” (MDHS’s civil complaint says the money was delivered on July 16, 2019.)

July 16, 2019: New texted Favre, “I may not be able to assist you in Aug. as we had planned.” Favre responded, “About to see Governor Bryant.” Favre, on his way to see the governor, texted Bryant, “I really need your help with Nancy and Jake.” Bryant responded, “You my man… we are all in….” After seeing Favre, Bryant texted New, “Just left Brett Favre. Can we help him with his project. We should meet soon to see how I can make sure we keep your projects on course.”

July 22, 2019: New submitted a grant proposal to MDHS for $2 million in additional funds to finish construction on the volleyball stadium.

August 8, 2019: Bryant texted New, “Meeting with Brett in a few. Have the proposal and working it through DHS.” Bryant and Favre met. Favre texted New that they had met about something else, and “he only had 15 minutes but he did say at the end that he will get this done with you!!!”

August-November 2019: Bryant, Favre and New worked together to try to usher the volleyball proposal through MDHS, the court filing alleges. “Bryant, using Favre as intermediary, told New how to revise the grant proposal to ‘get it accepted,’” the filing alleges. Favre texted New, “He said to me just a second ago that he has seen it but hint hint that you need to reword it to get it accepted.” Bryant secured a meeting for New and Favre with then-director Christopher Freeze to discuss the proposal. Later on, Bryant told Freeze he supported the project. Read more here.

December 2019: After a meeting between Bryant and New, the court filing alleges, the welfare agency awarded New’s nonprofit three new grants totaling $8.6 million. Bryant texts New, “Did y’all get any Of the new programs from DHS?” New responded, “Yes, we did … Someone was definitely pulling for us behind the scenes. Thank you,” to which Bryant responded with a smiley face emoji.

January 2020: Favre and Vanlandingham discussed offering Bryant a package – either stock or cash – ”that will get him determined to see [Prevacus] through.” After Bryant left office on Jan. 15, 2020, Vanlandingham texted Bryant the next day, “Now that you’re unemployed I’d like to give you a company package for all your help … we want you on our team!!!” Bryant responded, “Sounds good. Where would be the best place to meet.”

Feb. 5, 2020: John Davis, Nancy New and four others “were arrested for spending grant funds as directed, approved, facilitated, and/or furthered by MDHS, including, without limitation, the MDHS Executives, Bryant, and Davis,” the filing reads.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Mississippi Today

On this day in 1867

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mississippitoday.org – Jerry Mitchell – 2024-11-23 07:00:00

Nov. 23, 1867

Extract from the Reconstructed Constitution of the State of Louisiana, 1868. Credit: Library of Congress

The Louisiana Constitutional Convention, composed of 49 White delegates and 49 Black delegates, met in New Orleans. The new constitution became the first in the state’s history to include a bill of rights. 

The document gave property rights to married women, funded public education without segregated schools, provided full citizenship for Black Americans, and eliminated the Black Codes of 1865 and property qualifications for officeholders. 

The voters ratified the constitution months later. Despite the document, prejudice and corruption continued to reign in Louisiana, and when Reconstruction ended, the constitution was replaced with one that helped restore the rule of white supremacy.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Crystal Springs commercial painter says police damaged his eyesight

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mississippitoday.org – Mina Corpuz – 2024-11-22 12:21:00

CRYSTAL SPRINGS – Roger Horton has worked decades as a commercial painter, a skill he’s kept up with even with the challenge of having what his wife has called “one good eye.” 

It hasn’t stopped him from being able to complete detailed paint jobs and create straight lines without the help of tape. But last year following a head injury, he and others said people have been pointing out a change in his work. Horton says the sight in his right eye is clouded, like he is looking underwater.

Affected vision, short term memory and periods of irritability – potential symptoms of concussion – followed after he was arrested last September. During an encounter with several police officers, Horton alleges more than one slammed his head into a cruiser and placed handcuffs on so tight that he started to bleed. 

“(The officer) was kind of rough with me and all, and he takes my head and I said, ‘What’d I do?’” he recalled recently. 

Horton ended up being convicted of two misdemeanor charges and has paid off the fines, but a year later he still has questions about the arrest and treatment by the police. 

To date, he has not seen a doctor to evaluate his eye and check for vision or cognitive issues. Horton and his wife Rhonda don’t have a car, and transportation to doctor’s appointments in the Jackson area remains a challenge. 

The Hortons have lived in Crystal Springs all their lives, and they have lived in the home the past five years that belonged to Rhonda’s mother. 

More than a quarter of all people in Crystal Springs live below the poverty line, and that includes the couple. Rhonda Horton said it’s hard to make a living because there aren’t a lot of jobs, but they support themselves as painters. 

That’s how they met Yvonne Florczak-Seeman, who lived in Illinois and purchased her first historical property in Crystal Springs in 2019. She splits her time between the two states. 

“We painted that porch bar and the rest is history,” Rhonda Horton said, adding that they went on to complete detailed work on mantles, kitchen cabinets and a cigar room at Florczak-Seeman’s North Jackson Street residence. 

Over the years, the couple built a relationship with Florczak-Seeman, who is seeking to open a women’s empowerment center called the Butterfly Garden, in the building next to city hall. 

Yvonne Florczak-Seeman poses for a portrait at her business, The Butterfly Garden, in Crystal Springs, Miss., Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi Today

Florczak-Seeman has supported the couple numerous times, including helping them pay a late water bill and offering them work. She called them talented painters and hired them again to paint the interior of the future center, located at East Railroad Avenue. 

In pieces, Rhonda Horton told Florczak-Seeman about her husband’s arrest and later the injuries she said he sustained from it. Florczak-Seeman had questions about the encounter and other potential injustices at play, so she offered to help. 

“I just want them to pay for what they’ve done not just to him, but everybody,” Rhonda Horton said. “That’s what I want, justice.” 

The Arrest

On Sept. 24, 2023, Horton was walking home from a friend’s house when officers approached him. One grabbed his arms to handcuff him, and he remembers them cutting his wrist and causing it to bleed.

Then, he said, a second officer slammed his head into the top of the police car, followed by another officer who slammed his head again. During the encounter, a bag of marijuana that Horton said he found fell out of his pocket onto the ground. 

An officer put Horton in the back of the cruiser and took him to the station where Horton asked to speak to the police chief and call his wife. He said the police took his phone and clothes.

Afterward, he was taken to the Copiah County Detention Center in Gallman. 

Police Chief Tony Hemphill disputed Horton’s allegation of mistreatment, saying he did not sustain any injuries that required hospitalization. He said Horton’s wrist was cut while he resisted arrest. 

“He was not brutalized and targeted,” Hemphill said. “If he had just complied, he wouldn’t have had to come up there (to jail) that night.”

Two police reports from the night of the September 2023 arrest detail how officers had responded to a possible assault and were given the description of a white man. While in the area, they encountered Horton — the only person who fit that description. 

Hemphill said a mother called police after her daughter told her she was assaulted. He said officers approached Horton on the street and tried to talk with him to rule him out as a suspect. 

That’s when Horton began “fighting, pulling away, and kicking against (the officer’s) patrol vehicle, trying to run,” according to a police report from the night and Hemphill. Horton denies doing any of that. 

The next day police took Horton from the county jail to the Crystal Springs police station. There, police informed him a teenage girl reported being assaulted. After learning about the assault allegation, Horton remembered feeling shocked and saying it couldn’t be true because he was not on the street where the alleged incident took place. 

Hemphill confirmed the police investigated the assault allegation and found it not credible, meaning Horton wouldn’t face any related charges. He said he communicated this to Horton and his wife early on and since then, which the couple disputes. 

As Horton was being arrested and detained, his wife grew worried because she had just spoken with him on the phone and expected him to arrive home shortly. Rhonda Horton and her adult son started calling Roger’s phone, each not getting an answer. 

Then during one of the calls by her son, someone who did not identify himself answered Roger’s phone and said, ‘Your daddy’s dead’ and then hung up, Rhonda Horton said. 

She was starting to assume the worst had happened. Rhonda Horton wouldn’t have confirmation her husband was alive until he called from the county jail in the early morning. 

The next morning as she talked with the police chief, Rhonda Horton asked the chief about who answered the phone and told her son that Roger was dead. The chief told her the person who answered must have been from the county. 

Hemphill later told Mississippi Today that he did not know about the call and that type of behavior by his staff “is not going to be tolerated.” Similarly, Copiah County Sheriff Byron Swilley said he had not heard about it and could not say whether a member of his department made the comment to Rhonda and Roger Horton’s son. 

A Sept. 25, 2023, citation signed by Hemphill, shared with Mississippi Today, summoned Roger Horton to municipal court for the misdemeanor charges of possession of marijuana and resisting arrest and directed him not to have contact with the alleged victim in the assault case. No contact orders are typically for cases such as domestic violence and sexual assault and they are set by a judge.

LaKiedra Kangar, who works in municipal court services, said the no contact order was put in place because of the assault allegation. She confirmed Horton was not charged with the offense following the police department’s investigation of the allegation. 

Weeks passed. Roger Horton went to court for the misdemeanor charges, to which he pleaded guilty.  Felony assault charges were not part of the hearing. Municipal Court Judge Matthew Kitchens ordered Roger to pay over $900 in fines for the misdemeanors. 

Horton was able to pay for some of the fine through at least 10 hours worth of court-ordered community service, which he said involved painting buildings for the city. 

Months later after learning about Horton’s arrest and how he said the police treated him, Florczak-Seeman said she wanted to know more. Horton didn’t have access to his arrest documents, so she accompanied him and his wife to the police department to ask for them. 

The first visit, Horton asked but did not receive the arrest report. Florczak-Seeman asked if he had a fine for any of the charges, which police said Horton did even after completing some community service hours. Florczak-Seeman paid for the remaining balance and had him work for her for two days to pay that off. 

This year, they went to the police department a second time so Horton could ask for his arrest paperwork. An officer told him he didn’t need it and that the rape allegation had been investigated and found not to be credible, Horton told Mississippi Today. 

Florczak-Seeman asked why Horton couldn’t receive the report. She said Hemphill asked if she was Horton’s attorney, and Florczak-Seeman clarified she was his representative. 

The chief left for a few minutes and returned with two pieces of paper and handed them to Horton. Hemphill told Mississippi Today he did not recall whether he was the one who handed the report to Horton. 

Florczak-Seeman took the document from Horton and began to read it as they stood in the lobby. She said she was horrified to see the name of the alleged, underage victim and her address in the report.

Hemphill said the victim’s personal information should have been restricted and not doing so was an oversight. 

After reading the report, Florczak-Seeman went down the street to the mayor’s office at city hall to explain what happened, and how she believed the mayor had grounds to fire the police chief because he provided that document to Roger with the alleged victim’s information. 

Crystal Springs Mayor Sally Garland Credit: Crystal Springs website

Mayor Sally Garland confirmed she had a conversation with Florczak-Seeman about the police chief’s employment. 

She said she reviews all complaints about city officials, and Garland said she goes to the department head to get a better understanding of the situation. If she determines there are potential grounds for termination, a hearing would be scheduled with the Board of Aldermen, and the group would vote on that decision.   

Garland did not find grounds for termination, and Hemphill remains police chief. 

A Strange Visit

The Hortons and Florczak-Seeman hadn’t given much thought about the 2023 arrest, until weeks ago when a teenaged girl suddenly showed up in Florczak-Seeman’s yard. 

At the end of September at the North Jackson Street home, Florczak-Seeman heard screaming and found the teenage girl who came onto her property. She asked what was wrong, and the teenager said she was chased by a dog, which Florczak-Seeman and Rhonda Horton did not see. 

The teenager asked for a soda, and Rhonda Horton went inside to get one. Florczak-Seeman asked where the teenager lived, and she gave an answer that Florczak-Seeman said conflicted with what two girls who were standing nearby on the public sidewalk said she told them. 

Then Florczak-Seeman asked the teenager’s name and recognized it as the name of the alleged victim on Horton’s arrest record. Immediately, Florczak-Seeman said she turned to Horton and told him to stay back, and she told the teenager to get off her property, which she did. 

At the moment, they were not able to verify whether the teenager was the alleged victim from the report. Neither the Hortons nor Florczak-Seeman had seen her before, and they only knew her name from the arrest report.

“That didn’t make sense at all,” Rhonda Horton told Mississippi Today. 

Florczak-Seeman called 911 to report the situation and ask for police to come, which they did not. Hemphill told Mississippi Today a dispatcher informed him about the call with Florczak-Seeman, including details with the teenage girl and how she wanted to report the girl for trespassing. 

Florczak-Seeman is one of the people who have noticed a difference in Horton’s vision. It’s clear when comparing the detailed and clean paint job Roger completed at her Jackson Street property in 2019 and the center where he painted last year.

During an interview at the center in October, Florczak-Seeman pointed to the ceiling and noted spots that Horton did not paint. She remembers telling him about them and realized that he couldn’t see them. 

“The spots on my ceiling are still not painted, and they’re not painted as a reminder of the injustices that happened in this situation and why I got involved,” Florczak-Seeman said. 

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Job opening: Jackson Reporter

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mississippitoday.org – Mississippi Today – 2024-11-22 15:00:00

Mississippi Today, a Pulitzer Prize-winning newsroom focused on investigative and accountability journalism, is building a dedicated team of reporters to provide in-depth coverage of Jackson, Mississippi.

As the state’s largest and capital city, Jackson matters greatly to us and all Mississippians. Launched in 2016 as the state’s flagship nonprofit newsroom focused on Mississippi government and policy, Mississippi Today is focusing our lens beyond the statehouse and to the city of Jackson, serving our readers with the watchdog reporting they’ve come to expect from Mississippi Today. Our newsroom, with a proven record of providing impactful government accountability, aims to serve the city more directly with this team.

Our Jackson team will focus on sharp investigative reporting, watchdog accountability journalism and meaningful cultural storytelling. We aim to both elevate the voices of those working for positive change in the community while offering a balanced perspective on the city’s obstacles and triumphs. Our goal is to deliver impactful, honest journalism that will inform, inspire and empower Jackson’s citizens.

The team will be led by Pulitzer Prize winner Anna Wolfe, an investigative reporter with a decade of experience covering Jackson.

Roles and Responsibilities:

  • We are purposefully casting a wide net, hoping to connect with journalists of many different backgrounds who may be uniquely qualified to help us launch this team. If you’re a reporter with any of the following experience or attributes, this team may be for you.
  • Investigative reporting focused on uncovering systemic issues within government and politics. The bigger the impact of your reporting on government leaders or systems, the better.
  • Political reporting covering not only high-profile candidates for offices, but experience delving into issues and ideas that affect a community. We hope to delve deeply into a deep distrust in the city’s institutions.
  • Cultural reporting that highlights the often-overlooked success stories of citizens who are making a positive impact on their communities.
  • Strong understanding of Jackson (or similar large urban centers) and the unique challenges facing the city and its residents.
  • Commitment to the mission of balanced, impactful journalism that centers and respects the voice of the community.
  • Collaborative mindset and ability to work within a team-oriented newsroom.

The starting salary for this position is $58,000. Compensation is commensurate with experience level.

Expectations:

  • Work with a small team of journalists who are focused on social inequities and racial equality in our area.
  • Willingness to collaborate closely with a small team of like-minded journalists.
  • Get people to talk, find willing sources and protect them while telling sensitive and timely stories.
  • Build trust: Many people who have been impacted by inequities in Mississippi have been victims of predatory practices and forces. This will require empathy, patience and savvy.
  • Work with our Audience Team and data and visual journalists to create compelling story presentations.

Qualified candidates should have:

  • Experience working as a reporter in a newsroom.
  • Ability to work quickly, with accuracy and good news judgment.
  • Comfortability in digital or multimedia journalism spaces.
  • Ability to independently develop and cultivate sources.
  • Ability to use social media for research and to engage readers.

What you’ll get:

  • The opportunity to work alongside award-winning journalists and make significant contributions to Mississippi’s top nonprofit, nonpartisan digital news and information sources.
  • Highly competitive salary with medical insurance, and options for vision and dental insurance.
  • Use of appropriate technology and equipment. 
  • 29 days paid time off.
  • Up to 12 weeks of parental family leave, with return-to-work flexibility.
  • Simple IRA with 3 percent company matching. Group-term life insurance provided to employees ($15,000 policy).
  • Support for professional training and attending industry conferences.

How to Apply:

We’re committed to building an inclusive newsroom that represents the people and communities we serve. We especially encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply for this position, including women, people of color, LGBTQ people and people who are differently abled. Please apply here.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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