TrooperGate Sequel: The Brother-In-Law

For the record, I didn't vote for SP, but I have to admit I was more-or-less impressed with the first few months of her term as governor. Her downhill slide began with Troopergate and if you remember that scandal, it involved the Kenai when she appointed Chuck Kopp as the head of the Dep't of Public Safety.  Chuck had a few skeletons in his closet, namely having several sex harassment charges brought against him by women who worked for the city of Kenai. He lasted about two weeks on that new job when the news about the charges escaped the gravitational abyss of the Kenai City Council .  I'm not writing now to rehash those memories, but it seems that the current governor has now appointed a former Pennsylvania judge to a state job. That non-Alaskan seems to have used his connection to Chuck Kopp and the christian right in Alaska to get the appointment. Oh, and that ex-judge is under investigation for illegally destroying evidence in a drug case and 16 other criminal cases and has a domestic violence restraining order against him. He was removed as a criminal court judge as a result and resigned shortly afterward. The PA judge in question, Paul Pozonsky, is married to Chuck Kopp's sister, Sarah

Alrighty, let's check out the chain of events.

1) Chuck Kopp was asked to step down as head of DOS after 2 weeks and given $10,000 for the bother.  He then took a law enforcement position in King Salmon for a while.

2) Chuck and his wife are hired by AK Senator Fred Dyson.  Chuck is Dyson's Chief of Staff.

3) There's an opening for a state job, a hearing officer for the AK Dep't of Labor.  Yes, the department that is suppose to promote Alaskan hires.

4) The application process for that job closes.  Interviews are conducted and maybe even some qualified Alaskan was about to be hired.

5) For some reason, the hiring process was re-opened and there was one more applicant, Paul Pozonsky. He got the job despite being from out-of-state, despite being under criminal investigation and despite being in violation of the ethical standards listed for employment for the position.

I guess the Alaska Republican Party is really all about family values, well if you are in the right family.

Check out a PA TV News spot about him here.

Read more about the story at the ADN here or at the Mudflats, here and here.