Mayor Gary Becker: Disturbing Details

UPDATE, January 20, 2009: Mayor Gary Becker Resigns
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I didn't expect this to be pretty, but I didn't think it would be this bad. The latest on Racine Mayor Gary Becker makes my skin crawl.

The Racine Journal Times has Becker's "alleged Yahoo profile."

Becker's interests: "seducing all age females into being hot sluts"

Yuck! That's cringe-inducing.

Here's the criminal complaint.

The Journal Times gives this summary of the complaint:

A man contracted by the city as a “computer help desk technician” called police on Dec. 23, saying he had performed work on Becker’s personal computer. He is responsible for tech support for the city of Racine agencies and departments, and not to provide services for personal computers.

However, he said he did perform maintenance on Becker’s personal computer. The computer was repaired during time dedicated to contract duties with the city.

While servicing the computer, the man said he discovered about six pornographic images, possibly depicting underage females, and he then called police.

Racine police contacted the Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigations. On Jan. 7 Agent Eric Szatkowski applied for and received a search warrant for the computer’s hard drive. Upon review, Szatkowski reported he saw images of a pubescent female in a sexually provocative pose and adult females engaging in sexual activity.

An abbreviation on at least one file – DAU – indicates a fetish for incest, according to Szatkowski.

On Jan. 13 Szatkowski met with Racine Police Chief Kurt Wahlen, the complaint states. Wahlen told Szatkowski that a former IT contractor with the city had reported that in August 2007 he repaired another personal computer belonging to Becker. He turned over a CD of files from that computer, including some that appeared to be child pornography.

There was also evidence, according to the complaint, that Becker had been involved in more than 1,800 online chats of a sexually-explicit nature, with adults and juveniles.

A Yahoo! Messenger profile Becker created, according to the complaint, lists his interest as “seducing all age females into being hot sluts.”

Agent Szatkowski then created a profile, “Hope_Ulikeme14,” where he would pose as a 14-year-old girl, to try to engage Becker in online chats.

At the time, Becker used the screen name of “m reed,” Szatkowski reported.

During the chats, the complaint states, “m reed” indicated his name was Gary, that he was 6 feet tall and weighed about 210 pounds. He indicated he was interested in sexual activity with “Hope_Ulikeme14,” who said she was in eighth grade. A photograph of a former DCI intern was sent to “m reed.”

He gave a phone number to call after school on Jan. 13, the complaint said, and they agreed to meet at the Brookfield Square Mall in Brookfield. Becker also allegedly said he would buy the girl presents at “VS,” which Szatkowski believed was Victoria’s Secret, and wrote that “it will be hard to keep my hands off u in public,” and referenced going to a hotel room to have “lots of fun,” and said he wanted to take pictures of her modeling her new lingerie.

By phone, on Jan. 13, agents arranged to meet “m reed” in the food court of Brookfield Square. In a second call, made at 4:15 p.m. Jan. 13, “m reed” allegedly said “We better chat more, this is too dangerous,” and asked the analyst on the phone if she was “a cop.”

“M reed” said it would take about a ½ hour to get to the mall and asked what the girl would be wearing.

Surveillance was then set up at the food court. At about 5:30 p.m. Szatkowski said he saw Becker at the food court, approached him and asked if he was Mr. Reed. Becker reportedly identified himself as Gary Becker.

Szatkowski reports he informed Becker that he had received a complaint from a mother about improper Internet use by her daughter. After being advised of his rights, Becker said he was at the mall to eat and shop at Victoria’s Secret for his wife because too many people know him in Racine.

The agent reported that Becker initially said he was not “Mr. Reed,” but then admitted that he was. When Szatkowski produced a copy of the online chat, Becker admitted the chat log was his.

I can't believe that Becker would be so stupid that he'd hand over his personal computer to a technician, knowing he had child porn on it.

It's amazing that he was so clueless, absolutely amazing. (I wonder if he wanted to be outed as a pedophile.)

Becker's profound stupidity is the least disturbing of the revelations.

The online chat that Becker had with "hope ulikeme14" is nauseating.

The chat is bad enough, but then Becker actually went to Brookfield Square thinking he was going to meet a middle school girl. He wanted more than online interaction.

I feel awful for Becker's wife and kids. They must be so traumatized by this.

Thankfully, Becker was stupid and got caught. I wonder how many, if any, of his 1,800 sexually explicit online chats resulted in face to face meetings.

At least his days of preying on children appear to be over.

Becker is the mayor of Racine! It's not like he's some creep with nothing to lose.

He is a seriously screwed up man.
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Aldermen mixed about asking mayor to resign

WHAT???

Becker admitted to Agent Eric Szatkowski that the online chat log was his. He initialed a copy of the complaint.



On "1-13-09," Becker wrote, "These pages are an accurate representation of my chat conversation with hope ulikeme14," and he wrote his initials, "GB."

I don't understand how the aldermen can be confused about the appropriate thing to do given that admission. There's no way that Becker can be an effective mayor. The aldermen should ask for his resignation. It's over.