Latasha Jackson

Latasha Jackson really pisses me off. Others like her piss me off.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

The government now admits it overpaid Milwaukee child-care provider Latasha Jackson $103,547, in just a four-month period. And that's probably just the beginning.

Regulators are reviewing recent records that could uncover hundreds of thousands more in misspent taxpayer money.

The Journal Sentinel reported last week that Jackson received nearly $3 million in public funding from the troubled Wisconsin Shares program over the last decade, bought a Jaguar convertible and built a 7,600-square-foot mansion with an indoor pool and indoor basketball court - all while regulators ignored evidence she was cheating the system.

Federal and local law enforcement agencies have now taken note of the case.

Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. said he'll assign two deputies to investigate the case. The FBI and the U.S. attorney's office say they also have jurisdiction, hinting that they may act.

MAY act?

Someone better act.

...As part of its series, the Journal Sentinel has identified more than $5.7 million in suspicious payments. Prosecutors statewide have filed just a handful of criminal cases against child-care providers in recent years, most after the newspaper's investigation.

The Milwaukee Police Department has just one detective dedicated to child-care subsidy fraud. Department officials would not say whether they would investigate Jackson.

"Our investigation into child-care fraud cases is continuing and is very active at this time," spokeswoman Anne E. Schwartz said.

Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm said his office doesn't have the staff to handle such cases. His office typically will weigh in only once law enforcement presents a case.

"I certainly would do it if I had the resources," he said.

The state attorney general's office would not comment. At least one lawmaker is calling on Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen to get involved.

"The AG needs to be all over this thing," said state Sen. Rob Cowles (R-Green Bay), a 22-year lawmaker. "They need to find the time. . . . This is the worst case of waste in government I've ever seen."

We need some immediate action on this.

It has to be clear that such fraud will not be tolerated. Without prosecutions and harsh penalties, we're inviting crooks to abuse the system.

...As for punishment of any of the bureaucrats involved with Jackson's case:

...The state appears to have taken no disciplinary action against any of its workers involved in Jackson's case. When asked what had been done, a spokeswoman replied in an e-mail that the state erred in relicensing Jackson but quickly revoked her license and cut off public funding once it learned of the mistake.

"The Department of Children and Families does not tolerate fraud," [Erika Monroe-Kane, spokeswoman for the state Department of Children and Families], said.

BS.

Of course, it tolerates fraud. That has to stop.

These leeches make me sick.

I don't want my tax dollars being used to buy a Jaguar or build a mansion with an indoor pool and basketball court for a crook like Jackson.

I want justice.