- MANKATO, Minn. – The Mankato Free Press editorialized that Minnesota’s First Congressional District deserves better than Congressman Jim Hagedorn’s role in a franking scandal. It was on Hagedorn’s watch that the volume of his mailings to constituents were pumped up and done so at exorbitant cost, the editorial said. “Some $460,000 of taxpayer funds were funneled to companies at less than arm’s length,” the Free Press said. “Legal or not, at his direct knowledge or not, the mailing operation was exploited for personal profit.” The mailings were contracted to:
- > A company, Abernathy West, of Delaware, which is owned by the brother of Peter Su, then Hagedorn’s chief of staff.
- > A company, Invocq Technologies, of Texas, co-owned by John Sample, a part-time Hagedorn staffer.
- When the scandal broke, the editorial noted Hagedorn claimed that he had “fully delegated” the logistics of his printing and mailing to Su. Hagedorn then fired Su. Later Su produced a taped conversation with Hagedorn in which the congressman and Su had discussed arrangements for the mailings.
- The editorial: “We know the congressman has been dealing with significant health issues. We would give more credence to his delegation explanation had he not been deeply involved in the details of the content of the mailings and had he not told his former top aide that he sees no ethical issues with the spending.”