Mississippi
State fires attorney probing former Gov. Phil Bryant in welfare scandal lawsuit
![State fires attorney probing former Gov. Phil Bryant in welfare scandal lawsuit State fires attorney probing former Gov. Phil Bryant in welfare scandal lawsuit](https://mississippitoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/AP_161473713951-scaled.jpg)
The state welfare division has fired Brad Pigott, the previous U.S. lawyer it contracted to claw again thousands and thousands in misspent federal funds from dozens of individuals in Mississippi’s sprawling welfare scandal.
The termination comes a few week after Pigott filed a subpoena on the College of Southern Mississippi Athletic Basis for its communication with a number of notable individuals, together with former Gov. Phil Bryant, to unravel why it obtained $5 million in welfare funds to construct a volleyball stadium.
“All I did, and I imagine all that brought on me to be terminated from representing the division or having something to do with the litigation, was to attempt to get the reality about all of that,” Pigott instructed Mississippi At present hours after his firing on Friday. “Individuals are going to go to jail over this, no less than the state ought to be keen to seek out out the reality of what occurred.”
It’s unclear how Pigott’s termination will have an effect on the welfare company’s civil lawsuit, which promised to probe gamers within the welfare scheme and reply questions that present felony proceedings wouldn’t. Simply final week, Pigott had scheduled depositions with key gamers within the scheme, together with former NFL quarterback Brett Favre.
Pigott mentioned he was not given a motive for his termination, however that Mississippi Division of Human Providers officers instructed him it was not associated to the standard of his authorized work.
Officers on the Mississippi Division of Human Providers and the Legal professional Basic’s Workplace, which needed to log out on Pigott’s contract and is included on the civil lawsuit, didn’t return calls Friday. Pigott mentioned each businesses had been conscious of his intent to subpoena the athletic basis days earlier than he filed.
Current revelations concerning the welfare scandal, initially investigated by former Bryant marketing campaign supervisor and Bryant appointee State Auditor Shad White, impressed former state and federal officers to query whether or not White’s shut political ties to Bryant might have jeopardized an neutral investigation.
“I’m certain they’ll discover a loyal Republican lawyer to do the work,” mentioned Pigott, a former President Invoice Clinton appointee.
Pigott’s firing comes simply days after he filed authorized paperwork zoning in on high-profile gamers within the scheme — together with Bryant and Favre — which have to date escaped authorized scrutiny for his or her involvement.
Mississippi At present uncovered in April that Bryant started helping Favre with a enterprise referred to as Prevacus simply days earlier than the corporate obtained a dedication of $2 million in welfare funds. The cash got here from a nonprofit run by then-First Woman Deborah Bryant’s buddy Nancy New, who was given authority to spend tens of thousands and thousands of funds from MDHS. Texts confirmed the previous governor was poised to just accept shares in Prevacus after he left workplace, till the February 2020 arrests derailed the association.
READ MORE: Phil Bryant had his sights on a payout as welfare funds flowed to Brett Favre
New, a defendant within the civil go well with who additionally pleaded responsible to costs of bribery and fraud, additionally lately alleged for the primary time publicly that Gov. Bryant directed her to make a $1.1 million welfare fee to Favre.
In early Could, Pigott filed a civil go well with in opposition to 38 individuals or corporations in an try and recoup roughly $24 million in welfare cash the state says they squandered. These funds had been supposed to deal with poverty within the poorest state within the nation.
Pigott was blocked, nevertheless, from together with in his preliminary criticism something concerning the $5 million in welfare funds that went to construct the USM volleyball stadium — a fee impressed by Favre.
“I used to be forbidden to take action by political operatives who regard themselves as greater up than the director of the MDHS,” he instructed Mississippi At present.
MDHS is an company straight overseen by Gov. Tate Reeves’ workplace. Reeves appointed the present MDHS director tasked with cleansing up the scandal, Bob Anderson, who labored with Pigott within the native U.S. attorneys workplace within the Nineteen Nineties and knowledgeable Pigott of his termination Friday.
Earlier than Favre linked with New to fund Prevacus, the pharmaceutical begin he was investing in, he had sought her assistance on the volleyball undertaking.
“She has robust connections and gave me 5 million for Vball facility through grant cash,” he texted Jake Vanlandingham, founding father of Prevacus, in late 2018.
To justify the funds, New’s nonprofit Mississippi Group Training Heart disguised the $5 million settlement with the athletic basis as a lease of the college’s athletic services, in response to the indictment in opposition to Nancy New’s son Zach New. The nonprofit claimed it might use campus property to host occasions and applications for the realm’s “underserved inhabitants,” a nod to the precise objective of the grant funds it was utilizing. In trade, the athletic basis would construct the volleyball stadium, which it referred to as a “wellness middle,” and embrace places of work within the constructing the place the nonprofit might host anti-poverty applications. This by no means occurred.
READ MORE: ‘You caught your neck out for me’: Brett Favre used fame and favors to tug welfare {dollars}
Auditor White questioned the $5 million fee in his explosive 2020 audit of the Mississippi Division of Human Providers. Alfred Rankins, commissioner of the Establishments of Increased Studying, denied in a letter to White that the board had any involvement on this scheme, to which White responded, “As an alternative of quibbling, maybe your time may very well be higher spent offering the general public with a plan for the Wellness Heart for use by the at-risk group in Hattiesburg and offering that to me in a letter. This fashion, the TANF cash that was paid for the Heart may be used to profit the group it was supposed to profit.”
Pigott argues the lease settlement was deliberately deceitful.
“It’s apparent from printed data that Brett Favre admitted in a textual content that that $5 million in Division of Human Providers grant cash was, in his thoughts, a present to him, which he made clear was to absolve him of paying that cash himself to his alma mater to construct such a volleyball facility,” Pigott instructed Mississippi At present. “That was unsuitable and it was in opposition to the legislation and it value the TANF program $5 million.”
“And it’s additionally apparent from public data,” he continued, “that the USM Athletic Basis knew all of this and agreed to and signed a sham, fraudulent, so-called lease settlement with Nancy New’s entity pretending that the $5 million was to permit Nancy New’s entity to make use of the soccer stadium at USM, and the basketball enviornment at USM, and the baseball enviornment at USM, and the parking heaps related therewith, all of which was a lie, because the USM athletic basis effectively knew.”
Bryant instructed Mississippi At present in April that he was conscious of Favre’s USM volleyball imaginative and prescient.
“That volleyball factor stored developing, and popping up, after which it’d go away,” he mentioned.
Within the fall of 2019, after the auditor’s investigation had begun, Bryant hosted a gathering at his workplace with Favre, Nancy New and Bryant’s newly appointed welfare director Christopher Freeze. Favre had been complaining that he “owed” over $1 million on the volleyball stadium. Bryant mentioned New requested within the assembly for extra money for the constructing, which was beneath development, and Bryant mentioned he instructed her “no.”
Pigott subpoenaed communication between USM athletic basis board members or staff and Phil Bryant, Deborah Bryant, Favre, Nancy New, her sons Zach New and Jess New, former welfare division director John Davis and retired wrestler Ted “Teddy” DiBiase Jr.
“It is usually apparent from printed data that the variety of lies that the USM Athletic Basis instructed on a lease settlement is a bigger quantity than maybe anyone else instructed on paper in the middle of this whole pathetic story of misuse of cash supposed to not go as presents to well-known celebrities or to athletic applications of universities however as an alternative to go to the neediest households within the state,” Pigott mentioned.
Pigott had additionally filed a discover of depositions that he scheduled between August and November for the next people: Zach New, Jess New, Nicholas Coughlin, Adam Such, Nancy New, Christi Webb, Paul LaCoste, Jacob VanLandingham, Brett Favre, Teddy DiBiase Jr., Brian Smith, Ted DiBiase Sr. and Coronary heart of David Ministries, and Austin Smith. It’s unclear if the state will transfer ahead with these hearings with out Pigott.
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Mississippi
‘If they cannot play Thalia Hall, they cannot play in Mississippi at all’: Broadway in Jackson speaks out about possible show cancellations
![‘If they cannot play Thalia Hall, they cannot play in Mississippi at all’: Broadway in Jackson speaks out about possible show cancellations ‘If they cannot play Thalia Hall, they cannot play in Mississippi at all’: Broadway in Jackson speaks out about possible show cancellations](https://gray-wlbt-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/3KMJQZPKGBHNRCT7NENQ3O72YY.png?auth=8e7e3183f489f41a63616389bdae4dd45efc187856d208138265c67183c736b4&width=1200&height=600&smart=true)
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – It’s been one month since Thalia Mara Hall closed its doors due to a mold outbreak.
Innovation Arts and Entertainment is the company responsible for bringing Broadway productions to Jackson.
Representatives from the company visited Jackson after hearing the building had been closed.
CEO Adam Epstein says the City of Jackson did not inform them of the news.
“We did not find out from anybody within the city. We found out by reading news clippings forwarded to us by other people in Jackson,” Epstein said.
Certified Industrial Hygienic Testing reported visible dirt, debris, and suspected mold growth on many surfaces.
Epstein fears this could change the possibility of bigger shows coming to the capital city.
“They’re going to skip over us because of this mess. We need to show as a community that Jackson cares about this valuable asset and that we demand our elected leaders to support and treat this really, incredibly valuable asset with the TLC it deserves,” he said.
Thalia Mara Hall is the only venue in the state that can host a Broadway production due to the technical needs and accommodations required.
“Touring theatrical shows. If they cannot play Thalia Hall, they cannot play in Mississippi at all,” he said.
Broadway in Jackson is not only a great source of entertainment in the city, but it’s also beneficial economically.
“Those other businesses don’t benefit. The city doesn’t earn tax revenue from events that we present. They don’t earn rental income from the events we present. They don’t earn facility fees from the events we present. This is a real tragedy. It’s unacceptable.”
The well-being of the potential audience is the company’s main priority.
“I will not risk our ticket buyers’ health and safety and comfort. Our shows can and will cancel before we’d ever put somebody in jeopardy. We’ve issued a 100% guarantee of a full refund if the venue is not given a clean bill of health,” Epstein said.
All shows will be canceled on a case-to-case basis.
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Mississippi
Tire failure suspected in deadly Mississippi bus crash, NTSB says
![Tire failure suspected in deadly Mississippi bus crash, NTSB says Tire failure suspected in deadly Mississippi bus crash, NTSB says](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2021/07/11/USAT/9631b18b-dce5-449d-a448-47f4b71a9b44-MS-01.png?auto=webp&crop=3954,2224,x823,y443&format=pjpg&width=1200)
Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board are conducting a probe into Saturday’s crash that killed seven and injured 36 people.
The deadly bus crash in Mississippi that killed seven people and injured dozens of others early Saturday occurred after the vehicle experienced a tire failure, causing it to run off the road and overturn, officials and authorities said.
Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board, in coordination with the Mississippi Highway Patrol, are conducting a probe into Saturday’s crash that left seven people dead and another 36 people injured. The collision occurred at about 12:40 a.m. on Interstate 20 near Vicksburg, Mississippi, when the bus left the roadway and overturned.
The bus, which authorities described as a 2018 Volvo commercial passenger bus, traveled westbound when its left front tire failed, NTSB member Todd Inman said at a news conference Sunday. The bus then moved onto an embankment and rolled over on its left side.
Inman added that investigators will be at the scene for at least another week and are looking into several factors of the crash, including the vehicle’s mechanical condition, motor carrier safety, the condition and experience of the driver, and environmental factors.
According to U.S. Department of Transportation records, the bus was operated by Autobuses Regiomontanos. Records show that in the 24 months before Saturday, the transit company’s vehicles were involved in one fatal crash, two injury collisions, and a crash requiring a tow truck.
The transit company has over 20 years of experience and provides trips between more than 100 destinations throughout Mexico and the United States, according to Autobuses Regiomontanos’ website.
“Everyone at the NTSB sends their expressions of sorrow for everything that the survivors and victims of this crash went through,” Inman said.
7 killed, 36 injured in bus crash
The bus carried a total of 41 passengers and two drivers, according to authorities. It was traveling from Atlanta to Dallas when the incident occurred.
No other vehicles were involved in the crash, according to Master Sergeant Kervin K. Stewart with the Mississippi Highway Patrol. Six people were pronounced dead at the scene and another person died later at a hospital, Stewart said.
Another 36 people were transported to area hospitals.
Warren County Coroner Doug Huskey said two victims killed in the crash were identified by their mother as a 16-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy, according to The New York Times. Authorities were working to identify the other victims.
Contributing: Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY
Mississippi
This drive showed where Mississippi State football offense can improve for Arizona State
![This drive showed where Mississippi State football offense can improve for Arizona State This drive showed where Mississippi State football offense can improve for Arizona State](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/authoring-images/2024/09/01/PNAS/75036945007-usatsi-24127468.jpg?auto=webp&crop=2927,1648,x0,y152&format=pjpg&width=1200)
STARKVILLE — Mississippi State football’s offense had a high-flying Saturday in coach Jeff Lebby’s first game.
It scored touchdowns on six of its first nine drives — one of which was a one-play kneel down to end the first half — leaving Eastern Kentucky buried early and deep at Davis Wade Stadium. It was a 56-7 win for the Bulldogs, with them leading 35-0 at one point in the first half.
Baylor transfer Blake Shapen was superb at quarterback and numerous wide receivers such as Jordan Mosley, Kevin Coleman, Mario Craver Jr. and Creed Whittemore made big plays against EKU (0-1).
Even still, Lebby wasn’t completely satisfied with the performance.
“I think there was a whole lot of good,” Lebby said postgame. “Proud of our guys for their energy and their competitive spirit and toughness they played with, but there’s so many things to clean up. I think that’s the biggest takeaway is that you got a chance to go win the way we won, but we’re going to need to play better, play cleaner and that’s where we’re going to look forward to as we get back into it.”
Take Mississippi State’s third offensive drive as an example of where it can improve.
It was the Bulldogs first drive where they didn’t score points, even though it began at the MSU 46-yard line.
MSU (1-0) was penalized for an illegal formation on the first play of the drive, negating a 47-yard catch-and-run from Craver. Three plays later, after Shapen scrambled 12 yards for a first down, MSU was whistled for another illegal formation. Mississippi State then failed to convert on 4th-and-3 from the EKU 33-yard line.
Those were the only penalties committed by Mississippi State’s offense all night, but it’s not the first time we’ve heard of those types of MSU infractions. In the preseason, following Mississippi State’s first scrimmage that was closed to the public, Lebby noted that “non-playing penalties” were a work in progress.
Players have said that Lebby’s up-tempo pace has been an adjustment. Perhaps it’s one that’s still ongoing.
“Looking back at the game, we did a lot of good things, but there were a couple drives that we killed the drive,” Shapen said. “So, we can keep getting better. I think an emphasis for me is just to let everybody know that we haven’t arrived or anything. We got a lot more to prove, especially going in to play a good Arizona State team next week.”
MORE: Jeff Lebby says Mississippi State football didn’t put on a good enough show. Here’s how he’s wrong
Arizona State might be better than anticipated
MSU’s Week 2 game at Arizona State (9:30 p.m., ESPN) was always going to be its most challenging in the nonconference schedule, but it looks even more so now.
Arizona State routed Wyoming 48-7 on Saturday night. The Sun Devils were about a seven-point favorite entering the game in Tempe, and Wyoming, historically, is no cakewalk in the Group of 5. It was an impressive statement from second-year coach Kenny Dillingham after a 4-9 season in 2023.
The Sun Devils (1-0) scored two defensive touchdowns, forced three turnovers and held Wyoming (0-1) to 118 total yards of offense. Sixty-two of those yards came in the fourth quarter with the game already well decided.
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
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