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3/5/2010

Lynch Mum On Criminal Investigation Involving Top Administration Official

Governor Fails To Inform The Public That His Handpicked Liquor Commission Chair On Paid Leave During AG Criminal Investigation

CONCORD –The Nashua Telegraph (3/4) reports that a top Lynch Administration official has been placed on paid leave after being ensnared in an ongoing criminal investigation conducted by the Attorney General’s office. State Liquor Commission Chairman Mark Bodi has been off the job for over two weeks now, but Governor Lynch failed to publicly disclose his suspension until confronted with questions from the Telegraph.
 
“Governor Lynch’s failure to immediately disclose the suspension of a senior member of his administration during a criminal investigation raises serious questions about his commitment to honest and transparent government. The Governor’s suspicious silence on Mark Bodi’s involvement in this probe was unacceptable and a disserve to the public.” said NHGOP Communications Director Ryan Williams. “We hope that Governor Lynch didn’t deliberately withhold details of this suspension just because Mr. Bodi is one of the his most loyal political cronies and biggest fundraisers.”
 
The Telegraph also reports that Bodi, a former Democrat state legislator and longtime activist and fundraiser for Democrat candidates, is a close associate of Governor Lynch. Bodi served on the committee that raised more than $375,000 for Lynch’s first inaugural in January 2005. Lynch handpicked Bodi in 2007 to run the state commission that controls all New Hampshire liquor sales.
 
The Attorney General’s office has declined to release details of the ongoing investigation, but the Telegraph reports that it “concerns alleged conduct during and in the days after Dec. 9, when state liquor officials with the support of Keene police executed search warrants at the Railroad Tavern in Keene.”