One of the strongest arguments for ethics reform in the Missouri Legislature is being provided by the man who will become Speaker of the House if the Democrats regain the majority in 2010.
Documents posted today on the Missouri Ethics Commission website show that Rep. Mike Talboy, D-Kansas City, added another $418.31 in lobbyists' gifts in September, increasing his total for the year to $13,139.15.
Talboy's total included $88 in the entertainment category, with the repetitive explanation "entertainment" from John Kristan Jones, lobbyist for Sprint Nextel on Sept. 20.
The same ruse of listing "entertainment" under the entertainment category, without specifying the kind of entertainment, was used by Drue Duncan, Pfizer lobbyist for $84 on Sept. 22. Duncan also provided meals worth $35.72, according to the Ethics Commission documents.
Events that were taking place at the Sprint Center in Talboy's home area on Sept. 20 and 22 were Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus and a hockey game between the New York Islanders and the Los Angeles Kings.
Lobbyist Thomas Holloway, Missouri State Medical Association, was specific about a $70 entertainment expense for the "Speaker's Golf Tournament."
Talboy's excesses have been accounted in prevoius Turner Report posts with all of them rehashed on an Oct. 1 post.
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(Randy Turner's new book, Newspaper Days, is available at Amazon.com.)
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