Draft:List of Nebraska political scandals

• Comment: See Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Articles_for_creation#"List_of_x_state_political_scandals"_drafts Qcne (talk) 17:00, 10 December 2023 (UTC)

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List of Nebraska political scandals

Scope and organization of political scandals

This article provides a list of political scandals which occurred in the U.S. State of Nebraska. It is organized in reverse chronological order from most recent to oldest.

Politician is defined as "a person who is professionally involved in politics", and includes not only those elected to office, their staffs and appointees, but also those who routinely work in politics such as pollsters. Major officials of political parties and their staffs, as well as those elected by their party to be candidates are also included. Local politicians, mayors, sheriffs, and county officials should not be included.

Scandal is defined as "loss of, or damage to, reputation caused by actual or apparent violation of morality or propriety". Breaking the law is always considered a scandal. The finding of a public court is the sole method used to determine a violation of law, but it is not the sole method of determining a scandal.

Please note that all people are considered innocent until proven guilty. Allegations of misconduct do not imply guilt nor do admissions of guilt in the absence of a conviction. Investigations that end without a determination do not imply innocence.

Breaches of ethics, unproven crimes or cover-ups may or may not result in inclusion depending on the amount of publicity generated, and the seriousness of the crime, if any. Notoriety and notability are a major determinant of a scandal. Politicians who resign, quit, flee, or commit suicide while being investigated or threatened with investigation may also be included.

Different scandals on different dates may result in multiple listings.

The list does not include crimes that occur outside the politician's tenure (such as before or after his term in office) unless they specifically stem from acts made while in office, such as bribery, and discovered later.

Given the political nature of legislatures where the leading party has determining power, politicians who are Rebuked, Denounced, Censured, Admonished, Condemned, Suspended, Reprimanded, Found in Contempt, Found to have Acted Improperly, or of using Poor Judgment are not included unless the scandal is exceptional or leads to further action such as expulsion, conviction or resignation.

Executive pardons may or may not be mentioned, but do not erase the scandal. The verdict and legal proceedings are not affected by pardons, but may affect the sentence.

State of Nebraska

• Michael Groene (R) State Senator, from North Platte in District 42 was accused of taking inappropriate photos of a female legislative aide without her knowledge and adding sexual comments to them. When a formal investigation was called for, he abruptly announced his retirement and resigned. (2022)

• Max J. Kelch ( ) Justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court, appointed by Republican Governor Pete Ricketts, abruptly resigned his position when an Ethics Committee announced an investigation into alleged sexual comments. (2018)

• Evangelos Argyrakis (D) Candidate for Attorney General, confronted his 82 year old father and accused him of taking money from his mother and then assaulted him. He was arrested, found guilty of abuse of a vulnerable adult and sentenced to three years probation. (2018)

• Bill Kintner (R) State Senator from the 2nd District, was fined for using his government laptop for sex calls. He then referred to his colleagues as monkeys and whores, and used racial slurs on constituents. He resigned 45 minutes before an expulsion vote. (2017)

• Lavon Heidemann (R) Lt. Governor, was running for re-election, when his sister filed a complaint alleging violent behavior. After a judge granted her a protective order, Heidemann resigned the next day. (2014)

• Rick Sheehy (R) Lt. Governor, used his state issued cell phone for four years making thousands of calls to four women who were not his wife. When the story broke, he resigned. (2013)

• Scott Lautenbaugh (R) State Representative from District 18, was arrested for drunk driving with a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit. He was sentenced to 2 days in jail, a year’s probation, an ignition interlock device was installed for one year, and he was fined $500. (2013)

• Brenda Council (D) State Senator from Omaha in the 11th District, withdrew money from her campaign fund for gambling. Even though she repaid the funds, she was found guilty of wire fraud and was sentenced to three years' probation along with fines and assessments of $600. (2013)

• Danielle Nantkes Conrad (D) State Senator from the 46th District, was stopped on suspicion of DUI after her car hit a snowplow in downtown Lincoln. She was found guilty and sentenced to 12 months’ probation, ordered to pay $1000 in fines, lost her driver’s license for 60 days, and was subjected to an ignition interlock device being issued. (2007)

• Ray Mossey (R) State Senator from Papillion, was arrested for drunk driving, and pled no contest to prescription drug charges. He was sentenced to 2 years probation and one year probation for drunken driving. He was also fined $14,000 for using campaign finance funds to pay for an online dating service and a tattoo parlor. (2005)

• David Hergert (R) Regent of the University of Nebraska, faced allegations he had broken campaign finance laws. He admitted misstating his assets in loan documents and pled guilty to two counts of false reporting and obstructing government operations. He was given five years' probation and ordered to pay $654,000 in fines. (2005)

• Lorelee Byrd (R) State Treasurer, pled guilty to a charge of official misconduct related to $300,000 in state checks she wrote to businesses and stored in her office vault for three months. She resigned. (2003)

See also:

List of federal political scandals in the United States List of federal political sex scandals in the United States

List of American state and local politicians convicted of crimes List of Alabama political scandals List of Arizona political scandals List of Arkansas political scandals List of California political scandals List of Colorado political scandals List of Connecticut political scandals List of Delaware political scandals List of Florida political scandals List of Georgia political scandals List of Hawaii political scandals List of Idaho political scandals List of Illinois political scandals List of Indiana political scandals List of Iowa political scandals

References