Tuesday, April 19, 2022

Putting the Family First

Reporter Anna Wolfe continued to plumb the depths of the DHS scandal yesterday as she covered Governor Phil Bryant's efforts to use DHS and Nancy New non-profits to help his troubled nephew.  Ms. Wolfe reported: 

Noah McRae was the kind of kid who, if you said the sky is blue, would argue it is red until he was ready to fight.

Growing up in the Jackson suburbs, McRae had problems with authority and his temper. His parents divorced. He bounced from school to school, and he eventually started using drugs.

But he had at least one thing going for him that other young men didn’t: His great-uncle is Phil Bryant, Mississippi’s governor from 2012 to 2020.

And the governor had two things: A friend named Nancy New and a welfare department with millions in flexible cash and free rein to hire whomever it wanted. Both came in handy when McRae needed some help....

Unfortunately, it's hard to help someone who isn't ready to change his ways. The nephew bounced out of school and into prison.

A few weeks after leaving prison, New’s nonprofit began paying the 19-year-old small, sporadic payments, records obtained by Mississippi Today show. He was paid under a welfare-funded program called Families First for Mississippi, according to the ledger of purchases.

While New’s nonprofit claimed to provide reentry services to people leaving the correctional system, New stressed to Mississippi Today in 2018 that Families First did not provide direct assistance to clients.

So it’s not clear what McRae may have been doing in exchange for the payments, but it wasn’t long until an exchange of text messages indicated that something was amiss with the young man. State employed welfare officials were spending work hours trying to keep an eye on him....

“The boy needs help quickly or he is going to fall badly. Thanks for all your have done,” Bryant said in a text to Davis on April 1, 2019.

The request brought the combined resources and interests of the state’s welfare department and New’s nonprofit together for another attempt to help McRae. It’s unclear how far that help went....

According to the texts, Bryant was specifically asking Davis for information about how to get his great-nephew into a treatment program, but an individual with close ties to the welfare scandal says McRae received much more than a referral.

In a transcript from a 2021 interview with federal investigators, the person told agents that New said she paid for McRae to go to rehab.

Bryant told Mississippi Today in a recent interview that he did not recall New paying for his great-nephew to go to rehab, but that he felt it might be an appropriate use of her resources.

“I don’t know all the guidelines, but for an agency that works with the Department of Human Services and I don’t remember her doing it, but saying, ‘We think we can pay for a rehab of this very fragile, indigent child. We think that’s the right thing to do,’ would not have shocked me,” Bryant said. “I would not have said, ‘Whoa, wait a minute, let me go read the code books and make sure we can do all of that.’”....Rest of article.

Unfortunately, their efforts went for naught.  Young McRae is back in prison.  

 

49 comments:

Anonymous said...

Phil lead the biggest fraud of a state government in recent history, and can still laugh and smile as he talks about all his good intentions and how much he loves Jesus. It makes you wonder if he has always been a huge piece of shit or if becoming governor brought it out of him. He belongs in jail, but there is no justice for corrupt assholes like him. I hope that Anna can keep digging into this and stay safe, she has done a hell of a job so far. I’d be willing to vote for her over any of Phil’s enablers.

Anonymous said...

When all is said and done this matter will be relegated to the Mississippi scandal and corruption files. Few will remember, even fewer will give a shit.

Anonymous said...

By all accounts spoiled rotten from day one and no one ever even tried to fix him until it was to late. Plenty of kids have ODD(opp defy disorder) and are know it all's .... you gotta pay attention to your kids and handle them at the first sign of shit assery. If you don't then they raise themselves along with the other little shitasses in the subdivision.

Anonymous said...

Mr. Law and Order is suspected of criminal behavior. Say it ain't so.

Anonymous said...

Go ANNA!!! Kick Phil Butt!

Anonymous said...

Is Phil as crooked as a dog's hind leg?

Is "crooked Mississippi politician" an oxymoron?

Is Shadrack fixin' to run for governor?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Anonymous said...

Blood is thicker than water, even if it's contaminated blood.

Anonymous said...

So you mean to tell me nepotism and the “hook up” ain’t just among black politicians in Jackson? Good ol white folks do it too but almost never get caught? Now there’s a revelation for ya!

Anonymous said...

@9:43 why are people still touting Shad as some savior or corruption fighting hero? He's clearly tried to cover Phil's ass in this situation. You gonna tell me Anna Wolfe has all of this info and Shad's office doesn't have it? Shad better be worried about his ass instead of his political future.

Anonymous said...

Farve continues to skate-

Anonymous said...

Brad is going to sing on the witness stand. Bryant is praying everyone takes a plead deal. He played it safe enough and, the guy who came to him to report on the misuse of funds unwittingly tipped him off and saved him from getting indicted too.

Anonymous said...

Small trite comments are all you've got Melvin.

Anonymous said...

9:55 : Nary a soul can disagree with this.

Anonymous said...

So who is going to pay the feds back for Phil’s nephew’s drug rehab vacation? I’m assuming Phil won’t be volunteering to make it right.

Anonymous said...

Phil and Shad sittin' in a tree, ........

Anonymous said...

So let me get this straight. Shad sends demand letters to volunteers who served on the boards of these nonprofits, who are entitled by law to immunity, but doesn't send one to Phil or his family?? Something stinks.

Anonymous said...

Yes, there is a way to get such a young man help. It is an involuntary commitment to the state hospital.

Unfortunately, under Bryant and LT. Gov. Tate Reeves, the men's alcohol and drug program was underfunded with not enough beds. It was even closed completely for a significant period of time a few years ago, due to lack of funding.

Someone who knows more about this than I, please chime in.

Anonymous said...

So publicly, Governor Shithead required welfare recipients to take drug tests, but privately he used the welfare money to pay for his family’s drug rehab. Quite the two faced conman and yet somehow only a reporter was bothered enough and had the morals to look further into their corruption. I guess this is business as usual for most Mississippi Republicans so why would they think to look into it?

Anonymous said...

Surely Bryant & his family have plenty of money & could have paid for his great nephew's rehab. The kid was such a mess, sounds like, that the family just wanted to dump him on the state & be done with him. Hope that's not the case, but there's no way taxpayers should have picked up the rehab tab.

Anonymous said...

“My office investigates. We ID the facts.” - Shad White.

Question 1: Did Shad’s investigation turn up these texts and emails implicating Phil Bryant?

If no, it appears he oversaw a half-ass investigation. Anna Wolfe seems to have obtained the texts and emails fairly easy. If yes, see Question 2.

Question 2: Why had Shad seemingly engaged in an intentional and concerted effort to protect Phil Bryant?



Phil might want the feds to send him an invite so he can spend his time at a Club Fed rather than the MDOC said...

I'm starting to think that Phil Bryant may get another chance at reforming the Mississippi prison system. I'm sure he'd be motivated to do his best work if he is on the inside. For sure he won't be the first christian former deputy sheriff MDOC has housed.

Anonymous said...

Don’t know of a Governor or other elected official that would not/did not call on an agency for assistance if a family member was in need. And for sure the owners of Ms Today have exercised that privilege on many occasions. I’m not a Phil Bryant fan but the reporter has gone over the edge with this report on the great nephew by marriage.

Anonymous said...

Some of y’all are acting like this is the first time you learned that government is filled with corruption. Every level of government is- not just Jackson, not just Mississippi, and not just Washington.

Anonymous said...

12:07 : The reporter with morals is now a made women. Sadly you will NEVER see her go after a Democrat with such vigor . I hope she enjoys her morals when she is a CNN on screen political correspondent . I still give credit for exposing this.

Anonymous said...

I am as far right as they come - Phil belongs in prison! Maybe he and Bennie Thompson can be cellmates! Hillary can change genders and join them LOL!

Anonymous said...

nothing will happen. nothing.

too many skeletons in the closet for most, if not all, of our state government leaders (federal too..)

Kingfish said...

My favorite is when Feckless Phil writes guest columns opposing medical marijuana while KBS pushes medical marijuana in her role as lobbyist for MM companies.

Anonymous said...

Has the Phil Billy and Tater Tot era brought anything to the State other than corruption? MS needs some real leaders. I’m sure there will be a special session called in a few weeks to consider some anti gay, anti abortion, anti critical race theory, pro hunting, pro confederate holiday, pro bible legislation to distract the right from the real problem in MS.

Anonymous said...

1:55 : Stratch offs and weed .

Anonymous said...

@1:55
What’s the real problem in Mississippi? As far as I can see it is the citizens of Jackson, the “leaders” of Jackson, and their many clones all over this state and nation. The cities in Rankin are all doing just fine except for one, the clone of Jackson that Kingfish has been obsessed with. If the entire state were like Rankin and Madison Counties then we would probably be one of the top 10 most successful states in the nation. But we have Jacksonians dragging us down like a bucket of crabs.

Anonymous said...

@1:55 tips the strategy to somehow, inexplicably tie Reeves to this mess. Won't work. Other than potential difficulties for Shad White, Republicans run the table again in 2023.

Anonymous said...

Where da Feds in all this? If these PsOS skate, Mississippi is lost, and expect far worse.

Anonymous said...

12:36
Agreed! The first article she wrote was decent and I’m not disputing facts , but the last two have been far reaching opinion pieces .

Anonymous said...

I don’t think ole Phil is going anywhere. He was smart enough in the emails I read to never tell his patsy, Davis, to do anything. They all go something like “would this be ok?” “ Can we help “. I’m sure Davis, Nancy and the other thieves thought the Gov had their back.

Anonymous said...

This is comical! The governor’s staff dropped Noah off at school everyday and picked him
up in the afternoons!!! Everybody at New Summit knew who “the black car” was waiting in front of the school in the afternoons!

Anonymous said...

4:03 and 5:13 are right. Nothing is going anywhere with Phil. These reports are going way too far.

Anonymous said...

@2:30 & @2:49. Don’t forget Phil Billy and Tot are Rankin county residents. So yes Rankin and Madison Co are as much the problem with the State as Jackson. Why are southern states like SC, NC, GA, TN growing like crazy while MS is worrying about brain drain? Open your eyes. The corruption and good ole boy politicians are killing the state. Can anyone tell me how MS has improved under Billy and Tot?

Anonymous said...

SHMFH, I was deployed and DHS did not want to pay my Military Leave until/unless I returned to work. Thanks to Ms Dee Phillips in the Office of Senator Roger Wicker. I received my back pay of Military Leave.

If you have any legitimate problems with a State Agency call Senator Wickers office, they will get results!

There are good hard working employees at DHS and CPS!!! You just have to look at some of them Directors cross eyed! They will blow smoke up your ass!

Anonymous said...

Anyone else catch in the second part of Anna Wolfe’s interview with Phil that she notes that “Phil’s partner” interjected a comment or two into the interview? Phil then mentions “Joey” and how he can confirm that Phil and Deb worked 15 hour days. So, I’m guessing this is Joey Songy, Phil’s former Chief of Staff and now current partner at Global Partners.

If Phil is taking legal advice from Songy, then that totally explains why he sat with Anna for this interview. He’s got a world class Barrister giving him advice and counsel.

Anonymous said...

12:46 -

So you engage in whataboutism — catnip for Trumpists — but won’t comment on the merits or accuracy of her reporting?

All you’ve got is “Yeah, well, let’s see her go after Democrats?”

Which state agencies are controlled by Democrats?

Anonymous said...

As Phil's daughter would say...."uummm".

Anonymous said...

After reading the latest excerpts from MT, why isn’t Phil Liar Bryant under the jail? His conversation with Ms. Wolfe is so stupid that if I didn’t hate him so much, I’d be embarrassed for him!
Who is Shad exactly protecting by NOT going after Phil?? Makes you wonder.

Anonymous said...

@2:30
If you think Rankin and Madison counties are spotless, then you’re just plain stupid.
The two posts that stated Anne Wolfe went to far must have been written by Phil and Deb!

Anonymous said...

Lots of organized crime guys think they work hard...just sayin Pheel!

Anonymous said...

I agree with 11:33. Shad will send a demand to anyone on any board just to see what sticks. And then have a press conference on it! And now this type of action. Clearly a problem we have with this state auditor.

Anonymous said...

Current state auditor might be almost as good at his job as Phil was when he was very carefully doing his job as state auditor.

Anonymous said...

I support a Favre for Governor movement.

Mississippi is in a 3rd and 18 situation and Mr. Brett is the gentleman to find that hole and get us out of it!

Anonymous said...

Let's just speed things up and have the Express Grain guys replace the Mississippi Development Authority.

Then outsource the whole AG staff to Bryant Songy Smell. Have them keep busy with the feds.

Wow said...

Stokes for Governor


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