Rieckman - Underheim benefiting from Jensen corruption

State Rep. Gregg Underheim often said, almost reverently, that Scott Jensen was the smartest man in the Legislature. Apparently not. But Underheim's assessment shows how far his moral compass was corrupted by Jensen's magnetic personality.
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To shrug off the scandal by saying, "Oh, well, that's Madison for you," is to underestimate the pervasiveness of the corruption and ignore the fact that it had spread to Oshkosh. There is information, for example, that strongly suggests that Underheim was the beneficiary of illegal campaign assistance.

There is absolutely nothing to suggest that Underheim, who is not running for re-election in November, did anything illegal himself. But while Jensen was being investigated, Underheim did express frustration that allegations were blown out of proportion since the campaign tactics in question were common practice in the capitol.
Jensen, in fact, used the 'everybody was doing it" defense at his trial.

The links between Underheim and illegal campaign activities first surfaced in 2002 and explained away as election year mudslinging.

Underheim was running for re-election against Democrat James Genisio at the time when the connection was documented. In his primary race against Melanie Bloechl in 2000, a graphic artist employed by the caucus named Kacy Hack worked on Underheim's campaign literature. When questioned about the graphic artist, Underheim said Hack did the literature on her own time. "That is my belief. I absolutely believe that." Underheim said at the time.

That explanation never really passed the smell test since it is beyond belief that a Madison based graphic artist would volunteer to help a candidate in Oshkosh in a primary election. Further, the Democrats produced a UPS shipping label that showed Hack sent the literature from the caucus office to an Oshkosh printer.

The dots got easier to connect when Hack testified for the prosecution in Jensen's trial in February. The prosecution built its case around the testimony of former caucus employees who detailed the staggering amount of campaign work they did as soldiers in Jensen's campaign apparatus while on the state payroll.

Read it all here.