A new group dedicated to supporting the cause of Sandy Blunt is now open on the business networking site LinkedIn.com. “Friends of Sandy Blunt” is a subgroup of the popular Workers' Compensation Roundtable, and is, in the words of Joe Paduda, the “idea man” behind the group, “a virtual gathering of like-minded intelligent and insightful folk who share a mutual respect and admiration for Sandy.”
For those who are not aware, Sandy Blunt is a former Director of North Dakota's Workforce Safety & Insurance. He was accused and convicted of “misspending government funds”, most notably, more than $11,000 on flowers, trinkets, balloons, decorations and beverages for Workforce Safety and Insurance employee meetings, and on gift certificates and cards for restaurants, stores and movie theaters that were used as worker incentives." There was a second charge related to the handling of state funds regarding the sick pay and severance of a WSI employee.
Last month, a Disciplinary panel of the North Dakota Supreme Court found that the prosecutor withheld key evidence from Blunt's defense team that would have likely “mitigated the guilt of the defendant”. Testimony before the panel revealed that the prosecutor did not challenge testimony at the trial that directly conflicted with evidence she held, but did not make available for the defense. The prosecutor, Cynthia Feland, is now a judge, and has been recommended for a 60 day suspension.
I encourage you to read more details about this travesty here.
Sandy's conviction has not yet been overturned, and he is still fighting to clear his name from these ridiculous charges. We hope that you will stand with us, and show the folks of North Dakota that an injustice such as this will not be tolerated.
You may join the Friends of Sandy Blunt group here. We appreciate your support.