Sean Donovan's wife indicted

MJ Donovan, in a very handsome suit

Dear fellow tax hikers, this is a tragic day for all of us as the wife of our dear friend Sean Donovan has been indicted on federal charges.  Mrs. Mary Jill Donovan is facing Obstruction of Justice charges and will appear in front of a Federal Judge soon. 

No word whether Sean Donovan still believes we need more jail space.

This indictment hurts us deeply.  We proudly endorsed Sean Donovan for Sheriff last year, and in fact we made his race our #1 priority of the 2012 election.  His advocacy for higher taxes, the streetcar, double-dipping, and an oversized upper administrative staff would have made him a perfect Sheriff. 

Those close to our heroes Simon Leis and Sean Donovan have kept the justice system busy this year, between the Mickey Esposito crimes and the MJ Donovan indictment.  We miss this kind of drama from the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department.  Sheriff or no Sheriff, we stand behind Sean Donovan, and his indicted wife. 

Mickey Esposito sentenced to 6 years in prison

Dear fellow tax hikers, we sadly report that our friend and Courthouse Confidante Mickey Esposito has been sentenced to six years in prison for his role in the Hamilton County Courthouse Crime Ring.  His wife, Allison Esposito, was sentenced to 4 years and his son was previously sentenced to two years for their roles in the Esposito family enterprise.  Per the above article, Esposito tried to claim he was just trying to help his wife:

Michael “Mickey” Esposito thought he was doing his spousal duty when the Sheriff’s deputy in charge of the evidence room brought drugs home to help his wife’s back problem.

Because stealing jewelry and selling drugs are known to have a PROFOUND effect on curing back pain. 

For some reason, the judge didn't buy it and sentenced these three thieves to prison for 6, 4, and 2 years.  The family that steals together serves time together.  On the positive side, at least they'll be able to celebrate the holidays together for the next two years. 

We hope Mrs. Esposito gets to share a cell with Melowese Richardson.  We can only imagine how many things they'd steal from each other. 

We encourage everyone to keep their heads up during these difficult times.  Mickey Esposito is a Courthouse Confidential and Friend of Simon Leis, and because of that he is entitled to respect.  We applaud Tracy Winkler's employee Vince Wallace for the example he has set in giving Mickey the respect he deserves.  All of you should follow his example. 

In honor of Mickey's side job as a washed-up Vegas lounge act, we leave you with a live version of his namesake song, Hey Mickey.

Simon Leis crony arrested for theft

Dear fellow tax hikers, we were dismayed to learn that some of our good friends were arrested for stealing items from the Hamilton County Sheriff's property room.  Michael "Mickey" Espisito was hired by the great Simon Leis in November 2001, and was quickly promoted to property room supervisor in January 2002.  Also arrested were Mickey's wife and kid - you know we love it when the loot is kept in the family.  

This is not the first time Mickey has been accused of using his government position to benefit friends and family. 

Until 1990, Esposito was the chief deputy for the then-county auditor, Joseph DeCourcy Jr., who was convicted of appraising the value of his friends’ property at rates lower than the actual value, thus saving them money in taxes.

Esposito was charged with several misdemeanor counts in the DeCourcy scandal. He was acquitted on some of the charges; prosecutors decided not to pursue the rest.

Oh Mickey you're so fine!

We condemn Sheriff Jim Neil for stating, "This was brought to my attention and I can tell you this will not be tolerated on my watch."  Mickey is a friend of Simon Leis, Sean Donovan, and other Courthouse Cronies, and because of that he is entitled to the utmost respect.  Jim better start showing the proper respect to the Friends of Joe.....we mean the Courthouse Club.  Just because Jim Neil was elected Sheriff does not mean he gets to run the department his way.

We stand with Mickey in his time of need.  Perhaps after all this is done he can get a job with the Clerk of Courts office.  We all know Tracy understands taking care of friends and family.  But for now, let's celebrate our Mickey.

Virgil Lovitt Tribute

Dear fellow tax hikers, by this time next week our dear close friends Simon Leis, Jean Schmidt and Virgil Lovitt will be out of office.  While many others will celebrate the New Year when the ball drops tomorrow night, we tax hikers will be huddled around together crying our eyes out at the loss of these great public servants. 

The first to leave office is our beloved 2008 Tax Hiker of the Year Virgil Lovitt, who leaves office tomorrow.  Virg is perhaps the finest local elected official we have and his departure is a huge loss for all of us.

This man has joyously raised Property Taxes, Earnings Taxes, Sales Taxes, Hotel/Motel Taxes, and has done so much more.  He endorsed Todd Portune's re-election while opposing our enemy Pat DeWine, endorsed Bob Taft's 3rd Frontier program so Ohio can fund its own Solyndras, and was one of Jean Schmidt's closest Hamilton County friends.

His contributions to the tax-and-spend movement have been immeasurable.  In honor of Virg, we dedicate this post to all the taxes he has raised and all the good things he has done for us.  This post will not be a funeral, but instead a tribute to a man who has earned it.

To honor Virg, we ask all you tax hikers to tell us your favorite Virgil Lovitt memories.

Donovan/Leis defeated

Dear fellow tax hikers, we enjoyed a drunken Election Night as we focused exclusively on celebrating the re-election of Our Messiah Barack Obama!  If you like high taxes, high unemployment, large deficits, and expansive government control of health care as much as we do, you haven't seen anything yet.  Forward. 

It wasn't until Wednesday morning - for us, more like afternoon - we got around to perusing the rest of the results.  You can only imagine the horror on our hung-over faces when we saw that our good friend Sean Donovan was defeated in his effort to become our next Sheriff.  It wasn't supposed to be this way.  Donovan was entitled to that position!  Si Leis himself bestowed it upon him. 

We are crushed by this unexpected defeat.  Donovan was the best candidate we had on the ballot.  Don't the voters know that Donovan wants higher taxes to build the Simon Leis Jr. Memorial Jail?  Don't they know he's one of the earliest streetcar supporters?  Don't they know he's the candidate of the double-dippers and isn't the candidate who wants to cut administrative staff? 

We are still distraught by this defeat.  My civil domestic partner and I have been spending our days shut in with the blinds drawn.  We pass the time listening to our favorite musical selections, which consist of alternating between our Justin Bieber and One Direction CD's. 

We are all hurting, but we must pull ourselves together and move on.  There are so many taxes to be raised, so many new streetcars to be built.  Through community, we can all join together and heal ourselves and each other.  We also wish our very best to Si Leis and Sean Donovan.  We appreciate everything they have done for us.  We dedicate this fitting song to our beloved outgoing Sheriff Simon Leis. 

Sheriff's Dept abuse costs Hamilton County $110,000

Dear fellow tax hikers, the conduct of the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department has cost taxpayers another $110,000.  County Commissioners unanimously approved the payout to settle more abuse charges against the Sheriff.  This is only the latest in such behavior from the Sheriff to cost county taxpayers, and we know there is more to come.  It doesn't bother us one bit.

Sean Donovan is running for Sheriff, citing his many years of experience running the Sheriff's Department.  This is the kind of experience we need!  By managing the office in such a way to require frequent settlements with taxpayer money, Donovan has reliably done his job to further the county's budget crisis and increase the demands to raise our taxes. 

We applaud Simon Leis and Streetcar supporter Sean Donovan for the way they run their Department.  Whether it's blow-up dolls, multiple helicopters, fishing boats, or settlements against them for the laws they break, Donovan and Leis can always be relied upon to find new and inventive ways to spend taxpayer money.

It doesn't stop there.  Leis and Donovan both have been strong supporters of the Cincinnati streetcar.  Leis and Donovan campaigned hard to increase Hamilton County's Sales Tax for a Taj Mahal jail and new social spending programs.  Leis and Donovan both absolutely adore double dipping, and make good use of those double dippers to maintain a huge staff of highly-paid administrators. 

The future of the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department is at stake this November.  If you support double dipping, streetcars, higher taxes, and civil rights violations that cost taxpayers dearly, then it's time to get behind Sean Donovan.  We don't want this great Department to change.

Simon Leis Memorial Service

Dearly tax hikers, we are gathered here, at our favorite hangout, to mourn the political passing of one of our greatest friends, Hamilton County Sheriff Simon L. Leis.  For the last 80 years Simon has been an inspiration for us all - raising taxes, supporting the $200 million streetcar, trashing the 1st Amendment, and in general being a jackass to anyone who didn't respect his authority as Hamilton County Dictator.  We will miss him greatly. 

Simon Leis spent a lifetime watching pornography.  Not for his benefit of course - it was for our benefit.  After all, how would we know if a particular film was appropriate to watch if Dearly Simon hadn't already watched it and made the decision for us.  We bet Simon had a big smile on his face when he watched two guys pounding each other, knowing that his sacrifice was protecting the community. 

When he wasn't watching adult films for our benefit, Simon was an advocate for everything we believed in.  He strongly supported an $800 million Sales Tax hike for $200 million to expand his jail and the rest to expand his kingdom.  He took a trip to Portland and saw a bunch of people riding the streetcar during lunch rush in a no-fare zone, and based on that immediately endorsed Cincinnati's then-$200 million streetcar plan.  Simon proudly endorsed great Democrats like David Pepper, Todd Portune, and Jim Tarbell while opposing our enemies Pat DeWine and Chris Monzel. 

We have all come here for comfort and support in our trying time of need.  This is a safe place for our kind to mourn, knowing we are with those who believe as we do.  Be not afraid to cry.  Be not afraid to grieve.  Be not afraid to reach out here to your friends for love in this most difficult period.  As we enter our mourning period, we invite all you Dearly Tax Hikers to post your favorite memories of our Dearly Departed, so that our sense of community can help us heal.  RIP Great Sheriff.