Is Bill Mercer Investigating Conrad Burns, Gage, INSA, and Leo Giacometto?

The U.S. attorney’s office in Montana is probing Gage’s http://www.gage.cc/ financial connections to the Inland Northwest Space Alliance http://www.inwspace.org/ , a nonprofit venture launched in 2003 by the University of Montana with help from almost $3 million in federal earmarks pushed by Burns, two sources familiar with the inquiry have told National Journal.

After it was formed, the alliance hired Gage as its lobbyist and for consulting advice. Over a three-year-period, Gage and a company called Compressus — which had both Giacometto and Burns’s daughter, Keely, on its board — received about $350,000 in fees from the alliance. According to Senate lobbying records, Gage registered as a lobbyist for the space alliance and for Compressus in 2004 and 2005. If federally appropriated funds were used for lobbying purposes, it would be a violation of the law.

Matt Singer

Full Story: http://leftinthewest.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=808

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News Timelines in Montana Political Scandals

Inland Northwest Space Alliance and the Northern Rockies Center for Space Privatization
On paper at least, the University of Montana used the Northern Rockies Center for Space Privatization to spin off a for-profit company, the Inland Northwest Space Alliance (INSA) as a new slush fund set up by some of the same players in the Montana Majority Fund scandal, but this time using government money instead of using government resources to get donations.

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More shading dealings by Burns continue to break, including the report that Burns landed a $784,000 contract for Compressus http://www.compressus.com/publicwww4/index.html via Montana State University (Keely Burns earned stock options for serving on the Board and Leo Giacometto was a senior vice president and lobbyist).

http://www.tpmcafe.com/node/29210

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Inland Northwest Space Alliance in Montana for the FreeFlyer program 1 recipient will receive $2,980,000. This is a first-time earmark. http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/earmarks/preview-public-site/agencies/bureaus/accounts/earmarks/earmark5256.html?account-id=121&agency=026&bureau=00&earmark-id=82206&web-timestamp=&public-view=true

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Unanswered Questions About Inland Northwest Space Alliance May Plague Rehberg in Election Year http://app.e2ma.net/campaign/e3a9d09bd1b86e4dc719cfc175e98095

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The Inland Northwest Space Alliance (INSA), Gage LLC ties probed, report says

By NOELLE STRAUB Missoulian D.C. Bureau

The Montana U.S. Attorney’s Office is probing the financial connections between Gage LLC http://www.gage.cc/ , a lobbying firm, and a Missoula space group, a Washington publication reported this week.

The Inland Northwest Space Alliance http://www.inwspace.org/ was created by the University of Montana in 2003 with $3.1 million in NASA earmarks directed to the Missoula campus by then-Republican U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns. Burns, who lost a close election in November, now is employed by Gage.

Gage is run by Leo Giacometto, Burns’ former chief of staff. After it was formed, INSA hired Gage as its lobbying firm and for other consulting services.

Full Story: http://missoulian.com/articles/2007/08/04/news/mtregional/news08.txt

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Review unearths more problems at UM space program- The Inland Northwest Space Alliance – Missoula County Attorney Fred Van Valkenberg says it may be too late to file charges against three former University of Montana employees http://matr.net/article-21321.html

Criminal charges possible in University of Montana INSA space program inquiry http://matr.net/article-19655.html

Montana Lawmakers question NASA grant spending for INSA http://matr.net/article-19585.html

The Inland Northwest Space Alliance (INSA) found black hole – the budget http://matr.net/article-19556.html

Ethics Issues Raised in University of Montana Space Programs
http://matr.net/article-19543.html

Inspector General investigates the Northern Rockies Center for Space Privatization and the Inland Northwest Space Alliance
http://matr.net/article-19317.html

INSA Fights PR Battle http://matr.net/article-19031.html

Investigation Into UM Space Center Will Involve Montana Senator Conrad Burns and Representative Denny Rehberg http://matr.net/article-18650.html

Space Center (INSA) Investigation Casts Doubt on Montana University Leaders http://matr.net/article-18565.html

George Bailey, president of the Inland Northwest Space Alliance denies impropriety in Lloyd Chesnut and his wife earning nearly $130,000 at the company. http://matr.net/article-18460.html

Montana University Regents concerned about use of NASA funding. Wants to know what UM’s Northern Rockies Center for Space Privatization has to show for the $3 million it received from noncompetitive NASA grants http://matr.net/article-18360.html

INSA News The Latest in Aerospace Development and Public Outreach News for the Inland Northwest December 8, 2005 http://matr.net/article-17288.html