Ex-State Senator Still Owes Taxpayers Nearly $500k
Earlier this year, the media exhaustively covered questionable expense reimbursements to the state by former GOP Lt. Governor Mark Darr, and the payments he made in recompense to the state.
Those expense reimbursements, which he has paid back, come to a grand total of approximately $11,000.
We are in favor here at The Arkansas Project of ex-politicians paying back the money they owe taxpayers. That’s why we checked on Democratic ex-state Senator Nick Wilson — who was sentenced in June 2000 to 70 months in prison for kickbacks he received from the sale of state buildings and schemes to bilk money from state programs benefitting children and injured school workers.
As of 2005, he had paid back nearly $700,000 of the $1,218,357.82 in restitution he owes state taxpayers.
Since then, he seems to have slacked off quite a bit on his payments, according to federal court officials.
From a federal court clerk spokesman in an e-mail to The Arkansas Project:
Currently, our records indicate Mr. Wilson has been ordered to pay $1,218,357.82 in restitution, and to date, we have received $741,379.
So, in almost a decade, taxpayers have only received an additional $40,000 in payment.
According to our math, if Wilson continues with that schedule of $40,000 per decade repayment, he’ll be done paying after another 12 decades.
Our state government really is quite the generous creditor!
