Ouch. That’s gonna leave a mark.
Racine Mayor Gary Becker was arrested and charged with multiple felonies, including solicitation of a minor and child pornography.
Becker was arrested Tuesday in a shopping mall outside the City of Milwaukee, said Ben Hughes, city administrator.
Becker was arrested on multiple felony counts, including solicitation of a minor, Hughes said.
Upon the arrest he was transported to the Kenosha County Jail, where he is being held on a $165,000 cash bond.
The arrest was made by officials from the Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigations.
The Racine Police Chief Kurt Wahlen called City Council President David Maack at about 12:20 a.m. this morning, Maack said. Wahlen indicated there was an ongoing investigation and Becker had been arrested for charges involving child pornography.
Maack then called all of the aldermen to let them know.
“I thought as a courtesy they needed to be aware,” Maack said. “Considering most were woken up out of a deep sleep I think most of them were just stunned.”
He, himself, was “shocked and disappointed,” he said.
Maack will serve as acting mayor while the mayor is incapacitated, he said.
He is uncertain what the succession plan is if the mayor could not finish his term.
Additional coverage from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel here. From the charge of attempted second degree sexual assault of a child, it appears that this is not just your average Internet sting.
Becker picked Brookfield Square as opposed to, say, Regency Mall no doubt to avoid being recognized. Most people know who he is here. There’s been no indication as to whether it was a boy or girl he was attempting to hook up with, but either way it’s damning.
Summary from the Racine Post via RDW.
Regardless of how one feels about the presumption of innocence, Becker should resign immediately. The citizens of Racine deserve a fulltime mayor, not an acting mayor or one crippled by a criminal investigation.
Update: here’s the booking information on Becker.
The mug shot:
Once again, not one mention in either the Journal Times or the Sentinel Journal on Becker’s political party (hint: it begins with a “D”).
Once again, like in the indictment of the corrupt mayor of Baltimore, contrast it to the Drive By Media coverage of the Jim West scandal in Spokane, Wash. Or Larry Craig. Or Mark Foley.
Some community reaction of the arrest can be found here.
Video of the morning press conference following Becker’s arrest featuring City Administrator Ben Hughes. Interesting observation from Hughes … in the wake of Becker’s arrest, garbage will continue to be picked up, streets will continue to be plowed, yada yada yada.
Well, duhhhhhhhhh. The mayor doesn’t have anything directly to do with garbage pickup and snow removal. Just how childlike do these people think we are? The condescending tone meant to reassure the little people that everything will be all right was unnecessary but a product of being part of that culture.
Here’s the release from the state Department of Justice.
