Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
A New York medical marijuana bidder whose principal was the subject of a damning audit in Kansas was the target of a political vendetta, a former Kansas governor and ally of the bidder claims.
The Times Union reported Wednesday on the critical 2012 audit concerning the Kansas Bioscience Authority and its former leader, Tom Thornton. Thornton now runs North Shore Ventures, a New York company that's part of a bidding team seen as having a good shot at landing one of five lucrative marijuana licences in New York.
The decision by the New York Department of Health is expected this week.
The Kansas audit found Thornton had misspent funds and destroyed documents while running the taxpayer-backed authority. Thornton and a company spokesman didn't return requests for comment Tuesday, but former Kansas Gov. John Carlin, a Democrat who served from 1979 to 1987 and was also chairman of the Kansas Bioscience Authority during part of Thornton's tenure, spoke on his behalf Wednesday.
Carlin said the audit's launch was politically motivated, and that Kansas Republican Gov. Sam Brownback saw Thornton as a threat.
Thornton "never had any political ambition, but for some reason Republicans decided he did – particularly the new governor, who wanted to take him out before (Thornton) could go against him," Carlin said.
Still, Carlin did not dispute the findings of the $1 million audit run by the firm BKD LLP, including a section stating Thornton destroyed documents after receiving word of the financial review, and after getting a subpoena from a Republican district attorney.
Carlin said the documents would have been used to dredge up Thornton's personal life.
"I'm not saying there weren't a few mistakes, but they all had to do with his exit, and had nothing to do with his work at the Bioscience Authority," said Carlin. "It was a personal decision not to give over his emails that had nothing to do with his work at the Bioscience Authority."
The 2012 audit contained findings that Thornton had failed to disclose to the authority board a romantic relationship with an administrative assistant that he later married, and that he had used taxpayer funds to fly to Cleveland in a successful effort to land a new job. The audit also cited repeated violations of the authority's contracting policies.
Carlin said the "Bioscience Authority and Tom Thornton were the one the great economic successes in the history of Kansas." He said Thornton was the key player, for instance, in landing the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility under construction in Manhattan, Kan.
North Shore Ventures, founded in 2013, is the for-profit venture arm of North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, a major health industry player that serves millions of people in the New York metropolitan area. It is partnering with a Colorado distributor called Silverpeak in the New York bid.
The parent company has close ties to the Cuomo administration: Michael Dowling, the president and CEO of North-Shore LIJ, was co-chair of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Medicaid Redesign Team in 2011 and served as former Gov. Mario M. Cuomo's chief health adviser in the early 1990s.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Ex-Kansas governor defends NY marijuana bidder - Times Union
Author: Chris Bragg
Contact: cbragg@timesunion.com
Photo Credit: Mark Thiessen /The Associated Press
Website: Albany, Troy, Schenectady, Saratoga News, Weather, Sports, Capitol | timesunion.com - Times Union
The Times Union reported Wednesday on the critical 2012 audit concerning the Kansas Bioscience Authority and its former leader, Tom Thornton. Thornton now runs North Shore Ventures, a New York company that's part of a bidding team seen as having a good shot at landing one of five lucrative marijuana licences in New York.
The decision by the New York Department of Health is expected this week.
The Kansas audit found Thornton had misspent funds and destroyed documents while running the taxpayer-backed authority. Thornton and a company spokesman didn't return requests for comment Tuesday, but former Kansas Gov. John Carlin, a Democrat who served from 1979 to 1987 and was also chairman of the Kansas Bioscience Authority during part of Thornton's tenure, spoke on his behalf Wednesday.
Carlin said the audit's launch was politically motivated, and that Kansas Republican Gov. Sam Brownback saw Thornton as a threat.
Thornton "never had any political ambition, but for some reason Republicans decided he did – particularly the new governor, who wanted to take him out before (Thornton) could go against him," Carlin said.
Still, Carlin did not dispute the findings of the $1 million audit run by the firm BKD LLP, including a section stating Thornton destroyed documents after receiving word of the financial review, and after getting a subpoena from a Republican district attorney.
Carlin said the documents would have been used to dredge up Thornton's personal life.
"I'm not saying there weren't a few mistakes, but they all had to do with his exit, and had nothing to do with his work at the Bioscience Authority," said Carlin. "It was a personal decision not to give over his emails that had nothing to do with his work at the Bioscience Authority."
The 2012 audit contained findings that Thornton had failed to disclose to the authority board a romantic relationship with an administrative assistant that he later married, and that he had used taxpayer funds to fly to Cleveland in a successful effort to land a new job. The audit also cited repeated violations of the authority's contracting policies.
Carlin said the "Bioscience Authority and Tom Thornton were the one the great economic successes in the history of Kansas." He said Thornton was the key player, for instance, in landing the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility under construction in Manhattan, Kan.
North Shore Ventures, founded in 2013, is the for-profit venture arm of North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, a major health industry player that serves millions of people in the New York metropolitan area. It is partnering with a Colorado distributor called Silverpeak in the New York bid.
The parent company has close ties to the Cuomo administration: Michael Dowling, the president and CEO of North-Shore LIJ, was co-chair of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Medicaid Redesign Team in 2011 and served as former Gov. Mario M. Cuomo's chief health adviser in the early 1990s.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Ex-Kansas governor defends NY marijuana bidder - Times Union
Author: Chris Bragg
Contact: cbragg@timesunion.com
Photo Credit: Mark Thiessen /The Associated Press
Website: Albany, Troy, Schenectady, Saratoga News, Weather, Sports, Capitol | timesunion.com - Times Union
