Current and former Texas Lottery employees believe the threat of being fired was used to intimidate anyone who raised questions about lottery operations.
Texas Lottery Commission C-F-O Lee Deviney was fired after he questioned the agency's practice of advertising inflated Lotto Texas jackpots.
His managers say his termination was unrelated to that.
Deviney was among five lottery employees fired in June under the at-will provision, bringing the total to eight so far for 2005.
Documents attained by The Associated Press show that's more at-will terminations in six months than most state agencies have seen in five years.
Over the past five years, 23 people were fired under the provision from the lottery commission, which employs about 310 people.
Lottery spokesman Bobby Heith declined to discuss specific terminations, saying they were confidential personnel matters.
Ya have to wonder, how much of this is going on in other states. Term Limits, for executives, might be an option!
Sounds as though the black ooze is beginning to seep up through the cracks over at TX Lotto. The jackpots might suffer, but the out-of-court settlements with terminated employees might see some new highs. Once the rocks start getting kicked over and the scorpions come out from under in a courtroom under sworn testimony, all those high muckymucks under oath, ain't something anyone hungers for except the media and the public, along with those who'd like to see a rat nest cleaned out.
The price of keeping this out of courthouse testimony is likely to be considerable.
Jack
Over the past five years, 23 people were fired under the provision from the lottery commission, which employs about 310 people.
They must be trying to catch up to the Texas execution count. This brings even more meaning to that term, "Don't Mess With Texas".
Maybe we could start firing U.S. senators and congressmen. Like 1,000 lawyers floating face down in San Francisco Bay . . .it would be a start!
Orangeman
Maybe we could start firing U.S. senators and congressmen. Like 1,000 lawyers floating face down in San Francisco Bay . . .it would be a start!
Orangeman
No good bays down on the Texas Gulf Coast these days? Galveston comes to mind.
J
If they dumped them in the Gulf and they came back up you might have a chance that a shark could help finish them off.
Texas has a lot of good conduits for delivery, unlike most States. The Brazos could deliver from all those towns all the way Wichita Falls to Granbury to Temple and southward.... The Houston Ship Channel could handle Harris County, the Rio Grande could take care of El Paso, all the way to Matamoros Bay. The Sabine, Colorado, Hondo and Nueces would deliver the residue.
It's only a hop-skip and a jump (or a wheel-barrow ride) down Congress Avenue from the State Capitol to the dumping off place in Lake Austin. This sounds like an idea with a future.
With a hurricane every few years bringing in enough rainfall to flush the channels I'm thinking the Texas Gulf would be admirably suited, plus create a lot of fat catfish and gar population explosions.
Great idea, Orangeman.
Jack
Looks like we're all on the same page.
Orangeman
Texas is a weird duck in the industry.
Only in Texcas could an executive Director get run out of town on a rail for following an industry "best practice" (guaranteeing low-end jackpots whether sales support them or not).
In many ways, this is one of the best-run lotteries in the country. In some ways its so messed up its not even funny.
unlike some other states people living in texas tend to monitor the lottery very closely.....