Scandals often result in the downfall of politicians. Scandals can be anything from illegal activities, to immoral behavior, to poor professional performance.
Often, scandals are the result of a combination of these things. For example, if a politician performs poorly at his or her job, it may be uncovered that they were involved in illegal or immoral activities.
While these things may not necessarily cause them to lose their job, the public awareness of them does tend to hurt their reputation and job performance.
Many scandals have resulted in the end of political careers, and this is why it is so important for politicians to watch their reputation. If someone suspects that they have a low reputation, then they should look into what types of scandals have affected their career and take preventative measures against those events occurring again.
Bo Pilgrim scandal
In 2011, Bo Pilgrim was named the Best Butcher in America by the National Meat Association. He worked at Harris Teeter Superstore as a meat cutter, and that is where most of his scandals occurred.
Shortly after he started working at Harris Teeter, complaints began to surface about his workplace behavior. Several reports stated that he frequently made sexual comments to customers and his coworkers.
He also was accused of stealing money from the cash register and throwing raw meat around the store. Apparently, he was very careless with handling the meat as well.
This all led to his termination in 2011, only a year after being hired. Shortly after his termination, more reports came out stating that he was sexually aggressive towards customers as well as his coworkers.
His behavior seemed to get worse over time, which led to his termination.
Gib Lewis and Bo Pilgrim political contributions controversy
In 2016, two Texas politicians were embroiled in a scandal involving Bo Pilgrim’s restaurant and political contributions. The pair were linked to fundraisers at the chain where patrons could buy enough expensive steak to qualify for a free one.
Gib Lewis was forced to resign following an investigation into these fundraisers at Bo Pilgrim’s. He was also accused of using campaign funds to purchase wine at these events.
Additionally, he was said to have failed to report some of the cost of the steak dinners as campaign expenditures. These allegations came from an anonymous whistleblower, according to a Houston Chronicle report.
Following his resignation, Gib Lewis revealed that he had battled alcoholism for several years prior to his time in office and that this had affected his work performance. He said he was seeking treatment following his resignation.
The Texas House of Representatives reprimanded Gib Lewis for engaging in a sexual relationship with a subordinate staff member
In 2008, the Texas House of Representatives reprimanded Gib Lewis for engaging in a sexual relationship with a subordinate staff member.
The affair was revealed when anonymous emails were sent to the press and Republican leadership. The emails contained details of the affair and alleged that it had been ongoing for some time.
As a result, an investigation was conducted, and it was determined that the allegations were true. He was formally reprimanded and required to reimburse the state for half of his salary for two months.
His leadership position on key committees was also taken away. This scandal ultimately ended his political career, as he chose not to run for reelection in 2010. He had plans to run for statewide office before this scandal broke, however.
It is said that this scandal played a part in shifting Texas politics to being more Republican-leaning. Prior to this incident, Democrats controlled the House by a narrow margin, but after several members either retired or were defeated in the next election, Republicans took control.
Bo Pilgrim political contributions controversy
In 2016, Bo Pilgrim, a prominent Texas cattleman, made headlines for his political contributions. He was reported to have given thousands of dollars to politicians across the country, many of whom were Democrats.
His donations included $2,500 to Hillary Clinton during her presidential campaign and $1,000 to Zac Goldsmith’s campaign for the London Mayoral election.
Many saw this as strange since he is a Republican and supports President Trump. He claimed that he donated to Hillary Clinton because he likes meeting people and talking with them, not because of his political beliefs.
He also stated that he donates to both Republicans and Democrats because he likes to talk with them about issues related to agriculture. Pilgrim said that in the last five years, he has donated approximately $30,000 to various politicians across the country.
Attempted extortion of Gib Lewis
In 2011, allegations of misconduct against Texas House member Gib Lewis (D-Fort Worth) surfaced.
A woman alleged that the lawmaker had inappropriately touched her during a 2005 encounter in his office. She also said that she had taped a conversation with Lewis in which he admitted to the incident.
The woman attempted to sell her story to media and claim a reward from donors, but she was arrested instead. She was charged with attempted extortion, solicitation of payment for an offense and criminal attempt to commit official oppression.
She later told reporters that she had never intended to extort anyone, but only wanted people to know about the alleged incident involving Lewis. Prosecutors dropped all charges against her six months later.
Indictment of Bo Pilgrim on bribery charges
Another scandal involved Bo Pilgrim, a businessman who was also a member of the Texas State Board of Education.
In 2004, Pilgrim was indicted on two counts of bribery and one count of engaging in criminal activity. The charges were related to alleged bribes offered to two members of the board in order to vote for changes in curriculum standards.
The changes included the removal of Admiral Husband E. Kimmel as a commander during the attack on Pearl Harbor and the inclusion of more conservative perspectives on American history.
The indictments came as a result of an investigation by the Travis County District Attorney’s Office Criminal Conspiracy Unit and the Texas Rangers. Pilgrim denied any wrongdoing and claimed he was being targeted for his conservative political views. He subsequently resigned from the State Board of Education.[|]
In 2005, Pilgrim entered a plea agreement with prosecutors, agreeing to one felony count of fraud relating to his tax returns for 1997 and 1998. In exchange for accepting this plea deal, all other charges were dropped.
