Papillion Corruption Scandal

Initial Investigation

Tommy Papillion was a millionaire business mogul prior to entering public service. When he announced his candidacy for President, an inquiry was launched into his business dealings by the financial crimes division of the Bureau of Investigation and Law Enforcement (BILE) within the Ministry of Judicial Oversight. An investigation followed and was specifically looking into Papillion's activities as a businessman and his involvement with his charity foundation, the Butterfly Future Foundation. This investigation pulled a thread and what was uncovered led to further inquiries into the business activities of exectuvie-level officials, both elected and non-elected.

Audio Recording Leaks

Amidst this investigation the administration in 2071 was dealing with a public scandal. Tapes had been leaked from the Papillion's residence of what sounded like verbal and/or physical abuse by President Papillion toward his wife. The administration denied abuse was or had occurred and claimed the President consistently sought therapy for emotional support, suggesting all Icarisians take advantage of good therapy.

Talbot Memo

In 2071, Director of the BILE, Peter Talbot received information from both the financial crimes and organized crime divisions regarding financial disparities in executive branch spending and money laundering. Investigators had reason to believe there was organized financial crimes occurring at the highest levels of government. Director Talbot wrote a secured memo (a memo that is bound by law to be read only by its intended recipients) requesting data collected from intelligence gathered by the Ministry of Defense's Office of Counterrorism (OCT) and the Icarisian Stability Service (ISS), specifically targeting the President and his cabinet. The knowledge of these domestic surveillance methods and data storage was not formally known by the Icarisian public and many government officials.

Minister of Defense, Mikhail Travnikov, got hold of the memo and ordered his subordinates to ignore the request. He met with Minister of Judicial Oversight, Dominic Yarema, and coordinated the termination of Talbot as BILE Director. The official reasoning given by the Yarema was "unsecured transfer of sensitive materials and abuse government intelligence resources" The legal claim for his firing was he shared information regarding government intelligence gathering activities, operations and details in an unsecured manner that exposed the government to defense threats. Yarema also fired several investigators involved in crafting the memo and leading the investigation into executive branch organized crime. All of the officials who assisted in writing the memo, involved in the investigation, and the Ministry of Defense officials were issued a gag order and were threatened with termination, loss of security clearances, and prison.

The administration was worried former Director Talbot would speak publicly, despite his gag order and firing. Shortly after his firing, he held a press conference at his home. The press conference was canceled 30 minutes prior due to a "family emergency". Talbot's family moved from their home and weren't seen for two years following that event. It was later reported Talbot entered into a deal with outside investigators to protect his family and investigate and prosecute the president. Talbot was outside of Icaris until 2074.

Impeachment Attempt

Prime Minister Robert Schlesinger knew of the misconduct and was part of incriminating conversations. He and Speaker of the Council of Delegates urged for impeachment, but Schlesinger was heavily monitored by the administration. Scheslinger was consistently followed and visited by various cabinet members to ensure his loyalty. There were tapes of him being part of conversations of wrongdoing and numerous off-the-books meetings with corporate lobbyists paying off other lobbyists in support of his legislation. Nonetheless, Eric Walters successfully brought articles of impeachment to the Council of Delegates in 2072. The Council voted against impeachment. At this point, the administration knew they were dead in the water and their only option was to play defense.

Mytnik Testinomy

Maksim Mytnik signs sworn private testimony against Marco Herrera and Sasha Petrov in 2072. He's offered witness protection but refuses.

Herrera and Petrov Indictments

After Travnikov's testimony, Marco Herrera was indicted on corruption and fraud charges. Upon arrest, he was denied bail but killed in prison before appearing before court. Sasha Petrov was indicted on corruption, fraud, bribery, and organized crime charges. He was denied bail and was convicted of all charges in 2074 sentenced to life.

Greensworth Death

Minister of Health and Medical Services, Kyle Greensworth was killed in an armed robbery of his home in 2073. It is suspected his death was an organized crime assassination. Investigators are still attempting to uncover reasoning and Greensworth's connection to the administration's criminal activity.

Travnikov and Papillion Testimony

Initial interviews with Herrera and Petrov revealed Travnikov and Papillion were indeed involved in the criminal activity. They uncovered enough evidence to indict Travnikov on obstruction of justice charges for the firing of BILE Director Peter Talbot and Papillion on obstruction of justice and corruption charges. Travnikov disaparred before he could be arrested and there is an outgoing warrant for his arrest. Papillion was arrested and in 2074 was scheduled to testify in open court before being assassinated.

Yarema Indictment

Domonic Yarema was indicted in 2074 on obstruction of justice charges. He committed suicide before entering into police custody.

Will McKenzie Death

Following former President Papillion's assassination in April 2074, former Vice Presidnet Will McKenzie committed suicide.