Government Lawyer Wrongly Arranged For Rides To Games
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Buck (l), McCarver Received U.S. Marshal
Escort After '07 World Series Games One, Two |
U.S. Justice Department Inspector General Glenn Fine in a 44-page report released yesterday concluded that U.S. Marshals Service attorney Joseph Band "misused his position at the agency while working part time as a statistician for Fox Sports," according to Shelley Murphy of the BOSTON GLOBE. At Band's "urging, two armed, badge-carrying deputy marshals" attended the '07 Red Sox-Rockies World Series Games One and Two at Fenway Park, then "drove through crowds with their emergency lights while escorting limousines carrying" Fox MLB announcers Joe Buck and Tim McCarver back to their hotel after the games. The report claimed that Band during Game Two brought the deputy marshals into the press box at Fenway and "asked them to obtain weather conditions and help him record on-base percentage statistics." The report also indicated that U.S. marshals in Tampa and Phoenix "wrongly assigned deputy marshals ... to ferry Band and his friends to and from stadiums, airports, and hotels." The events included an '07 NFL playoff game at Raymond James Stadium, as well as the '07 BCS National Championship game and Super Bowl XLII, both of which were held at Univ. of Phoenix Stadium. Fox NFL announcer Troy Aikman also received transportation from the deputy marshals (BOSTON GLOBE, 1/13).
MISUSING THE POSITION: In DC, Ben Conery reports in a front-page piece the report stated that Band "violated Marshal Service ethics standards by misusing his position and improperly using government vehicles." Fox Sports VP/Communications Dan Bell said company officials were unaware that "those arrangements were in any way inappropriate and regret to learn now that they apparently were" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 1/13). Also in DC, Derek Kravitz noted Band, who had served as a senior attorney for the U.S. Marshals Service since '92 before resigning earlier this month, has worked "part-time as a sports statistician" for the Redskins, CBS and ESPN, in addition to Fox Sports (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 1/12). The report also charged that Band "pulled strings to get himself and the broadcasters to and from the play-by-play booth in a style reserved for federal judges and protected witnesses" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 1/13).
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