Posted on 07/15/2004 2:43:15 AM PDT by kattracks
Sen. John Edwards' little brother has an outstanding warrant for his arrest in Colorado and has thumbed his nose at more than $800 in fines for driving infractions.Wesley Blake Edwards, 39, has been a terror on the road for more than two decades. He has been arrested four times for drunken driving, twice been sentenced to a week in jail for DWI and lost his right to drive in four states.
But even after his license was suspended and revoked, he repeatedly got back behind the wheel - only to be stopped by police again.
He is currently a wanted man in Colorado, which issued a warrant for his arrest in 1994 after he skipped a court date on a DWI case.
He also was wanted in Michigan for a time but authorities later canceled their arrest warrant. He still owes Michigan more than $800 in fines for a series of infractions that included running a red light and driving with a suspended license.
By searching state criminal and motor vehicle records, as well as county court files, the Daily News determined that Edwards was ticketed or arrested ateast 14 times between 1983 and 2003 and was involved in at least two accidents.
He has been repeatedly cited for speeding, driving without a license, driving with a suspended or revoked license, driving without insurance and driving without his seat belt. Once, in 1990, he was arrested for drunken driving just a day after a 60-day suspension had expired.
With his long record of breaking the law, Edwards stands in stark contrast to his 51-year-old brother, who last week was picked to be the Democrats' candidate for vice president.
As one of North Carolina's most successful attorneys, John Edwards won a $950,000 settlement for the family of a woman killed by a drunken driver, according to North Carolina Lawyers Weekly.
John Edwards released a statement yesterday implying he did not know about his brother's legal troubles.
A source close to the family said the senator knew vaguely that his brother had some troubles but did not know how serious they were until The News disclosed them.
"I love my brother very much," the senator said in a statement. "I am, of course, troubled by this news. He shouldn't have done what he did, and he knows that and is dealing with it."
The source said Blake Edwards hired a lawyer this year to get his license back. North Carolina records show Edwards asked the state to reissue his license in May but was turned down.
Edwards, a union electrician, lives with his wife and their daughter outside Raleigh, N.C., in a house that his brother bought for them five years ago. He has declined to comment.
With Nicole Bode in Carthage, N.C.
Originally published on July 15, 2004
He didn't know about his Bro's activities? One could safely surmise that is a BOLD FACED LIE.
Maybe that depends on what the meaning of 'know' is.
While I can't blame Edwards for what his brother does, I do find it a bit strange that he didn't "know" about any of this. They're apparently not estranged; if they were, is it likely Edwards would have bought a HOUSE for his brother?
What is DWI????
Driving While Intoxicated.
This could be the worst kind of estrangement, relations between brothers can be very complicated and it is possible that buying the kid brother a house was anything but a kindness.
AND one would not be outside the lines if one suspected that John Edwards's connections keep his bro our of jail and on the roads to drink and eventually kill.
I wonder in which of Edwards' TWO AMERICAS his brother lives.
I am so fed up with these elites and siblings, etc., using and abusing their ability to put the public at risk or worse through political or even perceived political immunity.
Convicted Vehicular homicide murderer & 4 term & currently resigned representative Janklow kills a biker while running a stop sign and gets a 100 days in county jail, no CS, and who carea about probation after 16 years of terrorising S.D., intimidating his own State Troopers that inadvertently stop his eliteness for flying low everywhere he ever drove.
The swimmer fatso kennedy and the Chappaquidic escapade.
Hildibeast ordering a driver to run over a security guard a few years back at Kennedy Airport(?).
Etc., etc., ad naseum!
Please feel free to add to this list.
Pure speculation, but buying him a house might have been the price of his brother keeping his mouth shut and himself out of sight during the campaigns.
Then there's that former governor/congressman from S. D.(?) who ran a stop light and killed a motorcyclist.
Must be a slow news day.................
Yeah I forgot about algore's kid, but that gov/congcritter was Janklow.
I suspect all the infractions are related to drunk driving, but you know how it is when you play the "My brother is a rich lawyer" card. Edwards probably made a few calls to get the charges dropped to reckless operation.
Yep, as slow as the day(s) the media tried to make the divorce of President Bush's brother an important news item.
Right.
I didn't care about that either.
Unfortunately we are must choose among people not gods for our elected representatives....The most egregious escape and indeed reward of bad behavior/drunken driving(I am sure), 2nd degree murder... is Edward Kennedy's Chappaquidick drive..
The fact that Janklow drove like a madman and was not punished for years, but he has killed a man and is going to jail,disgraced, is some comfort...He may learn, he may not.If he doesn't , he will spend more time in jail.
I blame the ones who wink at the behavior or the enablers...I do not think I should blame people for their kin's problems ....only if they constantly enable.
Good old boys I know, have been coddled for years here (Texas)and and elsewhere for drunk driving in smaller communities where someone knows their mamma,etc. Rich had nothing to do with it...For years speeding and drunk driving were not really condemned until someone died and then it generally was treated more like an "accident".
JUST WANTED HIS BROTHER TO BE MORE LIKE TED.
Referring back to Janklow, he's already served his time and is now considered a free man with his debt to society paid in full.
The civil case by Randy Scotts family (the motorcyclist Janklow killed) is now being tossed around that Janklow was on official business and the state of S.D. will pay any and all financial judgements levied against Janklow.
So not only did this 4 term Gov get away with 100 days served for vehicular homicide, the taxpayers will have to foot the bill for the civil suit and Janklow lives happily ever after.
Now that is one go-getter kind of guy. Four states. Outstanding. Things like that don't just happen by chance, someone has to want it, and make it happen. I salute you, sir. That's the kind of can-do attitude we need around here. Honey, pack the bags, we're moving to another state tomorrow - the 4 pointer I got today pushes it over the top.
Blake sure has gone down hill. I thought the Pink Panther movies were great. Is he still married to Julie Andrews.
Wait, I am channeling his brother now: "At 8PM, I am doing fine. At 9, I'm on top of the world. Keep 'em coming, barkeep. At 10, this place is great!!At 11, where are my car keys, I know I had 'em when I came in. At 12, what me intoxicated, officer? Do you know who my brother is?"
Soooooooo trying to verify myself, (at the request of Old Friend), I spent much of yesterday googling, and hardly found confirmation that Edwards even had a brother, much less a "naar do well" one with a drinking problem.
John Edwards didn't know his brother had problems? Bullhockeydoodoo!!! After a presidential vetting, Edwards can't get away with such a blatant lie. But the REAL story is how the mainstream media has cooperated with the Kerry/Edwards campaign by NOT printing anything negative about the brother.
His brother lives in the America with connections to powerful policians. Any of us would be in jail in one of the FOUR STATES he has been convicted in!
Did you know that Blake's father was a millworker?
Oh, goody!! Another Democrat politician with a brother.
Jimmah gave us Billy and Bubba gave us Roger. I can hardly wait to start keeping up with "Blake".
This is going to be fun!!!
Really....?
Dim Witted Ignoramus.
well, I'm certainly not defending Edwards, or anyone else for that matter, but my brother lives in Houston (I live in Austin) and I don't know particularly what he's been up to the last five years or so, except that he's in some sort of purgatory in Compact...when he lived in Indiana, and I was stationed at Campbell, I'm sure he did not know about my encounter with a state trooper and subsequent overnight residence in the Hoptown county jail...or my brush with the Oak Grove (the entire frickin' town's a speed trap) folks (we were all a little wild after Mogadishu...)
My guess is Eedwards has not seen or spoken to his "brother" for a long, long time. Billy Carter/Roger Clinton reprise time!!!
It would be very interesting to look back at the records and see just who represented his brother at the DWI hearings. I am sure some Freeper in N.C. could find out for us.
Here's a bit more on the subject ...
Brother racked up
different kind of record
By ADAM LISBERG
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
FUQUAY-VARINA, N.C. - Sen. John Edwards strode through North Carolina's courtrooms in the 1980s and made his reputation as a lawyer. His little brother, Blake, saw plenty of courtrooms then, too - as a defendant.
While his illustrious brother won legal victories and earned millions, Wesley Blake Edwards racked up speeding tickets, license suspensions and impaired-driving convictions.
In 1987, he served seven days in jail for driving under the influence. Three years later, he permanently lost his driver's license when he was arrested for driving under the influence for a third time.
Despite being banned from driving, Blake Edwards was pulled over in April 2003. He resolved the charge by paying a $100 fine.
He asked the state to reinstate his driver's license earlier this year, but was denied. Blake, 39, is the youngest of Wallace and Bobbie Edwards' three children, and is more than 11 years younger than John. He grew up in the tiny mill town of Robbins, N.C., which John Kerry credits with instilling the N.C. senator's small-town values.
Blake Edwards declined to speak with a reporter about his famous brother - or his driving record. "You'll have to talk to the campaign office," he said before closing the door.
The campaign issued a statement to the Daily News yesterday: "Sen. Edwards loves his brother. He is a good man who worked hard and has never wanted to be in the spotlight."
Blake Edwards lives with his wife, Debbie, 46, and their daughter in a modest two-story home that his brother bought for him with $100,000 cash in 1999, property records show.
Blake Edwards works as a union electrician, and his well-worn toolbox sat on the front porch after he returned from work last week. A white Dodge - the same car he was caught driving last year - sat in the driveway with an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers sticker and a "John Edwards for President" bumper sticker.
Despite the sticker, John Edwards' little brother does not appear to be registered to vote in North Carolina. Debbie Edwards is - as a Republican.
With Maki Becker in New York
Originally published on July 11, 2004
http://www.nydailynews.com/07-11-2004/news/politics/story/211134p-181909c.html
Just turn in your guns
Pay your higher taxes
Wait for Germany and France to tell us when to go to war and defend ourselves.
Let judges and lawyers make our world safe.
Wesley Blake Edwards. TA-DA!
What political office is Blake running for? Who really cares if he has a drinking problem or one of the Bush brothers has 'special' room service when he's in Thailand?
Now, does the Breck Girl really expect us to believe that?
Perhaps his low caste brother, lived in that "other" America that Edwards is always crying over...
Do all the southern Democrat White House candidates keep screwed up brothers on the sidelines?
Carter, Clinton and now the Breck Girl.....
Semper Fi
None, that I know of. Neither is President Bush's brother Neil, but the media still thought his divorce was "news".
Isn't it a prerequisite for the Democratic Presidential ticket that at least one of the candidates have a drunk brother? Think Billy Carter, Roger Clinton, I think even Johnson had a drunk brother, Sam Houston Johnson.
Totalling meaningless unless the relative is being named as a Cabinet member. How about the family pets - have they ever destroyed furniture?
Edwards isn't responsible for his brother's bad behavior. We can't choose our relatives.
If he helps his brother out of these scrapes with the law, then he is an enabler, and is hurting his brother in the long run. It's very hard to let a sibling bottom out - but oftentimes, that is the only path to sobriety and and a productive life.
I'm surprised he hasn't filed a suit against the liquor companies.
ROTFLMAO. I can't decide which one of your posts is funnier.
It might be interesting to see if John Edwards paid his "gift tax" on this purchase... Did he release his tax returns from 1998-1999 when this transaction took place?
I don't see using the brothers troubles as a viable strategy, on any level. And I can't really blame Edwards for not jumping on his kid brother with both feet, choosing instead to cite a vague knowledge of his legal troubles.
I want to crush Kerry / Edwards on the political questions of the day.
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