Posted on 09/07/2006 8:52:53 AM PDT by Thebaddog
BRIDGEPORT A polling company owner admitted participating in a conspiracy to falsify data in order to meet deadlines for clients, which included the campaigns of President Bush, U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman, U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro and Mayor John M. Fabrizi. Tracy Costin, 46, of Madison, admitted to U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall that she participated in a conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Costin, who owned and operated DataUSA, a survey and polling firm with offices in West Haven and Guilford, faces up to five years in prison when she is sentenced Nov. 30.
However a preliminary calculation of the federal sentencing guidelines call for Costin to receive a sentence ranging from 27 to 33 months in prison and a fine of $6,000 to $60,000.
As part of her plea agreement, Costin agreed to repay $82,732 to the clients of 11 jobs between June 2002 and May 2004. The clients were not identified.
However, court documents identify numerous political clients, as well as Metro-North Railroad, as customers of DataUSA, now known as Viewpoint USA.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward Chang said the firm's employees conducted telephone interviews using a scripted questionnaire.
But Chang said on several occasions when the company was running up against a deadline to complete a job, results were falsified. Sometimes, the respondent's gender or political affiliation were changed to meet a quota, other times all survey answers were fabricated.
FBI Special Agent Jeff Rovelli said 50 percent of information compiled by DataUSA and transmitted to Bush's campaign was falsified.
There was no indication that the Fabrizi campaign surveys were falsified.
Leonard Mastri, Costin's ex-husband, told the FBI the results for a Metro-North survey were fabricated.
Mastri, the former owner of Computer Guys and PM Consulting in Bridgeport, was arrested and convicted for selling computers stolen from Sikorsky Aircraft.
The FBI, along with agents from the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, investigated both cases.
One of the numerous reasons why I distrust polls. Too durn easy to manipulate.
I'm telling you, they ALL do this---their new masters are the media outlets, and they have to concoct results that are "interesting" or "newsworthy," i.e., the status quo is always wrong.
I swear, if they could, they would just do away with the actual voting and just run things with their phony polls.
They have to weight the responses in order to achieve a demographic distribution that approximates the region being surveyed.
It is standard practice in market research.
Classy couple.
It is just TOO EASY for these polling companies, big and small, to fabricate data.
It is just TOO EASY for these polling companies, big and small, to fabricate data.
The best poll in the world is the audience numbers for conservative talk radio versus liberal radio.
To add to your post:
Polling is one of the many tools of the left in their Psychopolitical strategy. It goes like this:
Pick a message that they want implanted in the public psyche. Splash that message (Bush lied) all over the MSM for a period of time. Conduct a series of phony polls with willing accomplices in that business. (Zogby, et al.) Get the pre-determined results. Splash those results over the MSM as what "the American People" believe.
This is one way the few control the many, by pretending that the many support them.
They carry that technique into their strategy for stealing elections. The template for that is:
Do the above with the message being the leftist candidate has a lead. At present the message is additionally that the Democrats will retake the House and the Senate.
Behind the scenes prepare for massive election fraud while publicly accusing the Republicans of doing it.
Drum the message right up to election day.
Conduct phony exit polls and trumpet that the left has won.
If they pull it off throw massive celebrations to drown out any objections. (The last gubernatorial election in Washington.)
If they fail, immediately cry foul and demand a recount. Go to court if necessary.
If that fails continuously cry foul and claim the legally elected officials to be illegal. Claim they stole the election and keep it up all the way to the next election.
Repeat each election cycle.
We saw that in Eastern Europe after the fall of the USSR. We saw it here in 2000, 2004, and now in Mexico. We are seeing it unfold for 2006 and will see it again in 2008.
Google "Psychopolitics" and "Communist Goals" for more detailed information. Then compare that to what you have seen unfold in this country over the last 70 years and what is going on now.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.