Political Consultant Tom Severson: Sleaze Exposed by Unlikely Source

Earlier today, I told you about the the unemployment compensation claim against political consultant Tom Severson. He lost, and here are the "Findings of Fact" made about a year ago by the Unemployment Compensation Board of Review. It casts a glaring spotlight on the dark world inside the largest political consulting firm in Penssylvania.

FINDINGS OF FACT:

1. Claimant was last employed as director of operations for Precision Marketing, Inc. from August of 1998. Claimant's last day of work was October 18, 2006. Claimant was last salaried at $875 per week;

2. The employer operates a political consulting firm, which, among other services, helps plan and implement campaign strategies for political candidates throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and conducts voter demographic and preference surveys.

3. Claimant quit the employment after an incident occurring on his last day, while the owner/president, and several coworkers were conversing over lunch in the company's break room.

4. The owner was discussing politics, and declaring that he planned to "kill" his political enemies. The employer further added that one day he would "stab these people."

5. Claimant was, however, upset by these remarks, and stated to the employer "you better be careful who you pull a knife on."

6. The employer then responded to claimant that "one day I'll sneak up behind you and stab you."

7. The claimant was threatened by the employer.

8. Claimant departed the lunchroom, and several minutes later, had collected his belongings and threw his keys on the lunch table in the presence of the entire company declaring "I don't work for assholes".

9. The employer responded with "f__k you", and claimant departed.

10. In September of 2005, the company vice president was eating in the lunchroom and the president opened a knife and lunged within an inch of the vice president's neck.

11. About 5 years earlier, the president discovered that an employee of another employer that was assigned to one of the campaigns that the employer was working on had destroyed voter registration forms.

12. The present[president] brandished one of his knifes at the offender and directed him to leave the office and never return.

13. In May of 2005, the president compared the claimant's homes, cars and wives with the claimant. The employer then told the claimant f—k you, your wife, daughter, son and entire family.

14. The president would give gifts of knives to employees for their protection.

15. In one incident, about two years earlier, in an attempt to avoid it being publicly known that the employer also occasionally represented local Democratic candidates (the employer primarily works on behalf of Republic[Republican] Party interests), the employer suggested that claimant sign his name to a bulk mailing permit to be taken out by a tenant/neighboring business on the employer's premises, with whom the employer contracts a good deal of printing work.

16. Claimant, believing-that such signature was unlawful or unethical, refused to comply but was not disciplined or threatened with discipline although he was addressed with profane language.

17. The claimant quit his employment because he feared for his safety and he could not complain to anyone in authority as there was no one above the owner/president.

18. Claimant was subsequently employed in a temporary position by [redacted], but did not earn a sum equaling or exceeding six times his weekly benefit rate ($2,982) in that later employment.