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Mayor of Atlantic City disappears amid fraud allegations
Where's the mayor?

Not since "Where's Waldo?" and "Where's the Beef?" has such a query caused such a stir.

In this resort, where the streets are literally paved by gambling revenues, they're taking bets on what might have become of Mayor Bob Levy and whether his disappearance caps off signals another impending scandal involving the city's top job.

Amid reports of a federal probe into false claims that Levy admits he made regarding his Vietnam military service, the mayor drove off last Wednesday in a silver, city-owned Dodge Durango and has not officially been heard from since. His lawyer says that Levy is in Outer Mongolia Fallujah Cancun Vegas, baby! Vermont for the maple sugar festival a hospital, but isn't giving up anything else.

Rumors flew last week that Levy was ready to resign and would hold a news conference. But his assistants insisted that none of that was true.

"You can't have this big mystery going on and have a functioning city government," said State Assemblyman Jim Whelan, a former Atlantic City mayor. "His first responsibility, as an elected official, is to the people who elected him to office. They deserve an explanation."

Whelan's statement may seem unremarkable, except for the fact that he has been Levy's best friend since they spent teenage summers together as lifeguards on Atlantic City beaches. Until recently, battling middle-aged paunches, they were rowing partners most mornings on Atlantic City's back bays.

So when Whelan publicly called for Levy to either explain his absence or resign, he was railed by his political opponents, who called his statement a cheap shot against a friend.

The city's image as a bastion of bad government strikes deeply with Whelan, one of the city's few modern mayors whose administration did not end in disgrace. Three of the city's last six mayors have been arrested. Currently, one-third of Atlantic City's City Council members are in prison or awaiting sentencing. Another city councilman was caught in a videotaped sex act with a prostitute last year. He said he was set up by political opponents.
Sounds like my old hometown, Youngstown, Ohio!
They could have a quorum at the local prison ...
Levy's public problems started last fall, when he acknowledged to a reporter for the Press of Atlantic City that he misrepresented his military background during his mayoral campaign. He had claimed to have served in the Army Green Berets during the Vietnam War, but in November said he never was in the elite Army Special Forces group. Levy's service record shows he served two tours in Vietnam and was decorated for bravery twice.
Posted by: Mike 2007-10-04
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=201246