Jack Stick: I was 'the whipping boy'
A cross-breed between a lion and a tiger might seem like a whimsical answer to the question posed in the 2011 job interview, just before he was hired to direct the state's
"If you could be any animal, real or imagined, what would it be and why?" the interviewer asked. Stick's response was noted in state personnel records: "Liger, beautiful, powerful, aggressive."
The story of Jack Stick -- the charismatic upstart whose résumé includes stints as a state and federal prosecutor, municipal judge and Republican state representative -- is one of undaunted ambition and repeated missteps.
His resignation last month, following an
Since the
Last month, Stick resigned as chief counsel of the sprawling Health and
A criminal investigation by the
"I think being driven is a theme throughout my life," Stick, 48, told the Statesman. "I know I can rub people the wrong way with my impatience and drive, but I try to do well. Sometimes with greater success, sometimes with lesser, but always with great effort and intent."
To be sure, former co-workers and others close to him portray Stick as a formidable presence in a room, often describing him as a leader with remarkable intelligence and enthusiasm. But they say Stick has made enemies with a caustic leadership style and a tendency to reward his supporters and target his detractors.
A notable career
Stick graduated with a law degree from the
At Marquette, Stick met a student named
Frinzi, who was fired as 21CT's lobbyist last month, told the Statesman he was privy to conversations last year that indicated Stick was actively working to grow the data analytics company even as he managed the company's state contract. Stick was poised to become an executive with 21CT, Frinzi said.
Both Stick and
In 1996, Stick moved to
In his first nine months on the job, Stick handled a piece of a big case:
By 1998, Stick was hired as an assistant U.S. attorney in
Two years later, Stick left that job to move back to
One and done
After a contentious race, Stick was elected in 2002 to state
"We felt like we got stabbed in the back," Zimmerman said. "I felt very betrayed by that. He had made some specific promises, and he blew everybody off."
"Jack Stick had amnesia," he added.
Stick did file a bill pertaining to that taxing district, though it died in committee, as did most of his other bills.
It was during his time at the Capitol that Stick met his wife, then
Stick said that Wohlgemuth introduced him to his wife before they married in
"I think her boss pretty much told her go out with me," Stick told the Statesman. "In fact, I think she had to tell Erica a few times because it sure took a while."
Erica Stick, who would later land a
Rep. Stick's only term is perhaps most remembered for the controversies surrounding him.
Stick found himself wrapped up in the DeLay indictment for collecting more than
Stick was never accused by prosecutors of wrongdoing, and he told the Statesman then that his only relationship with the PAC was "I got checks."
Facing a tight race in 2004 against Democratic challenger
Stick ultimately lost by only 569 votes. He asked for a recount but later withdrew that request.
Zimmerman said he believes his district had simply lost faith in Stick.
"He's a very, very extraordinary guy. He's very smart," Zimmerman said. "He's got the talent, but I just don't think he has the integrity. It's tragic."
Trouble in
From the summer of 2008 to
In a
The plaintiff,
Curry claimed Stick then ordered her to prepare the documents so that he could take them outside of the courthouse, which her attorneys said would have required Curry to break court "rules and laws" because those documents contained sensitive information about criminal defendants.
Curry filed an official complaint to her immediate supervisor, and, according to the complaint, days later Stick suspended the clerk with pay, "pending the results of an investigation."
Then in February, the same day the clerk filed a formal complaint with the state, Stick held Curry in contempt of court, a charge that could have resulted in jail time.
Curry's case against Stick, after it was severed from a lawsuit against the city of
"I held
Curry and her lawyer in that case,
The Curry case led to a flurry of bad press, and Stick ultimately didn't seek a second term.
Around that same time, Stick and Frinzi, his business partner at a telecommunications firm called LETS Volver, severed ties. After months of acrimony over the failing business, the two nearly exchanged blows, another business partner,
Sandhu said the investors lost money as the business failed, but he blames neither Frinzi nor Stick. He said he's "surprised" to hear Stick is being investigated.
"Jack was extremely honest, and you can quote me on that," Sandhu said. "He gives very good advice to make sure that we did everything within the legal requirements."
A bold entrance
Four months after arriving at the inspector general's office in
In a two-hour recording of the meeting obtained by the Statesman, Stick told investigators that he wanted to build a first-class organization that would be envied across the country. Investigations by the
He said he would do this, in part, by buying revolutionary "graph pattern analysis" technology -- the product he had already been discussing with 21CT executives, the newspaper's investigation found. It would link disparate sets of data, he said, to find connections and networks of fraudsters.
Stick said he would push investigators. Those deserving would be rewarded with raises and promotions. Those who didn't wouldn't last long, he said.
"The days of coming to work and plodding along are done," Stick said. "It's over. We can't afford that anymore."
Under Stick's command, credible allegations of fraud, which allow the state to withhold
In his early days at the agency, Stick implored his staff to come to him with any ideas.
"When I tell you all that I'm looking for your input, and I'm looking for your suggestions, I want you to know I'm dead serious about that," he told them.
But that's not what Stick's former employees say happened as he pressed for more results, faster.
In that document, Vetter wrote that "Stick told me that when he recommended someone for a job position, that he expected them to be hired. I tried to explain HR policies and federal law, but Jack Stick would not listen. From that moment on, Mr. Stick was often complaining about
Stick calls Olguin's accusations "absurd."
"At the time his OIG managers fired
The affidavit also describes a hostile work environment in which Stick treated many staffers badly.
"Employees were yelled at, embarrassed and ridiculed," Vetter wrote. "I had never experienced anything like it in state government. I had staff members in my office crying at times."
Stick said he had high standards at work and that upset some people.
"I think some people found my level of expectations too demanding, too stressful," he said.
Yet, at the same time state records indicate Stick was eager to promote and give pay raises to those he thought worthy. In the two years after he arrived, one-time merit increases in the office jumped from 87 in fiscal 2011 to 142 in fiscal 2013.
Stick also was being rewarded. When he was hired as deputy inspector general in
While current and former inspector general employees have been eager to talk to the Statesman, Stick's former employees in the chief counsel's office have remained silent. In an email to the office's attorneys, interim chief counsel
What's next?
Stick's upward trajectory continued, even as negative media coverage circulated about his drunken driving arrest in
In
It's unclear who will replace Stick as chief counsel as three others in that office remain on paid leave and as Janek last week responded to revelations that well-connected staffers there received high-paying jobs and unusual perks without competition.
Meanwhile, the commission has yet to replace Stick at the inspector general's office, but a recent posting for the job is markedly different from the one issued when Stick applied for the position.
When Inspector General
Just to get in the door, candidates needed two years of experience working with legislative offices, providing testimony or appearing in hearings. Stick had served in the Legislature for two years.
They needed a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university. Stick had a law degree. They needed six years of experience in investigations or prosecutions at both the state and federal level. Stick had been both a state and federal prosecutor.
Now, as the commission advertises for a replacement for Stick, candidates need only one thing to get past the initial screening criteria: a bachelor's degree.
With his résumé, Stick easily surpassed 41 other candidates. During his interview, Stick said he loved working as a prosecutor, that he was goal-oriented and didn't suffer fools gladly, according to handwritten notes taken by one of his interviewers.
Those records indicate there was one other finalist who contended with Stick. When asked what animal he would be, the finalist, citing their proclivity for smiling and having fun, said he would be a dolphin.
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