Political Pollster Pleads Guilty to Making Up Results

[mod mom]

Pollster Pleads Guilty to Making Up Results

AP
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (Sept. 7) - The owner of DataUSA Inc., a company that conducted political polls for the campaigns of President Bush, Sen. Joe Lieberman and other candidates, pleaded guilty to fraud for making up survey and poll results.



AP
According to a federal indictment, the owner of a company that conducted political polls for the campaigns of Sen. Joe Lieberman, President Bush and others told employees to "talk to cats and dogs" when instructing them to fabricate the surveys.


Tracy Costin pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Costin, 46, faces a maximum of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 when she is sentenced Nov. 30.

As part of her plea agreement, Costin agreed to repay $82,732 to the unidentified clients for 11 jobs between June 2002 and May 2004. DataUSA is now known as Viewpoint USA.

According to a federal indictment, Costin told employees to alter poll data, and managers at the company told employees to "talk to cats and dogs" when instructing them to fabricate the surveys.

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http://news.aol.com/elections/story/_a/pollster-pleads-guilty-to-making-up/20060907093409990001

[adarling]

1. wow, interesting

nominated.

[lisa58]

2. I think this is a crucial part of throwing an election...

...if you can show a poll that resembles the results of an election you know is wrong - who's going to question it?

[Mabus]

3. 50% of the polls she fed Bush were fabricated results!

If Bush counted on these polls to make policy it would certainly explain a lot. And if Joementum used them for his Presidential run it helps explain why he was so insistent about his three way tie for third. He probably really believed he was doing a lot better than he was based on fabricated polls.

FBI Special Agent Jeff Rovelli said 50 percent of information compiled by DataUSA and transmitted to Bush's campaign was falsified, the Connecticut Post reported Thursday.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward 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.

[pretzel4gore]

4. the memory hole gonna get a workout!

this is the 1st/last time we ever hear about THIS! :shrug:

[nicknameless]

5. I doubt that Costin is the only right-winger who's fabricating polls.

[MissWaverly]

6. so does that mean there is no 30% that think he's great

:-)

[nicknameless]

7. I think the number might be down to around 23% now.

But who knows? What do the polls say? ;)

[MissWaverly]

8. well now that they are prosecuting pollsters for fraud

I haven't heard any numbers lately, have you?

:-)

[nicknameless]

10. Think those numbers might change a bit now?

:)

I haven't seen any new polls. The last Zogby (8/16) gave dimson 34%. *Sigh*

[MissWaverly]

11. Yes, I do

I have a feeling that many of the people who will be prosecuted in the next 5 years will say
I never thought I was doing wrong.

[nicknameless]

12. Or, "I was just doing what I was hired to do."

[MissWaverly]

13. isn't that what the classic defense for the "Nazis"

I was only following orders.

[nicknameless]

14. Exactly.

"Befehl ist Befehl" -- "I was only following orders."

[MissWaverly]

15. Remember Jon Stewart - Tucker Carlson

All of these people are hurting America, why do they just go on and on, every day, coming up
with a meaner trick, a dirtier campagin strategy, another lie to paper over the failure of
our Iraq campaign.

[nicknameless]

16. There is no depth to which they won't sink,

as long as there's money to be made.
Money and power (ie: power over others, not true personal power) are all that drives them.

[MissWaverly]

18. How about this as campaign motto: GOP is against U.S.

they are against almost anything we hold as what's right with America, Liberty and Justice for
all, Freedom of Speech, Social Security, etc.

[nicknameless]

19. Good!

:thumbsup:

[galloglas]

9. More comments, same lying pollster

at this location

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=203&topic_id=448483&mesg_id=448483

[OzarkDem]

17. They're not the only ones

How did they get busted? Plenty of other pollsters do it with no accountability (Mason Dixon, Rasmussen, now possibly Zogby). How was this one singled out?