Greg on Jul 28, 2008 at 12:19 PM:

Future member of the Milwaukee Common Council.

Too bad on Jul 28, 2008 at 02:17 PM:

I'm sorry, but Voice of Reason and The Sad Thing are morons. Alford or not, guys don't normally plead guilty to theft charges unless the DA has enough evidence that they're not likely to escape conviction on at least one of the charges. And as for the university spending at least $100,000 to convict Rueden, where do you even get that number? There's no evidence the university did anything more than have its police collect evidence as it would in regard to any sort of allegation. Did you know that the university spent over $20 million to convict Russ Rueden? See, I can do it too.

The really sad thing about this is that the DA agreed to a single misdemeanor. This isn't a game; $10,000 is real money stolen from the pockets of students. Getting a single misdemeanor from a barrage of three felonies and two misdemeanors is going to look like a victory to Rueden and to anyone else who would engage in similar conduct. A clear, hard line should have been drawn here; instead, I hope the DA isn't surprised when he sees more cases like this down the road.

Pundit on Jul 27, 2008 at 02:57 AM:

I guess he's not coated with Teflon(TM), and he's certainly NOT THE MAN! At least he won't be able to recover court costs...And I doubt any bank will be hiring him anytime soon. Rueden thought he was slick, but he's just plain Rue-DUMB.

wordlife on Jul 27, 2008 at 10:04 AM:

haha, r ervin rueden got wat waz comin to him, there will be a line at his backside in the pen! my blood are gonna welcome this homez to the cell bloc.....

Well, well, WELL! (best news this month) on Jul 27, 2008 at 11:20 AM:

Dearest Russ, Congratulations on placing yourself into a whole new world of stigma. Everyone who is not a close friend will judge you for the rest of your life based on your conviction, and it won't be easy to get a job ANYWHERE, let alone the financial sector. DO you think Franny will want to be seen in public with you now? How USV's once-mighty leader has fallen! Sincerely, UWM Student

The Voice of Reason on Jul 28, 2008 at 01:04 AM:

It appears the past losers of UWM elections are still bitter and still have it out for Russ. Perhaps its time to move on guys.

The Sad Thing... on Jul 28, 2008 at 06:53 AM:

The sad thing as that most of you are vengeful EX-student leaders (or maybe Russ just full out beat you in the election and you never became the student leader you once dreamed about as a little child). Most of you who are posting these nasty messages are probably in your mid to late twenties; even thirties....move on and get a life!

UWM obviously blew this WAAYY out of proportion...pleading guilty-by way of Alford to one misdemeanor theft (party to a crime) after being charged with THREE felonies and TWO misdemeanors?? Seriously....WASTE OF TAX DOLLARS. UWM spent AT LEAST $100,000.00 trying to convict Rueden...how come the media is not talking about this?!?!

The real losers here are the students who pay tuition and the tax payers who fund the University. All of $10,000.00 that is in contention has been returned to the University almost TWO YEARS AGO! Bet you haven't heard that in the media?!? The only way students have seen their money wasted is while the UWM Administration is on a vengeful wild goose chase for Rueden...Jon Anderson, how about you try to be a little more FAIR AND BALANCED. Instead of just reporting on what you hear, how about you do a little RESEARCH!

He Dug in your Pocket? on Jul 28, 2008 at 03:14 PM:

You should have reported that to the police if he is actually digging in your pocket and stealing money... You obviously have not done your research on this case. UWM POST - Why don't you do research into how much the University spent on this investigation? I bet it was at least $100,000.00. I know it cost in the tens of thousands just to get a computer "expert".

You can have your opinion and I will have mine. on Jul 28, 2008 at 10:01 PM:

You have to love listening to the anti SA crowd bitch and moan about Russ. The only reason they are so spiteful is because he was successful in achieving his objectives. True, once he left, the SA found others who continued screwing over groups such as MPP, ASAP, WISPIRG, the SGC ect. However, you have to give Russ credit for the concept. He lead SA well and even after he left others followed his lead and did away with lots of stupid spending programs and even more stupid SA Presidential and Senate candidates who supported such expenditures (Albano, Dettman).

People can say what they will, but what I will always laugh about most is that even after two years of Russ bashing, and UWM POST sensationalism, USV (sufc) still has COMPLETE control over SA. That just shows you how delusional and stupid the opposition has been.

The fact is that Russ got a bum rap, PERIOD. The DA’s office overcharged and could not prove their case. The University tried to kick him out of school; they could not even pull off a suspension. The UWM Post has been intent on convicting Russ in the court of public opinion. However, as most reasonable people know, the Post is not credible and has been a consistent failure in their attempts to shape events and outcomes (SA Election 07’& 08’). Further, I am glad Russ basically got off those nonsensical charges. Let me take this opportunity to wish Russ and Samantha well.

Russ' Intern on Jul 29, 2008 at 06:40 AM:

I would have to agree with the last post. I did not know Russ extremely well; however, I was an intern for him while he was President. The one thing I liked most about Russ is he always spoke about student empowerment. He truly believed in the power that students have - the power to make change and make the UWM Administration pay attention to students. He did not believe in wasteful spending and he believed that students had the right to choose what they are going to pay for - not the administration. Before Russ, students just went along with the Administration and never challenged them. It was the norm to increase segregated fees by at least 4% every year. I do think this is a big reason why the administration went after him as hard as they did- he challenged them.

Yes, maybe Russ went a little too far on the UWM portal project; however, I really believe he had the intention of putting the project together. Knowing Russ for the little while that I did, I know he would not steal $10,000.00 - partly because there is no way anyone could get away with that.

I think this investigation went on for far longer than it needed to - 2 years. I'm sure that's why Russ just took the deal, he was probably sick of dealing with it.

I, too, wish Russ and Samantha the best of luck. I hope they can put this behind them and move on. They are good people who got stuck in a bad situation.

Joseph Ohler on Jul 30, 2008 at 01:36 PM:

I’m glad this whole thing finally has a conclusion that everyone can be at least partially satisfied with. Rueden spends thousands of dollars to evade prison but still gets punishment for something that he was clearly documented as doing. (Someone forged his signature? Yeah, right.) His life isn’t ruined, but he cannot say he cheated the system. Fair enough. I don’t know if anyone currently in SA has commented in Rueden’s defense, but I see no way how Rueden can reflect at all on our current SA administration, of which I proud of. I wouldn’t support SUFC if Rueden were still controlling things behind the scenes. I have participated in ground-breaking SUFC initiatives that he has not had any part in, as he’s been out of the loop for some time now. With this final story on the $10,000 check saga, I am optimistic to SA 2008 becoming an even greater source of pride for the student body. Like I said, everyone I’ve spoken with in today’s SA leadership is entirely independent of Russ, but if anyone I work with is offended by my attitude towards Rueden, sorry but it shouldn’t be important because we’re all more transparent than to pass 10k checks under the table. Let’s be proud that we are!

a student on Aug 04, 2008 at 03:35 PM:

the photo: is Russ squinting or pinching (a loaf)?

Strategic Idiot Club on Aug 06, 2008 at 04:05 PM:

Sam Koller is a douchebag

to be fair... on Aug 12, 2008 at 02:52 PM:

SUFC is a group of pussies with yeast infections...

Group of pussies with yeast infections on Aug 12, 2008 at 04:31 PM:

That win elections

AND THEN THERE IS ASAP on Aug 16, 2008 at 10:46 PM:

Nothing but absolute FREAKS, FUCK UPS and People who LOSE elections.

UW System Budget is on Aug 21, 2008 at 08:14 PM:

open to the Public

UWM has lawyers on salary. This is just part of their job and frankly, they really don't make that much as far as lawyers go.

I don't know how much this guy took, but he needs to be made an example of, just hope his future isn't in US politics.

Sam koller on Aug 22, 2008 at 01:17 AM:

It pleases me immensely that my small part in this is recognized. I intend to continue being a douche bag to all those stealing money from students, or otherwise work to harm the students to benefit themselves. ;p

hahahaha on Aug 22, 2008 at 01:53 AM:

you guys want to do some role play games or what?!?!

I'll grab the magic and my pogs and meet you in your office! :p (are you 12?)

jacob s. on Aug 22, 2008 at 07:33 PM:

dude, russ was my freaking high school debate coach. wow. i can't (yet kinda can) believe this.

all i have to say is that russ was a great person to be around, although he was certainly the most manipulative person i've ever met.

Koller really is an idiot on Aug 24, 2008 at 10:31 PM:

I see that goofy motherfucker sitting on the second floor of the Union every day. I am pretty sure he and Domistink have been homeless since the gamers lost their office.

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