And while the media are salivating over the McGreevey bombshell....

...let's take a little trip to Minnesota, shall we? Here's a state where the GOP candidate for House of Representatives in the district that includes St. Paul may be a fugitive from justice who isn't even living in the state, let alone the district.



I swear, you can't make this stuff up:

There may be a few problems with Dr. Jack Shepard's Republican candidacy for Congress in the St. Paul area, if he's the Jack Shepard authorities think he is:



1) He isn't a licensed doctor, his Minnesota dental license having been revoked in 1983 on grounds his untreated manic depression posed a threat to patients.



2) He apparently is living in Italy and shows little willingness to meet state and federal residency requirements for election, perhaps because doing so could get him arrested as a fugitive from justice.



3) He is a convicted sex and drug offender who spent time in prison before fleeing the country in 1982 while facing felony arson charges connected with a fire that heavily damaged his Minneapolis home and dental office. He has been charged with making terroristic threats, and a firearms violation.



Despite all this, Shepard, 57, garnered 11,678 votes in Minnesota's 2002 Republican U.S. Senate primary election against Norm Coleman, the eventual winner. This year, Shepard is running just as hard, with an extensive Web site (www.shepardusgov.com) that solicits campaign donations via Western Union and details his "global peace initiatives."



Hennepin County authorities are convinced that the fugitive and the candidate are one and the same based on information on the Web site, including pictures of his old Air Force ID card with fingerprints included and his canceled passport. They share the same full name and date of birth, and old police mug shots of the criminal resemble those of the candidate on the Web site.

More...



Fascinating stuff. I can't wait to see Kevin Spacey play him in the movie.