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Phillip Rodokanakis, CFE, is the Managing Partner of U.S.
Data Forensics, LLC, a company providing computer
forensic and litigation support services primarily
to law firms. He lives in the Oak Hill suburb of
Fairfax County, close to Dulles International
Airport.
In addition, Mr.
Rodokanakis is a senior team member of the
Forensic Accounting and Dispute Analysis
department of Klausner Dubinsky + Associates,
P.C., a public accounting firm affiliated with
U.S. Data Forensics, LLC.
Mr. Rodokanakis
is a computer forensics and data recovery expert.
He is a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) with 30
years of international and domestic investigative
and white-collar crime experience. He has
participated in prosecutions of numerous complex
financial frauds, and has developed a solid
professional background in computer forensics and
advanced Information Technology systems.
A retired special
agent, Mr. Rodokanakis conducted a broad range of
criminal, civil, and administrative investigations
in more than 60 countries. He interacted with
senior public and private sector officials at the
highest executive levels, both in the United
States and overseas. During his career with the
Federal Government, Mr. Rodokanakis served as a
Foreign Service Officer before being appointed to
the Department of Interior where he managed and
oversaw investigations for the Office of Inspector
General.
Mr. Rodokanakis
conducts many lectures and seminars and has been
invited to address national conferences. An
accredited college instructor, he has taught
college courses in Criminal Justice and Business
Administration. He has developed training modules
and delivered specialized training presentations
in the areas of computer forensics and white
collar crime investigations.
Politics is one
of Mr. Rodokanakis’ passions. He has provided
consulting services to a number of local and
statewide campaigns. He currently serves as
president of the Virginia Club of Growth, an
organization dedicated to fighting for lower
taxes, reduced regulatory burdens, and other
policies intended to expand overall economic
growth for Virginia. He is the author of many op-ed
columns which have been published in various
newspapers and other publications across the
State.
Mr. Rodokanakis
holds a Master of Education degree in Human
Services from Boston University. He received his
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and
a Certificate of Studies in Law Enforcement from
the University of Maryland. He has also taken
extensive specialized training courses in Digital
Data Recovery and Computer Forensics.
Columns
April
30: Footing
the Bill.
Fairfax
County has promised to make good any cost overruns
in the Rail-to-Dulles project. Supervisors should
warn taxpayers that they could wind up footing the
bill.
April
16: Legislative
Tyranny.
Speaker
Bill Howell and AG Bob McDonnell circumvented the
Virginia Constitution by passing the 2007
transportation bill in defiance of the multiple
object rule.
March
5: Transportation
Transgressions.
Del.
David Albo complains that people are looking for reasons
to kill HB 3202. He is right, but only because of the
many illegal and unconstitutional provisions in this
bill.
February
20: Slippery
Slope. Virginia's Republicans are backing higher
taxes and bigger government, ostensibly to save
themselves from electoral disaster. They are
taking the path to minority status.
February
5: The
Politics of Self Destruction.
The
transportation impasse in the General Assembly is not
about what's best for Virginia. It's a raw struggle for
power.
January
22: Open
Letter to GOP Delegates.
Don’t
believe for a minute that raising taxes and fees will
help you hold on to your majority. As no new roads will
be built for years, raising taxes now only guarantees to
alienate voters.
January
8: Grown-Up
Follies.
To
Washington Post editorial writers, the "grown
ups" support higher taxes to solve Virginia's
transportation quandary. Funny how the Post is the
one throwing temper tantrums.
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2006 -
December
18: Can't
We All Just
Get Along? GOP
leaders want to paper over philosophical divides in
pursuit of power. But they miss the fact that electoral
victories are achieved only through visionary policies
and strong leadership.
November
20: Freedom
of Association.
A
lawsuit challenging the open primary system that
protects Virginia RINOS is working its way
through the federal courts.
November
6: Are
Republicans Listening?
The
pollsters are predicting a disaster for the GOP
tomorrow. Could the 2006 national elections
presage the same for Virginia in 2007?
October
23: Conservative
Dilemma.
Some
choice. Conservatives in the 10th
district can vote for Frank Wolf, a 26-year
incumbent who has drifted leftward in recent
years, or a former Clinton-era bureaucrat.
September
25: Pouring
Water on Sand.
Virginia
legislators propose increasing subsidies for the
Washington Metro -- an unaccountable organization
plagued by operational blunders and financial
mismanagement.
August
28: When
Bureaucrats Rule.
Our
legislators can enact all the laws they want, but their
implementation is easily thwarted if they fun afoul of
our state bureaucracy.
August
7: Metro
Monomania.
Tom
Davis is taking big political risks to funnel $3
billion into the Washington Metro. Why?
July
24: The
Politics of Cake.
Tom
Davis and other GOP moderates in Congress want to have
their cake and east it too -- hold onto a Republican
majority while voting with the Democrats.
July
10: Hold
on to Your Wallets!
GOP
delegates are bragging that they held the line against
new tax increases. They are either disingenuous or too
naïve to realize that the next tax increase has been
set in motion.
June
26: Dumb
as Rocks.
If
the "fiscal conservatives" in the House of
Delegates think they held the line against spending in
the state's new $74 billion budget, John Chichester's
epithet may well be justified.
May
30: Political
Landscaping.
A
lawsuit filed by GOP conservatives stands to change the
political landscape in Virginia. Remarkably, the case
has yet to receive much attention.
May
15: Republican
Blues. The
GOP has more than the Democrats to worry about this
November. The Party is struggling from internal
divisions, as seen in the convention battle in Virginia's
10th Congressional District.
May
1: The
One Object Rule.
Determined
to raise taxes, the State Senate is trampling the
"one object rule" of the Virginia
Constitution. Thankfully, House Speaker Bill
Howell appears determined to hold the line.
April
17: Governed
by Demagogues.
Virginia
politicians are not simply spinning the truth —
they’re engaging in outright demagoguery. And they
will continue as long as the electorate remains
apathetic.
April
3: Taxing
Drivers. Desperate
for a new source of transportation revenues, the House
has passed a bill that is clearly unconstitutional --
fining drivers for offenses committed before the law was
passed.
March
20: Bottomless
Pit. The
Washington Metro is losing money and needs more
than $1 billion in
repairs.
Why should anyone believe the Rail-to-Dulles
project will perform any better?
February
27: Red
State Blues. Obsessed
with raising taxes, Republican leaders in the
state Senate risk transforming Virginia into a
blue state -- and losing their majority status in
the bargain.
February
13: Thinking
Outside the Box. House Republicans have released
their transportation package. Unlike competing
proposals, this plan would not raise taxes at a time of
unprecedented budget surpluses.
January
30: Tax
Fever.
Just
like the flu, a tax-increase fever is afflicting
our legislators in Richmond. Unlike the flu, there
is no vaccine to protect Virginia families from
this malady.
January
16: He’s
Baaack!
By
protecting Russ Potts's power in the state Senate,
his fellow GOP senators showed they're closer to
their Democratic Party colleagues than the
Republican rank and file.
January
3: Warner
2, Ostriches 0.
House
Republicans could have stopped Mark Warner’s tax hike
in 2004. By looking the other way, they have encouraged
him to replay the same old trick.
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2005 -
December
12: That
Vision Thing.
Virginia’s
Republicans are doomed to repeat past mistakes as
long as their legislative leaders pursue the same
visionless path.
November
28: Leadership
Vacuum. Some
commentators pin the GOP's setbacks in November's
election on conservative activists. In actuality,
ineffective leadership of the House Republican caucus is
the root of the problem.
November
14: Winning
on Principles.
Jerry
Kilgore ran an unprincipled campaign and lost.
Bill Bolling ran a principled campaign and won
despite Kilgore's top-of-the-ticket loss.
October
31: A
Dripping Faucet.
State
spending in Virginia is like a leaky faucet that you
can't turn off. Unfortunately, neither gubernatorial
candidate knows a fiscal wrench from a soldering iron.
October
17: Quo
Vadis Kilgore?
Jerry
Kilgore's middle-of-the-road campaign has
disappointed conservatives, who support candidates
who take principled stands. As a result, he risks
losing the election. by
Philip Rodokanakis
October
3: The
$9.5 Billion Man.
Chuck
Caputo is campaigning as a consensus- building
candidate. But his agenda calls for an
unprecedented $9.5 billion in new state spending.
September
19: Supersize
Me! Jerry
Kilgore's diet for Virginia's clogged
transportation arteries is like eating a salad
with a helping of ice cream. Tim Kaine's nutritional plan is
worse: all
burgers and fries.
September
5: Feelings
vs. Facts.
The
case for extending Metro rail to Dulles plays upon
the emotions. The case against it is based upon
facts and logic.
August
23: Virginia's
Fiscal Windmill.
Virginia's
politicians have proven themselves incapable of
reining in state spending. The only recourse is
enacting constitutional spending limits, A
Taxpayer Bill of Rights.
August
8: Republican
Mutes.
No
one expects Democrats to tell the truth about Gov.
Warner’s fiscal record, but why are the
Republicans so silent?
July
25: Accountable
Government.
There's
more to "fiscal responsibility" than
raising taxes. Virginia needs to restrain
spending, and appointing an independent Inspector
General is a good place to start.
July
11: Accidental
Pirates.
In
a world of evolving technology, outdated laws could
criminalize innocent acts like using a Wi-Fi network.
Virginia needs to give its state code an overhaul.
June
20: Primary
Lessons. Winning
primary elections against entrenched incumbents is
tough, but the anti-tax contingent sent Richmond
some lessons that will reverberate for years to
come.
June
6: Demos
for RINOs. Some
Republicans running for the House this year are so soft
on spending and taxes that their biggest support comes
from Democrats crossing over to vote for them.
May
23: RINO
Hunting. The
Virginia GOP has filed a lawsuit to restrict
voting in its primaries to registered Republicans.
Keeping out Democratic crossovers would cull the
number of elected Republicans In Name Only.
May
9: DINO
Sighting. Virginia
is prime habitat for RINOS--Republicans In Name
Only. But David Marsden, running for the 41st
House district, may be the first Democrat In Name
Only spotted in the Old Dominion.
April
25: On
a Rampage. County
governments insist upon providing social services
to illegal immigrants. These same localities are
raising property taxes through the roof.
April
11: The
Politics of Lies II.
Even
in rebutting my previous column, the Connaughton
campaign can't find its way to telling the truth.
March
28: The
Politics of Lies. Politicians continue to
cross the line with half- truths, falsehoods and
outright lies. The latest example is a hit piece
released by the Sean Connaughton for Lt. Governor
Campaign.
March
14: The
Self-Anointed Candidate. Only
God, says Russ Potts, can declare him not to be a
Republican. Why, then, is Potts running for governor
as an independent rather than vying with Jerry
Kilgore for the party nomination?
February
28: Railroaded
Again. An
unelected group, the Commonwealth Transportation
Board, is raising rates on the Dulles Toll Road to
pay for METRO improvements. I call that taxation without representation.
February
14: A
Backroom Deal? Jerry
Kilgore hasn't come out in favor of higher taxes,
but he refuses to sign an anti-tax pledge. A
circumstantial case can be made that he's cut a
deal with the pro-tax wing of the GOP.
January
17: Byzantium
on the James. The 2005 General Assembly is
looking for ways to separate taxpayers from their
money. But Ken Cuccinelli and Tom Rust have
submitted bills that could halt the deception and
pilferage.
January
4: Why
Not a Ticket for Tax
Abuse? A
General Assembly bill would ratchet up fines for
certain traffic "abuses" and earmark the
revenue to highway projects. The
real abusers are the politicians sponsoring this
bad legislation.
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2004 -
November
29: The
Warrenton Miracle. George
Fitch, mayor of Warrenton, proved he can cut
spending and lower taxes. Jerry Kilgore, who's
seeking the Republican gubernatorial nomination as
a status quo candidate, better watch out.
November
15: Surplus?
What Surplus? You'd
think tax advocates would be embarrassed by the
state's impending $1 billion budget surplus. Not
so. Won't
last, says Mark Warner. Still need to raise taxes,
says John Chichester.
November
1: Misinformation
Campaign. It's
bad enough that Fairfax County wants to issue $325
million in bonds to cover past fiscal
recklessness. But the county is spending tax
dollars to dupe taxpayers to go along.
Feb.
2: Taxpayer
Bill of Rights
. The
tax and spenders in the General Assembly are out
of control. Virginia needs a Taxpayer Bill of
Rights like Colorado's to enforce spending
discipline and clamp a lid on taxes.
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2003 -
Dec. 15: The
Rail-to-Dulles Scam
.
Taxpayers, hang on
to your wallets. Developers are lobbying for an
extravagantly expensive extension of the Metro to
Dulles Airport. Can you guess who stands to
profit?
Nov. 3:
Bad
Company
. When Fairfax County Supervisor Gerry
Connolly did consulting work for a Northern
Virginia business, was there a quid pro quo for
his later zoning vote on two luxury high rises?
Oct. 6: A
Vote for Howell...
Is a vote for higher taxes. Reston's Janet Howell
hates "big government" when it curtails
abortions, but she doesn't mind raising taxes to
pay for spending programs.
Sept. 22:
Phantom
Budget Cuts. Politicians claim they've
whacked $6 billion in state expenditures. Bull
twinky! The only thing they've cut is the
anticipated rates of increase, while state
spending grows unabated.
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