VelvetRevolution.us, a coalition of more than 130 progressive organizations dedicated to transparent elections, reported today that its efforts to hold Diebold Inc. accountable for improper and unethical conduct is getting traction.  On Monday, longtime Diebold CEO Walden O’Dell resigned effective immediately after an acrimonious board meeting.  On Tuesday, a massive class action lawsuit was filed in United States District Court in Ohio against the firm and eight current and former executives for securities fraud, concealment, and insider trading.

Diebold’s stock has fallen more than 30% this year after well publicized troubles with the company’s voting machines and revelations by insiders that the company has severe structural problems.  One of those insiders, ‘Dieb-Throat,’ has compared Diebold to Enron, and he fully expects it to collapse under the weight of all the coming investigations and problems.  In fact, he believes that the new CEO, Thomas Swidarski, will not last long because he is one of the officials in the lawsuit who allegedly engaged in insider trading. 

Is an SEC investigation next?  According to Dieb-Throat, the Diebold executives are very concerned that the next problem they will face is a criminal investigation by the Department of Justice and SEC.  “It won’t be long before someone at the top starts cooperating with a DOJ prosecutor and then all hell will break loose,” he said.  “That is when the full extent of Diebold’s illegal conduct will become transparent, and it will be very ugly.” 

Brad Friedman of Bradblog.com and  the Velvet Revolution is available for interviews.