Hashim Yonis had plenty of friends on his way up, but most were missing in action on Friday when the onetime park and school employee was charged with felony theft by Hennepin County.
Mayor R.T. Rybak, who brought Yonis to a White House session on youth summer jobs and supported his Park Board candidacy? He was unavailable for comment, an aide said.
Superintendent Bernadeia Johnson, who awarded Yonis one of her commemorative coins after the White House visit, then cut him loose as a school employee last Tuesday? The district didn't make her available for comment.
Mohamud Noor, who served as treasurer for the campaign committee for the Yonis park campaign? He said that his position as a school board member who will review the firing of Yonis inihbits his ability to comment. "I'm trying to run away from it," said Noor, who is seeking DFL endorsement for the House seat now held by Phyllis Kahn. "I wish this was untrue."
Friday probably wasn't the most auspicious day then for a laudatory article about Noor penned by Yonis to be posted in the Mogadishu Times. There was no mention that Noor was treasurer for Yonis.
Yonis was charged for allegedly keeping from the Park Board payments he collected for soccer field rentals at Currie Park from an adult soccer team.
