Culture of Corruption..Another Watergate possible 20 members of Congress

[mrbowler]

Just a follow-up article about reform prospects..


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"Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) has had a significantly greater number of former staffers go on to work with lobbying and public-affairs shops around town."

"At least 24 former aides to Boehner, chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, have registered as lobbyists or proceeded to work in corporate public affairs and advocacy since leaving Capitol Hill."

“If [lobbying] reform is at the head of the agenda, the connections with K Street would seem to be something of a disadvantage,” said Ross Baker, a political scientist at Rutgers University."

[mrbowler]

Looks like another high ranking official is arrested. Also Delay will step down

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"The deputy press secretary for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security was arrested Tuesday for using the Internet to seduce what he thought was a teenage girl, authorities said."

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Rep. Tom DeLay, already forced to leave his post as House majority leader and touched by a widening lobbying scandal, said Tuesday that he would resign from Congress rather than face a bruising re-election race he said he was not sure he could win.

[mrbowler]

Looks like more details will be needed.

Abramoff made 2 White House visits, logs show:
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Secret Service records made public today show that convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff went to the White House twice in the past five years, omitting three other occasions that have been acknowledged by the Bush administration.

The visits occurred on Jan. 20, 2004, the day President Bush delivered his State of the Union address, and on March 6, 2001. Abramoff stayed a total of 63 minutes, 29 seconds, but the records do not indicate where he went in the complex or who he met.

Judicial Watch said the records appear to be incomplete, noting that similar logs released during the Clinton administration included more details.


"We therefore have reason to believe there are additional details about Jack Abramoff's visits to the White House that have not been disclosed," the group's president, Tom Fitton, said on its Web site.

"However, now we know there are at least two visits by admitted felon Jack Abramoff that the White House must explain. What was Jack Abramoff doing at the White House? With whom did he meet?"

[mrbowler]

Yeehaw!

House Takes Away Jefferson Committee Seat:

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"Two men have been convicted as part of the bribery scandal surrounding Jefferson. And while the congressman has not been charged, the FBI says it found $90,000 in bribe money stashed in a food freezer in his home."

[mrbowler]

I'm not sure what to believe here-seems like some very wise decisions


Speaker Hastert's Land Deal Questioned:

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House Speaker Dennis Hastert denied Thursday that he pushed for federal funding for a proposed highway in northeastern Illinois so he and his wife could reap about $1.8 million from land deals near their home in Kendall County.

The Sunlight Foundation, a newly created group whose declared aim is to inform the public about what members of Congress do, has accused Hastert of not divulging connections between the $207 million earmark he won for a highway, the Prairie Parkway, and an investment he and his wife made in nearby land.

The Foundation says Hastert used an Illinois trust to invest in real estate near the proposed route of the Prairie Parkway, and notes that Hastert's 2005 financial disclosure form, released Thursday, makes no mention of the trust. Hastert lists several real estate transactions in the disclosure, all of which were done by the trust. Kendall County public records show no record of Hastert making the real estate sales he made public today; rather, they were all executed by the trust, the Foundation says.

However, Hastert disclosed the transactions on the annual personal financial statements members of Congress are required to file, the Chicago Sun Times reports. But Hastert did not take the extra steps called for in the House Ethics Manual and volunteer that he held land in a secret land trust called "Little Rock Trust," the newspaper says.

In defending himself, Hastert told The Associated Press the land in question was 5.5 miles from the proposed highway.

"So, it has nothing to do with the Prairie Parkway," the Yorkville Republican said. "I owned land and I sold it, like millions of people do every day."

Hastert attorney Randy Evans wrote to the foundation, calling its statements false, libelous and defamatory, and demanding that they be withdrawn and corrected.

Among Evans' criticisms was that the property Hastert purchased is adjacent to Hastert's home and is more than 5.5 miles from the Prairie Parkway corridor.

"This would be like complaining about a purchase in Alexandria, Virginia, based on renovations at the Capitol," in Washington, D.C., he said.

Hastert business partner Dallas Ingemunson, a former Kendall County state's attorney, questioned the use of the 5.5 mile estimate, saying the distance was "probably less than three miles... as the crow flies." But he agreed with Hastert that the Prairie Parkway had nothing to do with their land deals.

As The Washington Post reports, in February 2004, Ingemunson, who was also treasurer of Hastert's campaign committee and chairman of the Kendall County Republican Party, established Little Rock Trust. A week later, through the trust, Hastert and his business partners purchased a 69-acre parcel for $340,000, providing road access to part of Hastert's farm that had been landlocked. Hastert owned a quarter of that parcel.

The approximately 138 acres was bought for about $2.1 million and later sold for almost $5 million, or nearly $3 million more.

The Hasterts were sole owners of one parcel bought in May 2005; Hastert and Ingemunson each had a quarter-interest in the other tract, bought in February 2004, with longtime Hastert friend and supporter Tom Klatt having a half-interest.

Based on Ingemunson's figures, Hastert paid roughly $259,000 for one parcel and later pocketed about $621,000 from its sale; and the speaker paid about $1.03 million for the other parcel and later reaped $2.48 million. Altogether, Hastert turned about $1.3 million in investments into about a $1.8 million profit in less than two years.

Ingemunson said Wallanches sold his property at a relatively good price for the buyers because the farmer was worried that the "bubble" was about to burst in the local real estate market. He said the subsequent property value was in line with fast-rising real estate in Kendall County.

For years, Hastert has pressed for federal support of the proposed north-south access road to meet the transportation challenges of Chicago's suburbs, including Kendall County, one of the fastest-growing areas in the nation. His pitch for the parkway had bipartisan support within the Illinois congressional delegation.

When President Bush last summer signed the multiyear transportation bill that included Hastert's Prairie Parkway, he even mentioned the connector road designed for joining two major highways.

In explaining the transactions, Hastert spokesman Ron Bonjean backtracked to before 2004, when the Hasterts, using proceeds from selling their Yorkville residence and other assets, bought a 195-acre farm in Plano to serve as their new home.

About 70 acres of that land was hemmed in by other landowners, so Hastert bought additional acreage with Klatt and Ingemunson to give his farm frontage road access, Bonjean said.

Bonjean said Hastert borrowed money from his bank to pay for the quarter-interest in the adjacent property, and he said the loan was made on commercially available terms and fully secured by the value of the property.

In late 2005, Hastert sold 68.9 acres of his original 195-acre farm plus the 69.55 acres he and his partners had an interest in, Bonjean said. The speaker then bought 275 acres in Crawford County, Wis., for a possible future vacation home and, on equal footing with Klatt and Ingemunson, bought 126 acres in Kendall County.

"The Prairie Parkway was never a factor in these transactions," Bonjean said. "None of the properties purchased by the speaker are near enough to the Prairie Parkway to be affected by the proposed highway. ... When the property was purchased they did not know the Prairie Parkway was going to go down that route."

Anthony Casaccio, a Chicago-based real estate developer who says he owns several thousand acres in Kendall County, said he recently bought and sold commercially zoned property in the area where Hastert made his purchases and more than doubled his money in about two years.

"Depending on location and proximity to sewer and water, you could see easily doubling your money in a short period of time," said Casaccio, who said he was not a campaign contributor to Hastert and was not active politically.

Bonjean referred a reporter to Casaccio, saying he was expert in real estate matters in Kendall County.

Bill Allison, a spokesman and researcher for the Sunlight Foundation, said he would like to see paperwork from Hastert to back up the statements made by his staff and Ingemunson. He said too little is known about the transactions because much of the wheeling and dealing in real estate involved a trust, and, under Illinois law, it is difficult to learn about the details of transactions involving trusts.

Keith Ashdown, vice president of the group Taxpayers for Common Sense told the Washington Post that after chronicling Hastert's efforts to secure the parkway funding, he also remains suspicious.

"The facts are the facts," he told the newspaper, "and the facts are, he made a lot of money off this deal, and he was the one who got this earmark."

[katlnhats]

LOL, I'm not in the least surprised by this. Our former Governer took so many bribes that he had to resign and is being prosecuted. It starts at a lower level and goes right to the top, it's everywhere!

Kat

[TTMommy]

It's astounding to me that these people who are in the public eye truly believe that they can do this stuff and not be found out eventually! (Although it probably happens quite a bit more often than we'd like to think....) It's not a secret if more than one person knows! And if not morality/legality, doesn't it seem like fear of exposure would keep them in line? Or are they just so arrogant that they truly believe they are entitled to do whatever they see fit???

[mrbowler]

Originally Posted by katlnhats

LOL, I'm not in the least surprised by this. Our former Governer took so many bribes that he had to resign and is being prosecuted. It starts at a lower level and goes right to the top, it's everywhere!

Kat

LOL, Speaking of Governors I believe Illinois is the poster child of corruption.
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[mrbowler]

Originally Posted by TTMommy

It's astounding to me that these people who are in the public eye truly believe that they can do this stuff and not be found out eventually! (Although it probably happens quite a bit more often than we'd like to think....) It's not a secret if more than one person knows! And if not morality/legality, doesn't it seem like fear of exposure would keep them in line? Or are they just so arrogant that they truly believe they are entitled to do whatever they see fit???

Well you have to give credit to Hastert-he walks away with a nice chunk of cash, and the way he made the money makes it difficult to prove. BTW-the arguement that his property was a couple miles away doesn't hold much credibility according to some-who reason that would you rather own property right next to the entrance/exits or property which is far enough away, but have quick access to the Highway/Expressway.

[katlnhats]

Originally Posted by mrbowler

LOL, Speaking of Governors I believe Illinois is the poster child of corruption.
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Yep, he's right up with our "former" Governor!
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and this one:

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Kat So Typical, isn't it?

[mrbowler]

Looks like Jack Abramoff had a frequent guest card

Secret Service reveals more Abramoff visits:
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The Secret Service on Friday revealed four more visits to the White House in 2001 by disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, including one to see a domestic policy aide to Vice President Dick Cheney.

The newly released records of Abramoff's access to the White House bring the total number of his known visits to seven.

One Abramoff White House visit, according to Secret Service logs, was on April 20, 2001, to see Cesar Conda, at the time Cheney's assistant for domestic policy.

Five days after the Conda meeting, one of Abramoff's former lobbying colleagues, Patrick Pizzella, was nominated by the president as assistant secretary of labor. The Secret Service logs do not state why Abramoff met with Conda.

One log entry indicates Abramoff visited the White House residence on Dec. 10, 2001, for two hours, as part of a large holiday party.

The Secret Service entry for Abramoff's name that day reads, "POTUS," "WH," "RESIDENCE," and lists the number of people present as 326, according to the documents. POTUS refers to the president of the United States.

The Secret Service material surfaced as a result of lawsuits by the conservative organization Judicial Watch and the Democratic National Committee. An earlier Secret Service search turned up just two Abramoff White House visits, and a further search turned up the additional contacts.

Judicial Watch said the public has a right to know "why an admitted felon had appointments with the Bush White House." The DNC said it will aggressively pursue additional questions about visits to the White House by Abramoff and his lobbying associates.

The government is asking a judge to dismiss the lawsuits, but another group that is suing, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, says it will also seek more information on the visits.

Abramoff has pleaded guilty in an influence-peddling scandal and is cooperating with a wide-ranging Justice Department probe of alleged corruption on Capitol Hill and in the executive branch.

A former White House aide, David Safavian, was convicted in a trial last month for covering up his relationship with Abramoff. Safavian was the Bush administration's top procurement official until his arrest last year.

Abramoff's other previously undisclosed trips to the White House complex in 2001 were on March 1 and May 17. Both were to meetings in the Old Executive Office Building adjacent to the White House.

It has been previously known that Abramoff was in the White House on May 9, 2001, when President Bush had his photograph taken with an Indian tribal official who was an Abramoff client.

The Secret Service earlier disclosed White House visits by Abramoff on Jan. 20, 2004, the day Bush delivered his State of the Union address, and on March 6, 2001.

[katlnhats]

Kind of makes you wonder just how many we'll never hear about, doesn't it? This seems to be more common than one would originally think.

Kat

[mrbowler]

Originally Posted by katlnhats

Kind of makes you wonder just how many we'll never hear about, doesn't it? This seems to be more common than one would originally think.

Kat

I had to search to find this topic, but I couldn't resist having the title for most convicted governors. Another Ex-Governor from Illinois convicted

I wonder if we can change the slogan on License Plates in Illinois:
"Land of the Most Convicted Governors in the Nation"

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CHICAGO - Former Gov. George Ryan, who was acclaimed by capital punishment foes for suspending executions in Illinois and emptying out death row, was sentenced Wednesday to 6 1/2 years behind bars in a corruption scandal that ruined his political career.

"People of this state expected better, and I let them down," the 72-year-old Ryan said in court before hearing his sentence.

Federal prosecutors had asked for eight to 10 years in prison. Defense attorneys argued that even 2 1/2 years would deprive Ryan of the last healthy years of his life.

"Government leaders have an obligation to stand as the example. Mr. Ryan failed to meet that standard," U.S. District Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer said.

Ryan was convicted in April of racketeering conspiracy, fraud and other offenses for taking payoffs from political insiders in exchange for state business while he was Illinois secretary of state from 1991 to 1999 and governor for four years after that. The verdict capped Illinois' biggest political corruption trial in decades.

Prosecutors said that Ryan doled out big-money contracts and leases to his longtime friend, businessman-lobbyist Larry Warner, and other insiders and in received such things as Caribbean vacations and a golf bag in return. Ryan also used state money and state workers for his campaigns, the government alleged.

Defense lawyers ask for mercy
Defense attorneys pleaded for mercy, citing Ryan's advanced age, his health problems — he is plagued by high cholesterol and the intestinal illnesses Crohn's disease and diverticulitis — and the humiliation he has already suffered.

"The public shaming that Ryan has endured combined with the impending loss of his pension greatly lessens the need for the court to punish through the sentencing process," Ryan's lawyers said in court papers. They said Ryan "has been publicly and universally humiliated."

The scandal that led to Ryan's downfall began over a decade ago with a fiery van crash in Wisconsin that killed six children. The 1994 wreck exposed a scheme inside the Illinois secretary of state's office in which truck drivers obtained licenses for bribes.

The probe expanded to other corruption under Ryan. Seventy-nine former state officials, lobbyists, truck drivers and others have been charged. Seventy-five have been convicted, including Ryan's longtime top aide, Scott Fawell, a star witness at Ryan's trial.

Declared moratorium on executions
In 2000, Ryan, as governor, declared a moratorium on executions in Illinois after 13 death row inmates were found to have been wrongly convicted. Then, days before he left office in 2003, he emptied out death row, commuting the sentences of all 167 inmates to life in prison. He declared that the state's criminal justice system was "haunted by the demon of error."

Even as he faced scandal back home, Ryan accepted speaking invitations across the U.S. and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his criticism of the death penalty.

With prosecutors closing in on him, Ryan decided not to run for re-election in 2002. He was indicted after leaving office.



Note:
Former Governor George Ryan, 72, became the third of the state's last six governors to be convicted of political misdeeds

[mrbowler]

First Member of Congress pleads guilty to corruption charges in dealings with Jack Abramoff....Geez you would think these guys would be smarter, and do the land deals that are harder to connect the dots(and prove)..ie Hastert

I wonder if many of the folks that trumpted(supported) republicans back in 1994 are having second thoughts about supporting republicans when it comes to higher moral values-looks like it is one big happy family

Man we sure have many members of congress that have drinking problems once a scandal hits.

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"His lawyers said Friday that they would ask that he be placed in a prison with an alcoholism treatment program"

[mrbowler]

Originally Posted by mrbowler

I'm not sure what to believe here-seems like some very wise decisions


Speaker Hastert's Land Deal Questioned:

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See the guys at the top-give you a good idea how to work the system
(disclaimer-innocent til proven guilty). Sweet! Keep tellin the simple folks to play by the rules

Reid Got $1M in Land Sale:
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The deal began in 1998 when Reid bought undeveloped residential property on Las Vegas' booming outskirts for about $400,000. Reid bought one lot outright, and a second parcel jointly with Brown. One of the sellers was a developer who was benefiting from a government land swap that Reid supported. The seller never talked to Reid.

_In 2001, Reid sold the land for the same price to a limited liability corporation created by Brown. The senator didn't disclose the sale on his annual public ethics report or tell Congress he had any stake in Brown's company. He continued to report to Congress that he personally owned the land.

_After getting local officials to rezone the property for a shopping center, Brown's company sold the land in 2004 to other developers and Reid took $1.1 million of the proceeds, nearly tripling the senator's investment. Reid reported it to Congress as a personal land sale.

The complex dealings allowed Reid to transfer ownership, legal liability and some tax consequences to Brown's company without public knowledge, but still collect the payoff nearly three years later