Posted on 06/14/2006 9:39:00 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON - Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, under federal investigation for possible insider trading, will have a nice nest egg to fall back on when he retires from Congress in January, recording income last year of more than $5 million from his largest blind trust.
Frist, R-Tenn., is hardly the richest member of the millionaires' club of Congress, but he and numerous other lawmakers whose financial dealings have been questioned were under scrutiny as House and Senate lawmakers disclosed their finances Wednesday.
Rep. Alan Mollohan (news, bio, voting record), D-W.Va., steered millions in federal money to nonprofit groups in his district that had contributed to his campaigns. Mollohan, who has reported large increases in assets in recent years due to a boost in property values, claimed part ownership in a Washington property firm and several properties in Bald Head Island, N.C., each valued at $1 million to $5 million.
Mollohan stepped down as top Democrat on the House ethics committee because of charges, which he has denied, that he acted improperly.
Rep. Bob Ney (news, bio, voting record), R-Ohio, who gave up his chairmanship of the House Administration Committee while under investigation for his links to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, reported no major assets. Ney, one of the recipients of an Abramoff golfing trip to Scotland, has said he and his staff have stopped allowing any outside groups to pay for trips.
Popular opinion of Congress has plummeted this year as one former House member, Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Calif., went to jail for taking more than $2 million in bribes, another, Rep. William Jefferson (news, bio, voting record), D-La., is under investigation after $90,000 in alleged bribe money was found in his freezer and several others are under a cloud because of ties to Abramoff.
The disclosure forms, of course, give little indication of possible unscrupulous activity, listing salaries — $162,100 in 2005 for a rank-and-file House and Senate member — and details of a lawmaker's assets, outside income, travel and losses. Speaking fees must be donated to charity, gifts are limited to $100 from any individual in a year and outside income can be no more than 15 percent of salary.
But the forms still provide a glimpse of private lives. Frist, a heart surgeon with presidential aspirations, had a good year with income from his largest blind trust, worth between $5 million and $25 million, bringing him more than $5 million. He paid off a line of credit worth between $1 million and $5 million and listed a new money market account worth $1 million to $5 million.
Federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating Frist's order last year to sell all his stock in HCA Inc., the hospital company founded by his father and brother. Frist denies he had any insider information about the stock, which lost 9 percent in value two weeks after the sale.
Among the other well-off congressional leaders was House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who jointly owns with her investor husband a St. Helena, Calif., vineyard worth $5 million to $25 million and a town house in Norden, Calif., worth $1 million to $5 million.
Frist's House counterpart, Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., has also prospered since his days as a high school wrestling coach. He owns shares in farms in Illinois and Wisconsin, one valued at up to $5 million. Last year, he had unearned income of $15,000 to $50,000 in royalties from publication of a book and received a $32,529 pension from the state of Illinois.
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada, who also has had to defend himself over his support of Indian tribes represented by Abramoff, reported various assets valued in the $1 million range, including 160 acres in Bullhead City, Ariz., land holdings in Nevada, municipal bonds and mining claims.
A friend who died last year left Reid and his wife, Landra, his half-interest in the 18-acre Dubuque Mining Claim in their hometown of Searchlight, Nev. The Reids already owned the other half.
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., reported a Citibank account she shares with her spouse, Bill Clinton, worth $5 million to $25 million and a blind trust valued at the same amount. Former President Clinton earned nearly $7.5 million in speaking appearances in 2005, a big boost from the previous year when bypass surgery and a book deadline kept him home.
Sen. Edward Kennedy (news, bio, voting record), D-Mass., who has tens of millions from family trust funds, earned $50,000 in royalties for a children's book about his dog, "My Senator and Me."
Sen. Conrad Burns (news, bio, voting record), R-Mont., whose re-election bid has become harder because of the $150,000 in donations he received from Abramoff and his clients, said his major assets were a credit union account and mutual fund, both valued between $50,001 and $100,000.
Burns returned the Abramoff money or donated it to charity.
Rep. John Boehner (news, bio, voting record), R-Ohio, who succeeded Tom DeLay, R-Texas, as majority leader after DeLay was indicted on money laundering charges, claimed $1 million to $5 million in assets from the plastics and packaging company he operated before his election to Congress. He also reported $2,700 in slot machine winnings.
Not all lawmakers were rolling in wealth. Rep. Peter King (news, bio, voting record), R-N.Y., chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, reported joint bank account interest of $201 to $1,000 as a major source of unearned income.
Sen. Charles Schumer (news, bio, voting record), D-N.Y., who has raised millions as head of the Senate Democratic fundraising committee, says he drives a 2001 Ford Taurus and has no savings or investment worth more than $50,000.
And what about John Murtha for steering business to the consulting firm that employs his brother and long-time staffer Carmen Scialabba?
He also reported $2,700 in slot machine winnings.
Who said you cannot make money playing the slots? Out of all the tax returns in America, I wonder how many report slot machine winnings of less than 5000 dollars? Obviously, someone hits the big jackpots and those would have to be reported.
Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I do believe that Congress is immune to insider trading.
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Good question. I guess it is an interpretative thing, I will allow others to confirm the details of what they are free from, prosecution-wise or what boundaries apply.
I would think it is more dependent on the issue at hand and the direct or indirect interests/associations of the Congre$$critter. They do in many cases have inside knowledge and/or personal/business connections that allow them to be a bit more informed than the Average Joe.
In rare instances, there may be no way way to completely avoid not benefiting directly from decisions and votes taken by their fellow representative bodies.. but if a pattern has been realized, we may need to look at it more closely to make sure it receives attention as needed.
There's a lot of money out in the political pasture to be gleaned one way or another, that's for sure.
It's like earmarks in a way. Some are legitimate, some are suspicious at best, and some just plain-old wanton waste of taxpayer money in others. How they got inserted needs to be on the up and up if even then, maybe too much power is held by too few in a tight-fisted manner, we'll see what happens , any major legislative action this year re: "reform" is unlikely but ya never know. It is an election year , after all..
Funny how the writer just skipped over Harry Reid's riches, only mentioning one thing $1 Million when it says he owns acres and acres in Searchlight and OTHER (read Vegas) properties. Hmmmmmmm.
No wonder Schumer drips with contempt for "the rich". This Harvard-trained weasel has no asset or investment worth more than $50,000. His extended family and friends probably had to pool their resources to pay for the gargoyle's ridiculous hairplugs.
These came out today too..
This is an easy scam to pull off, even for a pol. The tax-exempt "foundations" give donations to various tax-exempt non-profits.......some of whom are run by the politicans' co-conspirators. The pols then get kickbacks of their donations desposited in offshore bank accounts for use later. Or they put phantom employees on the payroll to siphon off monies into their own pockets. Phony foundation line items like legal fees, admin costs, consultant and building fees are also scams to siphon off monies.
We recently read about the multimillion-dollar charitable trust run by Eliot Spitzer's parents that handed out $2.6 million in grants and paid "penalties" of $51,768 during 2004, federal tax records show. The largest grants made by the Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust went to health-care, charitable and cultural institutions.
Among them were the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Disease Research, $250,000; the American Museum of Natural History, $155,300; the Jewish Museum, $50,000; and the New York Public Library, $25,000. Spitzer family has given away millions of dollars over the years." ....the Spitzer family's fortune has been estimated at $500 million. Eliot Spitzer is a member of the trust's board of directors; his public office is responsible for overseeing all charities in the state. SOURCE: http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/spitzers
FReeper sportutegrl insightfully posted: "The real crime is all of the money that Spitzer wins in his lawsuits he gives not to the wronged people, but to his favorite 'charities' which are usually Democratic front orgs, according to the WSJ."
This one is a beaut. FReeper Old Friend told us that actor Alec Baldwin setup a foundation and bought his mother a luxury car with the money----dumbo said he had no idea he couldn't use tax-exempt monies for personal items.
Today in the NY Post we read that NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg's contributions to the Carnegie Corporation for distribution to local arts and social-service organizations now totals an astonishing $85 million over five years. The latest check for $30.2 million for 2005 - up from $20 million in 2004 - was announced yesterday by the corporation, which handed out grants to 518 groups. The mayor started donating anonymously to arts groups through Carnegie in 2001, just before he was elected. The beneficiaries ran the gamut from Jazz at Lincoln Center to the Drawing Center... The Post blew Bloomberg's cover in 2002, when his first $10 million gift was revealed. http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/
Ut oh.
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada, who also has had to defend himself over his support of Indian tribes represented by Abramoff, reported various assets valued in the $1 million range, including 160 acres in Bullhead City, Ariz., land holdings in Nevada, municipal bonds and mining claims. A friend who died last year left Reid and his wife, Landra, his half-interest in the 18-acre Dubuque Mining Claim in their hometown of Searchlight, Nev. The Reids already owned the other half.
Any single win over $1100 gets a W2G sent to the IRS. If you run up a machine, cash out at $1099. ;~))
Thanks for documenting the abuse of pseudo non profits, which the elite limo driven lunatic lefties use for fun, illegal financial gains and to win elections.
Notice Blooming-idiot gave to the outfit that was kicked out of the WTC Memorial Site by Pataki. Evidently, the more anti-American the better as far as the mayor is concerned.
Excellent point, thanks-----both of 'em are rino-meat.
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