Democrats still use the mantra of " culture of corruption " ? LOL
And to think how far Mollohan has progressed in lining his pockets at taxpayer expense. He learned his "trade" from his father who was once the congressman from the same district in WV. The extent of his talents amounted mostly to requiring a cash kickback for a gov't. contract and a large cash Christmas present every year, but he was just an old time Democrat politician, not the kind we have today.
The House Ethics Committee, on which Mr. Mollohan is the senior Democrat, cautions lawmakers about ties to private entities because of the risk of actions inconsistent with their obligation to the public. The ethics panel has been unable to function -- despite the Abramoff corruption scandal, Washington's biggest in years -- because of a partisan squabble over staffing in which Mr. Mollohan has led his party's forces.
Mr. Mollohan is well-positioned to press for earmarks. He has sat on the Appropriations Committee since 1986 and is the senior Democrat on a subcommittee handling appropriations for science projects and the departments of State, Justice and Commerce.
Government contractors and executives of the nonprofit groups in his network regularly give to his campaign and to an affiliated political-action committee, Summit PAC. A third conduit for funds is the Robert H. Mollohan Family Charitable Foundation, named for the congressman's father. It holds an annual charity golf tournament at the Pete Dye Golf Club in Bridgeport, W.Va., named a top-100 course by Golf Magazine. The tournament has been very successful. It received $455,000 in contributions in 2003 -- the latest available figures -- from government contractors and other firms. The donors included at least two of the federally funded nonprofits, ISR and Vandalia.
Since 2000, she has run Vandalia, which has won $28 million in the past five years in federal funding to rehabilitate historic buildings and invest in depressed real estate in the district, largely through Mollohan-backed earmarks. Besides ISR, she serves on the board of MountainMade Foundation, a small federally funded nonprofit dedicated to promoting West Virginia crafts. She's also on the board of the only out-of-state foundation to get Mr. Mollohan's backing, the National Housing Development Corp. It is a California group that has won $31 million in earmarks over five years.
ISR is the largest nonprofit funded by Mr. Mollohan's efforts, winning at least $76 million of federal spending through his earmarks in the past five years. It paid its top three executives a total of $777,000 in 2004, the latest available figures. The president of ISR, James Estep, said in an interview that it has created hundreds of West Virginia jobs and nurtured dozens of high-tech companies. From his office overlooking the I-79 Technology Park -- on 500 acres largely purchased with federal funds -- Mr. Estep pointed to bulldozers at a building site. "This was cow pasture in 1995. Now there are 1,000 people working here," he said.
The research center will offer laboratory and office space and huge manufacturing bays built into the mountain. Mr. Estep said he won't have trouble drawing tenants. Until then, he said he would fill part of the new building with a small robot-manufacturing firm spun off from the West Virginia High Technology Consortium -- another group funded by Mollohan-backed earmarks. The robot firm, known as Innovative Response Technologies and now a for-profit, recently won a $10 million Navy contract for 3,500 mobile "BomBots" for remotely inspecting possible roadside bombs.
Mr. Mollohan earmarked $3.75 million in the 2004 and 2005 Defense Department spending bills to develop the robots, funneling the money to the nonprofit consortium. The new Navy contract will be shared with another defense firm in Mr. Mollohan's district that has also been a contributor to his campaign, called Azimuth Corp.
Well isn't this special?
The Democrats wrote the manual on the "culture of corruption". And this jackass is on the "ethics committee". That's rich. BTW, isn't this the ethics committee that refuses to investigate anything remotely to do with ethics?
Ping..
Too bad Fat Timmy had to concentrate ONLY on JD Hayworth's supposed link to Abramhoff...BUT, neglected to mention that a pretty HIGH up Dem. Congress person is accused of doing MUCH worse, IMHO>
I don't recall any talk shows mentioning this yesterday...
Are there ANY congress critters that are NOT corrupt?? I look at the things that have been going on in DC and I see a reflection of Mexico*s corrupt government. No wonder the illegals like it here. It makes them feel right at home.
The top RAT on the House Ethics Committee has ethics problems? WHAT ARE THE ODDS?
In Fairmont all buildings are named after either Byrd, or this Schmuck... poor folks down there don't have a chance.