Posted on 01/05/2009 8:26:12 AM PST by CedarDave
It was a recipe for a typical New Mexico political stew: Start with two lucrative contracts worth $1.4 million, stir in at least $100,000 in political contributions, add a dash of questionable bid procedures and top it off with a heaping tablespoon of suspicious timing.
This is the concoction that boiled over into the federal investigation that has derailed, at least for now, Gov. Bill Richardson's ambitions for a seat in President-elect Barack Obama's cabinet.
~~snip~~
The big picture is fairly simple.
CDR Financial Products LLC of Beverly Hills was paid $1.4 million from work it did on behalf of the New Mexico Finance Authority, which issued GRIP transportation bonds.
David Rubin, the company's principal owner, made at least $100,000 in contributions to Richardson-backed political committees about the time the firm got the work with the finance authority.
Two substantial contributions were three months apart and generally coincided with the separate awards to CDR — one of them a no-bid, sole-source deal.
(Excerpt) Read more at abqjournal.com ...
"GRIP" is the acronym for "Governor Richardson's Investment Partnership" which are bonds issued for highway construction and the just completed Rail Runner. See the keywords Richardson's Railroad and Rail Runner for the history of that boondoggle.
(King Bill was full of it by naming the transportation bonding process after himself.)
PING to the NM list.
(FReepmail greyfoxx39 to be added or removed from the list)
Why am I beginnign to think that “Pay to Play” will be the official motto of the Democrat Party in 2009?
Why am I beginning to think that “Pay to Play” will be the official motto of the Democrat Party in 2009?
Looks like Hillary has started getting her revenge....more to come.....
Why am I beginnign to think that “Pay to Play” will be the official motto of the Democrat Party in 2009?
::::::::::::
We are rapidly reaching the point where we can no longer criticize countries like Venezuela and those of SouthEast Asia for government corruption.
Al Capone never died....
Where was the press on this matter in 2008? Didn’t they vet the candidates? Why was the partisan pravda press focused on vetting Joe the Plumber?
Hillary won’t suvive a thorough vetting either. Especially with her husband trying to retire her campaign debt with money from his lie-brary that came from foreign sources (the Saudis).
I certainly would hope not. But there is that matter of the missing FBI files...
It sounds to me like Gov. Richardson needs to be investigated anyway. Maybe he and Blogo can share a cell.
The ABQ Journal reported on the matter in August, but it didn't break nationally until a report by Bloomberg.com just before the holidays.
This is even MORE incidieous on a local level.
How many real estate agents became buddy buddy with local council leaders, or had themselves elected TO councils in order to push through zoning changes to benefit their own personal businesses?
the MSM is CLUELESS and worse yet USELESS.
Too much hairspray, foundation makeup, and peroxide poisoning to be relevant to society.
Is there an echo in here? “But I did nothing wrong.” and Bambi: “But he did nothing wrong.”
An apt student of the Chicago school, but FAILs on chutzpah and arrogance for not sticking it out.
Probably because this single incident is the tip of the iceberg.
"The Politico is reporting this morning that Obama's transition team pressed Richardson about a federal probe under way in New Mexico into "pay-to-play" allegations against his office, but a Democratic source told The Politico Obama's questioners came away empty-handed.
"Those guys were pressed for information and they gave nothing," the source told The Politico's Jonathan Martin.
Governor Drops Out of Commerce Consideration, Cites Federal Probe
Veteran Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., said in a Journal interview that he was among those Richardson phoned Sunday morning.
Bingaman said he had heard no rumblings in D.C. about a potential Senate showdown over Richardson's confirmation.
"I'm not on the Commerce Committee, where the confirmation hearing would have been held, but I think I would have been hearing if there was any significant opposition to him being confirmed," Bingaman said.
"I thought he would have strong support in his confirmation process, and obviously, I strongly support him," Bingaman said. "... I didn't try to talk him out of it. I just told him I was disappointed, and (that) he would do extremely well in that position."
I am SCHOCKED, SHOCKED I tell you that this has happened. What the heck is it with these Democrat governors? NY, IL, NM.... It is as if they cannot be trusted to be in an executive leadership position....
What a shock. As more power and control over every detail of society is seized by government, who would guess that corruption would follow?
the FBI files information she has on OTHER people says she has no problems.
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