Thanks for the p/roo.
Lengthy Booby post follows.
BACKSTORY Way back in 2006, Menendez had absconded to his donor pal's getaway in the swanky Casa de Campo Dominican Republic resort---Booby was fleeing from nosey US reporters, but he happily cooperated with The Dominican daily, Listin Diario.
On Aug. 22, 2006, Diario published a photo captioned: “Bob Menéndez, the senator from New Jersey, gave an interview (in Spanish) to Listin Diario at the residence of his donor---eye Doctor Salomón Melgen (a Florida resident), at Casa de Campo.”
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STROLL DOWN MEMORY LANE 2006 was a banner year for Booby Menendez: the Congressman had just become a US Senator. But Menendez was annoyed b/c he was being investigated in a rent-for-influence deal by the US Attorney. As landlord for a Newark non-profit, Menendez collected more than $300,000 in rent. As a Congressman, he helped the agency get federal grants.
IN POLITICS ONE HAND WASHES THE OTHER Employees of the N/P agency contributed $33,450 to Menendez’s campaigns. When a furor erupted, Menendez absconded to the Dominican Republic and gave interviews there in Spanish. He returned here when the furor died down.
NOT TO WORRY The lease stated the n/p agency’s ability to pay was dependent on the agency getting certain federal/state funding. Menendez "said" he had permission from Mark Davis of the House Ethics Committee in 1994 before entering the lease. But a Capitol Hill publication said Davis didn’t work there at that juncture. And when Menendez's self-serving deal was outed, Mr Davis was incommunicado---he was a corpus delecti.
Booby had escaped unscathed.....ole.
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FAST FORWARD TO TODAY Booby hired a Peruvian illegal who was a registered sex offender to work in his DC office as a "volunteer".......but nobody could say who paid the guy's rent, transportation costs, meals, etc.....
Booby cavorted w/ underage Dominican prostitutes who complained he shorted them on the price.
Menendez used his position and US govt authority and OUR resources to discourage plans by the United States government to donate port security equipment to the Dominican Republic to detect drug cargo.
Menendez cited concern that the advanced screening gear might undermine efforts by a private company — a company run by Menendez's major campaign contributor---a friend w/ dual residences in Miami and the Dominican Republic...Dr Melgen.
Menendez's intervention with the Department of Homeland Security came even though Mr. Menendez has publicly chastised the Obama administration for not doing more to combat the surging drug traffic moving through Dominican ports.
And it came shortly after the senator’s Miami friend, Dr. Salomon E. Melgen, arranged to meet with a senior State Dept official, accompanied by a former aide to Mr. Menendez........in a related push to protect his company's port security contract, which is worth as much as $500 million over 20 years.
Menendez has only acknowledged three Dominican visits--all in 2010--then belatedly paid Melgen $58,500 in January 2013 as reimbursement for two trips. The DSSC, which he then-headed, paid for the third, part of a fundraising swing.
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The dreaded "Christie appointee" is the only thing standing between Menendez and a celibate life as a civilian in a tenement in downtown Hudson County. Legacy-obsessed Obama needs Menendez in the Senate (and latino votes) to takeover the US govt. Upsetting the taco truck is NOT an option.
HERE'S WHAT MENENDEZ DOESN'T WANT YOU TO KNOW---THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC is a Caribbean nation notorious for corrupt governments and strong-arm dictators. The Dominican Republic's largely impoverished citizenry have no safety net or state-sponsored job creation programs.
Some one million Dominican citizens currently live illegally in the US. They send home about a $$billion US dollars annually---considered by the corrupt do-nothing govt to be a major source of state revenue. A steady exodus is encouraged to leave for US shores lured by the endless US gravy train. (FACT SOURCE--Dominican Republic travel brochure).
BUT THE PLAYERS DO HAVE A PLAN----the Dominican govt cunningly figured out that that massive financial benefits would derive from Obama's amnesty plan. Dominican pressure groups in the US--voting blocs--exchanging votes for foreign aid---means zillions of us tax dollars going straight into the pockets of corrupt third world federales.
Menendez and his donor Melgen would be national heroes and recompensed accordingly. So when Melgen kisses up to Obama and throws money at politicans, and when the Dominican Republic meddles in US affairs (putting in the fix to exonerate Menendez), that's not about YOUR interests, that's all about THEIR interests.