AP Exclusive: Kerry Blocked Law, Drew Cash

[West Coast Democrat]

Has this been posted here yet?

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=536&e=1&u=/ap/20040204/ap_on_el_pr/kerry_big_dig

WASHINGTON - A Senate colleague was trying to close a loophole that allowed a major insurer to divert millions of federal dollars from the nation's most expensive construction project. John Kerry (news - web sites) stepped in and blocked the legislation.


Over the next two years, the insurer, American International Group, paid Kerry's way on a trip to Vermont and donated at least $30,000 to a tax-exempt group Kerry used to set up his presidential campaign. Company executives donated $18,000 to his Senate and presidential campaigns.


Were the two connected? Kerry says not.


But to some government watchdogs, the tale of the Massachusetts senator's 2000 intervention, detailed in documents obtained by The Associated Press, is a textbook case of the special interest politicking that Kerry rails against on the presidential trail.

[dumpster_baby]

1. Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we...

... unleash coarse ambition and aspire to power nonpareil.....

Kerry is a good candidate, but this story is a great example of how a powerful, longtime Senator can get himself in all kinds of compromising situations over the years.

Best we go with someone with clean hands, i.e., Clark. Or even Edwards, who probably has not been in the Senate long enough to entangle himself.

[democracy eh]

10. I concur

it begins
even if it is not a full fledge smear (a la what they did to Dean) maybe the goal is to be just enough to create some doubts, draw out the campaign, slow the $$$ and weaken him for the GE.

or they are planting mines to be detonated in the GE

[cosmicdot]

111. deleted by poster to move post to end

n/t

[xultar]

2. Chimpy Face and KKKarl Rove are floating this stuff to see how

it affects Kerry.

They are testing strategies for the GE.

[IndianaGreen]

6. No, they are not!

The GOP will save its ammo until Kerry becomes the nominee, and for after Labor Day.

This is the media disclosing what many of us already know, Kerry is not the Liberal Saviour that some of his supporters portray him as.

[dumpster_baby]

12. Kerry is a "small bore" liberal...

The major progressive issues -- true progressive taxation, welfare state, etc., he never touches from a liberal standpoint. He specializes in the typcial minor "token liberal" issues.

[stopbush]

3. But...but...but..Dean SCREAMED...and...and...and...

I hope the Kerry diehards are prepared for the onslaught.

[West Coast Democrat]

4. Is this the big Sean Hannity threat story?

If so, it's pretty weak.

[Cuban_Liberal]

7. Weak?

We must understand that word differently.

[West Coast Democrat]

8. Bringing up the "Big Dig" was sort of a given, no?

[Cuban_Liberal]

14. I didn't bring it up. n/t

[Snivi Yllom]

94. the expense of the Big Dig is one thing

The awarding of what I consider political 'kickbacks' is reprehensible.

[blm]

18. The Big Dig was administered by GOP governors. Kerry called for an

investigation into the accounting. He also was on the right side of this issue as far as the needs of Boston was concerned.

See post #11.

[sandnsea]

57. Aaaa The Big Dig

Bechtel. What a lovely company.

"Yet another potential conflict of interest came to light when a Boston Globe study of the top officers in some 150 companies with contracts in the Big Dig showed that 77 executives had made at least $100,000 in campaign contributions to Weld and Lieutenant Governor Paul Cellucci since 1991."

http://www.sfbg.com/News/34/35/bech1.html

[Snivi Yllom]

95. So you think it's ok politicians got donations/shut up money?

"Yet another potential conflict of interest came to light when a Boston Globe study of the top officers in some 150 companies with contracts in the Big Dig showed that 77 executives had made at least $100,000 in campaign contributions to Weld and Lieutenant Governor Paul Cellucci since 1991."

I don't.

[Cuban_Liberal]

5. Oh my!

This is not good. :grr:

[dumpster_baby]

9. the worst thing about this is that 30K is pocket change to Kerry....

....you would think he would not have to do this kind of thing. I hope the voters take a good look at Kerry. With someone like Kerry--that powerful for that long, you know he is going to wind up with dirty hands somehow. Better to get someone with clean hands: Clark, or even Edwards, who is bound to have cleaner hands.

[Carl Spackler]

41. Purse change, actually

remember where the money comes from!

[blm]

11. Read the whole article. Kerry was on the right side of the issue.

The construction was still going on and to stop it would have hurt Boston and all those employed on the project. Kerry and Kennedy called for the investigations into the accounting. It was GOP governors who had managed the Big Dig. kerry and Kennedy acted properly.

The absurdity of this is that Kerry was a very wealthy man who did not profit personally in any of this. I doubt he 'needed' a trip to Vermont. heheh.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Kerry's office confirmed Wednesday that as member of the Senate Commerce Committee he persuaded committee chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., to drop a provision that would have stripped $150 million from the project and ended the insurance funding loophole.


The Massachusetts Democrat actually was angered by the loophole but didn't want money stripped from the project because it would hurt his constituents who needed the Boston project finished, spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said.


When the "AIG investment scheme (came) to light, John Kerry called for public hearings to investigate the parties involved and the legality of the investment practices. However, he firmly believed cutting funding for the Big Dig was not the answer," Cutter said.


Instead of McCain's bluntly worded legislation, Kerry asked for a committee hearing in May 2000. Kerry thanked McCain at the start of the hearing for dropping his legislation and an AIG executive was permitted to testify that he believed the company's work for the Big Dig was a good thing even though it was criticized by federal auditors.
>>>>>>>>>

Asked why Kerry would subsequently accept a trip and money from AIG in 2001 and 2002 if he was angered by the investment scheme, Cutter replied: "Any contributions AIG made to the senator's campaign came years after the investigation. Throughout his career, John Kerry has stood up to special interests on behalf of average Americans. This case is no different."
>>>>>>>>>>>>

[IndianaGreen]

13. Kerry is on every side of every issue

Lieberman was right about Kerry when he chided him for waffling on a war Kerry supported.

[blm]

27. So you like to repeat often, IG.

I am sure you believe that Kerry is the most evil man in the world and he won't do one good thing as president.

Gee...maybe Teresa will be able to obtain significant efforts in environmental and healthcare in Africa. Can't you just imagine the good down the road? And you know I ask that sincerely, IG.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

70. Ironic.

"I am sure you believe that _ _ _ _ is the most evil man in the world and he won't do one good thing as president."

[blm]

93. I never said Dean was evil. I said he was a liar and a demagogue.

I also would have voted for him if he was the nominee.

My friend above knows Kerry is a liberal with alot of good in his record, but, won't cut him any slack at all since IWR. I prod.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

101. Well, then I apologize.

Since you only called him a liar and a demagogue, I must have been way off base.

[JVS]

63. Yeah

[TheStateChief]

79. Thank You...

I really want to support Kerry, but he seems to think that the best way to avoid confrontation is to vote for and against everything. He needs to pound Bush for going AWOL and keep the pressure on, not say he doesn't have all the facts days after the party chairman raised the issue.

[maddezmom]

16. thanks for posting

Is this info on his site?

[blm]

21. No. It's from the same article linked above, but people aren't reading the

whole article it seems and only jumping to the wrong conclusions.

[maddezmom]

24. oops~ guilty as charged

but atleast I didn't make any comments first. :)

[blm]

29. heheh...

ok...go to your room. No soup for you.

[maddezmom]

33. I'll take the punishment as long as I can take my puter.

:spank:

[Larkspur]

119. When Bush puts his $99 million against Kerry, people won't read the

whole story either.

Get use to it blm. I'm going to enjoy watching Kerryites squirm with bad and distorted press about their guy.

Oh, don't worry, should Kerry win the nomination, he'll get my vote in November but he's already earned my scorn.

[NashVegas]

38. And in the End

Some of the profits off the money AIG invested in the stock market wound up in Kerry's campaign coffers, instead of going back to the Fed.

Nice.

[Melinda]

47. Hearing in 5/2000 & contributions in 2001 & 2002 = years later?

Hardly.

At that hearing (May 2000), the Transportation's Department inspector general made a renewed plea for a permanent federal policy banning the overpayment of insurance premiums and subsequent investment for profit — what McCain had proposed and Kerry helped kill.

"The policy is needed to ensure that projects do not attempt to draw down federal funds for investment purposes under the guise that they are needed to pay insurance claims. It is that simple," the inspector general told senators.

In September 2001, Kerry disclosed to the Senate ethics office that AIG had paid an estimated $540 in travel expenses to cover his costs for a speech in Burlington, Vt. {Note to self - get the date of this speech}.

A few months later in December 2001, several AIG executives gave maximum $1,000 donations to Kerry's Senate campaign on the same day. The donations totaled $9,700 and were followed by several thousand dollars more over the next two years.

The next spring, AIG donated $10,000 to a new tax-exempt group Kerry formed, the Citizen Soldier Fund, to lay groundwork for his presidential campaign. Later in 2002, AIG gave two more donations of $10,000 each to the same group, making it one of the largest corporate donors to Kerry's group.

----------------------------
Hearing in May coupled with disclosure 16 months later does NOT equal years, no matter how hard it's spun.

[teevee99]

51. so essentially, he let the company keep stolen money

in exchange for a hearing?
and then he accepted trips by that company.

sorry, this is indefensible.

dean is right. kerry is controlled by special interests. it's business as usual if he gets the nomination.

[blm]

52. No. There is STILL an investigation going on.

The problem is with the GOP governors administering the project.

What Kerry did was for his constituents and Boston, NOT for AIG.

[teevee99]

54. but then he accepted trips and cash from that business.

sorry, it's special interest back scratching.

[blm]

69. the special interest in that deal was Boston constituents' NEEDS.

Kerry accepted NOTHING out of the ordinary and legal. The money did not go to his campaign, but, instead to pac used for other campaigns and vote effort orgs.

[Northwind]

74. Whirl whirl twist ad twirl!

SPIN around like a flying squirrel!

[Snivi Yllom]

103. excuse me

How was that money critical to completing the Big Dig? It was OVERPAID insurance and disability money. GET IT? They did not need it? AIG was allowed to keep $128 million interest free, invest it in the stock market, and then they were allowed to keep half of the profits.

Was the $128 million for ditch diggers, jack hammers, concrete....no, $128 million into the stock market and half the profits went to AIG.

[drfemoe]

62. IIRC .. it's Okie Dokie to hurt

VT .. but not BOSTON? btw .. just saying something .. "stood up to special interests" .. does NOT make it so. I remain Unconvinced.

[Karmadillo]

66. But if we read the entire article,

we'll see that the headline is inflammatory. Even worse, we'll see that Kerry was acting to benefit his constituents, not to do the bidding of a corporate puppet master. What's the fun in that? Stop being a wet blanket by suggesting we base our opinions on facts.

[Cheswick2.0]

87. Corruption benefits his constituents?

There is no reason the project couldn't have continued without the corruption. It is a false premise put out by one his campaingn people to say that they project would have not continued after the loophole what closed.

[Snivi Yllom]

97. Corporate Giveway! AIG Thanks you Sen. Kerry & Kennedy

I reread this very carefully and here is what I got.

AIG received a FREE no interest government LOAN of $129.8 million, and was allowed to invest the money in the STOCK MARKET and KEEP HALF THE PROFITS. Kerry and Kennedy intervened and killed McCain's legislation that would have stopped this unneccessary corporate giveaway!

HELLLLOOOOO!!! I can't believe people can defend this.

Your tax dollars were unnecessarily taken by a corporation to make extra money. When the wasteful over spending was discovered, John McCain tried to clean it up. Kerry and Kennedy okayed it.Can anyone else think of how $128 million could have been better spent?

Closing that loophole would not have hurt the Big Dig at all in terms of completion. AIG had overpaid for insurnace it did not need. This was NOT vital money. It was wasted...well..at least AIG made out ok. And Kerry got some goodies too.

Discusting.

[Cheswick2.0]

86. Kerry is good at being on every side of every issue

The right side of the issue? What side is that? The side where he took money for favorable legislation?

Kerry seems to be real good at setting up useless hearings where no one is punished but lots of hot air is expelled. That's what happened during the Iran/Contra hearings....blah blah blah/slap on the wrist and voila` another messy situation shoved under the rug.

[drfemoe]

91. Hot Air Specialist

YUP .. and 20 years later Poindexter is still involved in slimy top secret, shadow government work and Ollie North is a RW media celebrity. Oh and Reagan almost had his face immortilized on US currency. Thank the GODS John Kerry put a stop to THAT nasty bunch!!!

[Atlant]

105. And in the General Election, that won't matter one bit.

> Read the whole article. Kerry was on the right side of the issue.

And in the General Election, that won't matter one bit.
Perception is everything, and he will be portrayed as one
of the "Massachusetts Ultra-Liberals who spent $14.6
BILLION of your hard-earned tax dollars(tm) on a leaky
hole in the ground!"

Atlant

[cosmicdot]

113. would FMR of Boston benefitted in any way? FMR is a beneficial owner

of AIG holding @135,139,163 Shares of AIG Common Stock which is 'portfolioed' to investors

(isn't FMR actually Fidelity Investments?)

I really don't know.

[Democat]

15. You are not going to find any saints in politics

It's too bad the media won't spend one hundredth as much time looking into Bush's past as they do digging up dirt on Democrats.

[Forkboy]

20. While I agree

it doesn't excuse the dirt on Dems,if there is any.

This is the first I've heard of this,and I live here in Ma,so I have more reading to do before making any real comment on Kerry's involvement or non-involvement.

[dansolo]

82. I'm not concerned about saints.

Only hypocrites.

[Forkboy]

17. Everybody got something out of the Big Dig

literally millions just disappeared.It's been fun to watch it all unfold here...in a sad sort of way.

[Snivi Yllom]

104. I don't think it's funny at all

Not at all.

[TacticalPeek]

19. One iceberg tip spotted.

Might better save that annointing oil until we see how the candidates hold up under fire.

[mzmolly]

22. The trouble with Washington....Indeed.

:(

Kerry typical sell your soul insider. So much for stealing Dean's message of change.

[Upfront]

28. Sad Day

It will be a sad day for America if we have to choose from the likes of Kerry and B###. Anybody but Kerry or B###. ABKB pass it on.

[Name removed]

23. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[blm]

34. HAHA...YOU DIDN'T READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE, DID YOU?

Kerry was on the right side of the issue and called for an investigation into the accounting. This project had been administered by GOP governors.

[Cheswick2.0]

90. no he was on the wrong side of the issue + the investigation was toothless

Toothless investigation to cover for his political cronies is a Kerry specialty. Just read the whole article.

[blm]

100. So you say. Public Citizen says Kerry is square on financing.

I'll trust their take over DFA, thankyou.

[Snivi Yllom]

106. my baloney has a first name, it's A...I...G

If you read the article CAREFULLY it's crystal clear the money was unnessarily over paid by AIG to buy insurance it did not need to spend. Sort of like if they bought 200 bulldozers but only needed 100 to complete the job. Instead of refunding the cost of the extra bulldozers to the government, they were allowed to invest the value of those unneccessary bulldozers and keep half the profits.

[Risk]

25. So starts the death rattle of Kerry

I have never supported Kerry since he announced the Presidency because I knew what kind of person he really is inside. I still don't appreciate him voting where the wind blows and being hypocritical about it. Also, he hasn't apologized for the IWR vote and still tries to justify it when he knows it's a losing issue for him.

When Arab Americans vote in MI, rest assured it won't be for Kerry.

[NewHampster]

26. I can hear the bugles playing taps

So long Kerry :kick:

So long Kerry :kick:

So long Kerry :kick:

So long Kerry :kick:

We don't hate to see you go.

[ozone_man]

40. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

I refuse to vote for a corporate insider. We already have a qualified one in office. What can Kerry possibly improve on? I mean Edwards at least can out do Bush on contributions from lawyers, but Kerry falls short by most measures. Kerry only voted for the important Acts that Bush initiated. He is a follower at best.

Time to vote for real change, Dean. Time for a clean sweep of Washington.

[West Coast Democrat]

30. Death rattle?

that's a stretch!!

[blm]

31. Kerry was right on this issue. See post #11

.

[Northwind]

37. Yep, Kerry's always on the right side of the issues

The right side to get big kickbacks.

The right side to maintain the status quo.

The right side to excercise his corrupt influence.

The right side to enable the GOP.

[blm]

44. YOU DIDN'T READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE, DID YOU?

HAHAH. So obvious.

[Northwind]

75. Yep, read the whole article

The corruption of Kerry is sickening, and it does not matter which side of the issue he was on. He took kickbacks. He sold his vote. Corrupt Washington Insider.

[Atlant]

107. November 3rd, 2004: "But Kerry was RIGHT on the issue!"

Right or wrong doesn't matter in American politics;
image is now everyting.

Atlant

[NNN0LHI]

32. But, but, I thought the media wanted Kerry to get elected? Hmm n/t

[Northwind]

35. Well, now we know

Why corrupt Washington insider Kerry said it is better to get legislation passed without your name on it.

Harder to trace that way when he draws his kickbacks.

[blm]

36. HAHA, YOU DIDN'T READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE, DID YOU?

Kerry was on the right side of this issue. Post #11.

[NashVegas]

39. And Pocketed Campaign Money That Should Have Gone Back to Taxpayers

more or less.

[blm]

43. Kerry's personal pac money goes to OTHER campaigns and charitable groups

that promote voting efforts.

Guess that's not as fun as hoping he used it to indulge his greed as so many of you wish to hear.

[Cuban_Liberal]

48. So?

If I shake down the local grocer for protection $$$, and then give it to the SPCA, does that make me a saint all of the sudden? :eyes:

[killbotfactory]

42. Oh yeah, he'll take on those special interests, alright...

Take them on all the way to the bank.

Or to a nice spa resort.

Same old shit.

[blm]

45. You're WRONG. Read the whole article. Post #11.

.

[killbotfactory]

49. "Any contributions AIG made to the senator's campaign came years..."

"Any contributions AIG made to the senator's campaign came years after the investigation." - Kerry spokesman.

He killed the bill in 2000, and the insurance company paid his travel expenses just a year later, and then donated to his campaign. It gave 20,000 dollars to Kerry's presidential PAC the next spring.

Sorry, that stinks.

[Cuban_Liberal]

53. It stinks to high heaven.

This is a perfect example of why we can NOT afford to let Sen. Kerry become our nominee.

[blm]

68. HAH, but you have no problem with Dean, the BFEE Koch brothers' boy

who arranged a sweetheart deal for Entergy and SEALED the records.

No stink on that, eh? You do know that the Koch brothers are Bush loyalists? You do know that Dean sold Vermont Yankee to their corporation, Entergy?

You do know that Conason detailed in his book the Hunting of the President, that GOP operative Lee Atwater figured out in 89 all those Dems who would be running against Bush1 in 92 and tried to set them up and compromise them in some dirty dealings? Clinton declined.

Why would the good old boy Koch brothers want Vermont Yankee?

[Cuban_Liberal]

110. Don't put words in my mouth.

This thread is about Sen. kerry's ethical problems. I will gladly discuss Dr. Dean's ethical problems in a thread about that.

[Cuban_Liberal]

46. As Winston Churchill once said (I *think* it was Churchill)

A woman made a comment about finding him repulsive, and he asked her "Would you sleep with me for a million pounds?", to which she replied "Yes.". "Would you sleep with me for TEN pounds?", to which she replied "What do you think I am, a WHORE?". Churchill replied "We've established that already, now all we're doing is haggling about price.".

It's not the amount involved, folks, it's that it happened at all.

[Northwind]

78. But fear not!

The Kerry people will spin this as a positive! Kerry could be caught molesting altar boys while taking bribes from the priest who's watching and some people here would praise him for it.

[George_Bonanza]

50. This is a subtle swipe at Dean!

The media is after Dean because he's too intelligent and visionary for all those boorish sheep called voters, or citizens. So they launched this faux attack at Kerry to pretend that they're not actually holding his hand up to the pedestal. Gore and McGreevey endorsed Dean for the sole reason of undermining the conspiracy theory that would inevitably pop up after they systematically destroyed Dean. When Dean delivered his Iowa speech, or called Russia the Soviet Union, the DLC used satellite rays to control Dean's brain and tongue.

[Tantrum]

58. So you blame Kerry's problems to Dean?

Nice attempt, but it'll fall flat, and Kerry's support will begin to wane.

[Cuban_Liberal]

55. Kick

[cthrumatrix]

59. maybe this is why the puke media wants Kerry so quickly and others to

drop out....

[Cuban_Liberal]

60. Mmmmm hmmmm...

It will certainly remove any option to debate Bush about financial ethics from the fall campaign.

[RetroLounge]

56. The only special interest Kerry is beholden to

is apparently himself.

and anyone who has money to give him...

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=694&u=/ap/20040204/ap_on_el_pr/kerry_big_dig_1&printer=1

[Northwind]

76. Next thing you know

He'll have his vote up for auction on eBay.

[Snivi Yllom]

92. the denials of influence are worse than the influence itself

this kind of stuff makes me so mad.

[Cuban_Liberal]

61. Kick

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

64. If it quacks like a duck....

[MoonAndSun]

65. we'll see if this is a story tomorrow or the next day.

if the pundits catch on to this, then Kerry may be in some trouble.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

67. My guess:

Down the memory hole.

[MoonAndSun]

71. If it is not picked up then it may confirm to some people that

the media will let Kerry slide on some stories that they may not let slide pass on any of the other candidates.


We shall see.:shrug:

[seaglass]

102. Either that or they'll notice that mention of Bechtel was

conveniently omitted from this article - and they were the managers of this project. Then there might be some questions as to why the last head of the Big Dig (Natsios) is the head of USAID and is working with Bechtel in Iraq.

Now why would a company that ripped off the taxpayers with all these cost overruns and kept it hidden be an appropriate no-bid partner for Iraq contracts.

AIG is the small piece of this story, Bechtel is the big piece.

[redqueen]

116. Why isn't Kerry talking about that?

Since he's familiar with the situation, why isn't he also pointing out that the guy who last headed the Big Dig is now the rep for Bechtel in Iraq?

[KamaAina]

72. Kerry opposed the loophole but could not support the provision

because it contained a whopping funding cut for THE most important public works project in his home state.

Kerry's office confirmed Wednesday that as member of the Senate Commerce Committee he persuaded committee chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., to drop a provision that would have stripped $150 million from the project and ended the insurance funding loophole.

The Massachusetts Democrat actually was angered by the loophole but didn't want money stripped from the project because it would hurt his constituents who needed the Boston project finished, spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said.

When the "AIG investment scheme (came) to light, John Kerry called for public hearings to investigate the parties involved and the legality of the investment practices. However, he firmly believed cutting funding for the Big Dig was not the answer," Cutter said.

One of the many, many reasons to vote for Dems over Repukes is that Dems are better at representing their state's interests, while Repukes do whatever Bill Frist (R-Meow! Meeowww!) tells them to do. Example (not one I particularly approve of): Stabenow and Levin of Mich. going against CAFE fuel economy standards.

This is a typical Repuke tactic: putting something noxious like the funding cut into a bill, forcing the Dem to vote against it, then ripping into the Dem for "opposing" whatever the rest of the bill was about.

Don't buy into the Rovian spin, folks.

[Fleshdancer]

73. okay. I read the entire article.

how can anyone say Kerry was on the "right side"? After reading the whole thing, the only person that was on the "right side" was McCain.

I guess I can see how the completion of the big dig project may have been great for Kerry's constituents, but am I really suppose to believe that ending the practice of insurance fraud would have kept the project from completion???:

"But in 1999, the Transportation Department uncovered a financing scheme in which the project had overpaid $129.8 million to AIG for worker compensation and liability insurance that wasn't needed, then had allowed the insurer to keep the money in a trust and invest it in the market. The government alleged AIG kept about half of the profits it made from the investments, providing the other half to the project"

Now how in the HELL is this in the best interest of the taxpayer? How in the HELL is this in the best interest of Kerry's constituents???

But wait, there's more!

Sept. 2001 - AIG pays $540 to Kerry for traveling fees to VT.

Dec. 2001 - several AIG executives gave maximum $1,000 donations to Kerry's Senate campaign on the same day.

following Spring - AIG donated $10,000 to a new tax-exempt group Kerry formed, the Citizen Soldier Fund, to lay groundwork for his presidential campaign.

2002 - AIG gave two more donations of $10,000 each to the same group, making it one of the largest corporate donors to Kerry's group.

and finally - Two construction companies on the project — Modern Continental Group and Jay Cashman Construction — each donated $25,000.

[Cheswick2.0]

88. maybe Kerry gave some of his profits to his constituents?

:shrug:

I also read the whole article and it didn't surprise me to find that once again Kerry proves to be unethical.

But of course we are all "conspiracy theorists" according to one Kerry supporter on this board.

[seaglass]

99. It wasn't insurance fraud.

The MHD (Mass. Highway Department), Commonwealth of MA. and AIG entered into a LEGAL agreement to share the proceeds on the investment income from the trust fund created to pay claims.

When the overruns were exposed in 2000 (I believe) that is when this LEGAL agreement came to light.

There was a breach of trust between those in charge of the project and the federal government - those involved are Repub Govs, it was a Dem Treasury Sec. that was responsible for exposing this. More stringent oversight has been put in place since then.

I have no idea if AIG has been required to pay back the money - which since it was legal at the time they may not be required to do - or whether further profit sharing has been done since it was initially identified. I guess that would be one question to ask.

It's very curious that this article mentions nothing about Bechtel - the one who was responsible for the management of this entire project.

[HFishbine]

108. Modern Continental

Modern Continental employees and executives have contributed over $25,000 directly to Kerry since 2000 (separate from contributions to his Citizen Soldier Fund) (1). Nearly $10,000 of that last year alone.

Contributions from Modern Continental prior to 2000 equaled $1,306. (2)

(1) http://www.opensecrets.org/indivs/search.asp?NumOfThou=0&txtName=&txtState=%28all+states%29&txtZip=&txtEmploy=modern&txtCand=kerry&txt2004=Y&txt2002=Y&txt2000=Y&Order=N

2) http://www.opensecrets.org/indivs/search.asp?NumOfThou=0&txtName=&txtState=%28all+states%29&txtZip=&txtEmploy=modern+continental&txtCand=kerry&txt1998=Y&txt1996=Y&Order=N

[Snivi Yllom]

109. you got it right..the more you read this and think about it

the worse it gets.

This is EXACTLY the kind of crap that is bringing down this country.

[ChiefJoseph]

77. Frankly, hearing any of the candidates...

...talk about how they're going to free us from the grip of special interests is nauseating. Every one of them is, to one degree or another, beholden to special interests. It's just that our special interests are different than the Republican special interests.

[in_cog_ni_to]

80. Holy Cripes!

Can you just imagine how many of these kinds of "favors" KKKRove has dug up?

[Northwind]

81. Given Kerry's long record

Of corruption and graft, enough to sink him in the GE.

[dkf]

83. More "perks" for Kerry: meals, car, condo, real estate windfall, apartment

http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?pt=6PSFCm6m%2BOxpLbMfiXVyVZ%3D%3D

But then Globe and Herald reporters-not me-started digging up dirt on Kerry's finances. First, it came out that his supporters had treated him to meals and more lucrative freebies in the '80s: a car he "leased" for 16 months without any payments, a ritzy condo he rented for $200 per month from a friendly developer, a no-risk $21,000 real estate windfall arranged by a top fund-raiser, a lobbyist's $8,000-per-month waterfront apartment where he crashed without paying. Then it came out that Kerry had given less than 1 percent of his earnings to charity before marrying Teresa Heinz. And, when Kerry claimed he had been strapped for cash because his kids were in private school, it came out that he had bought a handmade, ruby red, $8,600 Ducati motorcycle the same year he had given only $175 to charity.

[in_cog_ni_to]

96. This is only the tip of the iceberg

I'm sure. Unbelievable.

[Mobius]

84. SEE? Pompous jerk, I tell you!

God, I hope his days are numbered.

[Cheswick2.0]

85. Of course he was paid off for favors

he will be hit with this and 100 other cases if he becomes the nominee, because that is how Kerry does business. The fact that Bush does business the same way will not matter to the national media. Kerry is unethical and he will kill our chances in Nov.

[Cheswick2.0]

89. kick

[xray s]

98. This would be nice to know

from the link;
But in 1999, the Transportation Department uncovered a financing scheme in which the project had overpaid $129.8 million to AIG for worker compensation and liability insurance that wasn't needed, then had allowed the insurer to keep the money in a trust and invest it in the market. The government alleged AIG kept about half of the profits it made from the investments, providing the other half to the project.

My question. Is this loophole still in place? Is there any record of Kerry trying to close the loophole after he succeeded in keeping the construction funds for the dig? If not, why not?

The answer to those questions will help me make up my mind on this matter.

[cosmicdot]

112. FWIW ... it may help to, at least, be aware of who the AIG powers are

American International Group can't be up to much good IMO

at the top of the pyramid is Maurice R. Greenberg, chair of the Nixon Center where the Honorary Chairman is Henry A. Kissinger; and, a Board with such Pentagon Defense Review Board members as James Schlesinger; and, other knowns as Leslie Gelb, Blackstone (Carlyle's mirror entity) Group's Pete Peterson, Joe Lieberman, Brent Scowcroft, Richard Allen, John Deutch, Charles Krauthammer, Robert C. McFarlane, etc.

From Michael Ruppert/FTW Publications:

Maurice “Hank” Greenburg — The CEO of AIG insurance, manager of the third largest capital investment pool in the world, was floated as a possible CIA Director in 1995. FTW exposed Greenberg’s and AIG’s long connection to CIA drug trafficking and covert operations in a two-part series that was interrupted just prior to the attacks of September 11. AIG’s stock has bounced back remarkably well since the attacks. http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ciadrugs/gray_money.html
http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/10_09_01_krongard.html
http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/oct152001.html
http://www.2012.com.au/WTC_facts.html

The only persons who, to the knowledge of AIG, own in excess of five percent of the AIG Common Stock are FMR Corp., 82 Devonshire Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02109, which filed a Schedule 13G on February 13, 2003, with respect to the 135,139,163 Shares of AIG Common Stock held by it, and SICO, P.O. Box 152, Hamilton, Bermuda <------ hmmmmm ... off-shore.


It's Board is entrenched in the good ol'boy power network -

M. BERNARD AIDINOFF
Director since 1984
Retired Partner, Sullivan & Cromwell
(Attorneys)
Age 74
Director, First SunAmerica Life Insurance
Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of AIG

PEI-YUAN CHIA
Director since 1996
Retired Vice Chairman, Citicorp
and Citibank, N.A.
Age 64
Director, Baxter International Inc.

MARSHALL A. COHEN
Director since 1992
Counsel, Cassels Brock & Blackwell (Barristers
and Solicitors); Former President and Chief
Executive Officer, The Molson Companies
Limited
Age 68
Director, Barrick Gold Corporation
Collins & Aikman Corporation
Haynes International, Inc.
Lafarge North America Inc.
Metaldyne Corporation
Premcor Inc.
The Premcor Refining Group Inc.
Premcor USA Inc.
Toronto Dominion Bank

BARBER B. CONABLE, JR.
Director since 1991
Retired; Former President, World Bank; Former
Member, United States House of Representatives
Age 80

MARTIN S. FELDSTEIN
Director since 1987
Professor of Economics, Harvard University;
President and Chief Executive Officer, National
Bureau of Economic Research
(Nonprofit Economic Research Center)
Age 63
Director, Eli Lilly and Company
HCA Inc. <-------- the Frist Family HMO business

ELLEN V. FUTTER
Director since 1999
President, American Museum of Natural History
Age 53
Director, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
Consolidated Edison, Inc. (also serves
as Trustee of Consolidated Edison
Company of New York, Inc.)
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.

MAURICE R. GREENBERG
Director since 1967
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, AIG
Age 77
Director, Transatlantic Holdings, Inc.
(''Transatlantic''), which is owned
59.7 percent by AIG
Also serves as Chairman of Transatlantic, a director,
President and Chief Executive Officer of C.V. Starr
& Co., Inc. (''Starr''), and a director of Starr
International Company, Inc. (''SICO'') and
International Lease Finance Corporation (''ILFC'');
Starr and SICO are private holding companies (see ''Ownership of Certain Securities''); ILFC is a wholly-
owned subsidiary of AIG

CARLA A. HILLS
Director since 1993
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer,
Hills & Company; Former United States
Trade Representative
(Hills & Company provides international
investment, trade and risk advisory services)
Age 69
Director, AOL Time Warner Inc.
ChevronTexaco Corporation
Lucent Technologies Inc.

FRANK J. HOENEMEYER
Director since 1985
Financial Consultant;
Retired Vice Chairman,
Prudential Insurance Company of America
Age 83
Director, Carey Fiduciary Advisors, Inc.
Cincinnati, Inc.

RICHARD C. HOLBROOKE
Director since 2001
Former United States Ambassador to the United
Nations; Former Vice Chairman, Credit Suisse
First Boston
Age 61
Director, Human Genome Sciences, Inc.
Quebecor World Inc.

HOWARD I. SMITH
Director since 1997
Vice Chairman, Chief Administrative Officer and
Chief Financial Officer, AIG
Age 58
Director, Transatlantic
21st Century Insurance Group (''21st
Century''), which is owned 62.6 percent
by AIG
Also serves as a director of Starr, SICO and ILFC

MARTIN J. SULLIVAN
Director since 2002
Vice Chairman and Co-Chief Operating Officer, AIG
Age 48
Also serves as a director of Starr and SICO

EDMUND S.W. TSE
Director since 1996
Senior Vice Chairman and Co-Chief Operating
Officer, AIG
Age 65
Also serves as a director of Starr and SICO

JAY S. WINTROB
Director since 1999
Executive Vice President, Retirement Savings,
AIG
Age 46
Director, AIG SunAmerica Life Assurance Company
(formerly Anchor National Life Insurance
Company) and First SunAmerica Life
Insurance Company, wholly-owned
subsidiaries of AIG
Also serves as a director of Starr and SICO

FRANK G. WISNER
Director since 1997
Vice Chairman — External Affairs, AIG
Age 64
Director, EOG Resources, Inc.
Ethan Allen Interiors Inc.

FRANK G. ZARB
Director since 2001
Former Chairman, National Association of
Securities Dealers, Inc. and The Nasdaq Stock
Market, Inc.; Senior Advisor, Hellman &
Friedman LLC (Private Equity Investment Firm)
Age 68
Director, FPL Group, Inc

New addition:

AIG Elects William S. Cohen to Board of Directors

NEW YORK, Feb 2, 2004 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- The Board of Directors of American International Group, Inc. (AIG) has elected former United States Secretary of Defense and former United States Senator William S. Cohen as a Director.

Mr. Cohen, 63, is currently Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Cohen Group, a consulting firm headquartered in Washington, D.C. He is Chairman of the US-Taiwan Business Council and the William S. Cohen Center for International Policy and Commerce at the University of Maine.

Mr. Cohen served from 1997 to 2001 as United States Secretary of Defense in the Clinton Administration and as United States Senator from Maine from 1979 to 1997. Prior to his election to the Senate, he represented the Second District of Maine in the United States Congress from 1973-1979. He was Mayor of Bangor, Maine and Assistant Penobscot County Attorney prior to his Congressional service. He graduated with a bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College and received a law degree from Boston University School of Law.

http://custom.marketwatch.com/custom/earthlink-net/mw-news-companyrele...

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/5272/000095011703001327/a34886....

Mr. Greenberg is well taken care of:

M.R. Greenberg
Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer

Salary
2002 $1,000,000
2001 $1,000,000
2000 $ 1,000,000

Bonus
2002 $5,000,000
2001
2000 $5,000,000

Awards
Stock Options
2002 $375,000
2001 $375,000
2000 $200,000

All Other
Compensation
2002 $86,000 <------- a lot of people would be pleased w/ just this
2001 $85,500
2000 $85,000

SICO (off-shore in Bermuda)
LTIP Payouts Not
Paid by AIG
2002 $11,107,200
2001
2000 $23,635,000

He owns 45,167,862 or 1.73 of the total common stock.
Today's price per share is $70.58


I am perplexed and disillusioned by why, after all the concerns with corporate power, cronyism, corruption, etc., we aren't embracing the candidates who stand the most in contrast to the status quo.

[CWebster]

114. ABB everybody! Don't look here, don't look there,

nothing to see here, just move along! ABB! Everybody get with the program. Kerry is the "most electible" Kerry is the most "presidential" nothing else matters! Bush was AWOL! Bush is at the mercy of special interests! Everyone is convinced, now jump on board the ABB train going nowhere.

[redqueen]

115. Not too surprising

It's good that this came out early, though.

:(

[TexasSissy]

117. Could this be why Kerry didn't vote on the Medicare bill, also?

[NewYorkerfromMass]

118. And Kennedy helped too

and the trip to Vermont was $540!!??? If this is the best the Kerry smear brigade can do...... :shrug:

[redqueen]

120. Apparently you missed post #47 - check these facts

"At that hearing (May 2000), the Transportation's Department inspector general made a renewed plea for a permanent federal policy banning the overpayment of insurance premiums and subsequent investment for profit — what McCain had proposed and Kerry helped kill.

"The policy is needed to ensure that projects do not attempt to draw down federal funds for investment purposes under the guise that they are needed to pay insurance claims. It is that simple," the inspector general told senators.

In September 2001, Kerry disclosed to the Senate ethics office that AIG had paid an estimated $540 in travel expenses to cover his costs for a speech in Burlington, Vt. {Note to self - get the date of this speech}.

A few months later in December 2001, several AIG executives gave maximum $1,000 donations to Kerry's Senate campaign on the same day. The donations totaled $9,700 and were followed by several thousand dollars more over the next two years.

The next spring, AIG donated $10,000 to a new tax-exempt group Kerry formed, the Citizen Soldier Fund, to lay groundwork for his presidential campaign. Later in 2002, AIG gave two more donations of $10,000 each to the same group, making it one of the largest corporate donors to Kerry's group.

----------------------------
Hearing in May coupled with disclosure 16 months later does NOT equal years, no matter how hard it's spun. "

[Snivi Yllom]

121. Gahhhhhhhh

Don't confuse people with facts.

[redqueen]

122. Oops! My bad.

:spank:

[corporatewhore]

123. Yep thats good ol Raw Deal kerry