LA TIMES SCOOP!!!DeLay & 2 others helped put the brakes on a federal probe

[kpete]

DeLay and two others helped put the brakes on a federal probe of a businessman.

WASHINGTON -- In a case that echoes the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling scandal, two northern California Republican congressmen used their official positions to try to stop a federal investigation of a wealthy Texas businessman who provided them with political contributions.

The congressmen, John T. Doolittle and Richard W. Pombo, joined forces with former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas to oppose an investigation by federal banking regulators into the affairs of Houston millionaire Charles E. Hurwitz, documents recently obtained by the Los Angeles Times show. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation was seeking $300 million from Hurwitz for his role in the collapse of a Texas savings and loan that ultimately cost taxpayers $1.6 billion.

The investigation was ultimately dropped.

(amazing and all kinds of interesting stuff at:)
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-banker8jan08,0,1764103.story?coll=la-home-headlines&track=morenews
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/1/7/231351/7142

[Oversea Visitor]

1. GOP Blown Jobs

Impeach for economic sex..... Blown Job= Sex with money

[mopaul]

2. good one!

[Oversea Visitor]

3. Yup

They screwing around for money
Prostitute giving blown job

[still_one]

4. sounds like obstruction of justice to me

[chaumont58]

5. And the braindead right is still harping over Hillary's cattle futures

Watch, the beltway whores won't be able to find a crooked repukes in a federal pen, but 300 million is lost forever. They're helping chimpie bring honesty back to the Oval Office. Yesterday, on CBS radio, I heard Gloria Borgia equally blaming Dems for Abramoff.

[chat_noir]

6. FDIC Ordered to Pay Financier $72 Million (another head shaker)

Judge Denounces Debt-for-Trees Deal

By Terence O'Hara
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 25, 2005; Page D01

A federal judge in Texas, calling the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. a "corrupt agency with corrupt influences on it," awarded a Houston financier $72 million to cover his legal fees in a decade-long suit involving a failed savings and loan and the government's efforts to take control of a stand of endangered California redwood trees in the 1990s.

The FDIC, a regulatory agency that insures deposits at banks and savings and loans, filed suit against Charles E. Hurwitz in 1995, seeking to collect more than $800 million because Hurwitz indirectly controlled a Texas S&L that failed in 1988. The FDIC, after a series of legal setbacks, dropped its suit against Hurwitz in 2002. Hurwitz then asked the U.S. District Court judge overseeing the case, Lynn N. Hughes, to order the FDIC to pay his legal expenses, arguing that the FDIC should never have brought the case in the first place.

On Tuesday evening, Hughes issued a scathing, 131-page ruling. In it, he cited evidence that the FDIC brought the case largely because of pressure from environmental groups, members of Congress and the Clinton administration. The reason: Hurwitz's Pacific Lumber Co. owned 3,500 acres of endangered redwoods in Northern California. Hughes found that the FDIC, in close concert with environmental groups, sued Hurwitz to pressure him into a "debt-for-nature" swap, in effect giving the government his trees in exchange for his supposed liability in the failure of the United Savings Association of Texas.

SNIP

The case is one of the longest-running and most political lawsuits arising out of the S&L crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s, in which more than 1,000 S&Ls failed at a cost to taxpayers of about $200 billion. Several former thrift owners have won legal settlements against the government for breach of contract after Congress passed a 1989 law that rendered many thrifts insolvent.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/24/AR2005082402238.html?sub=AR


Judge Lynn N. Hughes needs to come under scrutiny.

[malaise]

7. Is Lynn N. Hughes

related to Karen the queen of propaganda?

[chat_noir]

8. connecting some dots (Abramoff related?)

Top Donors With Texas Slots Interests

MAXXAM Inc. PAC Houston $197,500 Maxxam

Charles E. Hurwitz Houston $67,200 Maxxam

J. Kent Friedman Houston $12,223 Maxxam


other donors - recognize these names?

Tigua Tribe El Paso $610,200 Tribe

Alabama-Coushatta Tribe Livingston $88,150 Tribe


http://www.tpj.org/page_view.jsp?pageid=615&pubid=366

[chat_noir]

9. Cash and Carry Congress

Finally, the mainstreamers are telling us what Lou DuBose has been telling us all along - that Tom DeLay has been selling our government to the benefit of the Republicans in Congress, and in the Texas legislature.

And now I know what Charles Hurwitz did with MAXXAM after looting the Pacific Lumber Company. He's running racetracks:
In 2002, a fundraiser's handwritten note appears alongside the name of a Texas racetrack owner who - along with other state track operators - wanted state permission to begin offering video gambling at the tracks.

"Brings $1 billion. Polls 83 percent in favor," the fundraiser's note said.

Weeks after that visit to the company's chief executive, track owner Maxxam Inc. contributed $5,000 to Texans for a Republican Majority..."37 other states have it," she wrote next to Charles Hurwitz, the racetrack owner seeking video gambling whose company made a TRMPAC donation soon after the meeting.

Therefore Hurwitz had some interest in how the tribal casino deals run by Abramoff and Scanlon were working out. Interesting. Were the little cockroaches playing both ends of that one?

http://sjones.home.igc.org/2005/04/cash-and-carry-congress.html

[wryter2000]

10. Woo-hoo

:woohoo:

One after another, they fall. Cunningham, Delay, Ney, Pombo & Doolittle. Who's next!

[ClintonTyree]

16. Don't get too excited.........

people hate Congress more than they do bush. When it comes to this loathing the American public is extremely bipartisan. They do not differentiate between Republican and Democratic candidates, it's a blanket distrust. Although Republicans are by far the most crooked and corrupted party, Americans don't view it that way. I don't have much faith in Americans to root out the truth. They'll blame everyone, Republicans and Democrats alike for a problem that is overwhelmingly Republican.
I think the prospect are dim for Democrats to take control of the House in this year's elections. People aren't paying attention to which party is guilty of the bulk off graft. The Senate? That's another story and I think the Dems can do it.

This could all change before November but I have little or no faith in the American people to ferret out the truth about which party is the most crooked. Of course, the Corporate media isn't going to do their job of informing the public of the facts. They don't want to kill their Republican golden goose.

[texpatriot2004]

11. www.pombointheirpocket.org - see link below

www.pombointheirpocket.org

[Cocoa]

12. Hurwitz

a new character I think we'll become more familiar with soon. Welcome to the party Mr. Hurwitz.

[emald]

13. guess there is more than one way to get a tax break e/t

[depakid]

14. Please let Pombo be involved in this

Mr. Mercury isn't poisonous,let's sell of the national parks is among the worst of the worst.

The Dems have needed to put big money into unseating that sociopath for years now-

[Imagevision]

15. We needed this Abramoff/Delay corruption scandal to cleanup govt.

I find it amazing Bush/Rove couldn't keep a lid on this...!

[phoebe]

17. don't forget Delay's ties to loan sharking and the US military

Tom DeLay was the keynote speaker...
at the payday loan industry convention in 2005

http://lefarkins.blogspot.com/2004/12/now-for-something-different.html which quotes a NY Times article..

snip

According to Wall Street tea leaf readers, one of the major loansharking companies, Cash America, also stands to profit from increased energy and health costs, leading analysts to rate it a "strong buy" for people who don't have to worry about ever being charged a 700% interest rate. Not surprisingly, Cash America, which is based in Texas, has donated to the PAC formed by a Tom DeLay crony and its federal PAC gave to Republicans over Democrats by a two to one margin. Cash America's profits are so strong that it has catapulted into the Forbes 200 Best Small Companies, along with Texas competitor First Cash. ("Best" clearly means most profitable, not "best" in any other sense of the word.)

[ClintonTyree]

18. What the hell is it with Texas?

That state seems to turn our more crooked politicians, more "fuck the consumer" businesses and more crooked and just plain evil people in general. I know Texans like doing things, "in a big way", but my gosh, aren't there any rules or regulations in that state?

I don't mean to deride every Texan. I am not "anti-Texan", but it just seems that every crooked, underhanded, evil politician and corporation has it's roots in Texas soil.

[phoebe]

20. The Bushes have been infiltrating Texas for decades..

n/t

[ourbluenation]

19. Hurwitz = Maxxam=Headwaters forest destruction. We no likey in norcal...

Ravaging the Redwood: Charles Hurwitz, Michael Milken and the Costs of Greed
by Ned Daly

The fate of the largest unprotected redwood forest in the world may now rest in the hands of an unlikely savior, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

Since the 1985 MAXXAM takeover of Pacific Lumber , the redwood ecosystem known as the Headwaters Forest, located in Humboldt County on CaliforniaÆs North Coast, has been under siege. Lawsuits, direct action, legislative efforts and all other attempts at preservation have so far failed to curb MAXXAMÆs ravenous appetite for redwood lumber. Now many environmentalists and community activists are hoping the FDIC can stop the forest from falling victim to corporate greed. The federal agency may be able to acquire the redwood forest as partial or full payment for the $548 million outstanding claim against the United Financial Group (UFG), a holding company for United Savings Association of Texas (USAT), a failed savings and loan controlled by MAXXAM and its chief executive officer, Charles Hurwitz.

Hurwitz is not averse to transferring part of the Headwaters Forest to federal government control, but he is insisting on rather different terms than environmentalists are proposing. Ignoring the fact that a company he controls, UFG, owes $548 million to the government, he has asked the government to pay him $600 million cash for a small grove of redwoods; if the offer is refused, he has threatened to liquidate the forest.

"If the federal government does not purchase the Headwaters Forest, Pacific Lumber will go ahead with its timber operations," says MAXXAMÆs Director of Public Relations Scott Lamb.

A Wall Street Journal article said HurwitzÆs proposal "brings new meaning to the term greenmail." Hurwitz paid approximately $900 million for the 196,000 acres owned by Pacific Lumber. If the government were to accept his proposal to buy 4,500 acres for $600 million, Hurwitz would earn a profit of more than 2,800 percent.

The people of CaliforniaÆs North Coast know Charles Hurwitz and MAXXAM well enough to take his threat seriously. Twice in 1992, the company cut hundreds of trees in the old-growth grove of Owl Creek on holidays and weekends when state regulators were not working, in violation of the California Board of Forestry cutting regulations. Both times the cutting was eventually stopped by court injunction. Under current plans, MAXXAM will harvest all the remaining old-growth redwoods it owns within the next 14 years.

http://multinationalmonitor.org/hyper/issues/1994/09/mm0994_07.html

[savemefromdumbya]

21. Savings and loans scandal still going strong!

They are still at it

http://www.namebase.org/books54.html

[jazzjunkysue]

22. We bailed out the savings and loans, but their CEO's still got their

huge salaries. When will that scandal be proved?

[stop the bleeding]

23. that does not sound very legal to me.

911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911



America you are my Slave



911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911


911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911 911

[mom cat]

24. Bring it on!

[Nothing Without Hope]

25. Pombo is one of the most corrupt in Congress - read what he

tried to pull for his buddies who want to buy up US public lands and devastate/develop them:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5372231

They very nearly got away with it. It was slipped in as a last-minute, undiscussed rider in the House version of the major omnibus budget bill and passed in the House. Despite pressure, the Senate refused to accept it and it was ejected from the joint version of the budget bill that was passed.

The scale and brazenness of this land grab are mind-boggling. And it almost happened a few weeks ago. Pombo says he will try again next year.

Pombo is also famous for his history of opposing any environmental concerns that might inconvenience his cronies in the mining and development business, who are responsible for much of his campaign funding.

THis man is a monster, through and through. I'd love to see him exposed for the greedy, consciousless crook he is.

[nicknameless]

27. Pombo and Hurwitz are two of a kind.

Hurwitz was a buddy of Michael Milken. He used junk bonds to finance a hostile take-over of Pacific Lumber in CA. Hurwitz broke environmental laws and accelerated clear cutting of the redwoods. His nefarious business practices bankrupted an S&L.

Hurwitz spent ~$700 Million to acquire Pacific Lumber, but then finagled, with the help of some sleazy politicians (including Senator DiFi) to get over $300 Million, in exchange for a *tiny* percentage of old-growth forest known as "Headwaters".

Ralph Nader pushed that taxpayers should give Hurwitz NOTHING. That he should be forced to pay back the S&L debts by trading the land.

... Guess who won?

More info: http://rwor.org/a/v19/920-29/926/hw.htm

[Oilwellian]

26. And then you have the WH shutting down a federal probe

Here's the next Abramoff blockbuster coming soon to a newspaper, cable TV station, and blog near you. What makes this particularly tantalizing is that it puts the White House squarely in the middle of a 2002 corruption investigation of a sleazy arrangement between Abramoff and Guam Superior Court officials. The chief prosecutor in the investigation was acting U.S. Atty. for Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, Frederick A. Black. As the LA Times wrote back in August 2005, in more innocent times when Abramoff's shenanigans did not make front page news, Black was removed from his position as acting U.S. Attorney in November 2002. It was a position he had held for over a decade, and which he lost one day after a subpoena was issued demanding the release of records involving the Guam court's lobbying contract with Abramoff -- including bills and payments.

And if this is not a bizarre enough coincidence for you, Black's replacement, Leonardo Rapadas, was a cousin of "one of the main targets" of the Guam investigation. Rapadas, who had been recommended to Karl Rove for the U.S. Attorney position by a lobbyist under contract with Guam's Gutierrez Administration, whom Black had also been investigating, promptly recused himself, and the investigation was very conveniently ended.

Look for more news on this very soon. And this next Abramoff storm will be gathering momentum just as the White House is desperately trying to distance itself from Abramoff, and Scott McClellan insists that "the President does not know , nor does the President recall ever meeting him." Possibly true. But what's more scandalous -- shaking hands with the man or unethically jury-rigging a corruption investigation so he'd never have to see a jail cell? But it turns out that even the president could not stop the inevitable.

Unfolding...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/the-next-abramoff-shoe-to_b_13469.html