Well, shouldn't he get a free pass then?
This is going to be a big story. s/
Two lawsuits filed by a state investment agency Friday allege that investment deals worth hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars were made to reward political contributors to and fundraisers for Gov. Bill Richardson.
This should be a big one (scandal)
Notice he didn't deny the charges.
A federal grand jury is investigating how a company that advised Jefferson County, Alabama, on bond deals that threaten to cause the biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history, did similar work in New Mexico after making contributions to Governor Bill Richardson’s political action committees.
The grand jury in Albuquerque is looking into Beverly Hills, California-based CDR Financial Products Inc., which received almost $1.5 million in fees from the New Mexico Finance Authority in 2004 after donating $100,000 to Richardson’s efforts to register Hispanic and American Indian voters and pay for expenses at the Democratic National Convention in 2004, people familiar with the matter said.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation asked current and former officials from the state agency if any staff members in the governor’s office influenced CDR’s hiring, said the people, who declined to be identified because the proceedings are secret. Richardson, who is President-elect Barack Obama’s designate for Commerce Secretary, has a staff of at least 30 people.
“They’re looking at everything related to CDR,” William Sisneros, the finance agency’s chief executive officer, said of the FBI probe. “They’re just trying to evaluate all the relationships to see what CDR was doing for the money.”
CDR was linked to the Birmingham scandal and the indictment of Mayor Larry Langford on corruption charges. Langford solicited hundreds of thousands of dollars from bond underwriter Blount Parrish & Co, and CDR advised Langford on the transactions. Blount Parrish managed to secure over seven million dollars in these bond services to Jefferson County, a hefty take from the $235,000 Langford demanded in loans, clothes, and jewelry.
Apparently, federal investigators have discovered a booming market in municipal-bond corruption. The empanelment of a grand jury in New Mexico means that the investigation has reached the stage where criminal charges could get produced. They may not have a difficult time in finding connections, either. CDR’s president donated tens of thousands of dollars to a Richardson PAC as well as to Si Se Puede Boston 2004, which helped fund the Democratic convention while Richardson chaired the committee that ran it. The payment to Moving America Forward came in 2003, before their selection as a consultant to the state, while their donation to Si Se Puede Boston 2004 apparently came shortly afterward.
http://hotair.com/archives/2008/12/15/is-richardson-the-next-pay-for-play-star/
As Clinton’s Secretary of Energy in 1998 his tenure at the Department of Energy was marred by the Wen Ho Lee nuclear espionage scandal. Richardson publicly named Lee, an employee at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, as a suspect who might have given nuclear secrets to the Chinese government. Lee was later cleared of espionage charges and won a settlement against the federal government for the accusation. Richardson was also criticized by the Senate for his handling of the espionage inquiry, which involved missing hard drives with sensitive data, by not testifying in front of Congress sooner. Richardson justified his response by saying that he was waiting to uncover more information before speaking to Congress. Republican Senators called for Richardson’s resignation while both parties criticized his role in the incident, and the scandal ended Richardson’s hope of being named as Al Gore’s running mate for the 2000 presidential election.
But this is far, far worse.
This brazen criminal has some of the deepest clearances in the United States. He was the Energy Secretary for God's sake.
Far beyond "Q" clearances and into CNWDI - Critical Nuclear Weapons Design Information.
The head of the National Labs has to be cleared onto those programs.
What else was this guy selling besides judgeships?
Welcome to Supermax, Guillermo. Maybe you can hang out with Bob Hansen.
What do you call a dozen federal judges handcuffed and stuffed into the back of patrol cars... a start. Corruption in the judiciary is one of the leading factors destroying our country.
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