Posted on 03/27/2012 10:53:49 AM PDT by jazusamo
A Florida congressman impeached as a federal judge and currently under House Ethics Committee scrutiny has earned yet another recognition for his transgressions, this time nepotism.
Alcee Hastings, one of only six federal judges to be removed from the bench, is in a class of his own when it comes to nepotism. This month he was ranked No. 1 out of 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives for paying salaries and fees to family members. The sordid details are included in a government watchdog’s study of how members of Congress abuse their position to benefit themselves and their families.
The results were neatly packaged in a 300-plus-page report, titled “Family Affair.” Virtually every member of the House is mentioned and Hastings, who made Judicial Watch’s 2011 Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians list , leads the pack for paying his girlfriend/deputy district director more than half a million dollars in salary and other expenses from 2007 to 2010.
Hasting’s girlfriend, Patricia Williams, draws a generous six-figure salary from his congressional office and gets reimbursed for “travel and event expenses,” according to the report. The ten-term congressman, who serves on several powerful committees, also owes his gal pal, who is a lawyer, up to $1 million for defending him during his impeachment trial.
Under House rules, members aren’t supposed to hire family but Hastings says that doesn’t apply to him because he’s not legally married to Williams and he’s not related to her. Therefore, the report is “inaccurate,” Hastings told a local newspaper in his south Florida district. “I have never had any family members employed in my Congressional office,” he said, stressing an official dictionary definition of “family” to include spouses and blood relatives but not girlfriends.
The veteran Democrat lawmaker, who got impeached as a judge after being embroiled in a bribery scandal, has quite a history mixing work with romance. In fact, last spring Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit against Hastings on behalf of a female employee (Winsome Packer) who was repeatedly subjected to “unwelcome sexual advances, unwelcome touching” and retaliation when he chaired the United States Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, led to a House Ethics Committee probe as well.
Ol’ Alcee is in a safe district whose constituents love watching him stick it to the man.
It's not rocket science. You just show up with dark skin.
I can't believe this character is still around. He was making headlines for improprieties back in the early '80's.
Yep, it seems the people that keep voting him in office feel just as entitled as he does.
Isn’t Alcee an impeached Federal Judge? You have a better chance of being hit by a meteor than being impeached as a Federal Judge.
Maxine Waters made it .. barely.. and to have not one but two Rs lead the list,, Priceless. Holder too? Oh my.
Report reveals data on members of Congress paying family members for work
http://rickardsreview.com/2012/02/29/sexual-harassment-suit-against-congressman-hastings-will-proceed/
Sexual Harassment Suit Against Congressman Hastings Will Proceed
The sexual harassment lawsuit against the already disgraced Congressman Alcee Hastings will proceed, according to a ruling handed down by a federal judge. This is just the latest ignominy in a political career that has known much of it. Before Hastings was elected to Congress, he had been given a lifetime appointment as a federal judge by President Carter, before being impeached within two years for accepting a $150,000 bribe in exchange for a lenient sentence, among other things. The House voted 413-3 in favor of impeachment, and the Senate 69-26, making him only the 6th federal judge in history to be impeached. He is currently $4.7 million in debt, and is somewhat famous for his statement during the passage of Obamacare that he just makes up new rules as he goes along, as seen in the video below.
He’s also sneaky as a snake and crooked as a barrel of fish hooks.
“Alcee is in a safe district “.
Not true.
I live in this former impeached federal judges district.
It is a gerrymandered district that meanders from Rivera Beach in the south (mostly black) and goes out to Indiantown (mostly hispanic) and out in to Lake Okeechobee and back in to fort Pierce (mostly black).
This gerrymandered district was there for the simple purpose to insure a minority representative.
That all is about to change and the district redrawn to include stuart (mostly republican conservative) which is why Colonel Allen West is moving to the district .
I’ll support West with everything I can.
As for alcee? hope he gets run over by a citrus truck.
thanks for the update, good to hear!
Thanks for posting, that’s excellent.
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