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The House ethics committee has voted to begin full-scale investigations into ethics allegations against Democratic Reps. Maxine Waters (Calif.) and Laura Richardson (Calif.), but decided against investigating Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.). After Thursday’s votes, Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and Jo Bonner (R-Ala.), chairwoman and ranking member of the committee, went to the House floor to assure members that a cyber-hacking incident – which apparently resulted, they said, in an internal panel document ending up in the hands of the Washington Post – did not signal a major security breach of the committee’s computer system. They suggested that the document in...

Rep. Richardson's Sacramento home is focus of House ethics probe U.S. Rep. Laura Richardson bought the house in the tree-lined upper-middle-class Curtis Park neighborhood for $535,000 in early 2007 after she was elected to the Assembly. She already owned two houses, one in her Long Beach district and the other in San Pedro. She has defaulted six times on both homes. The Office of Congressional Ethics has interviewed an investor who bought the house in foreclosure last year, as well as neighbors. The city declared the structure a public nuisance. By Jeff Gottlieb July 29, 2009 U.S. Rep. Laura Richardson's...

SACRAMENTO, June 12 (UPI) -- Neighbors of a former California legislator now in Congress say her house in Sacramento has become a potentially dangerous eyesore. Laura Richardson, a Democrat with a Los Angeles-area district, bought the three- bedroom house in an upmarket neighborhood when she was elected to the state Assembly in 2006. A neighbor told the Los Angeles Times the house was neglected even before she won a special election to Congress in 2007. Sean Padovan, who lives next door, said he offered to cut the grass for Richardson, showing up at the door with his hand lawnmower, and...

Former Cuban President Fidel Castro has held a meeting with three members of the US House of Representatives. The event was his first known meeting with US officials since he underwent emergency intestinal surgery in 2006. Castro has not been seen in public since he was taken ill, and ceded power to his brother Raul last year. Analysts say the meeting indicates an increased willingness on the part of Cubans and Americans to resolve tensions between the two countries. A seven-strong team of congressional Democrats is currently in Cuba, looking into ways to improve US-Cuban relations, but only three of...

When she arrived in Congress last fall, Rep. Laura Richardson sought out a vehicle that would match her newfound status. She settled on a 2007 Lincoln Town Car - the choice of many representatives who lease their vehicles at taxpayers' expense. But hers was distinct: at $1,300 a month, it was the most expensive car in the House of Representatives. Richardson, a Democrat who represents Carson, has since become known for defaulting on two home loans and losing a third house - in an upscale neighborhood in Sacramento - at a foreclosure auction. But her history with vehicles has been...

The latest on the triple-default, single-foreclosure Democratic congresswoman from Long Beach: "Rep. Laura Richardson initially failed to disclose economic interests -- including a loan from a strip club owner -- when she served on the Long Beach City Council, public records show," the Long Beach Press-Telegram reports.

I have read 2 "stories" from "A Professional News Organization Zone" and combined the "news" contained in them ("news" is "news" and, unlike "music" or "lyrics", cannot be "owned" by any "news" organization, even really big one like APNOze) without explicitly quoting the "stories". If there are things in this news account that APNOze thinks are different from their version of the news, they are welcome to provide correction to this story or their own account of same news. Here's a basic digest of what happened: A Washington watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics requested House Ethics Committee to...

<p>The latest on the triple-default, single-foreclosure Democratic congresswoman from Long Beach: "Rep. Laura Richardson initially failed to disclose economic interests -- including a loan from a strip club owner -- when she served on the Long Beach City Council, public records show," the Long Beach Press-Telegram reports.</p>

The saga of Rep. Laura Richardson's mismanaged personal finances continues to grow, as the Long Beach Press-Telegram reports that the freshman congresswoman failed to paid her car bills to one mechanic and abandoned her damaged car with another. After wrecking her own car, she grabbed a city-owed vehicle and proceeded to put more than 30,000 miles on the car in just over a year. City policy states that city-owned cars are not for personal use in member's part-time role on the council in the 50-square mile city.The car troubles come on the heels of news that Richardson lost her...

A Long Beach congresswoman who fell behind lin her payments on a $535,000 mortgage in Sacramento said in a written statement that she owns the home, but financial documents show the house was sold at public auction and has been in the possession of the buyer for weeks. The auction for Rep. Laura Richardson's house, in Sacramento's Curtis Park neighborhood, took place on May 7. The transaction was detailed in public records filed with the county. Richardson, a Democrat, a former Assembly member who was elected to the House last year, bought the 1,600-square-foot, three-bedroom house in January 2007, but...

LOS ANGELES, (AP) -- Rep. Laura Richardson, whose Sacramento home was recently sold into foreclosure, has two other homes in Southern California that have fallen into default six times, according to a published report. Five of the defaults totaling nearly $71,000 occurred in the last 13 months for the homes the Democrat still owns in San Pedro and Long Beach, according to county documents obtained by the Los Angeles Times. During much of that time, Richardson used $177,500 to finance her campaigns for Congress and the California Assembly, the newspaper said. A call to Richardson, who will face two challengers...

It seems congresswoman Laura Richardson (D-CA) has defaulted on the mortgages for her 3 homes. She wants us to feel bad for her. Let's take up a collection! http://www.presstelegram.com/ci_9363943?source=rss

The Richardson mess: She defaulted on three houses, report says U.S. Rep. Laura Richardson was in default this spring on three separate California houses, and lost one to foreclosure, according to a hard-hitting report in today's Daily Breeze. The Daily Breeze's Gene Maddaus: "Rep. Laura Richardson, who lost her Sacramento home in a recent foreclosure auction, has also defaulted on properties in Long Beach and San Pedro, records show." Richardson, a Democrat from Long Beach, has declined to answer detailed questions about her finances, but has blamed her financial woes in part on the distractions caused by her whirlwind political...

<p>U.S. Rep. Laura Richardson was in default this spring on three separate California houses, and lost one to foreclosure, according to a hard-hitting report in today's Daily Breeze.</p> <p>The Daily Breeze's Gene Maddaus: "Rep. Laura Richardson, who lost her Sacramento home in a recent foreclosure auction, has also defaulted on properties in Long Beach and San Pedro, records show."</p>

Rep. Laura Richardson made only a few payments on the Sacramento house she bought in 2007, failed to pay property taxes, defaulted on the mortgage, and lost the house to foreclosure. The Daily Breeze reports that Richardson's lender, Washington Mutual, took a loss of nearly $200,000 when it sold the house at a public auction on May 7. Further, the new owner, York, "assumed responsibility for Richardson's unpaid property tax bill of $8,950.79."

Rep. Laura Richardson lost her Sacramento home in a foreclosure auction two weeks ago and left behind nearly $9,000 in unpaid property taxes. Richardson, D-Long Beach, appears to have made only a few payments on the house, which she bought in January 2007 for $535,000. After buying the home, Richardson hardly had time to live in it. Three months later, Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald died and Richardson - then a freshman member of the state Assembly - launched a campaign to replace her in Congress. Richardson won the election, pouring in $77,500 in personal loans to her own campaign. Around the...

Capitol Weekly reports that newly elected California Congresswoman Laura Richardson walked away from the mortgage on her $535,000 Sacramento home, letting the house slip into foreclosure and disrepair less than two years after she bought it with no money down. "While being elevated to Congress in a 2007 special election, Richardson apparently stopped making payments on her new Sacramento home, and eventually walked away from it, leaving nearly $600,000 in unpaid loans and fees," the publication reports. Richardson, a Democrat from Long Beach, declined to comment for the Capitol Weekly story, and her office did not immediately respond to a...

As the real estate market softened in 2007, the new owner of a three-bedroom, 1,600-square-foot house in Sacramento's Curtis Park neighborhood ran into trouble. The house that was purchased for $535,000 in January had lost equity. The owner fell behind in her payments, and eventually, the bank seized the home. What makes this story different from the thousands like it is that the owner of this house was a member of Congress. The story of the foreclosure of Long Beach Democrat Laura Richardson's Sacramento home is a tale of a real estate market gone sour. It is also an illustration...