Mini-Madoff Had Friends in High Places

Texas Businessman Sought Influence in Corridors of Capitol - WSJ.com: "Among the recipients of Mr. Stanford's largesse is House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (D., N.Y.), who has long advocated lenient tax policies toward Virgin Islands residents and in 2007 introduced a bill to enforce a statute of limitations on IRS scrutiny of islanders' old tax returns. That year, Mr. Rangel traveled to Antigua for a development conference partly sponsored by Mr. Stanford, who also donated $28,300 to Mr. Rangel in 2008.

'I met Stanford a couple of times,' Mr. Rangel said. 'He has never discussed any legislative issue with me nor has anyone to my knowledge representing him ever discussed any legislation.'


He also was a big supporter of New York Democrat Gregory Meeks, a member of a House Financial Services subcommittee dealing with offshore banks that received an estimated $17,600 from a Stanford fund-raiser held in the Virgin Islands in July. Mr. Meeks's campaign later reimbursed the organizers of the event $3,591 for the cost of food and beverages, according to the campaign's financial disclosures.

From 2003 to 2006, Mr. Meeks and his wife traveled to the Caribbean every January on trips paid for by the Inter-American Economic Council, a group backed by Mr. Stanford, federal records show. The first trip was for 'fact finding' and subsequent trips were for a 'business roundtable,' often including hotel and meal charges of over $2,000. On at least one occasion, the trip was taken on Mr. Stanford's jet."

Mr. Stanford wrote two $250,000 checks to the Democratic Party in 2002.

"This leadership team will create the most honest, most open, and most ethical Congress in history" - Speaker-Elect Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

Read the article on WSJ.com for the rest of the list of sleazy recipients of Stanford money. Standford is accused of ripping off clients for $8B.

Could Charley Rangel be more blatantly corrupt if he worked at it 24/7? Why is this abomination still the chairman of a critical house committee? Disgusting.

Mr Squeaky Clean President, will you please ask Nancy Pelosi to remove Mr Rangel from his post?