They Tell It Like It Is
A lawyer friend and colleague wrote to me about the comment that Rep Bob Ney's lawyer made in the Washington Post on the Scanlon indictment and Rep. Ney's involvement.
I just adored the quote in today's front page of the Washington Post from Ney's lawyer: "He was wined and dined the ways lots of political people are, and he did some official acts, but there's no connection between the two."
Of course. And that is, I am sure, also consistent with the tax treatment of the costs of the winer and diner who picked up the tab. No question it was treated as a deductible business expense under Section 162 of the IRC which requires any such expense to be "ordinary AND NECESSARY". What a great world!
Indeed. There outta' be a law. Maybe the bribery statute?
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I suspect that Scanlon and Abramoff paid bigger bribes than just wine and dinner.
In another one of your posts, I compiled all of the information from Jack Abramoff's Capital Athletic Foundation's 2003, 2002 and 2001 990s. I updated my comments yesterday to add informaton about the donors and recipients of foundation funds.
The National Center for Public Policy Research, headed by Amy Ridenour, contributed $450k in 2002 and $250k in 2003 to Abramoff's foundation.
Amy Ridenour of the National Center for Public Policy Research testified to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in June 2005 about the $2.5 millon that the Center paid out to various Abramoff-controlled entities between 2002 and 2003. $700k went to Capital Athletic Foundation and $1.25 went to Kaygold LLC.
Ridenour claimed that she thought the $2.5 million was going to a program to educate the public about the Mississippi Choctaw Tribe and that she thought Michael Scanlon owned Kaygold LLC.
Ridenour is a liar. Take a look at the National Center for Public Policy Research 2002 and 2003 990s which can be found at the Foundation Center's 990 Finder (An invaluable public service!). The Center awarded two grants to the Capital Athletic Foundation. Ridenour had to have put together some sort of supporting documentation to justify a grant of $450k in 2002 and a grant of $250k in 2003 to the Capital Athletic Foundation.
Capital's stated "mission" was to " foster character development by promoting the American ideals of sportsmanship in all endeavors". What the hell does that have to with Indian tribes? Ridenour surely took at look at the Capital Athletic Foundation website which is still available in the wayback machine.
Before handing out $450k in 2002, didn't Amy Ridenour bother to ask Jack Abramoff exactly what Capital Athletic Foundation was doing for the Choctaws? Abramoff and his wife, Pamela, are the only two trustees of the foundation.
In its 2003 990 Schedule A, the National Center for Public Policy Research listed Kaygold's address as 800 Connecticut Ave NW, #500, Wash, DC 20006. That is the address of Greenberg Traurig where Jack Abramoff worked at the time.
Jack Abramoff was a director on the board of the National Center for Public Policy Research from 1997 to October 2004.
The $2.5 million paid out to Jack Abramoff by the National Center for Public Policy Research in 2002 and 2003 represented approximately 20% of the Center's expenses and Amy Ridenour claims not to know anything about how the money was used? Poor Amy, Jack Abramoff never answered her questions in two years.
Preposterous! Amy Ridenour laundered money for Jack Abramoff, plain and simple. Not only should she be investigated by the FBI for money laundering, the National Center for Public Policy Research should have its tax-exempt status revoked by the IRS.
The American public should not be expected to support Amy Ridenour's criminal activities.
November 20, 2005 10:56 AM | Reply | Permalink
Hi, Ellen, It's me again! If you get a moment, check out my most recent comments about Tom DeLay's "charitable" activites in another one of your posts here in the TPM Cafe. I'm not saying what Mr. DeLay did or did not do but I'm trying to think of the different possibilities. All the info comes from those 990s.
On the other hand, someone besides me should ask the board of directors of Celebrations For Children where the $300k in donations came from and how the $22k was spent. I can't even tell if Celebrations had tax-exempt status.
I have to admit to having too much fun with these 990s.
November 22, 2005 9:24 AM | Reply | Permalink