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What price Congressional favors? $10,000 (but only if its off the books)By Nick, Section News
If Monica Conyers federal conviction late last week for accepting bribes in exchange for votes didn't prove Michigan Lefties were officially off the rails her refusal to resign from the Detroit City Council may have sealed the deal. But none of that means this can't get much, much worse for the city of Detroit.
The Ivory Tower reports this morning that Sam Riddle, a Detroit Democrat and well known political consultant is coming clean about additional dirty deeds, some directly involving Congressman John Conyers (D-Detroit):
In that deal, Riddle said, Monica Conyers arranged for Riddle to get a $20,000 contract with Greektown entrepreneur Dimitrios (Jim) Papas in about 2007. Riddle said Papas hired him for crisis consulting and political advising -- but he was never asked to do any work. She then demanded $10,000 of that money as a "finder's fee," Riddle said.
At some point after Papas paid him, Riddle said, John Conyers sent a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in support of a controversial hazardous waste injection well in Romulus that one of Papas' companies was seeking to operate. Papas, you'll remember, is the same "gentleman" who paid Senator Debbie Stabenow's (D-Michigan) husband Tom Athens to work illegally as a lobbyist backing the same toxic waste dumping project. The sort of dumping project that Stabenow had explicitly campaigned against, before realizing it represented an opportunity for her family to make serious illegal bank. Not a bad collection Papas had there. A United States Senator, a United States Congressman and the top dog on the Detroit City Council, all either directly on the payroll or accepting cash through one paper-thin degree of separation. Meanwhile, Senator Stabenow and Congressman Conyers refuse to answer questions about the lifestyle they've enjoyed thanks to Papas generous "giving" or the Congressional favors that cash has purchased. But while Stabenow has managed to skate thus far on the dirty dealings that happened under her roof, Conyers may not be quite as lucky. The Ivory Tower reminds readers:
Point A... arguing that a 21 term Congressman could somehow not know about the "professional relationship" between his wife and the specific company for which he went to bat is inane. The man would almost literally have to be senile. Point B... if you're going to make that argument then we've got a whole separate set of issues to deal with. Either way, ethics rules are ethics rules and John Conyers clearly violated them. Another Detroit Democrat embroiled in a federal ethics probe? That's JUST what the Motor City needed. Maybe Monica isn't the only Conyers who should be considering resignation this morning.
What price Congressional favors? $10,000 (but only if its off the books) | 7 comments (7 topical, 0 hidden)
What price Congressional favors? $10,000 (but only if its off the books) | 7 comments (7 topical, 0 hidden)
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