Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington has issued its annual list of the most corrupt members of Congress, and this year both Laura Richardson and Maxine Waters made the cut.
And in both cases, the allegations can be traced to the foreclosure crisis.
Richardson is on there for her personal mortgage problems. (She also made the 2008 list for the same reason.) As everyone knows, Richardson lost her Sacramento home in a foreclosure sale last year, then got it back when Washington Mutual intervened, raising at least the appearance of preferential treatment. She also defaulted on two homes in Long Beach and San Pedro, and failed to pay $9,000 in property taxes on the Sacramento home. (The taxes were later repaid by WaMu, which itself went belly-up soon after.) For a time the neighbors were complaining about Richardson's untended lawn, but those problems appear (fingers crossed) to be behind her. Though there have been reports that the House Ethics Committee is looking into the matter, Richardson says she has righted her financial ship.
Waters is back on the list after a two-year absence due to her efforts to help OneUnited Bank, where her husband used to serve as a board member. Last fall, as the global economy was melting down, Waters helped arrange for a meeting between Treasury Department officials and the leadership of OneUnited Bank. The meeting was supposedly intended to address the broad concerns of minority-owned banks, but Treasury officials said that it turned into a plea for a bailout for OneUnited, which had incurred major losses due to the failures of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. OneUnited was later reprimanded by the FDIC for excess executive compensation and shoddy lending practices. It was also given $12 million in TARP funds. Waters used to own $250,000 to $500,000 worth of stock in OneUnited, and her husband still holds a sizable investment in the bank. Waters said her conduct in this case was wholly consistent with her advocacy for minority-owned banks.
CREW is generally thought of as a left-leaning organization, but this year Dems outnumber Reps on the list (8-7).
And in both cases, the allegations can be traced to the foreclosure crisis.
Richardson is on there for her personal mortgage problems. (She also made the 2008 list for the same reason.) As everyone knows, Richardson lost her Sacramento home in a foreclosure sale last year, then got it back when Washington Mutual intervened, raising at least the appearance of preferential treatment. She also defaulted on two homes in Long Beach and San Pedro, and failed to pay $9,000 in property taxes on the Sacramento home. (The taxes were later repaid by WaMu, which itself went belly-up soon after.) For a time the neighbors were complaining about Richardson's untended lawn, but those problems appear (fingers crossed) to be behind her. Though there have been reports that the House Ethics Committee is looking into the matter, Richardson says she has righted her financial ship.
Waters is back on the list after a two-year absence due to her efforts to help OneUnited Bank, where her husband used to serve as a board member. Last fall, as the global economy was melting down, Waters helped arrange for a meeting between Treasury Department officials and the leadership of OneUnited Bank. The meeting was supposedly intended to address the broad concerns of minority-owned banks, but Treasury officials said that it turned into a plea for a bailout for OneUnited, which had incurred major losses due to the failures of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. OneUnited was later reprimanded by the FDIC for excess executive compensation and shoddy lending practices. It was also given $12 million in TARP funds. Waters used to own $250,000 to $500,000 worth of stock in OneUnited, and her husband still holds a sizable investment in the bank. Waters said her conduct in this case was wholly consistent with her advocacy for minority-owned banks.
CREW is generally thought of as a left-leaning organization, but this year Dems outnumber Reps on the list (8-7).
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