Miller’s 2005 Transportation Bill Earmarks Benefited Longtime Business Partner
Miller’s 2005 Transportation Bill Earmarks Benefited Longtime Business Partner
The Hill reports today that in 2005, Rep. Gary Miller (R-CA) placed several earmarks into the transportation bill that directly benefited his business partner, Lewis Operating. Miller, a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, is currently under investigation by the FBI for land deals with the City of Fontana, CA.
Miller’s interventions on behalf of the company include a provision to close the Rialto Municipal Airport — the first time an airport has been closed by an act of Congress — allowing Lewis Operating to win a contract from Rialto to redevelop the airport property as a planned community.
Miller’s other Lewis Operating-friendly earmarks included:
– $6.8 million for a street extension in the city of Chino that is less than a mile from the Preserve, a Lewis Operating planned community, and less than two miles from Parkside, another Lewis Operating planned community.
– $1.2 million to establish a highway interchange about a half a mile from Parkview, a Lewis Operating planned community.
– $400,000 to widen and realign a highway in the city of Hesperia, where Lewis Operating lists The Promontory as one of its planned communities on its website.
– $4 million for a highway interchange in Rancho Cucamonga immediately adjacent to the city’s largest planned community, Victoria Gardens, which is owned by Lewis Operating.
The 2005 transportation bill was not the first appearance of an ethically-challenged relationship between Miller and Lewis Operating.
In 2004, Miller “took out nearly $7.5 million in promissory notes” from Lewis, “which he used to purchase real estate from the company.” The loan may have violated House ethics rules as it is unclear whether Miller submitted the terms of the loan to the ethics committee for review.
According to his financial disclosure report, in 2005 alone, Miller made $1.1 million to $6 million in profits from real-estate deals involving Lewis Operating in some part of the transaction. The company is also one of Miller’s top campaign contributors. Employees of the company have donated $22,150 to Miller’s campaign committee since his election to Congress in 1998.
Despite his clear record of abusing his seat to benefit himself and his business partners, Miller remains on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
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WOW! at this rate, every single friggin Republican will be ‘under investigation’…
May 3rd, 2007 at 4:07 pmit’ll make the 08 elections maybe,just maybe, a smidge easier…
:)
This just in:
CNN
May 3, 2007
Now I am sure that the republican trolls here will tell us that it is a crazy tinfoil hat wearing moonbat liberal.
But, we all no that the threat was made by another bigotted republican redneck retard.
May 3rd, 2007 at 4:07 pmAnother crooked Repuke gets caught red-handed.
Always good news for America.
May 3rd, 2007 at 4:08 pmthe nature of politicians – with the republicans these days acting far more corrupt than anything i can remember.
Of course, these neo-cons would like us to believe they’re good intentioned, honest, God-fearing people. But, virtually everything they do seems to come out as fraud or a lie…
It’s been the nature of the beast for centuries.
Read “Politicians Lie? Say it Ain’t So!”
May 3rd, 2007 at 4:13 pmhttp://www.populistamerica.com/politicians_lie___say_it_ain_t_so
I have the extreme displeasure of having this man as my congressman. Writing to him about our extremely inept president has been absolutely useless. I seriously doubt that he pays any attention to government in general. His only interest in being in congress is for his own benefit. Unfortunately, he ran unopposed in the last election. I wish the Democratic Party would have at least ran someone against this guy. I would have run if I had the money to do it.
May 3rd, 2007 at 4:18 pmI’m preparing a gift for Representative Miller now. Anyone know how to get a turd into a rubber? What’s the best way to ship a moist, squishy gift of thanks?
May 3rd, 2007 at 4:22 pmTime to investigate Connie Mack in Florida. We, somehow wound up with $10 million to possibly develop an interchange off of I-75 which would invariably lead to development of environmentally sensitive land east of I-75 owned by a very large Republican donor. But Mack didn’t have his fingerprints on it. No, indeed. The earmark was put in an appropriations bill by Rep. Don Young…of Alaska. Long way away from Florida….don’t you think?
May 3rd, 2007 at 4:26 pmLet’s see you post a list of corrupt dems. Do start with your heros Reid and Murtha.
May 3rd, 2007 at 4:27 pmLet’s see you post a list of corrupt dems. Do start with your heros Reid and Murtha.
Comment by GOPcurious
Post proof of your accusations, from a reputable source.
May 3rd, 2007 at 4:34 pmspudge:
Yah they better take that serious, those idiots on the right are the kinds of wackos who:
Blew up the Oklahoma Federal Building
Bomb Planned Parenthoods
Mail Anthrax to Democrats
You know… Christian terrorists.
May 3rd, 2007 at 4:40 pmWhy are we being inundated by log cabin trolls and pedophiles?
First jake takes the screen name MAF54, a pedophile’s screen name. Then along comes BottomBoy, because he gives instead of takes. And now there is GOPcurious, which has got to be a play on “bi-curious.”
May 3rd, 2007 at 4:41 pmSeems more and more apparent that the “Contract with America” from the mid 90’s had a major typo. Irrefutable evidence says that it was actually a “Contract ON America”.
Sadly, there are many defenders of this horrific corruption. Seems as though the “Party of ethics” was not a slogan, but a fire-sale announcement.
May 3rd, 2007 at 4:42 pmWhy are we being inundated by log cabin trolls and pedophiles?
First jake takes the screen name MAF54….
Comment by Spudge_Boy
Because the 22%ers fall into the same percentage of people that are mentally ill in this country. I also heard on Bill Maher’s show last Friday, it is also the percentage of people polled that believe Armagedon and the Rapture will happen in 2007. =P
Sick people…..
May 3rd, 2007 at 4:51 pmWhere is John Solomon and the Associated Press/Washington Post on this slime ball? Oh yeah, they have all their “investigative reporters” up Obama’s and Edwards’ asses and in Hilary’s bedroom. Our “liberal media” at work again…
May 3rd, 2007 at 4:55 pmIsn’t this just a stinky affair!!! If I were a Republican with anything to hide, I would be really worried right now.
May 3rd, 2007 at 4:56 pmThat is also the same percentage of people in the United States that want zero gun laws.
May 3rd, 2007 at 5:01 pmANOTHER DIRT BAG REPUBLICANT
May 3rd, 2007 at 5:03 pmHo, hum, another day, another republican crook. Do their supporters have any self-respect? It sure doesn’t look like it.
May 3rd, 2007 at 5:05 pmANOTHER DIRT BAG REPUGNICAN.
May 3rd, 2007 at 5:05 pmWhat more can be said about this crowd of low life?
Doc Lee, Atlanta
re #13
I’m praying for the rapture. it can’t come soon enough. god please take your bigoted moronic evil rightwing followers and let us have heaven here on earth without them.
May 3rd, 2007 at 5:06 pmThis guy sucks.
He’s my congressman, and he’s a loser.
Unfortunately in his district nobody cares, they are mostly rich white Republicans and the rest are too busy to care.
I’m bummed, I might run myself.
May 3rd, 2007 at 5:18 pmYeah, he is mine too WSP3, and I have not even tried to contact him. I figured h’d be busy with other important stuff like, you know, CORRPTTION, give he is a Repug and all…they disgust me!!!! I may have to move..
May 3rd, 2007 at 5:20 pmI knew some white Christian Republican guy would have a BIG problem with Obama.
May 3rd, 2007 at 5:29 pmLet’s see you post a list of corrupt dems. Do start with your heros Reid and Murtha.
Comment by GOPcurious — May 3, 2007 @ 4:27 pm
Dear GOPcurious
I have no doubt there are more than a few corrupt dems out there. I’d love to see them caught too. However, at this particular juncture, after the last 6 non-stop years of endlessly smug, bullying, condescending, over-the-top, psuedo-Christian, finger-waggin’, hypocritical Right Wing bombast, it’s clearly the GOP’s time to get left a-danglin’ from the yard arm by their balls, and I’m loving every minute of it.
Here’s 50 cents, GOPcurious, try to find someone to call who CARES how bad you and the rest of righties feel right now. I DON’T.
RICO! RICO! RICO! RICO! RICO! RICO!
May 3rd, 2007 at 5:50 pmRICO! RICO! RICO! RICO! RICO! RICO!
RICO! RICO! RICO! RICO! RICO! RICO!
RICO! RICO! RICO! RICO! RICO! RICO!
RICO! RICO! RICO! RICO! RICO! RICO!
This one is safe to read, I promise not to type anything attacking the poor trolls.
Wayne hits the nail on the head, the common denominator with the 22%ers is a fundamentalist Xian bent. These people are divorced from reality and proud of it. Facts and logic have no bearing on their worldview, it has been said and so it shall be. They rely on a father figure to spoon feed them their beliefs, and once they swallow it (sorry for that image), it can’t be changed by the real world. That’s the only thing that can explain their blind faith in Bushco.
Pathetic, and borderline evil in the effects of their devotion.
The spoon feeders on the other hand, are malignant. Bush, Cheney, KKKarl and the likes are pure unadulterated evil.
May 3rd, 2007 at 5:52 pmAs a member of the Military Construction Appropriations subcommittee, Sen. Feinstein voted for appropriations worth billions to her husband’s firms. Where is your outrage over her?
May 3rd, 2007 at 6:11 pmOK, I’m all for outing the greed that infects our nation’s capitol, but when will we see something regarding Diane Feinstein’s resignation from MILCON, because she was funneling defense contracts to companies partly owned by her husband?
I understand this a progressive site, so the airing of Democratic dirty laundry may be very low on the priority list, but hell, corruption is corruption.
May 3rd, 2007 at 6:11 pm#25 & 26
I noticed Sen Feinstein’s part in funneling defense contracts to companies partly owned by her husband at the tiem (I live in Feinstein’s congressional district), and yes, I was deepely offended at the time, JUST LIKE I AM at the nedless corrupt shenanigans of BushCo. For some of us, this is not about left v right, it is about corrupt v honest, and the current Admin is incredibly corrupt. If you want to finger Feinstein, go right ahead. In my opinion, she deserves it. If she deserves, then so do many, many dirty GOPers, w/ blood on their hands, and wads of dirty cash bulging in their pockets.
May 3rd, 2007 at 6:23 pmAs a progressive site, Think Progress is SUPPOSED to air the dirty laundry from all sides, but they don’t. Which allows the neocon trolls to come on here and say You guys don’t ever go after Democrats, which isn’t true. We the posters go after them, then site operators don’t, but the blame is place on everybody, not just TP.
May 3rd, 2007 at 6:33 pmWell spake, spudger.
May 3rd, 2007 at 6:58 pmCorruption is a bi-partisan byproduct of power.
the republic of stupidy. of course there is corruption in both parties. We should be outraged at the corruption, but should temper the partisanship, because frankly, if you are sane, you realize, there is not much difference between the parties. When posters here assert, as many often do, that all republicans are evil or ignorant or greedy etc. and democrats are honest and compassionate and virtuous do gooders; it only serves to evaporate the limited credibility they have. This, despite my being an ignorant, greedy evil-doer.
May 3rd, 2007 at 8:52 pmI have to say, Paul, that this particular bunch of repubs seem virulently corrupt. I’ve never seen quite such a bunch of viscious, greedy, amoral, self-righteous SOBs like these guys before.
I’m really not a Dem/lib all that much. I just hate lying, thieving hypocrits, especially the the kind that steal BILLIONS of dollars whilst having other people’s children die for their sense of “honor”.
If Dems were being busted left and right in such large numbers for the things Repubs are right now, I’d be howling for them to be locked up too.
As it stands, this particular group of repubs strike me as being one of the most overly ambitious, overreaching criminal organizations I’ve ever seen.
May 3rd, 2007 at 9:13 pmThis is my worthless Congressman. I write him once a week to tell him how much I hate his worthless ass. He took money from Tom DeLay and has voted along the lines of the Rethugs 95% of the time. The other 5% he was absent. He runs uncontested in the 42d district of CA and I wish we could run a dead person or something to get his worthless ass out of DC.
Screw the GOP
May 3rd, 2007 at 10:39 pmMatt-
May 5th, 2007 at 6:17 pmSo impressed with your reporting, perspective and details.
You are a great addition to the team!