In the annals of Republican corruption in Congress, this one is slightly more entertaining than most.
It is no secret that campaign contributions sometimes lead to lucrative official favors. Rarely, though, are the tradeoffs quite as obvious as in the twisted case of Coconut Road.
The road, a stretch of pavement near Fort Myers, Fla., that touches five golf clubs on its way to the Gulf of Mexico, is the target of a $10 million earmark that appeared mysteriously in a 2006 transportation bill written by Representative Don Young, Republican of Alaska.
Mr. Young, who last year steered more than $200 million to a so-called bridge to nowhere reaching 80 people on Gravina Island, Alaska, has no constituents in Florida.
So why, exactly, would a representative from Alaska direct two pork projects, totaling nearly $100 million (one $10 mil, another $81 mil), to southwest Florida? Because real estate developer Daniel Aronoff wanted them — and he helped Young raise $40,000 just a few days before Young snuck the earmark into the 2006 transportation bill.
It’s as bad as it sounds. Aronoff hosted a lucrative fundraiser, asked Young for tax dollars, and Young delivered. It’s almost textbook corruption. Apparently, he’s a little sensitive about the whole thing — the NYT reported, “When he was approached near the House floor by a reporter, Mr. Young responded with an obscene gesture.” (It’s the kind of class and dignity we’ve come to expect from congressional Republicans.)
And just to top it off, the really funny thing is that officials in Fort Myers didn’t even want the money Young delivered. Local authorities voted twice not to use the money, but eventually acquiesced when Young told officials that if they didn’t spend this money, they might, as the NYT put it, “jeopardize future federal money for the county.”
In other words, “Spend this corrupt earmark — or else.”
Speaking of Republican corruption in Alaska, things aren’t much better for Sen. Ted Stevens (R).
Sen. Ted Stevens, the longest-serving Republican in the Senate, disclosed in an interview that the FBI asked him to preserve records as part of a widening investigation into Alaskan political corruption that has touched his son and ensnared one of his closest political confidants and financial backers.
Stevens, who is famous for bringing home federal earmarks for Alaska when he was Appropriations Committee chairman, was not previously known to be linked to the Justice Department’s probe, which has uncovered evidence that more than $400,000 worth of bribes were given to state lawmakers in exchange for favorable energy legislation.
Investigators have used secret recording equipment, seized documents and cooperating witnesses to secure the indictments of four current and former state lawmakers, including the former state House speaker, shaking the core of Alaska’s Republican Party.
Two executives of a prominent energy company have pleaded guilty to bribery and extortion charges and are cooperating with the inquiry, which is being run by the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section and includes two federal prosecutors and FBI agents based in Anchorage.
After his legal team met with the FBI, Stevens told the WaPo, “They put me on notice to preserve some records.”
Given the questions surrounding Stevens, that hardly comes as a surprise.
We’re not quite at 2006 levels of GOP corruption, but we’re getting there.