Looks like Charlie Justice has been doing his homework. Beginning today, he’s bringing a 10-count indictment against Congressman Bill Young (FL-10). From a press release by the Justice campaign:
Indictment #1
The Floating Museum in New York
$13 million hidden in the federal budget by Young.
$120,000 to Young’s Campaign.
“It’s curious that a congressman who represents a tourist destination state like Florida would hide $13 million in taxpayers’ money for a tourist destination in New York Harbor. It’s curious, at least, until you learn that Congressman Bill Young got $120,000 in contributions to his campaign in return for boosting tourism in New York,” said Charlie Justice.
New York real estate tycoon Zachary Fisher led efforts to restore the USS Intrepid as a museum in the Hudson River. The project received a shot in the arm to the tune of $13 million thanks to an earmark supported by Rep. Young, who served as Appropriations Committee Chairman at the time. In return he received $120,000 in campaign contributions from members of the Fisher family and employees of Wall Street investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald, whose CEO was on the museum’s board of directors.
“Congressman Bill Young often crows about bringing money home to Pinellas County. Why then did Bill Young use his influence to hide $13 million in the budget for a floating museum in New York Harbor? Perhaps Young shepherded the $13 million into the budget because he then received $40,000 in campaign contributions to his campaign right after the earmark and $120,000 in total over the last ten years,” said Charlie Justice.
Justice added, “It is particularly galling to see the website for the floating museum promote bringing the Space Shuttle to New York harbor as part of their program. That is a direct attack on the Florida tourism industry.”
Petition to Bring Space Shuttle to New York
How Young Did It: $13 Million Earmark Not Requested by Military
A line-item earmark for $13 million mysteriously appeared in conference report for the fiscal year 1998 military spending bill. The money, though not requested by the military, was to be funneled through the Navy for the benefit the U.S.S. Intrepid museum in New York.
The appropriation – to be routed through the U.S. Navy and given strictly to the Intrepid – was not requested by the Navy.
And the line-item doesn’t appear in either the original version passed by the House or a similar spending bill passed through the Senate. But when members of both chambers met under Young’s leadership to hammer out their differences, the $13 million grant suddenly appeared in the final version that was ultimately approved by Congress and signed by President Clinton in October 1997. (Tampa Tribune, Jan. 16, 1999)
How Young’s Campaign Benefitted
The Intrepid museum had some powerful patrons, including Zachary Fisher, a wealthy real estate mogul from New York, and Howard Lutnick, CEO of investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald and a member of the museum’s board of directors. Their gratitude came in the form of tens of thousands toward Bill Young’s re-election campaign.
Seven months after he helped secure a $13 million government grant to resurface the flight deck of a New York family’s floating dream, the clan of real-estate moguls and their associates donated a hefty $40,000 to U.S. Rep. C.W. Bill Young’s uncontested re-election bid.
That total, given in bundles over several days in April and May 1998, amounts to more than a third of all individual contributions to the Pinellas Republican’s campaign, according to the Federal Election Commission. (Tampa Tribune, Jan. 16, 1999)
Name
Date
Amount
EmployerBuehler, Christine
4/14/98
$1,000
Fisher BrothersBuehler, Christine
4/14/98
$1,000
Fisher BrothersFisher, Anne E
4/14/98
$1,000
HomemakerFisher, Anne E
4/14/98
$1,000
HomemakerFisher, Arnold
4/14/98
$1,000
Fisher BrothersFisher, Arnold
4/14/98
$1,000
Fisher BrothersFisher, Elissa
4/14/98
$1,000
HomemakerFisher, Kenneth
4/20/98
$1,000
Fisher Brothers…(and more)Ten years after donating $40,000 to Bill Young, the Fisher family, employees of Cantor Fitzgerald, and employees of the Fisher-owned Plaza Construction donated another $80,000 to Rep. Young’s campaign between June and August 2008. (Federal Election Commission)
Name
Date
Amount
EmployerFisher, Arnold
8/5/2008
$2,300.00
Fisher BrothersFisher, Arnold
8/5/2008
$2,300.00
Fisher BrothersFisher, Audrey
8/5/2008
$2,300.00
Fisher BrothersFisher, Audrey
8/5/2008
$2,300.00
Fisher BrothersFisher, Karen
8/26/2008
$2,300.00
Homemaker…(and more)
WTF? Not even pork for Florida? AndI thought Republicans were the party of fiscal responsibility!
