Forget HUD dissing Dems; HUD paid a half mil to the hooker limo firm

[Robbien]

Rep. Louise M. Slaughter's letter to HUD:

Last week, Harper's Magazine's weblog posted an update to its coverage of the federal contracts awarded to Shirlington Limousine and Transportation, Incorporated of Arlington, Virginia. This report indicated that HUD had awarded the company a $519,823 contract. As you may know, the company's president, Christopher D. Baker, has an extensive criminal history including drug possession, attempted robbery, and car theft along with other offenses over the last decade. Additionally, allegations have been bade that suggest that individuals involved in an ongoing Congressional bribery investigation used the limousine service to provide escorts and other services to federal officials in exchange for federal contracts. The fact that a contract from your agency has been awarded to a company embroiled in such a serious criminal investigation raises significant questions about the HUD's procurement process.

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/000608.php#more

[NoAmericanTaliban]

1. H.U.D now is Hookers Us Deliver

[MissWaverly]

2. didn't Homeland Security give them a 21.2 million contract

nothing like making the homeland more secure

Since my report, Shirlington's role in the case has been covered by national media including the San Diego Union-Tribune, whose reporting on the Cunningham case is indispensable, the New York Times, and the Washington Post, as well as by bloggers Jason Vest at POGO and Laura Rozen at War and Piece. I reported that Shirlington had won a $21.2 million contract from DHS last year, and the Post found a second contract from the agency, worth $3.8 million, awarded in 2004. Vest found yet another contract for Shirlington: $342,555 from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. And Rozen unearthed a number of interesting finds, including an old Atlanta Journal Constitution article on poker parties that were apparently sponsored by Wilkes.


http://www.harpers.org/sb-red-lights-followup-21985.html

[Robbien]

3. It doesn't surprise me that the MSM is not touching this issue

It appears Abramoff and the Hooker Limo touches many departments and many levels up and down this GOP government. The brownshirts are probably riding herd on MSM to keep them on a short lease.

[MissWaverly]

4. Yes, but how much money was siphoned off

How many times have you heard that there's not enough money for social security but there's
millions available from Homeland Security for a "limo service" and there's thousands from a
Nuclear Regulatory Agency for the same limo service. What does a Nuclear Regulatory Agency
need a limo service for???? How many other agencies were used to siphon the money into
this limo service. They really need an investigation of what has been going on, this is
the worst abuse of the public trust that I have ever seen.

[enough]

5. It's got to squirt out into the mainstream at some point -- there's

just too much of it to control.

[MissWaverly]

6. it's too bad that Monica was not involved in this

[Robbien]

9. But so few media outlets are willing to buck the GOP.

Just dribs and drabs.

Come on, this story has HOOKERS! The talking heads are salivating over this story but they say nothing, on air that is.

I bet even Russia doesn't have as tight a rein on their media as we have here.

[upi402]

10. You sure would think so...

But it seems there is a rock solid evil alliance with the corporatists state now in power.
Like Big Eddy says, "There aint no liberals owning any media out there. I can tell ya that." True, big media is owned by big money interests.

[Tuesday_Morning]

13. It's a staggering amount of money

for 12 shuttles and 8 (or was it 10?) limos. How many rides is that y'think?

[MissWaverly]

14. this is only the tip of the scandal

I feel that there were probably many agencies all with contracts to these same individuals

[MissWaverly]

15. this has got to be a payola scheme

for every dollar this "front" coporation rec'd, they probably got 60 cents back under the table,
this is their own little "tax" shelter, it's their shelter with our taxes.

[diamondsndust]

7. isn't this Clintons fault?? seriously though...

This company needs to be investigated fully and it's owners exposed. Follow the money!

[MissWaverly]

8. If Clinton even sent Socks to the vet using this service

it would have been investigated for 10 years, it's too bad that he never even parked next to
the limo while he was in DC doing a book signing.

[robbedvoter]

11. Uh, so the limo firm did like Bush then? For HUD to - uh...pump

money into that, right? Not like the bad contractor!

[MissWaverly]

12. but who is the bad contractor

some of this seems to be sleight of hand, one of the contractors involved with the "hookergate"
seems like a dummy corporation, it's main purpose seems to have been to get paid with tax dollars for no services and then funnel the money back with campaign contributions, and lobbying
activities: like "poker parties, etc. So who is the "bad contractor" - seems like he is us,
since this money is coming from our tax dollars. The same thing with the so called "contracts"
for this limo service. There's no way a local DC limo service should have received millions++++
in government contracts and how many agencies had contracts with this 1 service. This is another dirty payola scheme. We are paying for them to party. That's what GOP stands for
the Grand Old Party!!!

[Catrina]

16. Who hands out these contracts? David Safavian was Director of Procurement

He handed out the Katrina contracts before he was arrested ~

Are contracts like this, worth milions of dollars, not approved by Congress? Are they handed out at the discretion of the President's appointees? Why would Rep. Slaughter not have known about this? Sorry, I don't know how all this works, but if this much money can be given to a crook like this man who runs the Limo Svc. and no one knows about it in Congress, then that needs to be changed, imo.

It's just mind-boggling!! They care nothing about this country or its people. And to think we waste time calling and faxing them about bills and thinking they care what we think!! They act as though the treasury is their own personal play money!!

Why is Rep. Slaughter the only one asking about this and WHERE IS THE MEDIA?

[MissWaverly]

17. this is after we were subjected to hundreds of hours of

self righteous hand wringing over Bill Clinton's indiscretions, they certainly knew every nuance
of the Monica escapade.