Fat cats milked Ground Zero

Hundreds of millions of dollars in federal aid intended to help small downtown businesses that were reeling from the 9/11 attacks often went instead to huge international corporations, companies with little attachment to the stricken area and businesses that were never in jeopardy.

The beneficiaries included a stock brokerage firm that had closed more than a month before the terrorists hit, a giant real estate firm that repeatedly said it wasn't hurt by the attacks, scores of wealthy self-employed floor traders and a Gramercy Park messenger service with a tiny satellite office downtown, a Daily News investigation of 9/11 disaster recovery aid shows.

The fast and furious distribution of nearly $1 billion in small business aid — part of the $21.4 billion promised to New York overall — was done by the Empire State Development Corp., a quasi-governmental agency with no experience in disaster relief.

.......

The development corporation didn't require businesses to explain how the attacks, and not preexisting business problems, had caused the firms to lose money. Nor did the agency consider whether massive multinational corporations could help their New York subsidiaries get through any difficulties.


http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/371361p-315964c.html

How much you wanna bet they're Republican contributors!

You called that right.

"Charles A. Gargano, chairman of Empire State Development Corp. and vice chairman of the Board of Commissioners of The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, has been elected to the board of directors of the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF). The elections were held March 11 during the Foundation’s board meeting at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City.

<snip>

Appointed by Governor George E. Pataki, Ambassador Gargano has served as the head of New York State’s economic development agency since 1995. The Governor also appointed him vice chairman of the Board of Commissioners of The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in 1995. In addition, he serves as chairman of a number of Empire State Development’s subsidiaries, including USA Niagara Development Corp and Moynihan Development Corp, and as chairman of the Olympic Regional Development Authority.

<snip>

Ambassador Gargano's public service began in 1981, when he was named deputy administrator of the Federal Urban Mass Transportation Administration by President Ronald Reagan. In 1988 he was appointed Ambassador to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago by President Reagan. He was re-appointed in 1989 by President Bush and served until 1991. ..."

http://www.niaf.org/news/index.asp?id=346

"In Brooklyn, a federal grand jury was looking into possible improprieties by state economic development czar Charles Gargano in awarding contracts. A separate panel there was examining the alleged sale of paroles to major Pataki contributors. Ultimately, no charges against top Pataki aides resulted, but the perilous situation was summed up by another Pataki insider, late state probation division director George Sanchez, who was also caught on Margaritis's wire offering to help with contracts.

"Let me tell you something," Sanchez told Margaritis and Gonzalez in an October 1998 lunch at a restaurant next door to Senator Velella's district office. "There's a couple of problems going on in Albany right now. Charlie Gargano is being called in to testify. This guy , who's on the board of parole, is being called in to testify. A couple of things that happened opened up a Pandora's box up in Albany."

http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0423,robbins,54157,5.html
(2004)


"The Manhattan district attorney yesterday closed a long-running investigation into whether Charles A. Gargano, the state's top economic development official, had done favors for political contributors and said that he would file no charges against Mr. Gargano. District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau had never formally announced the inquiry of..."

http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70A12FC3A580C708EDDA80894D9404482&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fPeople%2fM%2fMorgenthau%2c%20Robert%20M%2e
(2001)


"One missing article was about a group of businessmen including Gargano who were denied a state banking license. One was about Bush I naming Gargano as ambassador to Trinidad which mentioned Gargano's pleading no charge to bid-rigging in 1985 (Gargano was involved in a $2 billion sewer scandal in Suffolk County NY)."

That and some tales of articles about his scandals mysteriously disappearing from public records here:
http://www.tpmcafe.com/story/2005/10/1/105329/697


Oh, and naturally, he's a "Bush Pioneer".

would hint that Chuckie's in love with the repugs.

Contributor Occupation Date Amount Recipient
GARGANO, CHARLES A EMPIRE STATE DEVELOPMENT CORP 11/18/2003 $2,000 Santorum, Rick
NEW YORK,NY 10017
GARGANO, CHARLES MR EMPIRE STATE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIO 6/26/2003 $2,000 Bush, George W
NEW YORK,NY 10022
GARGANO, CHARLES MR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATI 7/1/2004 $1,500 21st Century Freedom PAC
NEW YORK,NY 10022
GARGANO, CHARLES THE HONORABLE EMPIRE STATE DEVELOPMENT CO 10/31/2002 $1,000 Dole, Elizabeth
NEW YORK,NY 10017
GARGANO, CHARLES A G M DEVELOPMENT INC 10/28/1998 $1,000 D'Amato, Alfonse M
BAY SHORE,NY 11706
GARGANO, CHARLES A THE HON EMPIRE STATE DEVELOPMENT 7/13/2000 $1,000 Lazio, Rick A
NEW YORK,NY 10022
GARGANO, CHARLES GREENVIEW PROPERTIES 7/18/1994 $1,000 Pressler, Larry
EAST ISLIP,NY 11730
GARGANO, CHARLES A 2/26/1993 $1,000 New York Republican Campaign Cmte
BAYSHORE,NY 11706
GARGANO, CHARLES A GREENVIEW PROPERTIES 11/7/1994 $500 Lazio, Rick A
BAY SHORE,NY 11706
GARGANO, CHARLES A THE HONORABLE RETIRED 4/27/1994 $1,000 Cohen, William S
BAYSHORE,NY 11706
GARGANO, CHARLES AMB DEVELOPER 3/23/1994 $5,000 Campaign America
BAY SHORE,NY 11706
GARGANO, CHARLES STATE DEPARTMENT 4/24/1989 $1,000 Rudman, Warren B
EAST ISLIP,NY 11730
GARGANO, CHARLES GM DEVELOPMENT 3/1/1990 $200 Molinari, Susan
E ISLIP,NY 11730
GARGANO, CHARLES A 3/2/1989 $2,500 Campaign America
EAST ISLIP,NY 11730
GARGANO, CHARLES A 10/2/1992 $1,000 Lazio, Rick A
BAY SHORE,NY 11706
GARGANO, CHARLES A INVESTMENT CONSULTING 2/20/1992 $1,000 New York Republican Campaign Cmte
BAYSHORE,NY 11706
GARGANO, CHARLES A GARGANO INC 11/14/1991 $1,000 Bush, George
EAST ISLIP,NY 11730
GARGANO, CHARLES A U S AMBASSADOR 6/20/1990 $1,000 Pressler, Larry
EAST ISLIP,NY 11730

People taking advantage of the system in this Christian nation? Naw!..I'll make book right now that Katrina out does "Ground Zero" in fact I'll lay 9 ta 5.

Wonder what the big boys from the Red Cross scammed?

0h hum, that's just life in the fast lane of a super power.

then went to Iraq to make another multi-million killing of tax payer's money. And Guiliani is in the running for Repig President. How charming!

NBC did a story under their "Fleecing of America" series on this program. Many loans went to local outlets of some of America's most famous and lucrative companies. For instance, 55 Dunkin' Donuts shops across the country, 14 Quiznos sandwich shops and 52 Subway sandwich shops got loans. Fourteen Dairy Queens — part of the ice cream franchise partly owned by Wall Street billionaire Warren Buffett — won more than $5 million in loans.

"I just applied for the loan at the bank. I had no idea where the funds came from," said Tom Mayl, who got two SBA Sept. 11 loans totaling more than $800,000 to open a Subway shop in suburban Dayton, Ohio, and a Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant in Sidney, Ohio.

"It doesn't seem right, just on the surface, but I really don't know the details," Mayl said.

Don Robinson said he too didn't need or ask for terrorism relief when he got a $765,000 government-backed loan in 2003 — drawn without his knowledge from the Sept. 11 program — to start a motorcycle shop in Brigham City, Utah.

http://infinitycommercialgroup.net/news/sept%2005/911%209%2009%2005.htm


On edit: this money came from an SBA run program not the one in the OP, but the story is the same, people who really needed help didn't get it while people who didn't need it did.

:grr:

It is going on in front of our leaders' faces and with their approval to the detriment of the survivors and our tax dollars.

Milking = Kapitalism



Capitol Loose'Em