Mr. Hiaasen does an excellent job of spelling things out.
R. Allen Stanford and Miami-based Greenberg Traurig: why is it always Greenberg Traurig? by gimleteye
EyeOnMiami
In the 1990's, Greenberg Traurig's behind-the-scences influence as a lobbyist in Miami zoning and permitting decisions began to attract my interest. The firm, for instance, was the key organizing force for the Homestead Air Force Base fiasco. Whenever a zoning decision involving South Dade was on the county commission agenda, founding partner Bob Traurig was in the audience and frequently on behalf of converting farmland to sprawl. Environmental land use attorney, MIguel De Grandy-- formerly of Greenberg-- remains an influential player in county politics, mainly related to zoning and also an advisor to the unreformable majority of the county commission. Both Marvin Rosen and Jack Abramoff represented Greenberg Traurig, as well.
Today's Miami Herald runs an excellent story on R. Allen Stanford-- charged with multi-billion fraud-- and a new angle: the stage was set for Stanford's multi-billion fraud in 1998, the year Stanford persuaded Florida banking regulators to grant his company special rights to open a Miami office outside the scrutiny of federal banking regulators. In this unique instance, Sanford was represented by Greenberg Traurig. "There was no lawful way that office should have been opened,'' said Richard Donelan, the state's chief banking counsel who opposed the deal."
On Eyeonmiami, I've written a lot about 1998, the year Jeb Bush was elected governor of Florida. That year and that election set the stage for the the biggest boom in housing and construction in Florida history, now in ruins. Jeb won in South Florida, and primarily through the coordination of his base constituency-- builders and developers-- and as a result, Miami is the epicenter of the housing bust. This is the place the gears of the machine all lined up to mesh Wall Street financial motive with political levers at the most intricate level of decision making, from state authority to local zoning allowing unsustainable growth. The boom, based on unsustainable foundations and fraud, destroyed South Florida's quality of life and environment, minting millionaires through the reciprocal arrangements of campaign contributions and politicians. And Greenberg Traurig attorneys seem to pop up everywhere.
Stanford obtained authority to do offshore banking-- an exclusive arrangement-- with the help of Greenberg Traurig lobbyists from a Democratic administration in Tallahassee during the 1998 campaign for governor. Stanford does not begin to show up, according to a brief and cursory review of campaign contribution lists, as a prolific political donor until 2000. His contributions appear to be weighted to Democrats. Whose chains did Greenberg Traurig help to pull, during 1998, for Stanford in Tallahassee?
It is part of the story that the Herald might have considered more carefully. There was a huge amount of political pushing and pulling in 1998. Although Bill Clinton had won Florida in 1996, Lieutenant Gov. Buddy McKay, who served out the term of the late Gov. Lawton Chiles, lagged Bush badly in the polls.
"Earlier, (Stanford) went to Miami attorney Bowman Brown, who said he declined to represent Stanford. A longtime banking lawyer, Brown said there were several elements that didn't seem right about Stanford's plan. ''He wanted to set up an office in Miami to serve a business operation in the Caribbean,'' said Brown. "The idea was to attract a Latin American clientele as a platform to sell securities.'' But Brown said Stanford "was not interested in undergoing any substantive banking regulations or submitting to government examiners.''... Brown said. By the time the state approved the trust office in December 1998, Stanford was already hawking his top product: certificates of deposit."
CONTINUED...
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