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'Fishy' Land Deal Causes Problems for Lawmaker
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ShareJuly 24, 2007 10:42 AM
Eyebrows are going up over a land deal between an Alaskan developer and a U.S. senator.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, says her deal with longtime friend and political supporter Robert Penney is entirely above board. Late last year, Murkowski paid Penney, a real estate developer, $179,000 for a 1.74-acre tract, although local real estate agents say it was worth as much as nearly double that figure.
Moreover, ethics law experts say the senator appears to have misreported the deal in her financial disclosures. Murkowski's spokesman, Kevin Sweeney, said Monday the Senate Ethics Committee had confirmed to the senator's office the filings were accurate and in order.
A spokesman for the committee declined to comment on the matter.
According to Sweeney, Sen. Murkowski paid "what the seller thought was a good price, what the buyer thought was a good price and what the Kenai peninsula has assessed as a fair value."
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The Anchorage Daily News disputes that assertion. In an editorial last week, the paper declared the deal "fishy," saying that "anyone who sells Kenai River real estate at the assessed value is either a fool or doing somebody a favor. Anybody who buys it at assessed value knows -- or should know -- she is getting a sweet deal."
A 2006 property assessment reportedly valued the land at $120,000; this year it was increased to $214,000. Experts quoted by the paper and others have said the land was worth between $300,000 and $350,000.
Sweeney said that while Penney may have benefited from Murkowski's efforts on behalf of all her constituents, the senator "has never done anything at Penney's request that I know of that would personally benefit him." Penney did not respond to requests for comment for this story.
The deal has received scrutiny and criticism from political pundits and bloggers since it was first reported on the Web site TPMmuckraker.com last week. According to the senator's husband, she expected it.
"When we signed the loan, Lisa signed on it and said, 'You know. This might come back to bite us,'" Murkowski's husband Verne Martell told a radio talk show host last week. "Well, you know, we'll deal with that when it comes."
Penney and his immediate family members have donated thousands to Murkowski's campaigns.
Now, ethics experts are raising questions about whether Murkowski properly reported the purchase in her public filings. The documents show her mortgage for the property but do not list the land as an asset.
"It's essentially lying," said Andrew D. Herman, an ethics lawyer with the Washington, D.C.-based Brand Law Group. Herman said at the very least, Murkowski should amend her filing to include the land. But there may be another problem: by accepting what experts say was a sweetheart land deal, Murkowski may have accepted a "gift" from Penney worth tens of thousands of dollars. It would be illegal for a lawmaker to accept a gift that large.
Murkowski is building her family home on the property, which is adjacent to Penney's own estate. The senator says she has known the developer for more than 40 years. Because the land is for personal use, the senator is not required to report it as an asset, Sweeney said.
Murkowski is not the only Alaska lawmaker who has seen financial benefit arise from knowing Penney. Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, reportedly made between $85,000 and $235,000 off a $15,000 real estate investment he made with Penney in 1998. Penney said at the time that including Stevens in the deal was "our way of giving him a thank-you and consideration for what he's done for us and all our kids."
Stevens did not respond to a request for comment on the deal.
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July 24, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (20)
she's a Republican....so what else is new?
Posted by: alex vine | Jul 24, 2007 12:55:44 PM
What? A Senator using their influence and connections for putting money in their pocket? I'm Shocked! and Appalled! Get real people, this happens EVERY DAY, and "We The People" allow it to happen. The Question is...When are we going to take America Back?
Posted by: jjarden | Jul 24, 2007 1:04:32 PM
They all become crooked when they get to Washington...it is time to throw everyone of them out, starting with Clinton, Bush, Kerry, Kennedy,Pelosi and all the others; who have had the gall to put relatives on government payroll etc...
Posted by: common sense | Jul 24, 2007 2:14:17 PM
"She's a Republican..."
Are you saying Demos ain't do the same??? Sure the deal is fishy, but don't use this simpleton logic.
Posted by: NO DINX | Jul 24, 2007 2:24:58 PM
GOP = Greed Over Princple
Posted by: onemanmatters | Jul 24, 2007 2:35:55 PM
It's a fact of life, even on the playground in pre-school. There's nothing unfair about this story.
Posted by: Eric | Jul 24, 2007 3:38:37 PM
Harry Reid did something very similar last year. It was in the papers for one day(FOx.com). I wonder how long this will be in the news and also I am quite interested in Harry's responce.
Posted by: BC | Jul 24, 2007 3:57:57 PM
It seems Alex Vine has forgotten about the Whitewater Land deal the Clinton's have conveniently lost all the documentation too! If they turned over the docs., they would be in jail
Posted by: brian | Jul 24, 2007 4:11:54 PM
alex vine...........Your comment would be more fitting if you used "politician", rather than "Republican".
Posted by: Dave | Jul 25, 2007 10:02:32 AM
I don't remember seeing anything in your reporting resembling this screed about Harry Reid and his $1.1 million deal in Nevada. But that's apparently ok because he is a liberal Democrat. Another fine example of liberal bias.
Posted by: FR | Jul 25, 2007 10:08:54 AM
This is over a parcel of land under 2 acres...TWO ACRES IN ALASKA...I think that maybe The Anchorage Daily News is just fishing for a story...
Posted by: Jazz | Jul 25, 2007 11:00:23 AM
The Murkowski and Stevens families have been using Alaska as their own personal piggy-bank for years. Selling off the oil, minerals, and timber owned by ALL Americans for pennies on the dollar to line their own pockets and pay for their mansions and mercedes. And why not? They were put into office by these companies, are owned by these companies, and are required to cooperate. If occasionally they can make a few more millions on some side deals like this, who can blame them? After all, if the people up in Alaska aren't smart enough to catch on and tar and feather these crooks, they deserve to get fleeced...so what's the problem?
Posted by: wilder5121 | Jul 25, 2007 3:01:42 PM
This is just some health competition between the the two Repup Senators from Alaska, Stevens (who is already under Federal investigation) and Murkowski. The contest is to see which is the most unethical, dishonest, unscrupulous person in the state. My bet is on Stevens - he's clearly the lowest of the low, the slime beneath the slime, the scum at the bottom of the barrel. Murkowski is just an amateur crook.
Posted by: ALEX H. | Jul 25, 2007 3:19:07 PM
Wake me when the revolution comes.
Posted by: Lana | Jul 25, 2007 5:09:16 PM
I'm well familiar with fishy deals that cause problems, and I'd say that Lisa Murkowski know exactly what I'm talking about.
Posted by: L | Jul 26, 2007 12:19:34 PM
I am so tired of politicians who become so corrupt at the taxpayer's expense. Time for a change. A new party would be a good start. None of the candidates are worthy of a vote!
Posted by: forevergrace | Jul 31, 2007 9:48:05 PM
I am tired of the two party system with all the corruption on both sides, finger pointing etc. Perhaps it is time to put term limits on all elected National Politicians with a five year grace period when their term is up before joining a Lobbiest Group. As long as our elected officials continue to vote along party lines etc. how can Democracy help but destroy itself. Perhaps it is time for an Independant Party for the people! All of the current Presidential Candidates are the same-o-same-o. It is time to clean up the Political Circles for a true "Greening of America."
Posted by: Ron Kase | Aug 2, 2007 10:24:55 PM
I do not believe there is a difference between our current party affiliations, they are both so corrupt that absolutely NO-ONE is watching the HEN HOUSE. I think if we get rid of the two party system our politicians are warm and cozy with, get the absent minded and lazy straight-party ticket voter's to wake up and change the way they vote or at least change their voter status to "Independent" which, only is a threat to politicians by making them work harder for the vote which, then would let the elections in November actually mean something by making them WONDER if they made the grade...Stop letting the primaries dictate and/or favor certian candidates. Until everyone steps up to the plate and gets involved at the local level, it will only keep spiraling out of control.
Posted by: CisforCHANGE | Aug 3, 2007 1:04:02 AM
THE BEST COMMENT WAS AND IS TERM LIMITS FOR ALL GOVERMENT OFFICALS, THEN MAYBE WE WILL GET SOMEWHERE. THEY ALL LIE BUT ITS IS WHO IS BEST AT IT, GOD BLESS ALL OF US
Posted by: cheech | Aug 3, 2007 6:26:24 AM
Touchy-feely
Posted by: STELLA | Nov 20, 2007 11:29:03 AM
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