Property Speculation Not Always Safe
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
(SNN San Diego)A defense contractor with ties to Randy “Duke” Cunningham took a $700,000 loss on the purchase and sale of the congressman’s Del Mar house. At the time, the congressman was supporting the contractor’s efforts to get tens of millions of dollars in contracts from the Pentagon.
The Del Mar house was left unsold and vacant for 261 days before selling for $975,000.
Mitchell Wade bought the San Diego Republican's house for $1,675,000 in November 2003 and put it back on the market almost immediately for roughly the same price. But the Del Mar house was left unsold and vacant for 261 days before selling for $975,000.
Congressional and political watchdog organizations expressed concerns, saying the circumstances raise questions about whether the transaction might constitute an illegal campaign contribution or even an official bribe, which is much more serious than an unofficial bribe. "This doesn't look good at all," said Larry Noble, director of the Center for Responsive Politics.
This is typical of the type of class misunderstanding we see in today’s politics.
In an interview Wednesday, Cunningham conceded that the circumstances surrounding the transaction could raise questions, but he insisted that the real estate deal was legitimate. "My whole life I've lived aboveboard," Cunningham said. "I've never even smoked a marijuana cigarette. I don't cheat. If a contractor buys me lunch and we meet a second time, I buy the lunch. My whole life has been aboveboard and so this doesn't worry me." It is not yet known if Rep. Cunningham has taken his turn and bought a piece of Wade’s property at a $700,000 loss. It has been scientifically proven that smoking marijuana makes one more susceptible to bribery, especially by snack cakes.
This is typical of the type of class misunderstanding we see in today’s politics. People think that just because someone sells their million dollar home for $1.7 million to a person who has no intention of living in it, there must be some type of shady business going on. Surely to some people, $700,000 seems like a lot of money, but the simple truth is that people like Wade, who negotiate contracts worth tens of millions of dollars don’t think $700,000 is much of a loss. This is similar to the case where Tom DeLay stole Jack Abramoff’s pen and sold it back to him for $3000, 732 times.
