BREAKING:Utah Congressman Cannon Involved In BRIBE with Bank President?

[kpete]

Congressman made personal loan to bank president shortly before bank extended him $250,000-plus loan
John Byrne
Published: January 18, 2006




Denies loan was a bribe; President says he recused himself from decision

Utah congressman Chris Cannon loaned nearly $100,000 to the president of a Nebraska bank who extended at least $250,000 in credit the following year to the representative's business venture in the state, RAW STORY has found.

Cannon's office confirmed that the congressman had extended a loan of between $50,000 and $100,000 to First National Bank of Nebraska president Gary Ruse in September 1996. The following year, the Utah Republican's kosher beef-packing plant, Premium Beef, received a $250,000 to $500,000 loan from Ruse's bank.



A person familiar with the transaction asserts that Cannon's personal loan to Ruse was intended to ensure that he received a loan for his troubled beef-packing plant.

Cannon's office rejects the charge. A spokesman said that Ruse recused himself from the loan decision, and called any accusations of bribery "absurd."

more at:
http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Utah_congressman_made_personal_loan_to_0118.html

[FreedomAngel82]

1. Oh wow

I've never heard of him. Any info on who he is and all?

[SidDithers]

2. Wonder what the Bankers' repayment schedule was like...

was it a loan that was never meant to be repaid?

Sid

[Nordmadr]

9. As far as I can tell from the article, there was one payment over

10 years.

Olafr

[gratuitous]

23. I wonder if I can call First National in Nebraska

And get a "Cannon Loan" with the same interest and repayment schedule? After all, if nothing improper happened, I'm sure the bank writes all kinds of loans like it. Right?

[formercia]

24. So, Cannon writes it off as a bad debt.

[KittyWampus]

11. You mean like Abramoff's loan or whatever to Bush campaign?

[bluestateguy]

3. I got excited when I saw this

until I saw that rawstory was the source, which means that the story will most likely regress into the netherworld of the internet.

[starroute]

13. Another defeatist comment?

Sometimes I get the feeling you need to get out and smell the flowers some more. Any time I see an "It's all hopeless, we can't win" comment around here, the odds are at least 50-50 it's from you.

You might start by visualizing the "netherworld of the Internet" not as an obliette where things can get lost forever, but rather as a simmering cauldron that's going to boil over one bright day when it reaches critical mass. It would do a lot for your mood.

[stepnw1f]

15. Thank You! (nt)

[bluestateguy]

19. I just choose to live in the real world

And like it or not, most Americans are not paying attention to rawstory (which has let us down often, with stories that go nowhere), Air America radio or Democracy Now (which is a fine news source, to be sure). Most people get their news from the corporate media, and if a story does not "go corporate", by getting on one of the major networks or newspapers, it likely will never see the light of day, much less turn into meaningful political action. I don't like it, but that's just the way it goes.

As for me being a defeatist: you are entitled to your views, which strike me as, um, false, but so be it. I find the "Bush is toast" crowd" to be the ones who are really annoying. The people who said Bush was toast when there were no WMDs; when Jeff Gannon/Guckert was exposed; or when the Downing Street Memo came out. And then of course, the same people produced numerous excuses when the toast never materialized, as well as rambling conspiracy theories about the voting machines. For example, I tried to explain to people here in 2004 that Bush was not a guarantee to lose just because he had a 47% approval rating; that all he needed was a small percentage of disapproves to vote for him--or against Kerry--and he could win. But these words of warning mostly fell of deaf ears.

[jsamuel]

21. sorry

but you just don't get it...

"For example, I tried to explain to people here in 2004 that Bush was not a guarantee to lose just because he had a 47% approval rating; that all he needed was a small percentage of disapproves to vote for him--or against Kerry--and he could win. But these words of warning mostly fell of deaf ears."

Do you seriously think that all the people here working on voting problems in 2004 hadn't thought of that as a possibility? They did and used statistics from the ACTUAL exit polls to show that wasn't the case.

Don't act like you are above and beyond what others can comprehend when you are only taking a first step yourself.

[cally]

4. What?!?! Cannon owns a Kosher meat packing plant?

in Utah? Are there a lot of Kosher Jews in Utah? :shrug:

[Bubba Zanetti]

7. RE: Kosher Jews in Utah???

Thus the line "troubled beef-packing plant".

[newyawker99]

10. Hi Bubba Zanetti!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[SoCalDem]

5. So THAT'S how you get a loan?

You LOAN money (you supposedly DON'T have) to a person who will then loan YOU more money??

How did I miss this tactic in Econ 101?

[formercia]

6. A good example of "other peoples' money"

He doesn't use his money in case the plant goes down the tubes, but he is very content to use the bank's money instead. If the plant goes broke, he loses nothing.

He pays 20% Vig. Cost of doing business.

[formercia]

8. Fer youse dat don't know from vig.

http://www.word-detective.com/052699.html

Kinda like a 20000% A.P.R.

Dear Word Detective: Where did the word "vig" come from? As to its usage, it is understood to mean a percentage of a financial deal. -- John Wong, via the internet.

Well, that's one way to define "vig," though I doubt that most folks who have to pay "vig" would describe the process so dispassionately.

"Vig" is short for "vigorish," and it's usually used to mean the exorbitant interest (also known as "juice") that Mafia loan sharks charge their victims, which often runs to 20 percent or more. Per week, that is.

Extended (and less menacing) senses of "vig" include the cut taken by a casino from a customer's winnings, or the "service charge" similarly deducted by a bookie. But "vig" has stayed pretty close to its Mob roots, so if you find yourself discussing financing your small business with a guy in a shiny suit who keeps talking about "the vig," don't say I didn't warn youse.

Though "vigorish" is a staple of Mob slang, it's not an Italian word -- it's Yiddish, from the Russian word "vyigrysh," meaning "gain or winnings." U.S. mobsters may have picked up the term from the "Kosher Mafia" of Meyer Lansky, who welded Italian Mafiosi and Jewish gangsters into a nationwide crime syndicate in the 1930's.

[leftofthedial]

12. wait a minute you commie LIEburl!

Money exchanged hands. That's free speech! (according to neocon and freeper logic)

[Nimrod2005]

14. Why do you hate America? and Freedom?

[WI_DEM]

16. Another crooked republican--it's all adding up

[Lochloosa]

17. Bio:

Party: Republican
Leadership: None
Freshman: No
First Elected To Office:1996
Year of Next Election: November 7, 2006
Previous Political Work: Finance Chairman, Utah Republican Party, 1991-92;Business Chair, Bush-Quayle Utah Campaign, 1992;Reagan Appointee, Department of Interior, 1983-86.;

[Freddie Stubbs]

18. I thought that Congressmen were supposed to take bribes,

not give them.

[chat_noir]

20. It's official: Cannon has no stance on Principles and Values

http://www.issues2000.org/House/Chris_Cannon.htm#Principles_+_Values

[Joe Chi Minh]

22. Give 'em haaaAAYYYLL, Harry!!!

[rucky]

25. Money for money? Sounds like money laundering as well. n/t