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Josh Rosner going after the Corker relentlessly...

Link:https://m.dailykos.com/stories/2006/10/13/257010/-

Below is Bob Corker's real record. The one they don't want you to see:

BOB CORKER AVOIDED PAYING TAXES

In 1985 and 1989, despite making millions in the construction industry, Bob Corker paid NO federal income taxes.

* Pat Nolan, News Channel 5:" Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker seems to be the candidate in the cross hairs this week taking shots from both sides. Political candidates are a little like environmentalists. They like to recycle things, especially old campaign issues. That's the case with Corker who took some heat in 1994 (when he unsuccessfully ran for this same Senate seat) because he paid no federal income taxes in 1985 and 1989."

* Michael Davis, Chattanooga Times Free Press:"Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman Bob Tuke on Thursday asked Mr. Corker to explain reports that he did not pay taxes during two years in the 1980s. "In his failed run for the Senate in 1994, the media reported that Corker paid no income tax in two years," Mr. Tuke said in a news release. Mr. Corker said in an interview that he did not owe any federal taxes in 1985 and 1989 because of depreciation and other factors."

* Steve Gill:"Respected conservative Nashville radio talk show host Steve Gill slammed Bob Corker this morning during his radio show for not paying taxes, even though Corker's made millions as a developer and builder in Chattanooga..."

* Tom Humphrey, Knox News:"State Democratic Chairman Bob Tuke began the criticism, issuing a news release with critical comments and citing Corker's release of his federal tax returns back in 1994, when he first ran for the Senate and lost in the GOP primary to Sen. Bill Frist. The returns showed that businessman Corker twice paid no taxes in the 1980s...."

* Bruce Barry, Nashville Scene: "This 80s tax thing runs the risk, given wider attention, of building unsavory name recognition before Corker has the opportunity to buy the kind he wants."

* Jennifer Coxe, Van Hilleary's Press Secretary:"Mayor Bob Corker raised taxes on working Tennesseans multiple times. Millionaire Bob Corker didn't pay taxes in multiple years, Candidate Bob Corker owes Tennesseans an explanation."

* Andrew Shulman, Ed Bryant's Spokesperson:"Regrettably, Bob Corker's ability to avoid paying taxes helps explain why it did not bother him to support a state income tax and to raise property taxes on Tennessee homeowners."

And to no surprise, Bob won't release his full tax returns for Tennesseans to see. Go figure.

BOB CORKED HIRED ILLEGAL ALIENS, THEN TRIED TO COVER IT UP

Back in 1988, Bob hired four illegal workers to work on his construction site in Memphis. He was caught and put on notice three times, but took no action.

Bob Corker on Hiring Illegal Workers and Immigration:

* "They [Corker's subcontractors] absolutely had checked with everyone that worked with their organization and that no one, no one, was working for an enterprise that was illegally there." (Bob Corker, The Hallerin Hill Show, WNOX Knoxville, April 11, 2006)

* "Corker, who built a career in the construction industry and later in commercial real estate, said he was never confronted with the dilemma of needing to hire undocumented workers. The commercial real estate company he owned -- and sold in January -- required statements from employers that the subcontractors and vendors they used did not use illegal immigrant labor, Corker said. When he sold a construction company in 1990, Hispanic labor was not prevalent, he said. `You fast-forward now to 2006 and go out to a job site today in construction -- the backgrounds of workers are totally different,' Corker said." (Tennessean, 04/25/06)

* "Corker, the former Chattanooga mayor, was campaigning door to door in Johnson City on Monday afternoon and said the 1988 incident points to the need for identifying illegal immigrants. "Obviously, this was a subcontractor," Corker said of the situation." (Bob Corker, Kingsport Times News, 06/06/06)

* "Certainly there are people who abuse the laws and those who do certainly need to have stiff penalties, that needs to be a part of what goes on." (Bob Corker, Tennessee Press Association forum, 02/09/06)

* "And so I get back to that first premise of saying to you just enforcing the laws on the book would be a major first step." (Bob Corker, Washington County forum, 03/18/06)

Bencor's Flip Flop:

* Bencor denied any knowledge of the illegals employment despite the arrests and they refused to accept any responsibility for the incident. Instead, opting to place blame on a subcontractor: "Contacted Wednesday [March 16, 1988] about the arrests, Lowhorn said the problem was not with his company but with a subcontractor. `We are totally 100 percent within the boundaries of the law,' Lowhorn said. `Bencor Construction Co. has cooperated 110 percent. There was a subcontractor that there may have been a problem with, but that's not anything we're responsible for.'" Commercial Appeal 03/17/88

INS Records, however, indicate that the company Corker is trying to blame was cleared of any wrongdoing

* In the end, the INS did not conduct meetings with J&G Framing and cleared them of any wrong doing. Nonetheless, Corker still attempts to place the blame on them: According to INS officials, J&G Framers were not responsible for the employment of the illegals. J&G Framers were not present at these meetings. Several illegals arrested at the site. None were employed by J&G Framers. (INS Investigations Administrative Information Sheet, 1/11/89)

Still Trying to Blame It On Someone Else:

* "Corker, the former Chattanooga mayor, was campaigning door to door in Johnson City on Monday afternoon and said the 1988 incident points to the need for identifying illegal immigrants. "Obviously, this was a subcontractor," Corker said of the situation." (Bob Corker, Kingsport Times News, 06/06/06)

Bob Corker's Don't Ask, Don't Tell Timeline:

January 1988. Story appears in Commercial Appeal about possible illegal workers at Bencor Mud Island site

Feb. 10, 1988. INS receives report "from M&M Construction Co., Memphis, TN" of "approximately 30 to 50 Mexicans working at the Mud Island new building site--north section of Mud Island." Source: INS Memorandum of Investigation.

Feb. 10, 1988. INS conducts "an educational visit at the Mud Island office, Bencor." Subs also attend. Source: INS Memorandum of Investigation.

Feb. 10, 1988. INS opens "employer contact report" on Bencor Corp., with 3 employees on site. Source: ELR Contact Report.

Feb. 10, 1988. INS opens "employer contact report" on J&G Framing, Hockley, TX, with 16 employees on site. Source: ELR Contact Report.

Feb. 24, 1998. INS conducts "additional educational visits" on Mud Island with "subcontractors absent on 2-10-88 meeting." Source: INS Memorandum of Investigation.

Mar. 16, 1988. INS prepares "investigation preliminary worksheet."

Source: INS Investigation Preliminary Worksheet.

Mar. 16, 1988. INS raids Bencor site, arrests 4 & deports. Source:

Commercial Appeal, 3/17/88.

Jan. 11, 1989. INS closes investigative file because "employer is no longer working the local area." Says in synopsis that INS officials held "two meetings with Bencor, Inc. and several of the subcontractors, J&G Framers were not present at these meetings.

Several illegals arrested at the site. None were employed by J&G Framers."

Source: INS Investigations Administrative Information Sheet.

BOB CORKER USED HIS OFFICE FOR PERSONAL GAIN

During his time as Mayor of Chattanooga, Bob Corker used his office for personal gain.

Case in point, the development of the Brainerd shopping center in Chattanooga.

The land in question there, had previously been put aside in perpetuity. It was never to be developed by anyone, as it was designated as an environmental wetland. And just in case anyone ever did try to develop it, the City of Chattanooga had the authority and the responsibility to prevent it from happening.

However, when the Brainerd development came about in 2003 , there were a couple of problems:

1. The owner of the land was Bob Corker
2. The Mayor of Chattanooga was Bob Corker

Ultimately, only one person stood between Bob Corker and $4.7 million and that was Bob Corker himself.

And as the record shows, when given the choice between doing his duty as Mayor and protecting the land and taking the money, Bob chose the money.

The Memphis Commercial Appeal has the whole story below:

Once a place where neighborhood kids caught bugs and hikers admired birds and wildflowers, this wooded nature preserve along South Chickamauga Creek now is littered with trash and overgrown with weed-choked trails.

Looking around last week, activist Sandy Kurtz blamed two sources: Wal-Mart and Bob Corker, a self-made millionaire who until last year was Chattanooga's mayor.

"I used to bring kids with school groups out here and do environmental programs to highlight the value of wetlands," said Kurtz, an environmental educator. "It's grown up now because our volunteers can't get to it anymore.''

Kurtz and other activists unsuccessfully fought plans by Corker's private companies for a now-thriving Wal-Mart Supercenter, built in 2003 in this protected watershed. Now, three years later, the controversy is roiling again, just as Corker heads toward the home stretch in his bid for Tennessee's open U.S. Senate seat.

A lawsuit by Kurtz that Corker's lawyers had succeeded in getting dismissed has been reinstated, and, just last week, a judge issued an order that keeps private some records connected to the suit.

The controversy is spinning off new allegations.

A Nashville lawyer pursuing Kurtz's suit says he's bothered by records that show how a Corker real estate company collected $4.6 million by selling the Wal-Mart land just weeks after Corker's public works administrator signed off on a construction easement.
...
Corker's actions rankle environmentalists who say he ignored them as mayor. They allege in a Hamilton County Chancery Court suit that the Wal-Mart construction ignored a pre-existing conservation easement, helping ruin the protected 7.8-acre nature area.

"What they did was outrageous. They just ran roughshod over this public property for private gain,'' said Joe Prochaska, an attorney representing Kurtz and the Tennessee Environmental Council.

The site was dedicated for public use in 1996 by a company Corker later bought.

He owned the company in 2003 at the time of the Wal-Mart development.

As mayor, Corker should have disclosed his interest in the property and the adjacent land where the Wal-Mart was built, Prochaska says.

"Why did he allow his monetary interest to trump his commitment to the people of Tennessee?'' the lawyer said.

Mitchell noted that the Wal-Mart controversy was well publicized in the Chattanooga press at the time, and it was understood Corker had an interest in the property.

He also questioned the timing of the revival of Wal-Mart controversy, which comes as Corker, the Republican nominee, faces Democrat Harold Ford Jr. of Memphis for the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn).
....
The plans grew controversial in February 2003 when eventual Wal-Mart developers Bright Par 3 Associates submitted plans to build the 208,000-square-foot Supercenter and a 45,000-square-foot retail area in Chattanooga's Brainerd area near the confluence of Interstates 24 and 75.

Developers said the $20 million Wal-Mart project would create 500 jobs.

Yet, it drew quick opposition from environmentalists and neighborhood activists who complained to the City Council, delivered a petition to Mayor Corker's office and later picketed the store when it opened in May 2004.

Shortly after construction started in June 2003, the nonprofit Tennessee Environmental Council filed a complaint with Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, alleging the development was discharging pollutants into South Chickamauga Creek.

The regulatory agency found merit to the complaint and developers took corrective action to resolve it, said TDEC spokeswoman Dana Coleman.

The environmental group then filed suit and won a temporary restraining order to halt construction that July, but days later the suit was dismissed.

The Tennessee Court of Appeals reversed that decision the following February -- a ruling affirmed by the state Supreme Court in October 2004.

By then the Wal-Mart was open for business. But with the suit refiled in Chancery Court, the litigants are now entering discovery.

Early on, the controversy included concerns over wetlands, but it's now focused on the nature area just north of the Wal-Mart.

Nature lovers had hiked and explored the site for years, but it was formally created in 1996 when East Ridge Development Co., a firm Corker bought in 1999, conveyed it as a conservation easement to the City of Chattanooga.

Records show East Ridge dedicated the conservation easement to be "retained forever in its scenic, recreational and open space condition..."

The easement grants certain rights to the city, including allowing public access and the construction of trails, while prohibiting construction, timbering or other development.

Although the appeals court found that the precise boundaries of the conservation easement are unclear, the environmental council's suit alleges the developers ignored the easement and that the Wal-Mart construction extended into it.

Specifically, Prochaska said a new road built to the store obliterated a gravel parking lot once used by nature lovers to access the conservation area. Dig-and-fill operations also created a steep slope further limiting access while runoff has left the site in an overgrown, unusable condition, he said.

The suit, which names Bright Par 3, the City of Chattanooga, the Corker Group, Osborne and others as defendants, seeks restoration of the conservation easement and unspecified money damages.

Prochaska said he's also concerned about the new road, Greenway View Drive, which started as a construction access easement granted by Corker's administration.

Records show Corker's public works administrator, William C. McDonald, signed the access easement, that ran through the conservation area. Prochaska said the road curved east to avoid an office parking lot owned then by Corker, and consequently ran though and destroyed the gravel parking lot used by nature lovers.

Still, plans in 2001 before Corker was mayor show the proposed road in the same alignment. Regardless, Roger Dickson, a lawyer for the Corker Group, said the conservation easement gave developers the right to cross it.

"To now come in and say it was something horrible and somebody did something sneaky is just not true," Dickson said.

BOB CORKER PROFITED BY NOT REVEALING HIS CONFLICT OF INTEREST

Last but not least, while sitting on the Chattanooga Pension Board Bob did not disclose a conflict of interest he had and personally profited from not doing so.

Chattanooga city workers have been left holding the bag thanks to Bob Corker's administration's efforts to invest $1 million of city pension funds in a risky and speculative business managed by a Corker campaign contributor.

Don Mundie, managing partner of Delta Venture Partners, contributed $2,000 to Corker's senate campaign in 2005, the year after the Chattanooga Pension Board, on which Corker sits, invested $1 million in pensioners' savings.

Delta subsequently has lost 12 percent, or $120,000, of that investment, according to a June 30 performance report from the city. By contrast, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined only 1 percent over the same period.

Said Ford campaign senior advisor Michael Powell: "Bob Corker put city workers' pensions at risk so his business partner could get rich. When that deal was closed, Corker got paid back with campaign contributions. It was a win-win, but for one thing: the people who go to work every day for Chattanooga got stiffed."

Corker did not disclose his relationship with Mundie and Delta to his fellow Pension Board members prior to their investment in Delta.

In 2000, Corker and Delta together invested at least $4 million in a Franklin high-tech company called Freeliant, Inc. Freeliant failed two years later. Corker told the Commercial Appeal he lost "more than" $1.3 million in the Freeliant collapse.

Corker then worked over the next year bring Mundie and Delta to Chattanooga, and to invest city pension funds in Delta. When Chattanooga's pension fund advisor urged in August 2003 against investing the money in Delta, Mundie launched an aggressive campaign to get Corker to help him. Mundie wrote Corker in October 2003, asking "if you are still supportive of Delta getting a small allocation of ($1MM) to its fund from the Chattanooga Pension Fund to jump start our East Tennessee strategy."

The next month, Delta announced it would open a Chattanooga office. Corker was quoted in the company news release announcing the move: "Delta Capital gives us another layer of venture capital to help in our business growth."

In January 2004, the Chattanooga Pension Board, on which then-Mayor Corker was a voting member, approved the $1 million investment in Delta.

FEC records show Mundie made a $2,000 contribution to Corker's campaign on September 30, 2005.

Mundie is not the only person involved in this scandal that has donated funds to Corker's campaign. FEC records show that five members of the city's pension advisory firm have contributed the unusual amount of $249 each.
...
So as you can see from the post above, if anyone is a crook it is Bob Corker himself.

Tennessean deserve better than this. We have already had one U.S. Senator with legal troubles who has embarrassed us to no end. Let's not make it two.

It is time for a change. No more crooks.

A new generation of leadership is coming!