Judson Cox
Rep. Taylor's office (R-NC11) threatens suit against NC newspaper
By Judson Cox
The February 2006 issue of The North Carolina Conservative newspaper carried an article entitled "Ethics Questions Arise for Congressman Taylor," written by Ann Ryder. The article raised serious ethical questions regarding Rep. Taylor's business dealings in relation to his office. The article was entirely based on information available in public documents. We believe firmly that the article is accurate.
Before the Feb. issue of The North Carolina Conservative had been printed, before the article concerning Rep. Taylor was posted on our website and before it had been released for public distribution, Rep. Taylor's office sent us an email saying that they had heard we were publishing a negative article concerning Rep. Taylor. We responded in a friendly and compliant manner. The next morning, Taylor's press secretary responded, threatening lawsuits by surrogates of Representative Charles Taylor. (See correspondence below)
This threatened legal action is a blatant attack on the freedom of the press guaranteed by the 1st Amendment of the Constitution of The United States. Instead of answering legitimate questions raised in our newspaper, Taylor's surrogates are attempting to silence the messenger. The voters of North Carolina have a legitimate right to question our elected representatives. The role of the press in our system of government was best summed up by Thomas Jefferson, who said, "Where the press is free and every man able to read, all is safe."
All members of the press, all North Carolinians and all who value the Constitutionally guaranteed rights that secure our freedoms, have a stake in this fight. I urge you to join The North Carolina Conservative in defending the First Amendment and ensuring honest, representative government.
The North Carolina Conservative is standing behind Ann Ryder, who said:
"So, I'm not told just who exactly...which surrogates, front men, straw men...may want to sue us for exercising out First Amendment Rights. I researched this article using what is available in the public records. A lawsuit would certainly help shed some light in areas I couldn't get to, by giving us subpoena power. That would help focus and bring out additional information. It will come down to a question of credibility."
Judson Cox
Editor in Chief
The North Carolina Conservative
Sent: Thursday, February 02, 2006 3:29 PM
Hi,
It's Deborah Potter, press secretary for Congressman Charles Taylor. I just got a phone call from someone saying you guys had a very negative story concerning my boss .... But I looked at your website and don't see anything.
In the words of Daryl Hall & John Oates ......... "Say it ain't so"
If it is so, could you please email me a copy?
Thanks
Deborah
Sent: Thursday, February 02, 2006 10:33 PM
Subject: Re:
Hi Deborah,
Unfortunately it is true. It is all concerning information from public documents. We don't like this any more than you do, but other news media are looking into the same story. It is better that we break it, in a paper friendly to Rep. Taylor, so he can deal with the story BEFORE the general election.
It will be on the website tonight, and I'll email it to you.
Please send us Congressman Taylor's response. We will run it in its entirety, without edits.
Judson
Sent: Friday, February 03, 2006 10:36 AM
Subject: RE:
I don't know how you could consider yourself "friendly" to my boss after you print a bunch of garbage like that. It is absolutely filled with false information. I mean falsehood after falsehood. And back when I went to journalism school, one of the absolute basics was contacting all parties, especially those that were potential victims of slander. My boss thought it was funny, but some other folks were not nearly as amused and are already preparing lawsuits. You should be ashamed of yourselves.
Ethics Questions Arise for Congressman Taylor
By Ann Ryder
It all started with a routine letter from Madison county to my mountainous, rural/agriculture community informing us of a re-zoning hearing to allow further development of Wolf Ridge/Scenic Wolf/etal., a high density fly-in resort abutting the Mars Hill watershed. During this hearing, the developers gave us vague, evasive answers as to what they were planning to do. The neighbors complained. The board postponed taking a vote on the matter and told the developers, Rick Bussey and Orville English, to get it together and come back the next time.
At our first meeting Bussey showed up. Someone asked him if Congressman Charles Taylor was the real owner. He denied it, and said that all Taylor owned was a home and a lot at the resort. Bussey told us that he no longer worked at Taylor-owned Blue Ridge Savings Bank. He said that the master plan by architect David Day hadn't been drawn up yet. He denied that jets would use the private airstrip. He told us that it is only 3200ft in length...too short for a jet. He was just too smooth, so we got cracking. I called the FAA in Atlanta which controls this area. They told me that Bussey's application to them proposed a 3500ft runway to be used by jets, multi-engine props, and turbo-props. Bussey's brochure for the resort claims a 3800ft strip. County files regarding this matter were darn near bare.
We organized petitions with concerns for high-density development abutting the watershed, management of sewage and garbage, erosion, etc. We were told that Bussey and English countered with their own petition...that they required their employees to sign ...that the employees were members of the community and they totally supported the developers plans. The developers had already done work without the necessary permits and without the mandated silt and erosion controls, causing great damage to neighboring property. When they were tearing up an area of wetlands, someone ratted them out and the state shut that job down lickety-split.
All of the loans, mortgages and agreements that we could find involving the resort are held by one of Taylor's several financial companies. This includes a parcel of 108 acres that had been in a local family for generations until bought by English for $800,000. He turned right around and sold 101 acres of it to Scott Carswell from Tallahassee for $3M. One of Taylor's banks holds the note for $2,625,000, due in one year. Carswell owns and operates a large nightclub in Tallahassee, The Moon. He signs acts such as The Chippendales (male strippers) and Sevendust. He is a boxing promoter. He was a witness in a federal drug money laundering case. Why this fellow came to the North Carolina mountains to pay $3M for land that had just been bought for $800,000...and pay $2,625,000 to a Taylor bank, simply does not smell right to me. Bussey told us that this land would be used for a stable and riding trails. For $3M? That doesn't make sense unless it were Central Park. Is the inflated re-sale price for real? Is there some kind of a sham transaction in this? Will this be used as a money washing operation by anyone? Lots of questions on this particular deal.
David Day is the master planner for this resort project, and many others in the area. He took the old toxic Sayles Bleachery site, and turned it into a large shopping/condo area that includes a Wal-Mart. The site is on the banks of the Swannanoa River and the project really brought out the tree-huggers and folks who didn't want the congestion in their quiet neighborhood. As far as I can tell, there are four partners, one of whom is Taylor. The paperwork was not recorded for more than six months after it was signed. Perhaps the reason for that would be to keep it from public scrutiny. It was an election year and a lot of voters were upset. The attorney that Taylor used for this was David Matney.
That wasn't the only time Matney was used, and it wasn't the only time Taylor and Day did a development together. They were partners with Bussey in the high-density Mount Carmel Village in Leicester (Asheville suburb). Buncombe County sold them 35 acres for this project. County minutes show that the starting bid would be at $550,000. Day offered that amount and there were no other bidders. Day got this prime property — for only $550,000. There are no doc stamps on the deed. On that land, and the piece behind it, Taylor, Day, and Bussey are building 174 townhouses, 42 single family homes, clubhouse and pool, approximately 200 mini-storage units, an 8,000 sq.ft. office building, and several restaurants. The money came from Taylor's banks and from Macon Bank.
Macon Bank shows up numerous times in various Taylor transactions. Its president is Everett Stiles who is a Taylor donor. In 2000, he was named to the Federal Reserve Board. In 2002, he was elected to the board of Federal Home Loan of Atlanta which takes in the area from Florida to DC.
Taylor and Day are partners in other ventures as well. Day owns several million dollars worth of real estate, yet almost two years ago he obtained a Small Business Administration loan for $1M. Taylor sits on committees that give him direct authority to dictate the budgets for many departments including the Small Business Administration.
Is it a stretch to believe that Taylor is the real power behind Wolf Ridge/Scenic Wolf/etc.? We found at least one recent document showing the address of the resort as 20 South Pack Square...Taylor's address. Even though Bussey claims he no longer works at Blue Ridge Savings Bank, he is still listed as a loan officer on their website and you can even click on his name to send him an e-mail. Taylor's mother is an English from Madison County. I was told that Taylor and Orville English are cousins, so I checked the records going back to the 1850s. It looks like they could be double cousins. Taylor's relatives figure in his other corporations. Bussey said that Taylor has a home and a lot at Wolf Ridge, and he is seen quite often at the restaurant there. However, we can't find anything in any of his family's names or corporate names on file at the Register of Deeds. Is he using the delayed-filing method to keep his ownership out of the spotlight?
Several years ago, there was an almighty hullabaloo surrounding loans made by Blue Ridge Savings Bank. Its president pleaded guilty to bank fraud and money laundering. A borrower, who was also a Taylor friend and contributor, pleaded guilty to bank fraud. There were questions of forgery. The president testified that Taylor was a "micro-manager" and that he had helped Taylor to "skirt issues." After awaiting sentencing for only four years, the federal judge finally lowered the boom. The friend got three months home detention and the president got 6 months. They were allowed to go out for work and other activities.
Taylor's financial disclosures are required filings with the Federal Election Commission. In his financial disclosures, his assets appear, disappear, and re-appear without reason...$25M in one case. Corporations are not listed. Valuations fluctuate. Ownership changes without amending disclosures. There seems to be evidence of insider trading. The discrepancies are so obvious that I can't imagine why they haven't been challenged before this.
In Taylor's 2004 disclosure, while not declaring how he acquired it, an asset appears entitled "Shares in Bank of Ivanovo — Held Individually until transfer to Financial Guaranty Corporation [another Taylor corporation] approved by Russian Government" with a value ranging from $1,000,001 to $5M. If he didn't buy it, how in the heck did he get it? A sitting member of Congress on the Appropriations Committee waiting for approval from the Russians? Ivanovo is a city of about 400,000 population, 180 miles from Moscow. It is a major textile center.
In 1997, while serving in Congress, Taylor and his wife held Blue Ridge Savings Bank and Financial Guaranty Corporation stock with a combined minimum value of $6,000,001 to a max value of $30,000,000. By December 31, 2004, the two companies merged and have a value of "over $50,000,000." This is a very impressive performance, and this is the same company that is going to be the banker in Russia, as referred to above.
The House Ethics Manual gives some appropriate quotes describing the restriction (15% of congressional salary) of outside "earned income" and unrestricted "unearned income." A Member is allowed to continue to make decisions and take action necessary to manage personal equity and family business, without restriction, as long as it "does not generate a significant amount of income." That seems to be the key phrase. "Substantial earnings from other employment is inconsistent with the concept that being a Member of Congress is a full-time job." There cannot be "distractions from the time and attention expected to be devoted to congressional responsibilities." "Substantial outside earned income creates at least the appearance of impropriety and thereby undermines public confidence in the integrity of government officials." While I realize that a million bucks ain't what it use to be, how much money does it take to be considered " significant" and "substantial"?
GE had been polluting the Hudson River since the 1940s. The feds ordered them to clean up the toxic mess covering about 200 miles of the river, but GE has been dragging their heels getting started. And to help postpone this estimated $500M day of reckoning, Rep. Taylor slipped in a rider to appropriations legislation that calls for a yearlong National Academy of Sciences study to take another look at the clean-up project. This little goodie wasn't disclosed until after the committee approved the legislation. GE gave Taylor $8,250 in 2004.
What started out to be an attempt to mitigate the impact that re-zoning would bring to our quiet, rural community, soon turned into something else. I believe there is enough here, just by what we've seen in public records, to warrant a close look-see by the House Ethics Committee, and perhaps the Justice Department.
At the Jan. 24 Board of Adjustments hearing, Boss Larry Leake's hand-picked board voted to send the resort project on to the Board of Commissioners for approval. It was a typical Madison County deal. The resort will be the largest town in the county. Leake, who also is attorney for Madison County, ran the hearing even though the vice-chairman was present. Leake is one of developer English's attorneys. After a quick title search, I found four documents that Leake has drawn up for English...one of them showing Leake as Trustee. This is a blatant breach of ethics and conflict of interest.
Sidebar #1
I can forgive Congressman Taylor almost anything...except his dealings with David Matney. My mental health advocate friends and I have followed Matney's actions in this area for years. He is the chief attorney for Blue Ridge Mental Health, which morphed into Western Highlands and New Vistas since the reform. He aided and abetted their corruption. (See NCC Nov 05 Grant Writing) We have it well-documented and took it to the Inspector General and the FBI. They passed the buck back and forth and did nothing. Now we have to wonder whether Taylor is protecting his bud. Since Larry Leake, chairman of the State Board of Elections, and Madison County Boss, is also involved in this scam, he would be protected as well. Federal pork is pouring into Madison County now. Is this a way of assuring co-operation in the re-zoning? It would be interesting to do a chart showing the flow of federal money going into counties where Taylor is planning a venture.
Sidebar #2
While researching this article, I ran across a tidbit that took off in a different direction, but is still related. 43 acres in downtown Swannanoa, between two exits of I-40, was sold to Gordon Myers and Bob Ingle (as Swannanoa Valley Properties, LLC), for a mere $1M. Here's the story:
Beacon Manufacturing was a major industry in this area until NAFTA . They went into bankruptcy around 2000-01. It owed $7.65M to its primary lender CIT/Commercial Services, plus some taxes and other stuff totaling another couple of million. It finally shut down for good in 2002. Mountain Bank (Taylor) ended up owning the property.
In 2003, there was a convenient arson fire lasting five days that leveled the old six-story plant. A
19-year old kid was arrested for fire-bombing a warehouse and a housing development in the same community. He admitted to torching Beacon just a few days after he had gotten out of drug rehab. He got five years probation. Could there have been an angel in his corner somewhere...hmmm? How did he get the wherewithal to feed his drug habit?
I spoke with two former Beacon employees who told me that prior to the fire, the 200 looms, spinning frames, carding and weaving machines had been removed and sold...some directly, some through brokers...and shipped throughout the world. Did any of it go to Ivanovo?
The bank cleaned up the property and sold it to Myers/Ingle for only $1M. That's just incredibly cheap...43 acres of flat land in the mountains, railroad siding, easy access to I-40, city services, close-in to Asheville, etc. Senator Martin Nesbitt owns property right across the street.
Ingle runs a grocery chain. He took it public around 15 years ago. Ingles Markets Investments, Inc. is a Nevada corporation registered in 1990. The registering agent is a Nevada bankruptcy attorney. Most everyone knows who Gordon Myers is by now. He was an Ingles VP, in charge of real estate and leasing. There is a stockholder's suit and the SEC has just notified Ingles of pending disciplinary action. (See NCC Sep. 05 Feds Rattling Cage?) Myers resigned and was soon appointed to the Lottery Commission. He very quickly stepped down from that position and has since appeared in front of the federal grand jury meeting in Raleigh now.
GSM Dev. Corp. is also a Nevada Corporation, registered on September 8, 1997. (GSM may stand for Gordon S. Myers) GSM Dev. Corp. (Nevada) borrowed $450,000 from Blue Ridge Savings Bank (Taylor) on September 23, 1997, for a project in Haywood County. It went into foreclosure on August 14, 2001...with papers drawn up by Matney. Gordon Myers and his wife Kaye registered GSM Development Incorporated in North Carolina on October 5, 2005.
Myers is the chairman of AdvantageWest, a state-run Economic Development Region for the alleged purpose of stimulating commerce. Reality has it as a giant slush fund. Notorious (Meridith) Norris got her start through Myers and the Economic Development network. Taylor is the chairman of the Appropriations Sub-Committee for the U.S. Department of Interior which gave AdvantageWest $750,000 in late 2003. Taylor's top aide Roger France then went to work for AdvantageWest, and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) asked the Attorney General's Criminal Division to investigate the matter. France is now in Washington as a GE lobbyist.
Taylor aide, Charles Fuller, became CEO of Cherokee Tobacco, which began as Tribal Bingo Consultants. The manufacturing and distribution rights were obtained by other investors and it became Cherokee Tobacco Company. The cigarettes were made in Brazil and shipped to Medellin, Colombia for packaging and distribution until just recently. Now everything is done in Virginia.
© Judson Cox
The February 2006 issue of The North Carolina Conservative newspaper carried an article entitled "Ethics Questions Arise for Congressman Taylor," written by Ann Ryder. The article raised serious ethical questions regarding Rep. Taylor's business dealings in relation to his office. The article was entirely based on information available in public documents. We believe firmly that the article is accurate.
Before the Feb. issue of The North Carolina Conservative had been printed, before the article concerning Rep. Taylor was posted on our website and before it had been released for public distribution, Rep. Taylor's office sent us an email saying that they had heard we were publishing a negative article concerning Rep. Taylor. We responded in a friendly and compliant manner. The next morning, Taylor's press secretary responded, threatening lawsuits by surrogates of Representative Charles Taylor. (See correspondence below)
This threatened legal action is a blatant attack on the freedom of the press guaranteed by the 1st Amendment of the Constitution of The United States. Instead of answering legitimate questions raised in our newspaper, Taylor's surrogates are attempting to silence the messenger. The voters of North Carolina have a legitimate right to question our elected representatives. The role of the press in our system of government was best summed up by Thomas Jefferson, who said, "Where the press is free and every man able to read, all is safe."
All members of the press, all North Carolinians and all who value the Constitutionally guaranteed rights that secure our freedoms, have a stake in this fight. I urge you to join The North Carolina Conservative in defending the First Amendment and ensuring honest, representative government.
The North Carolina Conservative is standing behind Ann Ryder, who said:
"So, I'm not told just who exactly...which surrogates, front men, straw men...may want to sue us for exercising out First Amendment Rights. I researched this article using what is available in the public records. A lawsuit would certainly help shed some light in areas I couldn't get to, by giving us subpoena power. That would help focus and bring out additional information. It will come down to a question of credibility."
Judson Cox
Editor in Chief
The North Carolina Conservative
From: Potter, Deborah
To: 'editor@northcarolinaconservative.com'Sent: Thursday, February 02, 2006 3:29 PM
Hi,
It's Deborah Potter, press secretary for Congressman Charles Taylor. I just got a phone call from someone saying you guys had a very negative story concerning my boss .... But I looked at your website and don't see anything.
In the words of Daryl Hall & John Oates ......... "Say it ain't so"
If it is so, could you please email me a copy?
Thanks
Deborah
From: North Carolina Conservative
To: Potter, DeborahSent: Thursday, February 02, 2006 10:33 PM
Subject: Re:
Hi Deborah,
Unfortunately it is true. It is all concerning information from public documents. We don't like this any more than you do, but other news media are looking into the same story. It is better that we break it, in a paper friendly to Rep. Taylor, so he can deal with the story BEFORE the general election.
It will be on the website tonight, and I'll email it to you.
Please send us Congressman Taylor's response. We will run it in its entirety, without edits.
Judson
From: Potter, Deborah
To: 'North Carolina Conservative'Sent: Friday, February 03, 2006 10:36 AM
Subject: RE:
I don't know how you could consider yourself "friendly" to my boss after you print a bunch of garbage like that. It is absolutely filled with false information. I mean falsehood after falsehood. And back when I went to journalism school, one of the absolute basics was contacting all parties, especially those that were potential victims of slander. My boss thought it was funny, but some other folks were not nearly as amused and are already preparing lawsuits. You should be ashamed of yourselves.
By Ann Ryder
It all started with a routine letter from Madison county to my mountainous, rural/agriculture community informing us of a re-zoning hearing to allow further development of Wolf Ridge/Scenic Wolf/etal., a high density fly-in resort abutting the Mars Hill watershed. During this hearing, the developers gave us vague, evasive answers as to what they were planning to do. The neighbors complained. The board postponed taking a vote on the matter and told the developers, Rick Bussey and Orville English, to get it together and come back the next time.
At our first meeting Bussey showed up. Someone asked him if Congressman Charles Taylor was the real owner. He denied it, and said that all Taylor owned was a home and a lot at the resort. Bussey told us that he no longer worked at Taylor-owned Blue Ridge Savings Bank. He said that the master plan by architect David Day hadn't been drawn up yet. He denied that jets would use the private airstrip. He told us that it is only 3200ft in length...too short for a jet. He was just too smooth, so we got cracking. I called the FAA in Atlanta which controls this area. They told me that Bussey's application to them proposed a 3500ft runway to be used by jets, multi-engine props, and turbo-props. Bussey's brochure for the resort claims a 3800ft strip. County files regarding this matter were darn near bare.
We organized petitions with concerns for high-density development abutting the watershed, management of sewage and garbage, erosion, etc. We were told that Bussey and English countered with their own petition...that they required their employees to sign ...that the employees were members of the community and they totally supported the developers plans. The developers had already done work without the necessary permits and without the mandated silt and erosion controls, causing great damage to neighboring property. When they were tearing up an area of wetlands, someone ratted them out and the state shut that job down lickety-split.
All of the loans, mortgages and agreements that we could find involving the resort are held by one of Taylor's several financial companies. This includes a parcel of 108 acres that had been in a local family for generations until bought by English for $800,000. He turned right around and sold 101 acres of it to Scott Carswell from Tallahassee for $3M. One of Taylor's banks holds the note for $2,625,000, due in one year. Carswell owns and operates a large nightclub in Tallahassee, The Moon. He signs acts such as The Chippendales (male strippers) and Sevendust. He is a boxing promoter. He was a witness in a federal drug money laundering case. Why this fellow came to the North Carolina mountains to pay $3M for land that had just been bought for $800,000...and pay $2,625,000 to a Taylor bank, simply does not smell right to me. Bussey told us that this land would be used for a stable and riding trails. For $3M? That doesn't make sense unless it were Central Park. Is the inflated re-sale price for real? Is there some kind of a sham transaction in this? Will this be used as a money washing operation by anyone? Lots of questions on this particular deal.
David Day is the master planner for this resort project, and many others in the area. He took the old toxic Sayles Bleachery site, and turned it into a large shopping/condo area that includes a Wal-Mart. The site is on the banks of the Swannanoa River and the project really brought out the tree-huggers and folks who didn't want the congestion in their quiet neighborhood. As far as I can tell, there are four partners, one of whom is Taylor. The paperwork was not recorded for more than six months after it was signed. Perhaps the reason for that would be to keep it from public scrutiny. It was an election year and a lot of voters were upset. The attorney that Taylor used for this was David Matney.
That wasn't the only time Matney was used, and it wasn't the only time Taylor and Day did a development together. They were partners with Bussey in the high-density Mount Carmel Village in Leicester (Asheville suburb). Buncombe County sold them 35 acres for this project. County minutes show that the starting bid would be at $550,000. Day offered that amount and there were no other bidders. Day got this prime property — for only $550,000. There are no doc stamps on the deed. On that land, and the piece behind it, Taylor, Day, and Bussey are building 174 townhouses, 42 single family homes, clubhouse and pool, approximately 200 mini-storage units, an 8,000 sq.ft. office building, and several restaurants. The money came from Taylor's banks and from Macon Bank.
Macon Bank shows up numerous times in various Taylor transactions. Its president is Everett Stiles who is a Taylor donor. In 2000, he was named to the Federal Reserve Board. In 2002, he was elected to the board of Federal Home Loan of Atlanta which takes in the area from Florida to DC.
Taylor and Day are partners in other ventures as well. Day owns several million dollars worth of real estate, yet almost two years ago he obtained a Small Business Administration loan for $1M. Taylor sits on committees that give him direct authority to dictate the budgets for many departments including the Small Business Administration.
Is it a stretch to believe that Taylor is the real power behind Wolf Ridge/Scenic Wolf/etc.? We found at least one recent document showing the address of the resort as 20 South Pack Square...Taylor's address. Even though Bussey claims he no longer works at Blue Ridge Savings Bank, he is still listed as a loan officer on their website and you can even click on his name to send him an e-mail. Taylor's mother is an English from Madison County. I was told that Taylor and Orville English are cousins, so I checked the records going back to the 1850s. It looks like they could be double cousins. Taylor's relatives figure in his other corporations. Bussey said that Taylor has a home and a lot at Wolf Ridge, and he is seen quite often at the restaurant there. However, we can't find anything in any of his family's names or corporate names on file at the Register of Deeds. Is he using the delayed-filing method to keep his ownership out of the spotlight?
Several years ago, there was an almighty hullabaloo surrounding loans made by Blue Ridge Savings Bank. Its president pleaded guilty to bank fraud and money laundering. A borrower, who was also a Taylor friend and contributor, pleaded guilty to bank fraud. There were questions of forgery. The president testified that Taylor was a "micro-manager" and that he had helped Taylor to "skirt issues." After awaiting sentencing for only four years, the federal judge finally lowered the boom. The friend got three months home detention and the president got 6 months. They were allowed to go out for work and other activities.
Taylor's financial disclosures are required filings with the Federal Election Commission. In his financial disclosures, his assets appear, disappear, and re-appear without reason...$25M in one case. Corporations are not listed. Valuations fluctuate. Ownership changes without amending disclosures. There seems to be evidence of insider trading. The discrepancies are so obvious that I can't imagine why they haven't been challenged before this.
In Taylor's 2004 disclosure, while not declaring how he acquired it, an asset appears entitled "Shares in Bank of Ivanovo — Held Individually until transfer to Financial Guaranty Corporation [another Taylor corporation] approved by Russian Government" with a value ranging from $1,000,001 to $5M. If he didn't buy it, how in the heck did he get it? A sitting member of Congress on the Appropriations Committee waiting for approval from the Russians? Ivanovo is a city of about 400,000 population, 180 miles from Moscow. It is a major textile center.
In 1997, while serving in Congress, Taylor and his wife held Blue Ridge Savings Bank and Financial Guaranty Corporation stock with a combined minimum value of $6,000,001 to a max value of $30,000,000. By December 31, 2004, the two companies merged and have a value of "over $50,000,000." This is a very impressive performance, and this is the same company that is going to be the banker in Russia, as referred to above.
The House Ethics Manual gives some appropriate quotes describing the restriction (15% of congressional salary) of outside "earned income" and unrestricted "unearned income." A Member is allowed to continue to make decisions and take action necessary to manage personal equity and family business, without restriction, as long as it "does not generate a significant amount of income." That seems to be the key phrase. "Substantial earnings from other employment is inconsistent with the concept that being a Member of Congress is a full-time job." There cannot be "distractions from the time and attention expected to be devoted to congressional responsibilities." "Substantial outside earned income creates at least the appearance of impropriety and thereby undermines public confidence in the integrity of government officials." While I realize that a million bucks ain't what it use to be, how much money does it take to be considered " significant" and "substantial"?
GE had been polluting the Hudson River since the 1940s. The feds ordered them to clean up the toxic mess covering about 200 miles of the river, but GE has been dragging their heels getting started. And to help postpone this estimated $500M day of reckoning, Rep. Taylor slipped in a rider to appropriations legislation that calls for a yearlong National Academy of Sciences study to take another look at the clean-up project. This little goodie wasn't disclosed until after the committee approved the legislation. GE gave Taylor $8,250 in 2004.
What started out to be an attempt to mitigate the impact that re-zoning would bring to our quiet, rural community, soon turned into something else. I believe there is enough here, just by what we've seen in public records, to warrant a close look-see by the House Ethics Committee, and perhaps the Justice Department.
At the Jan. 24 Board of Adjustments hearing, Boss Larry Leake's hand-picked board voted to send the resort project on to the Board of Commissioners for approval. It was a typical Madison County deal. The resort will be the largest town in the county. Leake, who also is attorney for Madison County, ran the hearing even though the vice-chairman was present. Leake is one of developer English's attorneys. After a quick title search, I found four documents that Leake has drawn up for English...one of them showing Leake as Trustee. This is a blatant breach of ethics and conflict of interest.
Sidebar #1
I can forgive Congressman Taylor almost anything...except his dealings with David Matney. My mental health advocate friends and I have followed Matney's actions in this area for years. He is the chief attorney for Blue Ridge Mental Health, which morphed into Western Highlands and New Vistas since the reform. He aided and abetted their corruption. (See NCC Nov 05 Grant Writing) We have it well-documented and took it to the Inspector General and the FBI. They passed the buck back and forth and did nothing. Now we have to wonder whether Taylor is protecting his bud. Since Larry Leake, chairman of the State Board of Elections, and Madison County Boss, is also involved in this scam, he would be protected as well. Federal pork is pouring into Madison County now. Is this a way of assuring co-operation in the re-zoning? It would be interesting to do a chart showing the flow of federal money going into counties where Taylor is planning a venture.
Sidebar #2
While researching this article, I ran across a tidbit that took off in a different direction, but is still related. 43 acres in downtown Swannanoa, between two exits of I-40, was sold to Gordon Myers and Bob Ingle (as Swannanoa Valley Properties, LLC), for a mere $1M. Here's the story:
Beacon Manufacturing was a major industry in this area until NAFTA . They went into bankruptcy around 2000-01. It owed $7.65M to its primary lender CIT/Commercial Services, plus some taxes and other stuff totaling another couple of million. It finally shut down for good in 2002. Mountain Bank (Taylor) ended up owning the property.
In 2003, there was a convenient arson fire lasting five days that leveled the old six-story plant. A
19-year old kid was arrested for fire-bombing a warehouse and a housing development in the same community. He admitted to torching Beacon just a few days after he had gotten out of drug rehab. He got five years probation. Could there have been an angel in his corner somewhere...hmmm? How did he get the wherewithal to feed his drug habit?
I spoke with two former Beacon employees who told me that prior to the fire, the 200 looms, spinning frames, carding and weaving machines had been removed and sold...some directly, some through brokers...and shipped throughout the world. Did any of it go to Ivanovo?
The bank cleaned up the property and sold it to Myers/Ingle for only $1M. That's just incredibly cheap...43 acres of flat land in the mountains, railroad siding, easy access to I-40, city services, close-in to Asheville, etc. Senator Martin Nesbitt owns property right across the street.
Ingle runs a grocery chain. He took it public around 15 years ago. Ingles Markets Investments, Inc. is a Nevada corporation registered in 1990. The registering agent is a Nevada bankruptcy attorney. Most everyone knows who Gordon Myers is by now. He was an Ingles VP, in charge of real estate and leasing. There is a stockholder's suit and the SEC has just notified Ingles of pending disciplinary action. (See NCC Sep. 05 Feds Rattling Cage?) Myers resigned and was soon appointed to the Lottery Commission. He very quickly stepped down from that position and has since appeared in front of the federal grand jury meeting in Raleigh now.
GSM Dev. Corp. is also a Nevada Corporation, registered on September 8, 1997. (GSM may stand for Gordon S. Myers) GSM Dev. Corp. (Nevada) borrowed $450,000 from Blue Ridge Savings Bank (Taylor) on September 23, 1997, for a project in Haywood County. It went into foreclosure on August 14, 2001...with papers drawn up by Matney. Gordon Myers and his wife Kaye registered GSM Development Incorporated in North Carolina on October 5, 2005.
Myers is the chairman of AdvantageWest, a state-run Economic Development Region for the alleged purpose of stimulating commerce. Reality has it as a giant slush fund. Notorious (Meridith) Norris got her start through Myers and the Economic Development network. Taylor is the chairman of the Appropriations Sub-Committee for the U.S. Department of Interior which gave AdvantageWest $750,000 in late 2003. Taylor's top aide Roger France then went to work for AdvantageWest, and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) asked the Attorney General's Criminal Division to investigate the matter. France is now in Washington as a GE lobbyist.
Taylor aide, Charles Fuller, became CEO of Cherokee Tobacco, which began as Tribal Bingo Consultants. The manufacturing and distribution rights were obtained by other investors and it became Cherokee Tobacco Company. The cigarettes were made in Brazil and shipped to Medellin, Colombia for packaging and distribution until just recently. Now everything is done in Virginia.
© Judson Cox
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