Corporate Jets
From the Round-Up:Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is coming under fire for taking a corporate jet to Rosa Parks' funeral. The mayor hitched a ride on a plane belonging to Ameriquest, "a mortgage firm that has a City Hall lobbyist assigned to press its interests with the mayor."
"Villaraigosa, who once worked for the firm, flew last week on the private jet to Detroit with an aide and his security detail after receiving a last-minute invitation to speak at the funeral of civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks. 'Because of the short notice and the need to fulfill his official duties, the mayor needed the services of a private jet,' spokeswoman Janelle Erickson said."
Oh, ok. Sorry we asked.
But wait, there's more...
"Ameriquest gave $75,000 to a political committee that Villaraigosa controlled while he was speaker of the Assembly from 1998 to 2000."
"When Villaraigosa left the Legislature, Ameriquest paid him more than $10,000 in 2001 and again in 2002 to serve as a consultant for the firm. At the time, Ameriquest was trying to blunt proposed consumer legislation in Sacramento and at City Hall."
"Villaraigosa has said he did not advise Ameriquest on lobbying politicians but on 'strategic thinking and problem solving.'"
"Ameriquest and its employees have contributed more than $21,000 to Villaraigosa's 2001 and 2005 mayoral campaigns."
"Ameriquest contributed $100,000 to underwrite his inaugural gala at the Music Center in June, an event that raised money for after-school programs."
Posted by Anonymous @ 11/08/2005 07:40:00 AM
15 Comments:
You omitted to mention that Villaraigosa avoided any appearance of impropriety by reimbursing Ameriquest for the flight -- sort of. He's going to give them $438 for his flight, and $438 for his aide's flight. (No word on how much we taxpayers will pay for the two LAPD officers accompanying him.) However, according to the L.A. Times article written by Patrick McGreevy, it costs $19,500 to book a private jet with five seats, like the one on which Villaraigosa flew, from L.A. to Detroit. That works out to $3900 per seat. But $438 is pretty close, especially since he apparently declined the optional peanuts.
Janelle, your head is so deep in Villaraigosa's ass and you no longer think clearly.
Do you really think the public is so dumb we'll buy the quote you just made?
Sad case. Janelle wake up.
The mention of reimbursement was made after the fact. We still need the public to get involved and demand what other crap the mayor is trying to get away with!
PAY TO PLAY, BABY!
THAT'S RIGHT PAY TO PLAY, IT'S ALL GOOD, GO FOR IT MAYOR, WE'LL BACK YOU UP IN GLASSEL PARK, WE LOVE YOU HERE.
ALL THE WHITES DO IT, WHY NOT US.
Who was the aide that went with him?
remember Fabian's trip with Cindy Montanez to the pro-bowl paid for bu Ameriquest...
You know that AV is full of shit when this is said in the article:
"Villaraigosa has said he did not advise Ameriquest on lobbying politicians but on 'strategic thinking and problem solving.'"
What ever kind of Strategic thinking has this little Naploean thought of?
Only $438 that's for a coach seat making two stops. It costs $475 on Northwest for a Non-stop flight, given that he likes to fly in Business class add about $250 or a real primadonna $500 for First class, a person for that.
What is overlooked is the courageous stand he took for civil rights when he refused to sit in the back of the corporate jet.
Thank you 12:45. Today is so stressful I needed a good laugh at no one's direct expense
He did however, have to give up his seat to a "white" guy, 12:45. Parke Skelton needed the hookup for his laptop (have to keep up with Mayor Sam's Blog during an election).
AH, hell. AV could have bought his OWN private jet and run it for 4 years with the money his Transport committee lost while he was on council. $20 million.
You should have socked that away for a rainy day, AV.
We were Hit by Ameriquest then Hurricanes.
we are still suffering from the hit by ameriquest.
Renting and Making mortgage payments. over a year now :o(
From Florida
My Name Is Lawrence Green
I have a story to tell about Ameriquest and a loan that I obtained, unfortunately I cannot tell it myself but I hope I have left enough information for Bob, George and their friends to tell my story for me…
All of the photos are of my home and the condition it was in when I did the loan , I can prove this is the same condition when the appraiser came out!
On January of 2003 I obtained a loan from Ameriquest Mortgage Company, who now wants to be known as A.M.C. I wanted to get 10 – 15k for home repairs and medicine for the prostate cancer I was suffering from. My home was not on three acres.
My house was the most valuable asset I have ever had besides my family and faith in the Lord, I am a religious man who believes man should trust one another, so I did, I trusted Ameriquest and their employees to do the right thing for an old man sick with cancer.
My name is Lawrence Green I am a seventy two year old African American Man and have a limited income from SSI and my Pension in the amount of $1.423 my mortgage payments were With Fairbanks Mortgage Company at 11.6%, payments at $404.18 0n a $40.000.00 loan . My eyes were not too good and I had to rely on the Ameriquest people to get me through this confusing and complicated loan process.
I obviously got in over my head with Ameriquest because when I did the loan for repairs , to be done on my house; it was appraised at seventy three thousand dollars which there is a photo of the appraisal
The actual value of my property was probably in the mid 20k area so it looks like my previous lender got me too! The LOAN amount , ameriquest stuck me with , was for sixty thousand , I didn’t know I was getting this much, my loan application clearly states 10-15k for repairs.
There are some issues with my home and I don’t believe Ameriquest should have approved me for a loan in the first place.
Maybe I needed some money to help me survive this cancer but the loan Ameriquest gave me could only make my health worse, so much stress. Truthfully the Ameriquest people should have called the health department and reported me living there. I did not make $3.000.00 a month like the stated income letter said.
Maybe I could have lived in a facility with A/C or Heat without water leaking into my rooms from the roof… The photos are the condition of my home today just the way I left it when the guys in white coats came with a stretcher and took me out. As you can clearly see by the pictures,the work ordered on the invoice below was not done.
AMERIQUEST PHONY WORK ORDER WHERE'S THE PHONE NUMBER, OF THE CONTRACTOR?
THE ROOF LEAKS WHEN IT RAINS.
After I got the loan I had more debt than I originally had, with a higher monthly payment than I previously had along with my bills and meds to pay for my cancer treatment, I am 72 years old, I didn’t need this stress, it was only five months before I couldn’t pay the bills and the rent any more, one thing became more important than the other, I had cancer to beat and in my current monetary situation I was trapped. I did not have $10.000.00 in a checking account like the form below states , I had about five hundred in the bank.
My first non payment date was 06- 01- 04, only 5 months later. I had lived a long life and all I wanted to do is live or die in peace in my home.
My interest rate was 10.8% The closing costs were about $5.469.00 Many unexplained fees and in some cases explained wrong on the disbursement sheet.Why did the notary get a $300.00 appraisal fee on my closing doc.
Fortunately I had a close friend and a daughter to look after me for a short time, but they were not able to help out with the bills much.
AMERIQUEST STATED , THE LOAN I WAS GETTING WAS TO HELP ME DO THE REPAIRS
I don't recall getting any money at the closing , in order to do the repairs . my eye sight was really bad , and the ameriquest representative who came to my house to do the closing , helped me sign my name to these documents , they never gave me any signed copies , i put my trust into ameriquest , and they did me wrong - look at my monthly ameriquest statement - higher then Fairbanks statement ..
The repairs never got done , the mold and mildew from the roof leaking , no heat for the winter months - i was freezing on cold winter nights , AMERIQUEST JUST DIDN'T CARE !!!!!
Ameriquest said they would send the men out to install the heat , but no one showed up , I called many times , the winter was getting colder , still no heat
I told my daughter that I didn’t ask for this much of a loan amount and that it was too much for me to handle. I told my daughter that I was becoming even more ill because of the stress I was enduring along with the cancer and this bad loan; things are not too good for me these days.
Cancer is no longer an issue for me nor is the bad loan but I hope I have touched some of you who have taken the time to read my story and keep this from happening to others.
Don’t feel bad for me because I am now the richest man I know, I have a new home actually it’s a kingdom. My Name Is Lawrence Green, I died from a heart attack in January 2005, not in what was once my home but in an Ameriquest Mortgage Company foreclosed home almost exactly one year later.
Thank you Antoinette Green - Daughter of Lawrence Green , for all your help and support and God Bless you Mr. Green, You are home…
A local TV station had a talk back to the mayor regular feature. Right after the Ameriquest jet ride broke. I submitted a question to the mayor that actually got on the air. My question concerned how the Mayor intended to declare taxable income for the flight, and if he knew whether Ameriquest intended to deduct the expenses of the flight as a business deduction for taxes.
The mayor had no clue, he obviously had made no effort to determine how legally one would figure out what income to declare, or that his ride would result in a large deduction for Ameriquest.
When Walter Moore states that in the final run on this, the mayor paid $438, I am not surprised. This should have been calculated on a CIFFA rate (I could be spelling that wrong). Essentially a law or rate that Congress established whereby politicians could use US govt jets for personal travel at a bargain rate.
This would allow Ameriquest to deduct the costs of the flight on their tax return. $438 in exchange for a $20,000 deduction, what a deal!
And in the final word, why did the Mayor need to take the corporate jet? He stated that he was so busy doing city business that he missed the last commerical flight. What was that business? The mayor, married at the time needed to bring takeout food to his Spanish Language TV reporter, girlfriend, watch a DVD, and get a proper send off for the funeral.
Where the mayor is concerned you just cant make this stuff up, the truth is stranger than fiction.
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