Neighbor on Richardson house: "pretty disheveled"
If you want to see the inside of the Sacramento house purchased by Rep. Laura Richardson in 2007 (pictured), this video takes you inside. The video also quotes an angry neighbor who says the house became "pretty disheveled" under Richardson's brief ownership.
Does she still own the house? Did it fall into foreclosure? Richardson's one public statement on the matter indicates there was no foreclosure and she still owns the house and is making payments on it. Public records and three published interviews with an investor named James York, however, indicate otherwise. "It was a foreclosure auction. I took possession of the house as of May 7," York told Capitol Weekly, the Sacramento publication that broke the story.
Richardson's chief of staff, Kimberly Parker, told L.A. Land the Long Beach Democrat would have nothing to say about the matter today, and will issue a second statement about the property on Friday. Perhaps that will clear things up.
Photo Credit: 3622 West Curtis Drive in Sacramento, the house purchased by Laura Richardson in 2007, via AP.
One notable aspect of this is the location. Curtis Park is one of the nicest neighborhoods in town, with stylish Craftsman-era homes and tree-lined streets. This is not Elk Grove. So, another angle is that this story may burst the bubble of those arguing that Sacramento's established inner neighborhoods-- which have fallen only 10 or so percent since the 2005 peak-- are immune from the mess.
Posted by: Chris in Sacramento | May 22, 2008 at 03:32 PM
Prediction:
Tomorrow she'll tell us about the noble effort she made to "keep her promise", "honor her commitment" or some such pap.
Then she'll say she's still open to working with the lender.
And if she's feeling really pressured, she'll say she's going into Rehab.
Posted by: TakeFive | May 22, 2008 at 03:37 PM
the Long Beach Democrat would have nothing to say about the matter today, and will issue a second statement about the property on Friday.
That's right, run away, hide, get your lies straight. The national party is likely involved by now working how best to spin this with their friends in the MSM. This time is different. If the press release was a lie the least she can hope for os disgrace and resignation.
Posted by: Rob Dawg | May 22, 2008 at 03:40 PM
Why does it take a number of days to get the true story from this woman?
As I was raised....If you always tell the truth...you don't have to have as good of a memory.
I'm with Rob Dawg...she's buying time to get her lies...I mean story straight.
Posted by: E | May 22, 2008 at 04:12 PM
Her constituents will reelect her. She will pay no price, other than some unfortunate publicity, which will blow over in a week or two.
Over the long run, we get the government we deserve.
Posted by: orcadrvr | May 22, 2008 at 04:14 PM
This one won't blow over. The blogosphere will not let it go. The national party is in for a big surprise and doubly so as LA Land is involved. Why? because they'll package it as a 3 day story and expect the LA Times will prove its usual cooperative self only to discover the blogs are not MSM. The blogs will bite into this one, bring up fellow fraudster Casey Serin and flood the local offices of the FBI who have announced increase mortgage fraud prosecution.
Posted by: Rob Dawg | May 22, 2008 at 04:43 PM
Via Michelle Malkin:
"McClatchy Watch points out that Richardson is a Democrat superdelegate pledged to Hillary Clinton"
http://superdelegates.org/Category:
Delegates_who_endorsed_Hillary_Clinton
Posted by: TakeFive | May 22, 2008 at 05:02 PM
How about we chip in to buy Richardson a ring tone for her cell phone. I vote for the Zombies:
Well, no one told me about her
The way she lied
Well, no one told me about her
How many people cried
But it's too late to say you're sorry
How would I know, why should I care
Please don't bother tryin' to find her
She's not there
Posted by: TakeFive | May 22, 2008 at 05:14 PM
Peter, I live about 2 miles from this house and walk around Curtis Park 3-4 times a week. I have watched this house for about a year. Curtis Park is a long narrow oval park in a nice part of town. This house faces the park and has a small studio in the back. A few months ago I noticed that it looked empty. The fact that there were no longer window coverings caught my eye. It remained empty for ever since without a for sale sign. The lawn became overgrown. Pizza flyers and a few phonebooks lingered at the front door. One of the gates in the fence fell down and rested at an angle on the lawn. Sometime last week a large dumpster appeared and a few men showed up walking around inside. You can see the dumpster parked on the side street in your photo. After months of sitting empty something had obviously changed. It looks like somebody is starting to fix it up.
Posted by: Tim | May 22, 2008 at 07:33 PM
All these comments miss the salient point: here is an elected official who is in a position to use her influence to feather her own nest, and who has not done so. The fact that she is in financial difficulties only underscores her integrity.
Posted by: Owl777 | May 22, 2008 at 08:26 PM
Perfect move, issue a statement late in the day before the Memorial Day weekend, hoping by Tuesday no one will care anymore... she needs the time to determine what her truthiness is and consult Hillary on som spin tips...
Posted by: mark g | May 23, 2008 at 08:51 AM
A number of people have reported that the default was another symptom of the sub-prime mortgage crisis. This makes no sense. Falling home values does not change the payments on a mortgage. Only a change in the interest rate on an ARM can change it. However, the prime interest rate in Jan 2007 was 65% higher than it is today.
She just didn't pay.
Posted by: VB | May 23, 2008 at 12:30 PM
I think it's important to find out if she received any cash during the closing or if she lied on the loan documents. She's now claiming she's a poor struggling single mom who had tough times and is struggling to pay the bills like any other American.
The vast majority of Americans did not do what she did.
Posted by: LouMinatti | May 24, 2008 at 09:28 AM
Scumbag, Sleazebag, Lazy Scammer, Scum of The Earth.
This is the type of human garbage that gets elected to congress.
Those in forclosure, those shop til you drop pigs with no savings will get their just deserts very soon.
The decline of America is the result of scum like her and all those that vote for ignorant panderers like her.
You are all getting what you deserve. As for me, I am happily watching America burn itself to the ground from Asia which is a place where honest work is respected and you are allowed to keep your wages and not have to fund pigs like laura.
Posted by: Justa Taxpayer | May 24, 2008 at 10:03 AM