Rep. Richardson failed to disclose loan from strip club owner

The latest on the triple-default, single-foreclosure Democratic congresswoman from Long Beach: "Rep. Laura Richardson  initially failed to disclose economic interests -- including a loan from a strip club owner -- when she served on the Long Beach City Council, public records show," the Long Beach Press-Telegram reports.

From the Press-Telegram: the loan in question was for $20,000, in 2000, and came from a family trust controlled by Jerry Westlund, who owns the Fantasy Castle strip club in Signal Hill and 13 other strip clubs in seven states. Two years later, Richardson -- who had not yet disclosed the loan -- voted with the council to place Westlund's father on the city's board of examiners. She eventually disclosed the loan in 2004.

It gets more complicated: Westlund tells the newspaper that the 60-month loan, at 15.5% interest, was made to Richardson and her then-husband, Long Beach Police Chief Anthony Batts, but Batts strongly disputes that, and the newspaper reports that only Richardson's name is on public records of the loan.

Here's where it really gets interesting: "Westlund said he asked to be paid back in about 2005 when Long Beach police began showing up with frequency to investigate his Fantasy Ranch strip club, which was on South Street in Long Beach."

Richardson declined to talk to her hometown paper for the story.

Analysis: Wild stuff, huh? I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I'm not entirely convinced this $20,000 was viewed as a loan when the money originally changed hands, if you catch my drift.

I know it's far afield from home values in the San Fernando Valley, but this woman does represent a good part of Los Angeles County in Congress, and she has become a poster child for financial irresponsibility at a time when Congress is weighing who is responsible for the mortgage mess. Exactly what would it take for the Republican Party to field a competitive candidate against her?

Your thoughts? Comments? E-mail story tips to peter.viles@latimes.com
Hat tips: Uncle Billy, Dr. Housing Bubble and others, via e-mail.
Photo credit: L.A. Times

Comments

[Anon.]

"Exactly what would it take for the Republican Party to field a competitive candidate against her?"

The question to me is, why is there almost zero chance she will be unseated? Look at her district map and tell me any R would have a chance against any D. I don't see it happening no matter how corrupt she is. Part of the blame goes to the voters but more of the blame, in my opinion, goes to the system we have of safe districts and the power of incumbency.

[Michael Snyder]

Let's face it; Laura Richardson is proof we have the best government money can buy. She's not only a "poster child" for fiscal irresponsibility, she's proof of the sense of entitlement our elected officials have. After all, how would they conduct business without a little grease? Even with a salary that puts her in the top 10% of wage earners in the country she still has her hand out for "favors" from well heeled constituents.
This situation also points out the failure of our two party system of government where partisan politics take precedence over the concerns & rights of a constituency every time.
Had any one of us been in Rep. Richardson's situation we'd already be on the streets facing loan fraud charges, and every time this woman's name comes up there's a new revelation that should put her out of office if not in jail. Yet there she is with her less than 20% mandate from the voters celebrating her victory. The mere acceptance of her actions by the Democratic party bosses is proof of just how corrupt that entire organization is.
For the record I have no political party affiliation and I believe we'd all be better off if more citizens opted to remove themselves from the roles of the political parties and register to vote without a party affiliation. Politics have been reduced to a sporting event in this country with a single elimination tournament every four years. Until we as an electorate wise up these thieves will continue to control the treasury.

[Victor the Predictor]

I predict that a deal will be cut, we will get her resignation early this week and that she will end up either with a nice pr job billing the DWP 25 hour days (MLK reference - where if you added up physician's timecards, they would run over 25 hours). Or maybe she'll do some lobster diving at the port of los angeles -- I hear that's a very lurative business. (reference to "Lobstergate"). Or she could always become a "treasurer" like Kinde Durkee.

Mantra for our times: "This town needs a high colonic"

Republican isn't going to happen, but why don't they try that nice college guy and see how long it takes to dirty him up.

Obama's talking about vetting the vetters? We gotta vet the voters!

[Kathy]

Paging Nancy Pelosi...cleanup on aisle 2...

[sunsetbeachguy]

More proof for the cockroach axiom.

Where there is one, there are more. (scandals)

I think Americans are suffering from outrage fatigue.

[TakeFive]

Keep up the pressure Pete.

Condemnation and ridicule seem to be our last, best, and only hope as any kind of check on public corruption.

Remember that when people start talking about bringing back the "Fairness" Doctrine and other limits on free speech.

[Nick]

A quintessential example of corruption in political office, and she just got re-elected. If she ever is forced to step down, she could always have a next career as the poster child for why you should need to pass an IQ test before being able to vote.

[I Had A Dream]

Ok, explain this one. She's got the 3 houses *that we know about* and is in extreme debt, milking them for cash and using it for campaigning. Then she's got the place in Folsom -- "123 Marble Canyon Drive" right? If this is hers, she's certainly out of character on this purchase. According to property records online, it was purchased in 2005 for $465,000, with a first td of $145,000. That means she made a down payment of just under 70%. $320,000.

WHAT??

Where the heck does our debt strapped representative get $320,000 cash? (or where did daniel get it).

Then a heloc appears the next year for $50,000. Then a refi in January '07 for $200k.

Um, plus the home looks like it's currently assessed at $100,000 *less* than the purchase price. Taxes, anyone?

On the Press Telegram site, there was a comment about her working in real estate at some point. If you check the department of real estate records, nothing comes up under "Laura Richardson." Anyone know if there's any truth to the claim that she worked in real estate? Anyone know who this "Daniel Richardson" is that keeps popping up on her property records?

[buz]

This lady is bad news. I went to a strip club in LA recently and was blatantly propositioned by one of several of dancers. I asked one how she didn't know if I was an undercover cop. She said that "the owners have taken care of that"

[MyLessThanPrimeBeef]

Buz, have mercy. You ever think about maybe she is trying to save her subprime mortgages?

[Jan]

So where were the local investigative reporters when Richardson was running against Jenny Oropeza? I'm glad you're finally on the job, but you could have saved us a lot of grief earlier on.

[BP]

Isn't this what we expect from having a one-party government in California?? There are no checks and balances. They could run Osama Bin Laden in this district and all the democrat interest groups would put their drones out into the streets to stir up the vote.

Wanna know why you are paying nearly $5 a gallon for gas? Richardson is a flunky who does what Pelosi tells her and Pelosi is on the take from the 'green lobby' who would rather see us in a national depression than get the freaking oil sitting off the California coast. So, to 'save the planet' all of us get to go broke buying Saudi and Mexican gas (not from Exxon, btw).

Anybody still believe that your CA Congressman represents YOU????

[TrojanDLA]

Blame it on the VOTERS. She was voted into office by residents who frankly DON'T CARE. If she is the "party chosen" well, she's in. Who's the Democrat? That's the "one". Party line is to blindly support the candidate regardless of merit or qualifications (that applies to either Democrats or Republicans).

It's a popularity contest pure and simple and has NOTHING to do with making an informed decision. The voters are zombies and voting as a block.

[Housing Bull Chorus]

Laura Richardson is an absolutely wonderful upstanding woman and you are all just a bunch of mean, nasty, hateful, racist, angry, jealous, bitter, elitist, pathetic RENTERS!

[Michael Snyder]

Housing Bull Chorus,
Truth hurts. It's the responsibility of the Fourth Estate to hold our representatives accountable for their actions. Since 90% of the media is in less than half a dozen hands it's left to bloggers like Pete Viles to step up and expose the corruption that has reduced America to a third world nation. Laura Richardson belongs in a jail cell, not in Congress.
I've only one question; how much did she "loan" you for that post?

[LBCResident]

Laura Richardson has a great voting record and I appreciate the way she votes.....unlike a certain Obama who hardly showed up to vote, or if he did, often said 'present'....

[Frank in LBC]

I would rather have a Rep that takes 'loans' from a strip club than a president who snorted some blow when he could afford it and smoked pot all the time....

[Tokyo Temp - ex LA Renter]

BP,

Actually the big oil and gasoline corporations bought of the California government of both Dems and Reps to pass legislation that makes it difficult for small time operators to set up shop in California. Not the greenies!

While Big Oil's PR machine tells us it's not their fault, blame eco-nuts and reap huge profits

Pretty shrewed !

[Tokyo Temp - ex LA Renter]

BP,

Actually the big oil and gasoline corporations bought of the California government of both Dems and Reps to pass legislation that makes it difficult for small time operators to set up shop in California. Not the greenies!

While Big Oil's PR machine tells us it's not their fault, blame eco-nuts and reap huge profits

Pretty shrewed !

[Mark]

The US is a corrupt, third-world country. Ha Ha.

[E]

Long Beach just can't get it's shit together.

What happened to all the money supposedly in it's housing trust fund?

Read more here...

http://www.presstelegram.com/news/ci_9607883

[Steve]

Looks to me like Westlund set up this "loan" to make sure his "bought politician" stayed "bought".

Other than the fact that it is against the law, you have to admire the fact that he figured out a unique way of giving "his" politician motivation to toe the line