Would you pay $1,300/mo. to lease a car? You already do.
Off topic but irresistible to those following the saga of U.S. Rep. Laura Richardson (pictured), the triple-default and single-foreclosure Democrat of Long Beach: the car she leases for official use is the most expensive lease of any member of the House of Representatives, according to Gene Maddaus of the Daily Breeze.
Maddaus: "When she arrived in Congress last fall, Rep. Laura Richardson sought out a vehicle that would match her newfound status. She settled on a 2007 Lincoln Town Car - the choice of many representatives who lease their vehicles at taxpayers' expense. But hers was distinct: at $1,300 a month, it was the most expensive car in the House of Representatives."
Please note the phrase "at taxpayers' expense."
Better known for defaulting on three mortgages and losing one house to foreclosure, Richardson is fast gaining a reputation for inventive auto financing. The backstory from Maddaus: " When she was a councilwoman in Long Beach, she crashed her BMW, abandoned it at a body shop, failed to pay a prior repair bill, and then racked up 30,000 miles on a city-owned hybrid in one year - apparently violating a policy against personal use of city cars."
I know, I know, it's not a housing story. But I also know some of you are following the saga of Rep. Richardson's personal and public finances. For my money it's one of the better political stories to come out of the foreclosure crisis.
Your thoughts? Comments? E-mail story tips to peter.viles@latimes.com.
Hat tips: Uncle Billy via e-mail, with a reminder from LAObserved.
Photo Credit: Rep. Laura Richardson, center, arrives at a fundraiser in Washington, Wednesday, June 25, 2008, via A.P.
Missed this part:
"According to a former staff member, Richardson insisted that her Lincoln be specially customized, which may explain the high cost. "
Guess she needed a dope ride for cruising her district.
Posted by: TakeFive | June 30, 2008 at 02:18 PM
Not only is she a deadbeat, she has lousy taste in cars.
Posted by: puckhead | June 30, 2008 at 02:24 PM
every time i pop back by la land, the smug, self-satisfied look on this woman's face infuriates me anew.
she truly is abhorrent.
Posted by: areles | June 30, 2008 at 02:42 PM
M. Snyder, she said goodbye to the blog a few months ago. Calculated Risk has a frequent commenter named "Lefty's Liquors" who caters to the day trading alcoholics that frequent CR, so it's possible she just jumped blogs.
Posted by: Moral Hazard Drives A Big Wheel | June 30, 2008 at 02:55 PM
The most expensive Lincoln Towncar (2007) on swaplease.com is $741. Even if that car doesn't have all the bells and whistles Richardson's did, it shouldn't cost twice as much.
This woman is right up there with our friend Ken Calvert. Remember his shenanigans from 1993? It really is amazing how entitled (and immune) our representative government officials appear to feel.
Posted by: RahRahGrl | June 30, 2008 at 08:37 PM
First, there should be some limit to what the government will pay for a car lease for the US REPs.
Secondly, there is no way a lease for this "boat" will be $1300. If she has such bad credit, how come she bought so many houses??? to get such payment you need to have a 300 FICO. Even the crazy banks during 2005-6 would not give mortgages to 300 FICO....they did give to 500 FICO...but that FICO would not cause least of such car to be $1300.
There is for sure a cash back paid to her either monthly or was paid as lump sum...most likely...she just got cash, nobody can catch that....So she is bacially milking US tax payers and pulling money that should be for the lease for her own cash pockets...
That behavior is criminal and need to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
This woman should have been arrested long time ago, sitting in jail, and waiting for her trial. Instead, she is working on/with Dodd and Frank on their corrupt bills to bailout their bodies...
Where is the police???? FBI??? Someone help please...
Posted by: Laker | June 30, 2008 at 11:36 PM
You people know she needs to look good in order to get them programs and things for the homies.
Posted by: Chris | June 30, 2008 at 10:05 AM
I still think Ms. Richardson's situation is small potatoes compared to others in Congress. I wonder why all the focus on her and if this would be the case if she were a man.
Chris, racist comments like yours are the reason a lot of Blacks vote for their representatives in spite of "scandals" like Ms. Richardson's. I call it the "screw you" vote. Marion Barry was re-elected by the screw you vote and I think the same will hold true for Ms. Richardson. The more "Others" tell them who they should not vote for, the more inclined they are to vote for said candidate just to tell people like you "screw you, we vote for who we want to vote for, not who White people deem "worthy". "
Also, a lot of Blacks in Ms. Richardson's district could probably relate to her financial difficulties. They have been locked out of the political process and housing market for so many years and been screwed by so many White politicians, this situation is not a big deal to them.
...and by the way, her district is made up of more than just Black people.
Posted by: JK | July 01, 2008 at 12:38 AM
Here's a nice article about the whole house leasing issue:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/01/nyregion/
01cars.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
It doesn't mention whether or not the leases are paid direct by congress or if the reps are reimbursed. I imagine the latter as congress pays for all sorts of other car related goodies as well. So if they're reimbursed, and we take Laura's pr guy at his word... there's some $360 a month unaccounted for. Do the reps need to show their lease statements to an auditor of some kind?
Posted by: Moral Hazard Drives A Big Wheel | July 01, 2008 at 02:00 AM
Kudos to Gene "Mad Dog" Maddaus for staying on this story. I worked with him at the now-defunct Inland Valley Times (a once proud member of Times Community News) and you can bet he won't let go of Richardson while there is still one nugget left to mine.
Posted by: Jay Collier | July 01, 2008 at 06:14 AM
WJ: The quote I think you were thinking of is from Elvis Costello from the song Red Shoes, which starts off:
Oh i used to be disgusted
And now i try to be amused...
Richardson is the epitome of public corruption. Somebody put her in a jail cell already!
Posted by: Eckalectic | July 01, 2008 at 10:04 AM
Don't take this as a defense of this woman, but it looks like she is renting, not leasing, the car, which may explain the $1300/mo. charge. The story says she is leasing from Enterprise Rent-a-car. I know a friend who in 1998 was renting a Dodge Neon for something like $600/mo., so $1300/mo. for a Lincoln in 2008 is probably a reasonable RENTAL charge.
Of course, she SHOULD be leasing, not renting.
Posted by: Jamie | July 01, 2008 at 03:21 PM
Awww, C'mon. Y'all are shredding her because she's black and a woman. (This does not mean I'm condoning her actions).
Don't you have bigger scumbag politicians to fry? How 'bout those guys in the Oval Office. You know, the one's who've marooned us in a bloody, endless war, and created this toxic economy.
Oh. Wait. They're White Guys. My bad.
Posted by: HulaGirl | July 01, 2008 at 10:27 PM