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Harry Reid cleaning up - And no one CARES

 
 
Cycloptichorn
 
  1  
Reply Thu 12 Oct, 2006 11:27 am
woiyo wrote:
Cycloptichorn wrote:
Quote:

Smells like FRAUD to me. Amazing how HE got OFFICIALS to rezone the property.


Oh, c'mon. Is there an allegation that Reid was involved with this?

Cycloptichorn


Yea, the article said REID had zoning officials change that area to commercial use. Don't you think he had "friends" in local Govt?


No, the article most certainly does not say this.

The article says,

Quote:

_After getting local officials to rezone the property for a shopping center, Brown's company sold the land in 2004 to other developers and Reid took $1.1 million of the proceeds, nearly tripling the senator's investment. Reid reported it to Congress as a personal land sale.


Reid is not mentioned as being involved with the re-zoning. Reid's error was in not reporting this as the sale from an LLC in which he as a member, but as a personal land sale. The two are identical from a tax standpoint, but technically Reid should have reported it correctly.

Cycloptichorn
0 Replies
 
parados
 
  1  
Reply Thu 12 Oct, 2006 11:30 am
woiyo wrote:
Cycloptichorn wrote:
Quote:

Smells like FRAUD to me. Amazing how HE got OFFICIALS to rezone the property.


Oh, c'mon. Is there an allegation that Reid was involved with this?

Cycloptichorn


Yea, the article said REID had zoning officials change that area to commercial use. Don't you think he had "friends" in local Govt?

Yeah, Reid is a king and just TOLD his serfs in local government to change it and they did so without holding the required hearings or holding a vote in a public meeting.

Until you find evidence that the zoning was changed without the required process being followed that claim is bogus.
0 Replies
 
woiyo
 
  1  
Reply Thu 12 Oct, 2006 11:31 am
Cycloptichorn wrote:
woiyo wrote:
Cycloptichorn wrote:
Quote:

Smells like FRAUD to me. Amazing how HE got OFFICIALS to rezone the property.


Oh, c'mon. Is there an allegation that Reid was involved with this?

Cycloptichorn


Yea, the article said REID had zoning officials change that area to commercial use. Don't you think he had "friends" in local Govt?


No, the article most certainly does not say this.

The article says,

Quote:

_After getting local officials to rezone the property for a shopping center, Brown's company sold the land in 2004 to other developers and Reid took $1.1 million of the proceeds, nearly tripling the senator's investment. Reid reported it to Congress as a personal land sale.
[/b]

Reid is not mentioned as being involved with the re-zoning. Reid's error was in not reporting this as the sale from an LLC in which he as a member, but as a personal land sale. The two are identical from a tax standpoint, but technically Reid should have reported it correctly.

Cycloptichorn


Laughing Laughing Laughing Laughing Laughing Laughing Laughing

Cyclo, come back to me please....

Who do you think the article was referring to when it said "AFTER GETTING LOCAL OFFICIALS..."

Come on please!
0 Replies
 
Cycloptichorn
 
  1  
Reply Thu 12 Oct, 2006 11:35 am
It was referring to 'Brown's company.' It in no way stated that Reid used his influence to make this happen, as you are alledging.

If you have some proof that Reid 'pulled strings,' I invite you to present it.

Cycloptichorn
0 Replies
 
parados
 
  1  
Reply Thu 12 Oct, 2006 11:40 am
woiyo,



You make a request for rezoning. If the property is rezoned one could say "After getting the local officials.." but it hardly means you strong armed them or made them do something illegal. Most rezoning requires public comment after a public notice. The rezoning is then voted on in a public meeting usually based on those public comments. Developers make requests for rezoning all the time. Sometimes they are turned down but most of the time unless there is vocal opposition they are granted.

1. Do you have evidence the process was circumvented?
2. Do you have evidence of opposition to the rezoning?
3. Do you have evidence that the local officials voted opposite of the comments by the public?
0 Replies
 
woiyo
 
  1  
Reply Thu 12 Oct, 2006 11:41 am
"The complex dealings allowed Reid to transfer ownership, legal liability and some tax consequences to Brown's company without public knowledge, but still collect a seven-figure payoff nearly three years later. "

Reid had to be PART of the LLC in order to "enjoy" the 1.1M he received from it.

You think I am naive enough to assume Reid did not "help" the rezoning process along.

Sorry, Cyclo, I am not as naive as you think.
0 Replies
 
Cycloptichorn
 
  1  
Reply Thu 12 Oct, 2006 11:44 am
I don't have a problem with you believing whatever you like. It isn't my place to tell you what to believe. I'm just pointing out that there have been neither evidence presented, nor allegations made, that Reid did in fact 'strongarm' anyone into doing anything.

But, since you aren't so Naive, I invite you to the new thread that I have created to discuss another similar instance, to see what you have to say about it. You can find that under the title of 'Hastert land deals questioned.'

Cheers

Cycloptichorn
0 Replies
 
FreeDuck
 
  1  
Reply Thu 12 Oct, 2006 11:47 am
A bit more information here. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/11/AR2006101101640.html

I think it's unclear whether the LLC existed before the land transfer. If it did not, and if, for example the two entered into it together as the sole members, with their property as the only assets, and their stakes in the LLC were proportional to the land ownership that they transferred to the LLC, that's considered "invisible" for income tax purposes. Perhaps that's why he didn't report it, I don't know. Either way, he reported the profit when he made it, whether or not he reported the transfer, so that doesn't really bother me.

What bothers me is that a politician profited from a government land swap that he helped push through. In other words, he benefited from my tax dollar.
0 Replies
 
okie
 
  1  
Reply Thu 12 Oct, 2006 11:47 am
Cyclops and Parados, I would caution you in your partisanship of hope that your man, Reid, is innocent. I think you may be on very thin ice. I know Reid is kind of dumb, but maybe its more than dumbness to conduct business in this manner?
0 Replies
 
Cycloptichorn
 
  1  
Reply Thu 12 Oct, 2006 11:50 am
I also invite you to participate in the other thread I've started, Okie, to see what your thoughts are on the matter involving Hastert.

As I said earlier in the thread (actually, it may have been in the 'who wins in Nov? thread): if Reid has been found to have committed any serious ethical violations, or engaged in 'strongarm' tactics to increase the value of his land, then he has to face the consequences of that and I don't think they would be insignificant.

Cycloptichorn
0 Replies
 
Cycloptichorn
 
  1  
Reply Thu 12 Oct, 2006 11:51 am
FD, or anyone really, know where we can find more information on the 'Gov't land swap' in question?

Cycloptichorn
0 Replies
 
FreeDuck
 
  1  
Reply Thu 12 Oct, 2006 11:51 am
No idea, but I will start googling.
0 Replies
 
FreeDuck
 
  1  
Reply Thu 12 Oct, 2006 12:03 pm
I think the law in question is this one, though not sure.

http://www.nv.blm.gov/snplma/implementation/ia.htm

It was passed in October of 1998.
0 Replies
 
parados
 
  1  
Reply Thu 12 Oct, 2006 12:18 pm
There seems to be some innuendo here that isn't supported by much of anything.
Quote:

One of the sellers was a developer who was benefiting from a government land swap that Reid supported. The seller never talked to Reid.


The person that sold the land to Reid several years ago benefited from a government land swap. As far as I can tell the land swap didn't include the land that Reid bought.

The only question is did Reid get a sweetheart deal in buying land for $400,000 and then selling it later for 1.1 million. I doubt it. The land was on the edge of Vegas when he bought it in 1998. Vegas has been one of the fastest growing cities lately.

Median home prices in Vegas went from $169,000 in 2001 to $309,000 this year. That kind of appreciation in home prices hardly points to a sweet deal for Reid. He bought the land in 1998. He paid taxes on it until he sold it. It seems his land didn't go up in value much faster than home prices in Las Vegas.
0 Replies
 
woiyo
 
  1  
Reply Thu 12 Oct, 2006 12:44 pm
The math is simple.

1998 invest 400K

2004 receive 1.1M

That equaltes to about a 30% annual return (175% increase over 6 years)

Pretty good deal if you ask me.

Gee, think I could sway local officials to change zoning laws for me?
0 Replies
 
parados
 
  1  
Reply Thu 12 Oct, 2006 01:56 pm
woiyo wrote:
The math is simple.

1998 invest 400K

2004 receive 1.1M

That equaltes to about a 30% annual return (175% increase over 6 years)

Pretty good deal if you ask me.

Gee, think I could sway local officials to change zoning laws for me?


For "simple math" you sure have some problems there woiyo.

The annual return is roughly 18.5%. Hardly unheard of in a hot real estate market.
0 Replies
 
parados
 
  1  
Reply Thu 12 Oct, 2006 02:15 pm
Quote:
a 38 percent increase over the previous year, according to a new report by Applied Analysis.

While almost 40 percent appreciation is staggering in its own right, it pales in comparison to the 72 percent increase in land prices experienced in 2004 over 2003, the group reported.


http://www.inbusinesslasvegas.com/2006/03/31/realestate.html
0 Replies
 
okie
 
  1  
Reply Fri 13 Oct, 2006 10:15 am
So Parados, Harry Reid is an innocent land investor. Got any more jokes for the day?

http://strata-sphere.com/blog/

We already know not reporting it properly as a Senator is a crime. This is a $400,000 investment, not a $3,000 one. How many of us even have $400,000, let alone treat such investments with such a sloppy attitude. I think its more than sloppy. We need to know more about the land trades, timing, tax payments, including both property and income tax wise. And we need to know more about this buddy of Reids, Mr. Brown.
0 Replies
 
parados
 
  1  
Reply Fri 13 Oct, 2006 10:53 am
okie wrote:
So Parados, Harry Reid is an innocent land investor. Got any more jokes for the day?

http://strata-sphere.com/blog/

Thanks for the laugh okie..
I loved this one

Quote:

So if I buy a burger at McDonalds and I don't get a reciept does that mean we didn't conduct business?

A written contract is hardly required for business deals. Case law is filled with disputes over verbal contracts.

Perhaps you can show me the required law in Nevada Okie.
Here are the forms that must be filed by an LLC in Nevada.
http://sos.state.nv.us/comm_rec/crforms/llc_index.htm
The ONLY requirement is they list the managers of the company. They don't have to file who owns it. They don't have to file any business paperwork. In fact they don't even have to issue shares. The Nevada website lists the fact that shareholders in corporations and other business entities don't have to be revealed.

I think there is little question that Brown had an LLC and was listed as the manager. That is all that is required under Nevada law.


Quote:
Look at what Reid did to make his land purchase a windfall of nearly 3/4's of a million dollars without any documentation (or taxes, speaking of giving tax breaks to the rich):

Reid paid no taxes? Where is the evidence of this? He would have been subject to Federal income tax at 15% for his profits on the land. If this idiot you quoted has any evidence other than he listened to Rush lets see it.

The piece you posted only gets more and more hilarioius okie..
I love this one.

Quote:
Clark County intended for the property Reid owned to be used solely for new housing, records show. Just days before Reid sold the parcels to Brown's company, Brown sought permission in May 2001 to rezone the properties so a shopping center could be built.

Career zoning officials objected, saying the request was "inconsistent" with Clark County's master development plan. The town board in Spring Valley, where Reid's property was located, also voted 4-1 to reject the rezoning.

Brown persisted. The Clark County zoning board followed by the Clark County Commission voted to overrule the recommendation and approve commercial zoning. Such votes were common at the time.


So somehow the land that was not available became available - and Reid purchased it. And somehow the land that was zoned residential (and therefore would gain marginal value over time) became rezoned right before Reid 'sold' the land to this shell company for what he paid for it! For NO PROFIT. Not even the normal inflation of money. This is right after the zoning came through that would drastically increase its value! One could have said how unfortunate that Reid sold right at the time the value would start shooting up. But he did not sell the land it seems, he simply transferred it in some verbal, mythical business deal. So when the land did sell to a developer, Reid - who clearly sold the land to this company - got a huge (and hidden) windfall.

The red letters are from the news story. The way the idiot completely changes the facts is quite funny. It goes from the land being transferred just DAYS after Brown first sought permission to rezoning to being transferred after it was rezoned. The story talks about the long process where Brown was turned down and persisted until the county voted in his favor. (Part of the process of persisting was to combine the land to have a parcel ready for the rezoning.) Now we get to the idiot who claims that the land wasn't transferred until it was rezoned. MY God. Did you bother to read this Okie? Or are you so partisan you can't see complete departure from facts when it occurs?
0 Replies
 
okie
 
  1  
Reply Fri 13 Oct, 2006 11:04 am
More nice deals, Parados:

http://www.latimes.com/media/acrobat/2003-06/8306315.pdf

Nice to have family members helping.

Remember, this guy is on the Ethics Committee, Vice Chairman?
0 Replies
 
 

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