Why Rubio's equity loan is our business. Here is a teaser:"If Rubio is going to ally himself with developer Sergio Pino against slots, we need to know that he's banking with him. If Rubio enjoys the support of Floridians for Property Tax Reform, we need to know that Jose Cancela, involved with the pro-tax-cut group, is also on the board of US Century.
And if Rubio does run for county mayor later this year, voters need to know that the bank that holds his loans is run by men who might be pleased if the county extended the urban development boundary to allow development in what is today farmland."
Thanks Ana for a very good column that connects the dots!
See our post: on US Century Bank, April 1st and we have two others on March 29th and March 30th.
19 comments:
Great editorial. Rasco is always the backstop for these guys. Always arguing with the umpire.
Here are the truly important questions:
(1) Did Rubio get a discount on the home equity line?
(2) Is Rubio making payments on the equity line?
If the answer to the first question is no, and the answer to the second question is yes, then, I don't see any issue whatsoever. Even politicians take out loans, and, if you extrapolated every loan every politician has, and tied it to specific bank executives, you could create this "story" for everyone.
At the end of the day, living life, you are going to do business with people that do business with government, the world is not big enough. You need to take a loan out, name me one local bank that does not have either on its board or within its adminstration someone that is involved in local politics.
This is a non-story, unless, Rubio got a significant discount on the rate, or, has not paid on time. If not, it is just mud that the Herald is tossing in the water because Alvarez is their "boy."
The issue is not about Rubio's interest rate or whether he is paying the loan. It is about the failure of Rubio to disclose the loan as he is legally obligated to do.
The disclosure failure raises reasonable questions about his dealings with banking and local developers.
DISCLOSURE! It is the disclosure.
All I ever needed to know about who Marco Rubio is was revealed when he endorsed Huckabee for President. Huckabee? Huckabee?
Isn't Mr Rubio just another right-wing nutjub currying favor with the boys who control the money and therefor the power? In South Florida, heck in the entire state, builders + banks = puppetmasters
Here is what is scaring me. Although I think that Alvarez is not part of this fat cat group of power brokers...he is remaining too mum on all the boondoggles...his unflinching support of Burgess is odd, he has to start appearing stronger -- speaking out on the waste that is keeping money tied up and wasted -- If he doesn't start speaking loud and angry that putz Rubio is going to trounce him big.
Mayor Alvarez, go through our boondoggle file and think about it long and hard. Stop making excuses for Burgess and defending him, hold his feet to the fire or your will be there - You will be toast. A deal with Swerdlow -- come on, boy is that a red flag. You are going to take the heat on that one unless you speak up.
After reading your other column, it does seem like this bank does not make many loans to individuals. I wonder if there are only CERTAIN individuals that they loan money to. It would be helpful to know the terms of the loan.
Where on earth did you find that photo of Secretariat wearing a white blouse?
wow! that was harsh.
m
Ana Menendez is an extraordinarily beautiful woman. Do not doubt that for a minute. You are off base...with your name too (what kind of a name is that)? When I saw her in person...she was very attractive... she should put better pictures on the web.
Marco Rubio had my vote for Mayor but now that I learn Rubio is getting money from the US Century Bank people who want to pave the Everglades Rubio has some explaining to do...
And Carlos Alvarez is a financial lightweight. Alvarez is falling all over himself to give taxpayer money to the owner of the Marlins...Bad move. And why does Alvarez keep Burgess? The taxpayers get two lightweights for the price of 5.
It's the coincidence(and the disclosure issue)that sort of smells...why this Bank in particular making that loan to somebody who could very well have an effect on the business of the individual Board members....u mean there aren't a dozen other banks willing to make a loan to a famous and seemingly popular state politician...and how convenient to just...omit it from the disclosure filings...
You know..if it smells like a duck and walks like a duck.....
BTW...I also think Ana Menendez is an attractive lady...you really don't have to be one of those South Beach floozy types to be considered pretty...is it just me but doesn't she look a little bit like Amy Winehouse?
WEll, funny how this piece comes about. I remember when Alavarez was running for Mayor, one of his loyal LT.'s lived in my buidling on the Miami River, I was a super activist fighting a POS condo board selling out the community. This guyy though "everything is great'. So, I agree Alvarez means well but doesn't have the BEST people surronding him - A new spin on the Bush loyalty thing, eh?
Rubio onthe other hand, I was there at the FAU Republican Debates. Watched him hand his Treo to someone he didn't even know since they wren't allowed in the convetion center. She was - mistrustful ----at best. I watched Marco stand in line - yes Marco stood inline - to pick up his tickets to get into the debate. Honestly, I don't get a good read from him, at times he's into doing th right thing but I agreee ------Huckabee??????? Uh, John Stewart's take on his concession speech is EXACTLY on target - the man is not intouch with reality -lives in a fantasy world.
From what I've seen of this US Century debacle I said the same for Rubio, he thinks it all blows over. If I filed my lobbyist report that way - I'm dead.
Sounds like an ethics complaint to me - who's got the huevoes rancheros to file it against the House Speaker....Ana Menendez??????
Secretariat was a great horse, outstanding individual example of the species.
I stand by my beautiful woman statement. I met her outside Miami City Hall a year or two ago. She was tall, attractive and most articulate. I found her to be an impressive woman. Horse did not come to mind.
This was no simple error of judgment. There's a lot of people who want to operate in the shadows. Like the directors of Century Bank. What's interesting is that one of the state's top politicos didn't think it mattered for people to know where his allegiances are. At least Cantens just took the paycheck.
Ana looks very fine to me, although I always like to see em coming and going before giving my final decision. Is she single?
Who gives a rip about how attractive a newspaper columnist is or isn't??!
Here you have the speaker of the house taking an equity loan on the back of a new home purchase exceeding the total equity of the home according to valuations of neighboring properties.
The big story is 1) he didn't report it and 2) it looks like they rigged the appraisals by hundreds of thousands of dollars. Some home in West Miami went for $700,000? Even at the height of the building boom that's crazy expensive for those neighborhoods.
That stinks of a classic mortgage scam. Cheating on the appraisal drives up the assessments for everyone else - the very thing GoD has been tracking for months here.
This is more than an ethical breach and should be investigated by the police.
Smells like Mortgage fraud!!! Should be investigated!!!
Rubio got caught and is trying to squirm out of it.
Police, Rundle, Mortgage Task Fraud Force, where is everyone???
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