New Direction Local Development Corporation

Meeks Defends Secret Loans, Blames NLPC for Controversy

Submitted by Peter Flaherty on Sun, 07/11/2010 - 14:04

Meeks photo On Saturday, Congressman Gregory Meeks (D-NY) made the following statement:

Beginning at the height of the selection process for Aqueduct Racino development investors as I fought for local participation, and for the past several months, right-wing interest groups such as the National Legal and Policy Center and sensationalist media outlets have lodged unfounded attacks against me and other respectable members of the Queens community related to my family home and my involvement with New Direction Local Development Corporation.

What is Rep. Gregory Meeks Hiding?

Submitted by Peter Flaherty on Fri, 07/02/2010 - 10:50

Meeks photo Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) is one of 31 House conferees appointed by Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) on the financial regulation bill. When he was named on June 9, Meeks claimed:

As conferee I plan to make sure that by having a strong presence of financial oversight and accountability in this legislation U.S. consumers will have the necessary financial protection and be as financially informed as possible.

But now Meeks is using “oversight” in a different context. You see, when he failed to disclose $55,000 in personal loans as required, he called it an “oversight.” This excuse sounded downright familiar to us. It is the same one cited by Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) when he failed to report hundreds of thousands in income and assets.

Ex-Rep. Floyd Flake, Cronies Get More Media Scrutiny

Submitted by Peter Flaherty on Sat, 06/19/2010 - 16:35

Floyd Flake photo Rev. Floyd Flake, a former member of Congress, is a political force in Queens where he is the pastor of a 23,000-member church. His protégés include U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks and state Senator Malcolm Smith, both under a grand jury investigation apparently triggered by NLPC’s expose of a charity called New Direction Local Development Corporation, and Meeks’ sweetheart deal on a home.

According to a story by Russ Buettner in yesterday’s New York Times, Flake and his partners ended up as owners of two eight-story apartment buildings that were “built and subsidized with public money.” In addition, the 300 units were “well maintained by one of the church’s charities.”

Rep. Gregory Meeks Reports Subpoena to House

Submitted by Peter Flaherty on Thu, 04/15/2010 - 11:30

subpoena photo On Tuesday, Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) formally notified the House of Representatives that he had received a subpoena, as required by House rules. The subpoena was first reported by the New York Daily News on April 2 in the wake of our allegations that Meeks got a sweetheart deal on his house, and is involved with a charity that raised money for Hurricane Katrina victims who never saw it.

Did Meeks and/or Pelosi sit on the subpoena notification until after the March 21 health care vote? It depends on when Meeks got the subpoena. House Rule VIII states:

Grand Jury Probes Rep. Gregory Meeks’ Sweetheart House Deal

Submitted by Ken Boehm on Fri, 04/02/2010 - 10:37

Meeks headshot According to the New York Daily News today, a federal grand jury is investigating some of Queens’ most prominent politicians, including Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY). NLPC first exposed Meeks’ involvement with a charity called New Direction that raised money for Hurricane Katrina victims who never received it. NLPC also first exposed Meeks’ purchase of a home for far less than it is worth.

In a Complaint to the House Ethics Committee filed on March 19, NLPC asked for an investigation of Meeks’ purchase of the house. The Complaint detailed how a contractor named Robert Gaskin not only built the home for Meeks, but also did work for several other Queens politicians and nonprofits they control. At the same time, Gaskin received numerous contracts on taxpayer-funded projects.

Rep. Gregory Meeks Attacks the Wrong Peter Flaherty

Submitted by Peter Flaherty on Thu, 03/25/2010 - 18:35

Meeks photo In today’s Queens Chronicle, Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) attacked NLPC as “a right-wing, inside-the-Beltway organization with an explicitly stated partisan agenda.” As evidence, Meeks claimed that I “served as a top advisor to Mitt Romney during his presidential campaign.” The only problem is that Meeks got the wrong Peter Flaherty.

Maybe Meeks should learn how to aim before he fires. Or at least learn how to use Google. The Peter Flaherty who advised Romney is a principal in the Shawmut Group in Boston. He is a former assistant District Attorney in Suffolk County, and served as Vice-President of Walden Media, a film production studio. Flaherty worked as a senior advisor to Mitt Romney while he was governor, and held a senior position in his 2008 presidential campaign. He is also credited with helping to engineer Scott Brown's upset Senate win this year.

High-Living Congressman Meeks Blames NLPC for Scrutiny

Submitted by Peter Flaherty on Sat, 03/20/2010 - 10:24

According to a New York Times story today titled “Congressman Cries Poor, but Lifestyle May Disagree” by Eric Lipton and Ray Hernandez:

Money is so tight, Representative Gregory W. Meeks says, he does not have a savings account with more than a few thousand dollars in it. And yet Mr. Meeks, one of New York City’s most prominent Democrats, lives a life worthy of a jet-setter.

When he travels, he stays in luxury hotels like the Mondrian South Beach in Miami and the Ritz-Carlton in San Juan, P.R. He drives a Lexus, leased by the federal government, at a cost of $1,000 a month. He eats expensive meals at BLT Steak in Washington and Docks Oyster Bar in Manhattan, among other trendy spots.

Later in the Times article, Meeks attacks NLPC:

Doubts Cast on Rep. Meeks’ New Account of Missing Katrina Funds

Submitted by Peter Flaherty on Mon, 03/15/2010 - 09:50

Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) has offered a second account of what happened to money he helped raise for Hurricane Katrina victims who apparently did not receive the aid. But this latest explanation — that it benefitted Katrina victims who came to New York City — is proving as flimsy as his original.

On New York’s Channel 1, Meeks was actually being interviewed about Rep. Charles Rangel’s downfall when the interviewer shifted gears to questions about the Katrina charity. Meeks has ducked interviews on the topic since NLPC first raised questions on January 31 about a nonprofit called New Direction Local Development Corporation, which sponsored an effort known as New Yorkers Organized to Assist Hurricane Families (NOAH-F). The “charity” is now being investigated by federal prosecutors.

Rep. Gregory Meeks Blasted Bush Response to Hurricane Katrina

Submitted by Peter Flaherty on Wed, 02/24/2010 - 19:20

Meeks photo Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), under scrutiny for raising money for Hurricane Katrina victims who never received the aid, harshly criticized the Bush administration response to the storm in 2005.

Meeks, along with 34 other House members, signed a September 7, 2005 letter to then-President Bush calling for the resignation of FEMA Director Michael Brown. The letter characterized the response as “haphazard and amateurish,” and alleged that it cost lives.

Federal prosecutors are now investigating New Direction Local Development Corporation, a nonprofit in which Meeks was deeply involved. On January 31, NLPC first alleged that funds raised for Katrina victims seemed to have disappeared, following our review of IRS returns, the New York state budget, and other documents.

Are Corrupt NY Politicians Cashing in on Aqueduct Gambling?

Submitted by Peter Flaherty on Wed, 02/03/2010 - 23:22

slot machine photo Well, it didn’t take long. Danny Hakim of the New York Times reports today:

Three days after awarding a lucrative state contract to a company connected to the Rev. Floyd H. Flake, one of New York’s most influential black pastors, Gov. David A. Paterson summoned Mr. Flake to his Harlem office Monday morning and sounded him out about his political support.

On Friday, New York state awarded a franchise for video gaming machines at Aqueduct racetrack to something called the Aqueduct Entertainment Group (AEG), which will pay the state hundreds of millions for the opportunity. Making the pitch for AEG was Flake, who while a member of Congress in the nineties, faced serious ethics charges.

Two of Flake’s close associates and protégés are Rep. Gregory Meeks and state Senator Malcolm Smith. As we exposed on Sunday, Meeks and Smith are deeply involved in a nonprofit called the New Direction Local Development Corporation that appears to function as their slush fund.