Former Congressman Mark Foley may be out of office and facing possible criminal charges, but that isn't stopping him from spending money intended for his now-defunct re-election campaign.
Since resigning in late September amid allegations that he made inappropriate advances toward teenage interns, Foley has paid his sister more than $14,000 to run his campaign, almost $2,000 to lease a Volkswagen for the bygone campaign and an additional $50,000 to hire prominent criminal defense attorneys.
And there is still a lot more money to spend.
Foley has more than $1.6 million sitting in his campaign account, the biggest war chest of any candidate for office in Florida, according to the Federal Election Commission. And there are very few things he can't use the money for, as long as he can prove the expenditures are associated with him having been in Congress....
Ohio's former Republican Rep. Bob Ney is still in the news. A letter to the Editor of the Chillicothe Gazette contains this:
Several months ago, former Rep. Bob Ney submitted a letter to the editor stating that I had been participating in an effort to smear his reputation. He stated that the Mayor of Chillicothe, and others like myself, propagated lies in an effort to prevent his reelection.
...On Jan 19, he was sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to corruption charges. Bob Ney continued to lie, mislead, and fail to accept full responsibility for his criminal conduct even after his life of crime was discovered. Documents released by the Justice Department revealed his corruption included yet more gifts, reception of campaign contributions and the selling of influence (inserting statements into Congressional records praising Jack Abramoff).Mr. Ney blames the "demons" of addictions for his life of crime. However, the criteria to diagnose alcohol addiction does not include avarice, greed, lies, and criminal conduct. Character defects are at the root of these behaviors. Mr. Ney made his living off the backs of the taxpayers of Ohio while indulging his criminal tastes.
He will continue to profit in the form of a future retirement income. Indeed, he will enjoy the benefit of public monies by receiving a small wage for his job assignment at the federal penitentiary.
There was no plot to disgrace you, Mr. Ney. We simply demand honest representatives to carry out the will of the people....
Ney needs to take responsibility for his behavior.