"Today's Village Voice story raises serious questions about Rick Lazio's integrity and fitness for office. It is incumbent upon him to address the fact that he personally orchestrated a multi-billion dollar pay-to-play scheme on behalf of JP Morgan and explain why that experience should not disqualify him for office."
- Jay Jacobs
Today's Village Voice detailed how Rick Lazio tried to secure a billion dollar contract for his employer, JP Morgan, from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation by promising to score a job for its administrator. The deal would have enabled JP Morgan to collect millions in fees for investing close to a billion dollars of pension benefits in risky investments, including subprime mortgages. Click here to read the story.
The story raises several questions that Lazio must answer:
How much of your $1.3 million bonus resulted from the Millard deal?
Was it appropriate to put billions of retiree benefits into subprime derivative products?
Were you interviewed by federal prosecutors about the Millard deal? Did you cooperate or take the fifth?
Is Charles Millard involved in your campaign at all? Has he advised you or your campaign, presently or in the past?
Did you promise to help Millard get a job with a McCain administration?