Inside Rep. Weller's Nicaragua land deal

[appleannie1]

Source: Chicago Tribune

In 2002 Weller made his first official congressional trip to Nicaragua. Before the year was over, he had bought his first lot and eventually began looking for land he could subdivide into parcels that would attract buyers looking for prime ocean-view property at a relatively low price. It is an unusual investment for a member of Congress, and Weller's foreign land holdings seem far more extensive than any other House member's.

His investment got a boost from the narrowly passed Central America Free Trade Agreement, which Weller pitched in 2005 as a tool to enable businesses in his hard-pressed district to sell tractors and food to Latin America. CAFTA also includes additional legal protection for American investors, including those who have purchased lots from Weller.

What he didn't say was that, while he publicly pushed CAFTA, Weller privately was pursuing his land development, some 2,000 miles away. The House approved the trade pact in July 2005 by only two votes, 217-215.

Besides not mentioning his Nicaraguan investments during the CAFTA debate on the House floor, Weller did not give anywhere close to a complete accounting of them in his required 2005 financial disclosure statement. House ethics rules require representatives to disclose all property they own except for their personal residences.

The congressman listed only one Nicaraguan property purchase on his 2005 disclosure form, but property records in Nicaragua show that he bought or sold at least eight pieces of land.

That's not the only discrepancy. On at least two occasions, Weller has reported a land sale on his House ethics form and reported a much lower price for the same sale on Nicaraguan property records. Nicaragua's Pacific Coast was a prime spot for real estate bargains in the late 1990s and early 2000s, but buyers also frequently listed artificially low prices to lessen the bite of local taxes.

For example, Weller's first disclosed purchase in the coastal town of San Juan del Sur appeared on his 2002 financial filing, listing a lot with a purchase price of between $50,001 and $100,000. But in property records at the Registrar's office in Rivas, the department seat for San Juan, Weller is reported paying 78,000 cordobas, or about $4,333, for four-tenths of an acre in a transaction on Dec. 7, 2002.

Records indicate that Weller sold the same property in February 2005 for about $95,000. That sale does not appear on Weller's 2005 House disclosure.

a lot more at link

Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-wellersep07,1,3817044.story?page=1&coll=chi_tab01_layout&ctrack=3&cset=true

[Judi Lynn]

1. Oh, my god. We've discussed this Republican here before! He married the daughter

of bloody dictator, Efraín Ríos Montt. From the original article:

In January 2002, Weller made his first government-paid trip to the region, including a stop in Nicaragua to attend the inauguration of newly elected President Enrique Bolanos. In November 2004, Weller married Zury Rios Sosa, a member of the Guatemalan Congress and the daughter of Efrain Rios Montt, a general who ruled Guatemala in 1982-83, at the height of a brutal, nearly four-decade civil war during which an estimated 200,000 people were killed.

Between 2003 and 2006, Weller served on the Western Hemisphere subcommittee of the International Relations Committee and quietly made himself into a go-to guy for interests seeking a conservative advocate on Latin American issues in the Republican-controlled House.
(snip)

Between 2003 and 2006, Weller served on the Western Hemisphere subcommittee of the International Relations Committee and quietly made himself into a go-to guy for interests seeking a conservative advocate on Latin American issues in the Republican-controlled House.
(snip)

Since his wedding, Weller has omitted his wife's finances from his annual personal financial disclosure form, which calls for the inclusion of spousal assets.
(snip)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Posted 11/21/2004 11:19 AM
llinois congressman weds daughter of former dictator
ANTIGUA, Guatemala (AP) — They met during a trade mission, and despite controversy over their engagement, U.S. Rep. Jerry Weller of Illinois and the outspoken daughter of former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt tied the knot Saturday in a civil ceremony.

About 300 people — including Rios Montt — attended the wedding of the Republican congressman from central Illinois and Zury Rios Sosa, a 36-year-old Guatemalan senator. Security was tight as the two exchanged wedding vows at a mansion belonging to the former dictator.
(snip)

Rios Montt, twice elected president of the legislature after his dictatorship, is under house arrest in the capital, Guatemala City, 30 miles southeast of Antigua.

He faces charges of organizing a violent and chaotic protest that saw thousands of his supporters overrun the capital in July 2003, decrying a court order blocking him from running for president.

A journalist had a heart attack and died while covering the riots and dozens of people were injured. Rios Montt, who has denied organizing the protests, was eventually allowed to seek the presidency, but he was defeated soundly at the polls.
(snip/...)

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-11-21-congressman-guatemalan-wed_x.htm

[truthisfreedom]

2. Looks like he'll be disclosing everything now.

Will he get a wrist-slap, or impeachment?

[WileEcoyote]

3. What gets me is

(call me cynical is you want) Why didn't he put these shady conflict of interest land deals into someone else's name???

These guys don't know squat about serious criminal embezzlement and sincere fraud. You average crooked CPA doin time in Club Fed would give better financial advice.

Listen, I'm not encouraging this plainly unethical illegal activities crap. Just that these GOP morons have a blatant disregard for the law or even the concept of getting caught!

[madrchsod]

4. illinois politics

no one can challenge his congressional seat because those he represents love him. even if they knew of this crap they would`t care...you`d really have to live in illinois to understand the politics of this state..both parties are as corrupt as the other yet somehow we have elected some of the greatest house and senate members in history. another big factor is the democrats do`t want to waste their time and money to get rid of this guy. ya it sucks but that is the way it is in this state.

[Judi Lynn]

5. Never let it be said that Republican Rep. Weller left any property better off after he owned it!

From the article:

The development itself has also been controversial, with some local officials and rival developers contending that Weller's razing of vegetation on the land left it damaged environmentally and vulnerable to mudslides.

Manuel Rodriguez, regional delegate for the country's Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources, said officials plan to inspect the Ladera development and other properties out of concern that they were approved without complying with environmental laws.
(snip)

Republicans believe you have to leave your mark on the earth or it won't respect you. Gawd gave them all dominion over everything, after all.

Hope there will be a substantial follow-up to the information addressed in this article. It would be good to find out what this guy is really doing.

[peacetalksforall]

6. Madrchsod says the people of his distrct in IL love him. And in

Guatemala the two articles reference his father-in-laws bloody rule with massacres and then he was elected to the legislator after his dictatorship?

These people find each other don't they. Weller doesn't have massacres on his hands, other than in Iraq.

I feel as sorry for the people of Guatemala as I do for us. No wonder they are uneasy after all these decades.

Don't forget who was in charge here during the Guatemala massacres. Lest no one believes we were not involved. And they are still in charge today.

America = blood, death, destruction, lies. Let's face it. Let's not be hypocritical.

When you look at it it's our leaders, their leaders, leaders everywhere - with their followings - and we are the ones who suffer. And our leaders = corporations.