Here’s a curious story, courtesy of Harper’s new investigative blog, which adds a new star to our firmament of muck: Rep. Pete Visclosky (D-IN).
Last year, four defense firms moved into a new “business incubator” based in Merrillville, Indiana, of all places, Harper’s Ken Silverstein reports.
At first blush, that’s quite a coincidence — four defense firms relocating to the same spot, right in middle of nowhere. What are the odds? But it gets weirder.
Silverstein says all four companies hired the same Washington, D.C. lobbying firm to help them win defense contracts, a shop called the PMA Group.
He also found that they all gave lots of money to the same congressman to help pry government money loose. (That’s right, Pete Visclosky.)
It is no surprise, then, that Merrillville is smack dab in the middle of Visclosky’s district. Or that Visclosky built the business center that houses those firms with $7 million in earmarks. Or that his former chief of staff, Richard Kaelin, is now a lobbyist with the PMA Group.
By any measure, the arrangement has benefited everyone involved: Visclosky has locked in tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions; his former chief of staff has a reliable stream of income connecting these firms to Visclosky; and the firms appear to be rolling in federal dough. One company, ProLogic, has seen its business increase six-fold in the last four years, winning over $57 million in contracts during that period, Silverstein found.
Enough outta me — go read the piece. It also has some choice details on friends of Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV). As we continue to puzzle out what kind of trouble Mollohan’s made for himself, these will certainly be of interest.
