Among the hullabaloo surrounding the AIG retention bonus scandal, one thing is certain: speaking before Connecticut lawmakers Thursday, AIGFP exec Stephen Blake did not bend to public opinion. Blake defended the insurance company’s $165 million in retention bonuses which have drawn the scorn of taxpayers following the government’s $182.5 billion bailout of AIG. “The program did what it was supposed to do, and that was to retain employees,” he said. While defending the bonuses, though, he affirmed that no rewards went to individuals who made credit default swaps, which are largely responsible for AIG’s failure. (Associated Press)
In an effort to bring U.S. tax evaders back into the system, the IRS announced Thursday that it will ease its restrictions on Americans who hid large sums of money in offshore accounts. Under old rules, the IRS required tax evaders to pay half of the annual balance of their accounts, but new rules will only require payments on five to twenty percent of the annual balance. The IRS also said that it generally will not prosecute tax evaders who come forward voluntarily. The new tax plan was developed in response to the investigation into UBS, a Swiss Bank accused of helping American taxpayers dodge U.S. taxes, but will apply to clients of all international banks. (New York Times)
Federal courts are already taking Attorney General Eric Holder’s Freedom of Information Act Policy seriously, according to the Federation of American Scientists. In four cases, the Electronic Frontier Foundation successfully asked courts to reconsider judgments on the denial of government information because making this information public would not cause “foreseeable harm.” Critics of the Bush administration said that the “foreseeable harm” stipulation in the FOIA was manipulated in the last eight years to justify withholding information even when no harm was imminent. (Federation of American Scientists)
A U.N. investigation accused an American U.N. official of misusing hundreds of thousands of dollars intended for USAID “as his own bank account”. Gary Helseth spent U.N. funds on lavish first-class flights to Las Vegas and meals in luxury restaurants in international cities including Dubai, Florence, and Copenhagen, the U.N. Procurement Task Force report said. The report also alleges that Helseth stole $65,000 from a U.N. safe and billed the U.N. and other international donors $60,000 for lavish parties. Helseth admits that he spent some of the funds, but says that he only approved necessary purchases to entertain donors and improve staff morale. The report recommends that Helseth repay the U.N. nearly half a million dollars. (Washington Post)
Ten years after being sent to prison for stealing nearly $4 million from the National Baptist Convention, Rev. Henry J. Lyons will run to reclaim his position as President. Lyons was removed as president of the organization of black churches in 1999 after an investigation revealed that he spent the stolen funds on luxury homes, and to support his mistresses. Lyons claims that he is a changed man, but talking to the Associated Press, Aldon Morris, a sociology professor at Northwestern University who has written at length about the Convention, emphasized the embarrassment that Lyons caused the Convention. He asked, “why have a leader with this sort of baggage?” (Associated Press)
Louisiana is more corrupt that Illinois, the Chicago Tribune boasts. A report by the paper shows that Louisiana is the third most corrupt state in the country, based on the number of politicians per capita convicted of crimes between 1998 and 2007. Louisiana ranks third behind Washington D.C. and North Dakota, whose results are skewed by their small populations, the report said. In the past six years alone, the federal attorney for New Orleans district issued 236 corruption indictments. President of the New Orleans Metropolitan Crime Commission Rafael Goyeneche said that New Orleans residents once enjoyed their colorful politicians, but “It’s no longer a spectator sport. People don’t want to tolerate it anymore.” (Chicago Tribune)
