MCCAIN WRITING LAND EXCHANGE BILLS FOR DEVELOPERS:
REDISTRIBUTING AMERICA'S LAND WEALTH - TO THE WEALTHY
John McCain has written legislation that directly benefited all of the following wealthy developers. The following is not an all-inclusive list, it is only a SAMPLE of the land exchange deals John McCain has done for his campaign contributors:
| Carl H. Lindner Jr. Billionaire |
Donald R. Diamond Land Developer |
Steven A. Betts President and CEO SunCor Development Company |
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| What McCain has done for Carl Lindner: Promoted a deal in Arizona’s Tonto National Forest involving property part-owned by Great American Life Insurance, a company run by billionaire Carl H. Lindner Jr. |
What McCain has done for Don Diamond: McCain sponsored two bills, in 1991 and 1994, that yielded the developer thousands of acres in trade for national parkland. [166] |
What McCain has done for Steve Betts: 55,000 acres for 12,000 homes $2,000 an acre land traded for $120,000 an acre land |
| What Carl Lindner has done for McCain: In June 2008, Lindner co-hosted a $25,000-per-person fundraiser for McCain and the Republican Party in the wealthy Indian Hills neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. The event raised about $2 million; Lindner also serves on McCain's Ohio Victory Team. |
What Don Diamond has done for McCain: Donald Diamond is McCain's top "Bundler" and has raised over $290,000 for McCain's current presidential campaign, as well as well over $57,000 for McCain's senate races over the last 20 years. |
What Steve Betts has done for McCain: President and CEO Of SunCor Development, Betts is a $100,000 bundler ("Trailblazer") for McCain's campaign. McCain's campaigns have received $224,000 since 1998 from donors to Pinnacle West, including $104,100 for his presidential run |
| Other Details: Carl H. Lindner Jr., the billionaire Cincinnati businessman, was CEO of Chiquita Brands International from 1984 to 2001 - Beginning under his tenure, Chiquita executives paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia -an "illegal right-wing anti-guerrilla group tied to many of the country's most notorious civilian massacres." A report by the Organization of American States states that Banadex (A Chiquita Subsidiary) also engaged in arms trafficking, helping to deliver 3,000 Nicaraguan AK-47 rifles and millions of rounds of ammunition to the AUC in 2001. Chiquita's funding of violent paramilitaries does not end with the right-wing AUC. The fruit giant "had been making similar payments to the leftist FARC and ELN guerrillas" since 1989, also on Lindner's watch. [153] |
Other Details: Diamond, until now not generally known for a wryly amusing sense of humor, apparently has begun erecting eight multi-million-dollar luxury homes on 28 acres abutting Coronado National Forest. The homes are to be located high on a hill overlooking a bronze commemoration of the late county supervisor Iris Dewhirst, who worked hard to preserve access for future generations to the scenic Pima Canyon, which is located in the national forest. Diamond has cleverly arranged it so that his homes will interrupt the view of the majestic Santa Catalina Mountains from the dead woman's memorial. [149] A photo of one of Don Diamond's four yachts is shown below. John McCain has been on this yacht while visiting Diamond in the Bahamas. |
Other Details: Steven Betts: CEO Of Firm With Record Of Air Pollution - 2006: SunCor Fined For Multiple Instances Of Air Pollution. "SunCor Development Co. signed a settlement agreement on July 12, 2006 for $39,343. The agreement encompasses eight alleged air pollution violations... [151] Steven A. Betts is president and CEO of SunCor Development Company, a Tempe, Arizona-based subsidiary of Fortune 100 Company Pinnacle West Capital Corporation that includes divisions focusing on residential and commercial development, master planned communities, urban and mixed use development, golf course construction and management, homebuilding and mortgage lending. Pinnacle West Capital Corporation also raised significant campaign funds for McCain's 2008 presidential campaign. |
"Any time the executives of a corporation work hard at raising funds for any candidate, they almost always want something in return," Holman said. "When it comes to SunCor … they were asking for a specific earmark. And McCain delivered." [152]
In the summer of 1998, Donald Diamond was circling the globe in Queen of Diamonds, his 132-foot Feadship yacht...
The "Queen of Diamonds" - One of four yachts owned
by Arizona Developer Donald Diamond - John McCain's
top campaign contributor.
Don Diamond owns 4 yachts - The King of Diamonds, The Queen of Diamonds, The Jack of Diamonds
and the Ace of Diamonds. That makes John McCain either the Joker or Don Diamond's ace in the hole.
The definitive guide to Don Diamond and John McCain has been reported on by The New York Times. Every American taxpayer should read this article. |
Pinnacle West's Chief Executive Officer Bill Post, vice president and lobbyist Robert Aiken and former president Jack Davis, who retired in March, are fundraisers for McCain's current presidential campaign. SunCor President Steve Betts, who joined the company weeks after the military land deal, is a former campaign lawyer for McCain and has raised more than $100,000 for his current campaign.
Betts is among a string of donors who have benefited from McCain-engineered land swaps. In 1994, the senator helped a lobbyist for land developer Del Webb Corp. pursue an exchange in the Las Vegas area, according to the Center for Public Integrity. McCain sponsored two bills, in 1991 and 1994, sought by donor Donald R. Diamond that yielded the developer thousands of acres in trade for national parkland.
In the late 1990s, McCain promoted a deal in Arizona's Tonto National Forest involving property part-owned by Great American Life Insurance, a company run by billionaire Carl H. Lindner Jr., a prolific contributor to national political parties and presidential candidates.
"When McCain's legislation passed in November 2005, the ranch owner gave the job of building as many as 12,000 homes to SunCor Development, a firm in Tempe, Ariz., run by Steven A. Betts, a longtime McCain supporter who has raised more than $100,000 for the presumptive Republican nominee. " [146]
SunCor and Pinnacle West Details:
Sen. John McCain secured millions in federal funds for a land acquisition program that provided a windfall for an Arizona developer whose executives were major campaign donors, public records show.
McCain, who has made fighting special-interest projects a centerpiece of his presidential campaign, inserted $14.3 million in a 2003 defense bill to buy land around Luke Air Force Base in a provision sought by SunCor Development, the largest of about 50 landowners near the base. SunCor representatives, upset with a state law that restricted development around Luke, met with McCain's staff to lobby for funding, according to John Ogden, SunCor's president at the time.
The Air Force later paid SunCor $3 million for 122 acres near the base. It was the highest single land transaction of the private lots purchased by the government - three times the county's assessed value and twice the military's estimated value.
McCain has long-standing ties to SunCor and Pinnacle West:
McCain's campaigns have received $224,000 since 1998 from donors connected to Pinnacle West, including $104,100 for his current presidential run
The Maricopa County Assessor's Office calculated the 2005 value of the 244 acres at $1.9 million, or about $7,900 per acre, spokesman Paul Petersen said in an e-mail. Petersen said in a telephone interview that the county tries to accurately reflect market value, but often comes up with assessments that are lower than actual sales prices.
County records say the former Sun Health property was assessed in 2005 at $290,000, or $2,029 per acre, less than a third of the per-acre price the Air Force paid. [150]
Vice President Cheney's energy task force had a busy spring in 2001. While drafting a national energy policy, the group, chaired by Cheney, met with approximately 300 groups and individuals [157] (Including individuals from Pinnacle West)
Bill Post
Pinnacle West
March 8
Robbie Aiken
Pinnacle West
March 8
Carl Lindner Jr. Details:
Carl H. Lindner Jr., the billionaire Cincinnati businessman, was CEO of Chiquita Brands International from 1984 to 2001
Beginning under his tenure, Chiquita executives paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (known by the Spanish acronym AUC)
Following a Justice Department indictment last year, Chiquita admitted to illegally funding the paramilitaries and agreed to pay a $25 million fine. Chiquita's payments to the AUC began in 1997 and lasted seven years; roughly half of the funds came after the group was designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. State Department in 2001. [153]
McCain's chief political adviser, Charlie Black, lobbied for Chiquita on two separate occasions in 2001. According to records, Black was paid $80,000 to work on foreign trade issues. [153]