That Didn't Take Long
A week or so ago I wrote that DeVal Patrick's generosity with the taxpayers' money—and his fondness for a swank new limo—showed a proclivity toward corruption.
Residents of Massachusetts, you have a problem, because if this behavior is indicative of Patrick's character—and trust me, it always is—in about three years, you're going to have some serious corruption scandals on your hands.
Whoops! Looks like I was off by about 2 years and 50 weeks. Because the Boston Globe's Frank Phillips—man, he's good—has
a hot-stuff story today about Patrick's intercession on behalf of a "controversial subprime mortgage lender."
Seems Patrick, who was on the board of ACC Capital Holdings until recently—for which he was paid the remarkably generous sum of $360, 000 a year, which I'm sure had nothing to do with the fact that he was running for governor—put in a call to Citigroup's Bob Rubin vouching for the integrity and competence of current management.
In the conversation, Patrick vouched for the "current management and the character of the company," said Kyle Sullivan, his spokesman. Sullivan said Patrick told Rubin that he was serving as a personal reference for ACC as its owners pushed for the quick cash infusion from Citigroup that would stabilize their struggling lending firm.
...But the call to Rubin is highly unusual, in part because of the political sensitivity over his past involvement with the controversial mortgage lender. In addition, if a sitting governor reaches out personally to a top corporate executive, it is typically on behalf of state interests, such as a desire to preserve jobs in Massachusetts.
Patrick tells the Globe that he did not make the call in any official capacity, but as a "personal request."
About which two things must be said.
First, when you are governor and you pick up the telephone, you are calling as governor, and every person on the other end will know it.
Second, since Ameriquest, the mortgage subsidiary of ACC Capital, has a lot of business in Massachusetts, it's possible that Patrick might actually have a legitimate reason to petition for aid on their behalf. (I'm stretching, but work with me here.) So why does he say that he was calling outside of his capacity as governor?
Two points.
This business of
using corporate boards as a way to funnel money to people who will be able to help your business later has become a huge problem. $360, 000 a year for a board member? Please. You're certainly not buying Patrick's wisdom, because he obviously doesn't have any.
Which brings me to my second point. I was joking, sort of, a couple weeks ago when I called Patrick an "idiot." I'm beginning to think I was right about that, too.
Oh, and is it just me, or is Bob Rubin's once-pristine reputation beginning to take a few dings?
What's really interesting is that, if I had to bet, I'd say that Rubin was the person who leaked news of the phone call to Phillips.... After all, there were only two people on that line, and you can be sure that Patrick didn't tell the Globe. Rubin must have thought that, if word of the call came out further down the line, it would make him look bad....
