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Rep. Richardson Makes 'Most Corrupt' List for 2nd Year

Congresswoman and former Long Beach City Council member Laura Richardson has again made an annual list of the most corrupt politicians in Congress, as compiled by the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and released Tuesday.
  
This is Richardson's second straight year on the list, joining six fellow Democrats and seven Republicans on the fifth annual CREW list. Richardson is also one of four California Congress members to make the list this year, including fellow Democrat Rep. Maxine Waters and Republicans Rep. Ken Calvert and Rep. Jerry Lewis. In addition, the two-term Richardson is one of 12 Congress members on the list currently under some sort of investigation.
  
CREW cites Richardson's recent personal financial problems and an ongoing government ethics investigation as the main reason for her continued appearance. 
  
In May 2008, Richardson’s Sacramento home was sold in foreclosure after she failed to make mortgage payments on the property for nearly a year and had defaulted on other home loans as well. Richardson said at the time that the foreclosure occured without her knowledge and despite what she said was an agreement with her lender to rectify the situation. In addition, Richardson failed to include the Sacramento property mortgage on her personal financial disclosure statements required under law.
  
During this period it came to light that Richardson also owed $9,000 in unpaid taxes on the Sacramento property and had defaulted on loans at least eight times on properties in Long Beach, Sacramento, and San Pedro.
  
In 2007, while falling behind on her Sacramento mortgage and taxes, Richardson made three loans to her congressional campaign totaling $77,500.

Washington Mutual Bank, the holder of the Sacramento mortgage, rescinded the foreclosure sale of the house on June 2, 2008. The person who had bought the house in the foreclosure sale, and started repairing it, filed suit against Richardson and Washington Mutual, alleging that Richardson received preferential treatment from Washington Mutual because of her position as a member of Congress.
  
In July 2008, the suit was dropped and Richardson retook possession of the house.

Richardson, according to CREW, amended her 2007 and 2008 personal financial disclosures, however, these failed to include mortgage loans for her properties in Long Beach, Sacramento, and San Pedro.
  
In addition to the financial aspects of the transaction, Richardson has also, according to the city of Sacramento and her neighbors in the upscale part of town, neglected the empty house since the moment it was purchased.
  
In 2008, the City of Sacramento declared her home a “public nuisance.” City inspectors found junk and debris in the driveway and rodents being attracted to rotting fruit in the backyard. In May 2009, the house was cited again after complaints from neighbors about the overgrown landscaping. The city eventually declared the house "blighted." Eventually, according to CREW, neighbors began taking care of the house themselves: paying gardeners to mow the lawn, water plants, and rake leaves.
  
Last year, in the wake of the revelations about her personal finances, CREW named Richardson as one of the top 24 most corrupt members of Congress, one of seven Democrats to make the list.
  
The group also seperately named her one of the top nine "Most Embarrassing Members of Congress," where she joined Congress members such as Rep. Michele Bachman and Rep. John Murtha as members who "stand out for their inability to conduct themselves in a manner that respects the office they hold," according to CREW.
  
In July of this year, the Office of Congressional Ethics launched an investigation into the circumstances around the Sacramento property foreclosure and whether House of Representatives gift rules were violated when neighbors spent money to clean up her property. The OCE contacted the person who had purchased the house in the foreclosure sale and interviewed neighbors about expenses arrising from cleaning up Richardson’s yard. The OCE investigation is ongoing.

 
CREW’s Top 15 Most Corrupt Members of Congress

Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.)
Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.)
Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.)
Rep. Nathan Deal (R-Ga.)
Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.)
Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-Ill.)
Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.)
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)
Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-W.Va.)
Rep. John Murtha (D-Penn.)
Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.)
Rep. Laura Richardson (D-Calif.)
Rep. Pete Visclosky (D-Ind.)
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.)
Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska)

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