Murtha’s Nephew Named a Lobbyist for Marines

[Richard]

What the hell is going on here? Doesn't anyone have a lick of common sense out there in that five-sided concrete squirrel's cage anymore?

Richard's $.02

Murtha’s Nephew Named a Lobbyist for Marines
David. Kirkpatrick, NYT, 1 May 2009

Representative John P. Murtha, chairman of the House military spending subcommittee and a decorated former Marine, has long acted as a protective Uncle Jack to the Marine Corps.

Now the corps has named one of his nephews, Col. Brian Murtha, to the office charged with advocating for its interests on Capitol Hill, where Representative Murtha, Democrat of Pennsylvania, helps write the military budget. In relocating to be near the Pentagon, Colonel Murtha has even moved into a unit in the same condominium building where his influential uncle lives in Arlington, Va.

This convergence of the Murthas is an example of Washington’s special centrifugal force that so often brings relatives together on opposite sides of the same table. It does not appear to violate any rules or ethics guidelines, though it may well raise some eyebrows among legislative liaisons competing for resources on behalf of the other military services.

“I am sure that he provides a valuable service to the Marines,” Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, an Army spokesman, said of Colonel Murtha, declining to comment further.

Matthew Mazonkey, a spokesman for Mr. Murtha, said his nephew’s role in the legislative liaison office did not influence the lawmaker’s official actions.

“Congressman Murtha’s family has been serving our country in uniform since the Revolutionary War,” Mr. Mazonkey said. “He’s proud of their service.”

Col. David Lapin, a spokesman for the Marines, said only that Colonel Murtha, a helicopter pilot previously assigned to the European Command, was moved to the legislative liaison office last July.

Mr. Murtha is not the only congressman with relatives who have interests before the lawmaker’s office. Representative David R. Obey, for example, the Wisconsin Democrat who heads the House Appropriations Committee, has a son who works for a national parks advocacy group. And the committee’s senior Republican, Representative Jerry Lewis of California, has a brother in the government relations office of Loma Linda University, which often benefits from the special provisions known as earmarks that Mr. Lewis inserts into legislation.

Nor is Colonel Murtha the first member of the Murtha family to be in a position to profit from his uncle’s influence. The congressman earmarked millions of federal dollars to an institution in his district, St. Vincent College, while the Rev. John F. Murtha, his cousin, was its president. He has directed millions more in earmarks to clients of a firm, KSA Consulting, where until about three years ago his younger brother, Robert Murtha, known as Kit, worked as a lobbyist.

Colonel Murtha is one of Kit Murtha’s sons. Another son, also named Robert Murtha, is a former Marine with a master’s degree in engineering. He previously worked for two military contractors who, seeking earmarks, hired a lobbyist with close ties to Representative Murtha.

Over the last three years, the younger Robert Murtha has operated Murtech Inc., a small contractor in Glen Burnie, Md., that runs a warehouse and offers engineering services. It has received more than $3.5 million in military contracts over the last three years, not including subcontracts through other companies.

He is also a founder of another company, Ocean Energy Systems Inc., which is seeking federal financing to support its research into the generation of power from the motion of waves.

There is no evidence, however, that this nephew has received any earmarks or otherwise benefited from Representative Murtha’s position.

Asked if the family name helped Ocean Energy, the company’s chief executive, Brian Cunningham, said, “It does and it doesn’t.”

Representative Murtha is under so much scrutiny, Mr. Cunningham said, that Robert Murtha “can’t raise his head at all on this, for fear that it will be connected with his uncle.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/02/us...er=rss&emc=rss

[Pete]

Maybe they think he'll stop bad mouthing the Marines now?

[The Reaper]

Glossed right over the allegations Murtha made about the Marines committing war crimes at Haditha, didn't they?

Oh wait, the story was from the NYT.

Never mind....

TR

[Ret10Echo]

Originally Posted by Richard

Doesn't anyone have a lick of common sense out there

“Congressman Murtha’s family has been serving our country in uniform since the Revolutionary War,” Mr. Mazonkey said. “He’s proud of their service.”

Richard's $.02

Wonderful Pennsylvania "Demopublicans"....(those who wish to Demolish the Republic)

He's proud of their service.....but he just thinks the rest of the Corps should be sent to the Hague??

.....and NO Richard...they don't have a whole bunch of common sense. The proximity to the Beltway makes that illegal.

R10

[greenberetTFS]

Not to change the subject but I think it was 60 minutes last week that did a piece on the airport named after Murtha... It cost millions of dollars to build and more millions to maintain.... It only has 3 flights out to D.C. and back and the passenger ratio per flight is 10%.......

GB TFS

[Ret10Echo]

Originally Posted by greenberetTFS

Not to change the subject but I think it was 60 minutes last week that did a piece on the airport named after Murtha... It cost millions of dollars to build and more millions to maintain.... It only has 3 flights out to D.C. and back and the passenger ratio per flight is 10%.......

GB TFS

Seems like it will get the Murtha clan back and forth....maybe the Sphikter group will join the flights now?

[Ret10Echo]

2 former drug dealers tied to Murtha-backed firm
By PETE YOST, Associated Press Writer Pete Yost, Associated Press Writer 2 hrs 38 mins ago

WASHINGTON – Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., steered millions of dollars in defense work to a campaign donor and the Pentagon went along with it, despite the fact that two convicted drug dealers had been deeply involved with the company.

Records filed in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh starting in 2005 raise questions about whether the government ever checked into the background of William Kuchera of Windber, Pa., a Murtha constituent who has been doing government work for over 20 years.

The records point to the political peril of Murtha and other members of Congress directing federal funds to particular contractors, an oft-criticized process known as earmarking that has added hundreds of billions of dollars to the defense budget in recent years.

The companies owned by William Kuchera and his brother — Kuchera Defense Systems and Kuchera Industries Inc. — have received $53 million in federal contracts in this decade alone.

According to the court records, Kuchera was convicted of marijuana distribution in 1982 in Wisconsin.

In addition, a man who describes himself as an early partner in Kuchera's business in the 1980s is a convicted cocaine dealer who has served two terms in prison, according to the records.

The early investor in Kuchera Industries Inc., Peter Whorley, is suing Kuchera for a share of the money Kuchera has collected in federal contracts.

In 2007 and 2008, Murtha sponsored $14.7 million in defense earmarks for Kuchera Defense Systems. Before 2007, Congress did not disclose the identities of earmark sponsors, so it is impossible to say how much in earmarked funds Murtha provided to the Kuchera family business.

In one early link to Murtha, Kuchera made a $1,000 campaign contribution to the congressman in March 1992.

Kuchera and his uncle started doing business in the mid-1980s and Murtha became chairman of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee in 1989.

According to the court records, in 1985 William Kuchera approached his uncle, Michael, who was just starting up Kuchera Industries.

William Kuchera "confided to me that he had just spent time in prison and he was looking for a fresh start," Michael Kuchera said in an affidavit filed in federal court in 2005.

"After I agreed to go into business with my nephew, he introduced Peter Whorley to me," Michael Kuchera's affidavit states. "One day shortly after I had met Mr. Whorley, Bill told me that Peter had agreed to invest in the business."

Under questioning in the lawsuit, Whorley said that he had invested $50,000 in the Kucheras' new business. Before that, Whorley said, he had been in prison for drug trafficking.

Whorley said that he and William Kuchera were best friends and that they had been involved in "drug dealings."

A call to William Kuchera's lawyer was not immediately returned.

[Richard]

Maybe Congresscritter Murtha will go down with his close pal, Speaker Pelosi. Hey, we can dream can't we?

Richard's $.02

[csquare]

So Mr Whorley is suing for his 50k investment and a portion of the $53 million given to Kuchera's business.
What a return in that investment. Hell that is better than drug dealing!

[Ret10Echo]

Originally Posted by Richard

Maybe Congresscritter Murtha will go down with his close pal, Speaker Pelosi. Hey, we can dream can't we?

Richard's $.02

So do we see a trip to "China" in Mr Murtha's future??