From: | Lenny Siegel <lennysiegel@gmail.com> |
Date: | Thu, 24 Apr 2008 23:03:22 -0700 (PDT) |
Reply: | cpeo-military |
Subject: | [CPEO-MEF] REUSE: Sen. McCain's friend and Fort Ord |
A Developer, His Deals and His Ties to McCain By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK and JIM RUTENBERG New York Times April 22, 2008 Donald R. Diamond, a wealthy Arizona real estate developer, was racing to snap up a stretch of virgin California coast freed by the closing of an Army base a decade ago when he turned to an old friend, Senator John McCain. When Mr. Diamond wanted to buy land at the base, Fort Ord, Mr. McCain assigned an aide who set up a meeting at the Pentagon and later stepped in again to help speed up the sale, according to people involved and a deposition Mr. Diamond gave for a related lawsuit. When he appealed to a nearby city for the right to develop other property at the former base, Mr. Diamond submitted Mr. McCain's endorsement as "a close personal friend." Writing to officials in the city, Seaside, Calif., the senator said, "You will find him as honorable and committed as I have." Courting local officials and potential partners, Mr. Diamond's team promised that he could "help get through some of the red tape in dealing with the Department of the Army" because Mr. Diamond "has been very active with Senator McCain," a partner said in a deposition. ... For the entire article, see http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/22/us/politics/22diamond.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Fort+Ord+McCain&st=nyt&oref=slogin See also McCAIN HELPED ORD LAND DEAL Senator has ties to Arizona developer By JULIA REYNOLDS and LARRY PARSONS Herald Staff Writers April 23, 2008 Sen. John McCain helped an Arizona developer resolve his water issues in a Fort Ord property purchase, according to Monterey County court documents. The presumptive Republican presidential candidate also sent a dazzling letter of recommendation to Seaside city officials when developer Donald Diamond submitted his bid to develop the Bayonet and Black Horse golf courses. McCain's assistance came to light in a New York Times front-page story Tuesday, thrusting Seaside's real estate machinations with Fort Ord into the national campaign spotlight. ... For the rest of the article, see http://www.montereyherald.com/local/ci_9023652?nclick_check=1# -- Lenny Siegel Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight a project of the Pacific Studies Center 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041 Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545 Fax: 650/961-8918 <lsiegel@cpeo.org> http://www.cpeo.org _______________________________________________ Military mailing list Military@lists.cpeo.org http://lists.cpeo.org/listinfo.cgi/military-cpeo.org | |
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