Sunday, September 28, 2014

Abbott recovers $1.4 million of TEF funds... into his campaign account

Is there a corruption tolerance limit that can be exceeded?  I suppose we'll find out.

Republican governor nominee Greg Abbott has collected more than $1 million in campaign contributions from beneficiaries of a state business fund cited in a scathing audit for lax oversight of taxpayer dollars.

[...]

An independent audit released this week found the Texas Enterprise Fund awarded $222 million to entities that never submitted applications or promised to create jobs.  The picture that emerged from the state auditor’s report was of an agency that, at least in its early years, gave away taxpayer money without proper evaluation or consistent criteria.

Abbott has received at least $1.4 million in contributions from beneficiaries of the enterprise fund since 2003, according to state records.

Three investors in the biotech company Lexicon, which received $35 million, are Abbott campaign contributors — businessman Robert McNair and chemical executives William McMinn and Gordon Cain. McNair has given $463,000 to Abbott, McMinn $110,000 and Cain $60,000.

Well, there goes my rooting for the Houston Texans any longer.

Update: More in greater detail from Carol Morgan at the Lubbock Avalanche Journal.

No comments: