DODD’S IRELAND HOME WORTH MORE THAN HE REPORTED.

HERE IS WHAT THE AP IS REPORTING.

By SUSAN HAIGH

AP Political Writer

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – Records show the value of Connecticut. Sen. Christopher Dodd’s vacation cottage in Ireland has more than doubled to nearly $660,000.

The seaside home, located in County Galway, was valued on Dodd’s 2007 financial disclosure report at between $100,001 and $250,000. A recent estimate by a real estate agent in Ireland places the value at about 470,000 euros. That’s about $660,000.

Dodd spokesman Bryan DeAngelis says the senator and his wife decided to have the property appraised because they felt it was time to update the information for Dodd’s disclosure report.

The vacation home is the subject of an ethics complaint by a conservative group that questions whether it was really a gift.

 HERE IS WHAT Rob Simmons is saying about it in this press release.

 

“The fact that Chris Dodd could for years cover up the full value of the Irish home he acquired through his association with Mr. Kessinger, as well as obscure by hundreds of thousands of dollars the value of his wife’s corporate board memberships is shocking, and demonstrates the need for far more open and transparent personal financial disclosures.  Particularly troubling is that the enormous profits Dodd stands to reap raises further questions about Mr. Kessinger’s motivation for selling the property to Dodd at such an apparent discount.”
                     
 
TIMELINE OF THE DODD IRISH COTTAGE INTRIGUE

 

In 1993, Dodd Friend Edward Downe Was Convicted And Forced To Pay $11 Million In Fines To The SEC For An Insider Trading Scheme. “In 1993, Dodd’s close friend, New York bon vivant Edward R. Downe Jr., got a heaping helping of justice when his insider trader scheme caused him to plead guilty to violating tax and securities laws. Downe, who lived at exclusive 25 Sutton Place on the Upper East Side with his then wife, heiress Charlotte Ford, was nabbed setting up foreign accounts to make illegal insider stock trades for himself and some socialite friends. Dodd attended Downe’s sentencing, where the schemer received three years’ probation and 3,000 hours of community service. Downe agreed a year later to pay $11 million to the SEC.” (The Hartford Courant, 2/22/09)

Dodd Along With A Friend Of Edward Downe’s, William Kessinger, Purchased The 10 Acre Irish Property In 1994 For $160,000. “While Downe fought the SEC in 1994 about paying the penalty, Dodd and William Kessinger of Kansas City, Mo., whom Dodd knew through Downe, purchased a house and nearly 10 acres (4 hectares in local parlance) on the island of Inishnee in the affluent Roundtree section of Connemara, in County Galway, Ireland, for $160,000.” (The Hartford Courant, 2/22/09)

 

Dodd Said He Purchased 1/3 Of The House While Kessinger Bought 2/3. “Dodd, who says he contributed $12,000 to the purchase price, owned one-third of the house, Kessinger two-thirds. They purchased the property with a two-year mortgage from the seller of the property that was, according to Dodd’s Senate financial disclosures for both 1994 and 1995, between $100,001 and $250,000.” (The Hartford Courant, 2/22/09)

In 2001, Dodd Circumvented The Justice Department To Help Downe Get A Full Pardon The Last Day Of President Clinton’s Presidency.  “In 2001, Dodd did the favor of a lifetime for his pal, Downe. The veteran senator circumvented the normal Department of Justice vetting process and got Downe a full pardon from President Bill Clinton on his last day in office.” (The Hartford Courant, 2/22/09)

After Dodd Got A Pardon For Downe, Dodd Purchased The Rest Of The House From Kessinger For Only $127,000, Just Slightly More Than Its Value Eight Years Earlier. “That year, a year after Dodd obtained a pardon for Downe, Dodd purchased Kessinger’s two-thirds interest in the Irish hideaway for only $127,000, according to Dodd. Irish property records obtained for this story show it as $122,351. That was slightly more than its value eight eventful years before, but much less than what might have been expected given the explosion of Irish real estate prices.” (The Hartford Courant, 2/22/09)
 
Kessinger Only Made A Profit Of $15,000 In His Sale To Dodd Despite The Fact That Real Estate Prices Had Exploded. “Kessinger provided two-thirds of the money for the purchase. Eight years later, when Dodd bought him out for $122,000, Kessinger made a profit of only $15,000, despite the fact that real estate prices in Ireland had exploded in that time, Rennie reported.” (The Hartford Courant, 3/10/09)

 

According To The Bank Of Ireland, Most Irish Properties Quadrupled In Value Between 1994 And 2004. “Between 1994 and 2004, according to the Central Bank of Ireland, prices of existing homes (as opposed to new ones) nearly quadrupled. But not according to a 2002 bank appraisal that Dodd used in the purchase of Kessinger’s interest.”  (The Hartford Courant, 2/22/09)

 

A New Appraisal Conducted By Dodd Now Shows The Value Of The Property At $658,000, Nearly Three And A Half Times What Dodd Has Been Claiming. “A new appraisal of the Irish cottage owned by Sen. Christopher Dodd concludes that it is worth about three times as much as Dodd has been reporting on his financial disclosure forms.  The new value of the cottage, located on Inishnee in Galway County, is $658,000, according to Dodd’s 2008 financial disclosure form released today. The appraisal was done by the same person who did the original one in 2002 when the 1,200 square-foot cottage was evaluated at about $190,000.” (The Hartford Courant, 6/12/09)
 

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Paid for by Simmons for Senate