It's hard to buy undeveloped land in booming northern Arizona for $166 an acre. But now-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid effectively did just that when a longtime friend decided to sell property owned by the employee pension fund that he controlled.

In 2002, Reid (D-Nev.) paid $10,000 to a pension fund controlled by Clair Haycock, a Las Vegas lubricants distributor and his friend for 50 years. The payment gave the senator full control of a 160-acre parcel in Bullhead City that Reid and the pension fund had jointly owned. Reid's price for the equivalent of 60 acres of undeveloped desert was less than one-tenth of the value the assessor placed on it at the time.

Six months after the deal closed, Reid introduced legislation to address the plight of lubricants dealers who had their supplies disrupted by the decisions of big oil companies. It was an issue the Haycock family had brought to Reid's attention in 1994, according to a source familiar with the events.

If Reid were to sell the property for any of the various estimates of its value, his gain on the $10,000 investment could range from $50,000 to $290,000.

It is a potential violation of congressional ethics standards for a member to accept anything of value — including a real estate discount — from a person with interests before Congress.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., backed funding for a bridge between Nevada and Arizona that could affect the value of property he owns nearby.

The planned span over the Colorado River between Laughlin, Nev., and Bullhead City, Ariz., got an $18 million boost in last year's massive federal transportation bill.

Reid, who's in line to become Senate majority leader after last week's election, owns 160 acres of undeveloped property in Bullhead City, several miles from the proposed bridge sites. Development is booming in the area and local officials in Laughlin and Bullhead City support a new crossing to ease traffic on the one existing bridge. They also expect it would add to property values.

Reid aides said his support for the bridge has nothing to do with his ownership of the Bullhead City property, which he values between $500,000 and $1 million on his annual financial disclosure forms. His spokesman said he had no plans to develop the property.

As convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff reported to federal prison today, a source close to the investigation surrounding his activities told ABC News that Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) was one of the members of Congress Abramoff had allegedly implicated in his cooperation with federal prosecutors.
[...]
A source close to the investigation says Abramoff told prosecutors that more than $30,000 in campaign contributions to Reid from Abramoff's clients "were no accident and were in fact requested by Reid."

Abramoff has reportedly claimed the Nevada senator agreed to help him on matters related to Indian gambling.

The Associated Press reported earlier this year that Reid wrote at least four letters helpful to the tribes that had contributed money to his campaign.

Reid has denied there was any connection between the letters and the contributions and has said he is a longtime opponent of certain kinds of Indian reservation gambling.

The AP reported that Reid acknowledged "routine contacts" with Abramoff's lobbying partners and intervening to block rival tribal casinos.

The AP also reported that Abramoff's billing records showed extensive contact with Reid's office over a three-year period in which Reid collected more than $68,000 from Abramoff's firm, partners and clients.

UPDATE: Jason notes the chicken is finally coming home to roost.

Federal election law permits campaigns to provide "gifts of nominal value" but prohibits candidates from using political donations for personal expenses, such as mortgage, rent or utilities for "any part of any personal residence."

The law specifically defines prohibited personal use expenses as any "obligation or expense of any person that would exist irrespective of the candidate's campaign or duties as a federal officeholder."

Land deeds show Reid and his wife, Landra, purchased a condominium for their Washington residence at the hotel for $750,000 in March 2001. The holiday fund has existed for years at the condo, workers said.

Reid said Monday he believed the expenses were permissible but he nonetheless was reimbursing the campaign.

"These donations were made to thank the men and women who work in the building for the extra work they do as a result of my political activities, and for helping the security officers assigned to me because of my Senate position," Reid said.

Larry Noble, the Federal Election Commission's former chief enforcement lawyer, said Reid's explanation is aimed at a "gray area" in the law by suggesting the donations were tied to his official Senate and political work.

"What makes this harder for the senator is that this is his personal residence and this looks like an event that everybody else at the residence is taking out of their personal money as they're living there," Noble said.

In the process, Reid did not disclose to Congress an earlier sale in which he transferred his land to a company created by a friend and took a financial stake in that company, according to records and interviews.

The Nevada Democrat's deal was engineered by Jay Brown, a longtime friend and former casino lawyer whose name surfaced in a major political bribery trial this summer and in other prior organized crime investigations. He's never been charged with wrongdoing - except for a 1981 federal securities complaint that was settled out of court.

The complex dealings allowed Reid to transfer ownership, legal liability and some tax consequences to Brown's company without public knowledge, but still collect a seven-figure payoff nearly three years later.

Reid hung up the phone when questioned about the deal during an AP interview last week.

The Los Angeles Times recently reported that Coyote Springs Valley, a large area of barren desert in Nevada "is on its way to becoming a real estate development of historic proportions."

with as many as 159,000 homes, 16 golf courses and a full complement of stores and service facilities. At nearly 43,000 acres, Coyote Springs covers almost twice as much space as the next-largest development in a state famous for outsized building projects.

According to the story, this huge project was the result of "an alliance between a multimillionaire developer and [Senate Minority Leader.] Harry Reid," who sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The relationship between developers such as Harvey Whittemore and politicians such as Reid is especially close in Nevada, home to a small fraternity of movers and shakers, powerful demands of rapid population growth and a huge amount of federally owned land.

Over the last four years, Reid has used his influence in Washington to help the developer, Nevada super-lobbyist Whittemore, clear obstacles from Coyote Springs' path.

At one point, Reid proposed opening the way for Whittemore to develop part of the site for free — something for which the developer later agreed to pay the government $10 million.

Reid's influence was rewarded with ten of thousands of dollars in contributions to Reid's campaigns and leadership fund from Whittemore. And the connections go much further.

Whittemore also helped advance the legal careers of two of Reid's four sons. One of the two, Leif Reid, who is Whittemore's personal lawyer, has represented the developer throughout the Coyote Springs project, including in negotiations with federal officials.

Whittemore, solidly built and well over 6 feet tall, is a partner in Nevada's biggest law firm and a veteran lobbyist for the state's gambling, liquor and tobacco industries.
[...]

"You have to understand how close the Whittemore and Reid families are," the developer said recently. "My relationship with Sen. Reid goes back decades." The senator concurs, calling Whittemore a longtime friend.

Since 2000, Whittemore, his wife and the Coyote Springs company have given Reid's senatorial campaign and political action committees at least $45,000. That included $35,000 for Reid's leadership PAC, the Searchlight Leadership Fund, which helped him advance as a Senate leader. Most of that money was contributed in 2002 shortly after Reid introduced the Clark County land bill.

In 2000, Whittemore gave an additional $20,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which Reid promoted as a party leader. Prior to 2000, the Whittemores had given Reid and his Senate campaign committee a total of $6,500, plus $5,000 for his leadership PAC.

Whittemore also helped Reid's sons, all of whom at various times have worked for the law firm in which he is a senior partner, Lionel, Sawyer and Collins. Rory Reid is a partner in the firm. When he ran successfully for the Clark County Board of Commissioners, Whittemore contributed $5,000.

He also gave Josh Reid $5,000 for an unsuccessful bid for a seat on the city council in Cottonwood Heights, Utah. Rory and Josh Reid have been active in Democratic politics.

Jon Summers, an aide to Sen. Reid, said, "Harvey Whittemore has a history of giving money to political candidates far and wide — and to both political parties.

"However," he added, "as a registered Democrat, it is only logical that he would give a larger percentage to Democratic candidates and committees."

The Nevada senator still believes it was "entirely permissible" for him to accept ringside seats for three professional boxing matches in 2004 and 2005 from the Nevada Athletic Commission but has nonetheless decided to avoid doing so in the future, his office said.

"In light of questions that have been raised about the practice, Senator Reid will not accept these kinds of credentials in the future in order to avoid even the faintest appearance of impropriety," spokesman Jim Manley said.

The announcement came after The Associated Press confronted Reid's office early Wednesday with conclusions from several ethics experts that the Senate leader misstated congressional ethics rules in trying to defend his actions.

Reid, D-Nev., took the free seats for Las Vegas fights between 2003 and 2005 as he was pressing legislation to increase government oversight of the sport, including the creation of a federal boxing commission that Nevada's agency feared might usurp its authority.

He defended the gifts, saying they would never influence his position on the bill and was simply trying to learn how his legislation might affect an important home state industry. "Anyone from Nevada would say I'm glad he is there taking care of the state's No. 1 businesses," he told The Associated Press.

"I love the fights anyways, so it wasn't like being punished," added the senator, a former boxer and boxing judge.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., on Tuesday said he does not regret his relationship with Dario Herrera, a former Clark County commissioner who faces a federal prison sentence after being convicted Friday of conspiracy, wire fraud and extortion.

"I'm not going to pound on Dario," Reid said. "He's had enough pounding."

But Reid said he was disappointed in Herrera, who was Reid's handpicked candidate to run for the congressional seat won by Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., in 2002.

"I talked to him and specifically asked him during the congressional race if he was doing anything wrong because I had heard some rumors, and he said, 'No,'" Reid said.

"I said, 'Are you taking any money from anyone you shouldn't?' (Herrera answered) No," Reid said. "And of course the evidence came out that he did some very bad things."

Reid said he has kept in touch with Herrera "during all his travails." He described Herrera, 32, as having "great talent" and a "tremendous intellect."

Oh, but here's the best part:

"I think [Herrera]'s young enough when he finishes whatever punishment the court metes out to him that he can still contribute to society," Reid said.

Reid said his comments about Herrera also would apply to Erin Kenny, whom he encouraged to run for lieutenant governor in 2002.

Kenny, also a former Clark County commissioner, has pleaded guilty to accepting cash and campaign contributions from Michael Galardi, the owner of three Southern Nevada strip clubs. She is awaiting sentencing.

Tucker Bounds, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, blasted Reid's comments on Herrera.

"At what point does Harry Reid's absurd hypocrisy on corruption become plain disconnect? His refusal to denounce convicted felon Dario Herrera is second only to his relentless attacks on corruption despite his own ties to Jack Abramoff," Bounds said.

Herrera once had everything going for him. Good looks, telegenic personality, support from Democratic House members, support from leftwing groups...and, of course, the support of Senator Harry Reid, late of the anti-GOP corruption campaign. What is really amusing is that Herrera lists Bill Clinton as one of his heros...and now we know why:

Dario Herrera adamantly denied Wednesday that he accepted cash payments from former strip club owner Michael Galardi, and he tearfully recounted sexual encounters he had with strippers.

Herrera's wife, Emily, who has been in the courtroom for most of the trial, cried as she listened to his testimony about his numerous extramarital affairs.

Yep, those clean-as-a-whistle Democrats, they'll stop the corruption in politics...

A prominent Las Vegas-based developer has admitted to illegally funneling a total of $37,000 in campaign contributions to Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and indicted former congressional candidate Dario Herrera during the 2002 election cycle, the Federal Election Commission said Thursday.
[...]
FEC officials said Reid accepted $10,000 in the bundled contributions. Reid spokesman Jim Manley said the senator will transfer the money to the U.S. Treasury, as ordered by the FEC.

"The senator believes that campaign finance laws should be followed to the highest letter of the law," he said.

Under federal campaign finance law, corporations are barred from making campaign contributions and donors are prohibited from making a contribution on behalf of someone else. At the time, individuals were limited to donations of $1,000 in the primary and another $1,000 in the general election.

In its complaint, the National Republican Congressional Committee said the contributions to Reid and Herrera were suspicious because a range of employees - from the CFO to the payroll clerk - contributed the maximum amount. All the Rhodes employees and spouses contributed to only the Herrera and Reid campaigns, and no employee had contributed to a political campaign in the 1998 or 2000 election cycles, the complaint said.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) wrote at least four letters helpful to Indian tribes represented by Jack Abramoff, and the senator's staff regularly had contact with the disgraced lobbyist's partners about legislation affecting other clients.

The activities — detailed in billing records and correspondence obtained by Associated Press — are more extensive than previously disclosed.

They occurred over three years as Reid collected about $68,000 in donations from Abramoff's firm, lobbying partners and clients.

Reid's office acknowledged last week having "routine contacts" with Abramoff's lobbying partners and intervening on some government matters, such as blocking some tribal casinos, in ways Abramoff's clients might have deemed helpful. But it said none of Reid's actions were affected by donations or carried out for Abramoff.
[...]
Reid also intervened on government matters at least five times in ways helpful to Abramoff's tribal clients, once opposing legislation on the Senate floor and four times sending letters pressing the Bush administration on tribal issues. Reid collected donations about the time of each action.

Ethics rules require senators to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest in collecting contributions when they take official acts benefiting donors.

Abramoff's firm also hired one of Reid's top legislative aides as a lobbyist. The aide later helped throw a fundraiser for Reid at Abramoff's firm that raised donations from several of his lobbying partners.

Reid's longtime chief of staff accepted a free trip to Malaysia arranged by a consulting firm connected to Abramoff that recently gained attention in the influence-peddling investigation.

Abramoff has pleaded guilty in a fraud and bribery case and is helping prosecutors investigate the conduct of lawmakers, congressional aides and administration officials his firm lobbied.

Abramoff spokesman Andrew Blum declined to comment on the Reid contacts.

The activities - detailed in billing records and correspondence obtained by The Associated Press - are far more extensive than previously disclosed. They occurred over three years as Reid collected nearly $68,000 in donations from Abramoff's firm, lobbying partners and clients.

Reid's office acknowledged Thursday having "routine contacts" with Abramoff's lobbying partners and intervening on some government matters - such as blocking some tribal casinos - in ways Abramoff's clients might have deemed helpful. But it said none of his actions were affected by donations or done for Abramoff.

When you add this to the fact that a number of Abramoff's tribal clients only gave money to Reid after becoming clients of Abramoff, it just destroys Reid's credibility on this issue.

I can still hear Harry Reid call this "a Republican scandal."

Last I checked, Harry Reid is not a Republican.

Abramoff's records show his lobbying partners billed for nearly two dozen phone contacts or meetings with Reid's office in 2001 alone.

Most were to discuss Democratic legislation that would have applied the U.S. minimum wage to the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory and Abramoff client, but would have given the islands a temporary break on the wage rate, the billing records show.

Reid also intervened on government matters at least five times in ways helpful to Abramoff's tribal clients, once opposing legislation on the Senate floor and four times sending letters pressing the Bush administration on tribal issues. Reid collected donations around the time of each action.

Ethics rules require senators to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest in collecting contributions around the times they take official acts benefiting donors.

Abramoff's firm also hired one of Reid's top legislative aides as a lobbyist. The aide later helped throw a fundraiser for Reid at Abramoff's firm that raised donations from several of his lobbying partners.

And Reid's longtime chief of staff accepted a free trip to Malaysia arranged by a consulting firm connected to Abramoff that recently has gained attention in the influence-peddling investigation that has gripped the Capitol.
[...]
While Abramoff never directly donated to Reid, the lobbyist did instruct one tribe, the Coushattas, to send $5,000 to Reid's tax-exempt political group, the Searchlight Leadership Fund, in 2002. About the same time, Reid sent a letter to the Interior Department helpful to the tribe, records show.

Abramoff sent a list to the tribe entitled "Coushatta Requests" recommending donations to campaigns or groups for 50 lawmakers he claimed were helpful to the tribe. Alongside Reid's name, Abramoff wrote, "5,000 (Searchlight Leadership Fund) Senate Majority Whip."

Following a pattern seen with Abramoff and Republicans, Abramoff's Democratic team members often delivered donations to Reid close to key events.

Reid himself, along his Senate counsel Jim Ryan, met with Abramoff deputy Ronald Platt on June 5, 2001, "to discuss timing on minimum wage bill" that affected the Marianas, according to a bill that Greenberg Traurig, Abramoff's firm, sent the Marianas.

Three weeks before the meeting, Greenberg Traurig's political action committee donated $1,000 to Reid's Senate re-election committee. Three weeks after the meeting, Platt himself donated $1,000 to Reid.

Manley said Reid's official calendar doesn't list a meeting on June 5, 2001, with Platt, but he also said he couldn't say for sure the contact didn't occur. Manley confirmed Platt had regular contacts with Reid's office, calling them part of the "routine checking in" by lobbyists who work Capitol Hill.

It is a legal practice, albeit one that raises concerns amongst advocacy groups that focus on ethics issues. "Those groups feel lobbyists’ strongest influence over a member comes not from buying them a meal or a gift, but from playing key roles in their fundraising efforts, which are nonstop."

"I think it’s a little too cozy," said Melanie Sloan, head of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. "It’s not an uncommon practice, but it is a concerning one."

The Center for Public Integrity has done a study of such practices, and "found that at least 39 members of Congress listed lobbyists as treasurers of their campaign committees or leadership PACs. Since 1998, at least 79 members have retained lobbyists as treasurers." In the study, Oldaker was identified "as the most notable representing Democrats. It listed him as serving as the treasurer of at least 24 campaign fundraising committees since 1998, including at least 10 leadership PACs."

Pryor and Lincoln both maintain there is nothing improper with the arrangements each of their PACs have with Oldaker, and claim he does not use his being a lobbyist to exert any influence. But this is something the experts find hard to accept.

[Alex] Knott, of the Center for Public Integrity, and Bertram Levine, a Colgate University political scientist and lobbying expert, said others might find the denials hard to believe.

"There is no real reason you need to have a firm involved in lobbying doing your accounting work," said Levine, who was a lobbyist for Johnson & Johnson for 19 years.

"If you are a U.S. senator or a member of the House, you ought to know enough that this is going to smell, even if there is nothing wrong with it," he added.

Knott said he finds it interesting that while Oldaker contends to be only a bookkeeper, his main firm’s Web site brags of his connections to "numerous presidential and congressional campaigns as well as labor unions, trade associations, corporations and other political organizations on the establishment of and operation of PACs and related political activities."

"It’s very funny to say he lobbies Congress but does not lobby the [members] he has connections to," Knott said.

He added, "Lobbyists, for the most part, try to exploit their connections."

Knott said that while Oldaker may downplay his role, the fact remains that the treasurer of a fundraising committee has to "sign off" on all its transactions.

UPDATE: Several of the aforementioned Senators are now cutting ties with Oldaker!!!!

Minority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.), Democratic Policy Committee Chairman Byron Dorgan (N.D.) and Sen. Edward Kennedy (Mass.) are cutting ties to longtime appropriations lobbyist William Oldaker, who has served as treasurer for their leadership PACs.

And to think some said that there was no conflict of interest...

The moves come as heightened public scrutiny of lawmakers’ ties to lobbyists is prompting both camps to re-evaluate how they interact. With Members of Congress in both parties crafting reform proposals in the wake of the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal, many are acting pre-emptively to limit contacts with K Streeters.

Some lawmakers have already given up cheap flights on corporate jets, banned staff from accepting free meals or gifts from lobbyists, canceled regular meetings with lobbyists or held off scheduling new fundraisers downtown.

Reid spokesman Jim Manley said the Minority Leader made the decision “to err on the side of caution.”

Seems more like they got caught and are trying to minimize the fallout.

“To go the extra mile, Sen. Reid has decided to make this shift,” Manley said. “This is something we’ve been looking at for a while now.” Reid has tapped Holly Giarraputo, assistant treasurer of the PAC since July 2004, to take over for Oldaker.

Dorgan last month bumped Oldaker from his leadership PAC, called the Great Plains Leadership Fund, replacing him with a Bismark, N.D., businessman named James Hauer.

“We wanted to have a North Dakotan in that role,” spokesman Barry Piatt said.

Oldaker did not return calls for comment. Recent filings showed the former Federal Elections Commission general counsel was maintaining ties to a number of other political committees. Since 1998, he has served as treasurer of 23 such funds and signed off on more than $2 million in donations, according to a recent study by the Center for Public Integrity. Meanwhile, he lobbies for two firms, the National Group and Oldaker, Biden and Belair, mostly seeking federal funds for a number of universities and hospitals.

Apparently, other Democrats were guilty of having lobbyists as their PAC treasurers, including Rahm Emanuel.

Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), the boss of the House Democratic political operation who is making ethics a centerpiece issue in the November elections, last month quietly switched campaign treasurers -- from a federal lobbyist who has for a long time served in that role to someone else.

Emanuel's move comes as GOP leaders who control Congress are seriously considering a crackdown on ethics rules in the wake of an unfolding GOP scandal triggered by the conviction of Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Kathleen Connery, Emanuel's government spokesman, said the treasurer, William Singer, a lawyer and a lobbyist, has been replaced. Asked why, Connery replied, "It's obvious.''

The obvious, I surmise, is this: Emanuel saw the need to get his own ethics house in order. Singer is a former Chicago alderman whose friendship with Emanuel predates his election to Congress. Singer is also a fund-raiser for Senate Democrats.

With the ethics issue heating up, Singer told me he stepped down because "I respect him and want to help him and the best way to do that is not to serve in a meaningless job as treasurer.'' Singer said he will continue to raise money for Emanuel, one of the most prolific fund-raisers in Washington.

Reid's Tribal Donations:

At least one of the tribes, the Coushatta tribe, gave him a donation immediately after Reid acted on their behalf.

Republican spokesman Tucker Bounds said, "Harry Reid's ties to Jack Abramoff are too substantial for him to dismiss with Washington, D.C., denial and hypocritical accusations." It is also worth noting that Harry Reid acknowledges the fact that he has received $61,000 from tribal clients and lobbying colleagues of Abramoff, but unlike many in the both the Republican and Democratic parties, he refuses to return the donations or give them to charity.