Research

Fresh off claiming to be oblivious to former-Rep. Eric Massa’s questionable behavior and ignoring the myriad ethical lapses of Rep. Charlie Rangel, there appears to be a new ethical scandal brewing in the “most open and honest” Congress for  Speaker Nancy Pelosi to claim ignorance.

While New York Rep. Gregory Meeks claims to survive “paycheck to paycheck,” The New York Times reports he “lives a life worthy of a jet-setter.”

When he travels, he stays in luxury hotels like the Mondrian South Beach in Miami and the Ritz-Carlton in San Juan, P.R. He drives a Lexus, leased by the federal government, at a cost of $1,000 a month. He eats expensive meals at BLT Steak in Washington and Docks Oyster Bar in Manhattan, among other trendy spots. …

Mr. Meeks’s hotel visits paid by his campaign and political action committee since 2007 include stops at Hotel Playa Bonita in Panama; the MGM Grand, Mirage, Monte Carlo and Bellagio hotels in Las Vegas; the Buccaneer Hotel in St. Croix, V.I.; and multiple hotels in South Beach and San Juan.

So where does Rep. Meeks sleep when he’s not jetting off to these fabulous locations? Why in $1 million dollar home built for him by one of his contributors of course.

Mr. Meeks’s new home — built for him in 2006 in the St. Albans section of Queens by a real estate developer named Richard Dennis — is also drawing scrutiny. Mr. Meeks and his wife paid $830,000 for the imposing two-story home, which is far larger than most in the neighborhood. …

City records, and an independent real estate appraiser contacted by The New York Times, suggest the house was worth more than $1 million at the time he bought it. …

“I have got the perfect spot for you,” Mr. Dennis recalled telling Mr. Meeks, who he has known since around 2000 and whose campaign accounts he has contributed to six times, for a total of $3,250.

As the ethical lapses by members of her caucus continue to mount, how long until the American people give Speaker Pelosi the boot?