The ten page ethics complaint is here.
This is a link to reporting and an online statement [or statement excerpt] from Melanie Slone, head of CREW.
Few Americans have landlords who sometimes fail to cash their rent checks, ignore unpaid rent, or accept furniture in lieu of rent. That Sen. Coleman has just such a landlord, who also happens to financially benefit from his relationship with the senator creates exactly the sort of appearance of impropriety that undermines the public’s faith in government. Senators must abide by the ethics rules at all times, not just when they get caught flouting them.
It IS a funny landlord-tenant relationship. With a spouse on the Coleman payroll, with loosy-goosy rental things that in an arms-length relation would not be expected.
There's 'splaining due from our lovable Mr. C.
Another CREW post said this:
Mr. Larson runs the telemarketing firm FLS Connect, which has been paid over a million dollars by Sen. Coleman’s campaign committees and leadership PAC since 2001. Mr. Larson is also the PAC’s treasurer and FLS has been providing it with office space in St. Paul. In addition, Mr. Larson’s wife, Dorene Kainz, has been working in Sen. Coleman’s St. Paul office, but after National Journal asked about her position, Sen. Coleman’s office announced that she would soon be leaving the office.
The Senate gifts rule generally prohibits members and staff from accepting gifts, but has two exceptions under which they may accept lodging: if based on personal friendship or, as long as the giver is not a lobbyist or foreign agent, if the gift constitutes personal hospitality. Because the relationship between Sen. Coleman and Mr. Larson appears to be more business than personal, the gift would not be permitted under the “personal friendship” exception. Because Mr. Larson does not live in the townhouse, but rents it out to others, he is not hosting Sen. Coleman and “the personal hospitality” exception would not apply.
CREW is asking the Senate Ethics Committee to look into whether or not Sen. Coleman is paying fair market value for the apartment, whether Sen. Coleman would have paid the November 2007 and January 2008 rent had National Journal not raised the non-payment as an issue, whether Sen. Coleman and Mr. Larson had agreed that Mr. Larson would not cash the March 2008 rent check, why Sen. Coleman suddenly made up his back rent after National Journal asked questions about it, and why Sen. Coleman’s office announced that Ms. Kainz would be leaving the senator’s employ after National Journal asked about her role.
Crooks and Liars has its post, here. Nice pic there also, searching the database with a Vulcan mind-meld self examination:
Perhaps he could green screen Laurie into DC, and mind-meld her about it too. And do a mind-meld check to get the story straight about that job she has with the Twin Cities insurance firm, while living in LA. What's the pay grade, and duties, if any? Any Larson fingerprints on that hummer? Any policies written during pertinent times, for City of St. Paul, for movie moguls?
The firm is Hays Companies, upscale, IDS building address, demure solid website, and all. Who knows but that Ms. C may be writing policies for high-profile clients, in the entertainment industry. Hays Companies say:
Our philosophy of delivering highest-quality, customer-focused service has led to significant growth and recognition for Hays Companies. Today, the company has more than 450 experienced professionals and over 20 locations throughout the United States. Business Insurance has annually ranked Hays Companies among the 50 largest brokers in the United States since 2001 and most recently, we were ranked 25th based on 2006 revenue.
This tremendous organic growth is a reflection of our core value: to elevate the importance of every client. We provide qualified professionals, sound strategies and the time and effort necessary to execute the best outcomes. Our clients participate in the process and meet regularly with the insurance providers. After all, who knows the inner workings of their business better than the client themselves.
The future strategy for Hays Companies is to improve and become even more effective in our service delivery. This is achieved through the value we place on our people. At Hays Companies we understand that without great professionals, we cannot fulfill our clients’ expectations of superior service done right, every time.
Our Mission
Finding A Way Together. This is the foundation of our company. It means that we strive to serve the needs of our clients by listening and learning from them. It means meeting and exceeding their goals. Of utmost importance is that we demonstrate ethical integrity at all times.
Laurie Coleman's Blo-n-go plant, or the phone bank site where the late-night TV ad response calls are handled might be one of those 20 high end locations the website touts. The Hays boss, Hays, says:
At every level of Hays Companies our employees are engaged in client-valued work. Each of our senior management staff has specific client responsibilities. This structure ensures that the leaders of our organization remain focused on satisfying our clients’ needs.
“Our greatest source of professional pride rests on the idea that we can create value for our clients by helping them to cost-effectively protect their corporate assets and earnings streams while being efficient and easy to work with.” –James Hays, President and CEO
They have a nice looking bunch of white people offering custom service - Ms. C might fit into that niche with Hays, as an Affinity Program specialist:
As a unique and established provider of creative insurance and financial products, HAYS furnishes association and affinity clients with customized, comprehensive programs for their headquarters and membership needs. HAYS features headquarters and member insurance products as well as complete financial and risk management services.
Affinity Programs
Our specialized association affinity insurance programs offer groups marketing and technology services that focus on maximum participation in the insurance program as well as expanding association membership. Each program is tailored to meet and exceed the specific needs of the association, the industry they service and, most importantly, their members. Effective relationships between clients and carriers allow HAYS to offer financially sound plans that are cost-effective, stable, and comprehensive.
Benefits of HAYS’s Affinity Programs
* On-line application and quoting process
* State-of-the-art web marketing supported by experienced, dedicated customer service teams
* Advanced marketing and technological capabilities
* Association-specific branding
* On-line interface with membership
* Non-dues revenue development/enhancement
Our customized marketing approach to account management that combines web interface with dedicated customer service teams allow us to offer specific brand identification as well as quick and efficient answers to member questions, statistical tracking reports, and evaluation of customer feedback.
HAYS affinity programs also benefit from the in-house expertise of a dedicated marketing staff with knowledge of insurance as well as other disciplines. In addition to committing to a written marketing plan, our team of professionals offer clients a marketing analysis of the existing membership, forecasts for enhanced membership program participation, and coordinates follow-through with all member communications.HAYS has extensive experience in providing executive protection products to non-profits – particularly those involved in credentialing activities such as accreditation, certification, standard setting, and peer-review. These services expose the association, board of directors, and employees to new liabilities, thus making the coverage an imperative feature for their risk management needs.
In addition, specific products such as Publishers Liability and Event Cancellation are available to cover the gaps in General Liability Coverage. These products protect associations from personal injury such as libel and slander; trademark, patent and copyright infringements; and lost revenue due to natural and man-made disasters.
Event Cancellation coverage, as in what if the GOP decides to move its convention to Milwaukee instead? Is that the Coleman family tie-in? And, hey, I saw the one commercial - do you suppose he was dumping sensitive documents when Laurie had him haul out that one white bag of trash? The "Jeff Papers?"
______UPDATE______
I wonder if Grit Rock Ventures is one of those Affinity clients with event cancellation coverage from Hays, with their rodeo bull, and other stuff. What sorts of insurance has been written for what sorts of risks, regarding the Xcel center, and who wrote it? Is bird-dogging entertainment related insurance business a cause for hiring, with what job title and portfolio of duties, the former Ms. Casserly? Is this Casserly related to Laurie Casserly Coleman? What bonding profits were made by whom, in the course of the Xcel center going from plan to reality? If Coleman's venue is to be touted during the GOP confab, are there rocks around it to lift up and see what's prospering underneath them? You tell me. I never sat at a single negotiation table while Norman Coleman was mayor and deals were going down. With a Franken vs. Coleman race for the second Minnesota Senate seat, is it one segment of the entertainment industry against the other, besides DFL vs. GOP? And, wow, put the Wrestler into the mix, and it's an entertainment industry triangle. That's entertaining. Luckily we work so little and have so much time to be entertained. At least it goes a way toward explaining one of the Coleman spouses being based in LA. The other from New York, where theater and sports are big, the entertainment market is big, a family with ties to each coast, although most of Norman's adult life has been making contacts, in Minnesota. In fairness, that's to be said, regardless of where the contacts of Norman Coleman's contacts are made. We are a big nation being globalized this century. But things like Xcel center, that's hard money assets on the ground, the only question being for whose benefit. We know who paid for buying it, taxpayers did, but what are the profit streams, that's less clear than a shiny Johnson's wax floor finish at a nice bristo in Racine. Or a Pledge shine, on that furniture exchanged for rent, with Jeff, a Minnesota mover-shaker, residing in Hudson, WI.