Posted by
Team Raj on Tuesday, July 11, 2006 12:33:48 AM
From the Northeast Times:
Raj Bhakta, the Republican candidate in the 13th Congressional District, is calling for jail time for government officials responsible for approving payments to people who falsely claimed they were victims of Hurricane Katrina.
According to the Government Accountability Office, these scammers were awarded $1.4 billion in money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Some of the money was spent on divorce lawyers, a Caribbean vacation, NFL tickets, a two-month stay at a hotel in Hawaii and Girls Gone Wild videotapes. A Texas man even had an operation.
"The American taxpayer is the real victim here," Bhakta said. "To have them paying for operations, football tickets and champagne bills is a disgrace."
Bhakta, who is challenging Democratic Rep. Allyson Schwartz, argues that government agencies, like corporations, should be held accountable for gross mismanagement.