Yes, "signed legislation carries the force of law," but the language, "Coconut Road" was never legislated.

This poor developer (in perfectly good faith, of course) coughed up $40,000 in bribes expeciting a 25000% return on his investment. C'mon, Don, do the right thing and give him his money back. Ok, maybe just half? 10%? Nah, on second thought, keep it--you'll need it for your legal defense fund.

Why doesn't the county just write a check to the I-75 expansion project and bypass all the legal stuff... accept the money, but turn around a give it to those who need it. Ha-Ha!

oh, and name the road after Rep Young.
...Rowdy!

I wouldn't be surprised if, in fact, what Young did carries no criminal sanction. For the simple reason that no member of congress or senator ever dreamed that a fellow member would attempt it.

I can't blame the county for their decision. If they were to go ahead and reallocate the earmarked funds, they would likely face a lawsuit, which they probably don't have the resources to pursue effectively.

"why is this not a criminal act?"

Who's going to prosecute?...Alberto Gonzales? (sorry, bad joke). Sanctions by the House Ethics Committee? (sorry, worse joke).

He should be impeached, to be honest, for doing something so blatantly unconstitutional. I would think the entire bill should be voided, but certainly this provision should be.

Part of the problem would be standing to sue, but the Lee County MPO may well have standing.

Nelly Bly -- Thanks for the tip! Feel free to email me with stuff like that. Sometimes I don't get through all the comments.

Thanks,
Laura

A great question...

Anyone want to guess the odds of Young's cronies (I'm speaking of Stevens, et al) not being aware of the same little end run around scrutiny?

It would be interesting, but probably almost impossible, to discover other such differences in the draft and final signed versions of other bills...

I only mention this because, although he is being investigated, I see no one in the House arguing for any penalties... almost as though this is not really an aborration but rather a not so uncommon practice....

Let's play Jeopardy:

Answer:I-75 and the Aronoff
Question: What are two names that run straight through Cincinnati, OH?

Answer: GOP
Question: Why is that whenever there's a scandal in Florida there's also an echo in Ohio?

I think I just hit the daily double. I'll bet it all, Alex, that there is a corresponding mini-scandal in Ohio, specifically Cincinnati regarding this problem in 5, 4, 3, 2...

An act such as this should be considered treason, as it is an attempt to undermine the authority of our government, and should bear with it no less than a life sentence.

At the invitation of the congressman from the district, Connie Mack, Mr. Young visited Florida Gulf Coast University for a meeting on the Interstate and other transportation questions. Afterward, Mr. Young went directly to the fund-raiser at the Hyatt Coconut Point.

His campaign records show that he received more than $40,000 in contributions on one day around that time, mostly from southwestern Florida developers and builders. Mr. Aronoff gave $500 to Mr. Young’s campaign and later gave $2,500 to Mr. Young’s Midnight Sun political action committee.

The invitations to the event listed as hosts Mr. Mack, a business group called the Southwest Florida Transportation Initiative that includes Mr. Aronoff’s company and two executives of other Florida developers.

Asked in a telephone interview who had organized the fund-raiser, Mr. Mazurkiewicz, the consultant, said he was then at another fund-raiser with a member of Mr. Mack’s staff who would know.

“Aronoff,” the staff member told Mr. Mazurkiewicz, within earshot of his mobile phone.

“Just some local businessmen,” Mr. Mazurkiewicz said into the phone. When pressed, he confirmed that the staff member had named Mr. Aronoff. Later, Mr. Mazurkiewicz called again to list the names on the invitation.

The Aronoffs, major Republican donors, gave more than $200,000 to Republican candidates and political committees in the 2006 election. Their business, the Landon Companies, is best known for building mobile-home parks. But it also operates a real estate development business in Florida.

Daniel Aronoff has taken over active management of the company from his father, Arnold Y. Aronoff, who had a checkered career in Florida real estate. In 1979, Arnold Aronoff was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to mail fraud in a scheme to sell Florida swampland at an inflated price.

When he was approached near the House floor by a reporter, Mr. Young responded with an obscene gesture.

A spokeswoman for Mr. Young, Meredith Kenny, initially said that Mr. Mack had requested the Coconut Road money. A spokesman for Mr. Mack, however, said he did not ask for the money. His chief of staff, Jeff Cohen, said Mr. Mack was surprised to find the project in the bill long after it had passed. “At the end of the day this thing got stuck in there unbeknownst to us and having nothing to do with us, other than it is our district,” Mr. Cohen said.

The plans for the earmark and the Aronoff land hit a roadblock when the Lee County Metropolitan Planning Organization voted twice last year to block a preliminary study for the interchange, mainly on environmental grounds. Studies by the Army Corps of Engineers, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Federal Highway Administration have all warned that the proposed interchange could threaten wetlands.

But Mr. Young was evidently determined to see the interchange move forward. In a Jan. 23, 2006, letter to the chairman of the planning agency, Mr. Young warned that his committee would draft another bill taking away the $10 million if it was not used for the interchange.

On Jan. 31, Mr. Mack followed up with a letter warning that the rejection would “make it difficult for Southwest Florida to have future success in securing federal resources for other important projects.”