Comments (35)

Rebel wrote on July 26, 2007 4:09 PM:

Too late Lisa. You have already lost the trust of the people from Alaska.

Just remember, a bank robber doesn't get off the hook just by returning all the money he stole either.

Hoppy wrote on July 26, 2007 4:09 PM:

Good show! Oh, and I am on my way to the bank right now, with the briefcase and all of the bundles of $100 bills I took this morning, where I will return them. The important business of TPM Muckraker is much too important to have it disrupted by the FBI insisting on talking to me about my "windfall".

Mike Conwell wrote on July 26, 2007 4:09 PM:

It will be interesting to see (although it's not recorded in public records) how much Penney ultimately sells that property for, and how soon.

Great work Laura, Paul and all...

Hoppy wrote on July 26, 2007 4:12 PM:

Good show! Oh, and I am on my way to the bank right now, with the briefcase and all of the bundles of $100 bills I took this morning, where I will return them. The important business of TPM Muckraker is much too important to have it disrupted by the FBI insisting on talking to me about my "windfall".

Sally wrote on July 26, 2007 4:17 PM:

Great reporting by TPM Muckraker.

johnnydoughey wrote on July 26, 2007 4:17 PM:

Yes, your honor. I realize I robbed that bank. But in my defense, I agreed to return the money when the cops... I mean fine officers... caught me.
Hopefully you will consider that I have given my life to the service of this country blah... blah,,, blah...
And she WILL get off, folks, with nothing more than a blush from being caught... because just getting caught is considered extreme punishment for importamt people. Meanwhile, the REAL crime is a little more diminished democracy...
IMHO

Numero Uno McLean Stevenson/Hello Larry Fan wrote on July 26, 2007 4:21 PM:

Wow, what excellent four year old logic. You get busted doing something you shouldn't and now it's all good, like it never happened. Hope you and Verne can win back the trust of Alaskans, though with some of the dipshits they've elected I fear Alaskans might be dumber than dirt.

eli wrote on July 26, 2007 4:24 PM:

Yes your honor, my client did slaughter that busload of schoolchildren. But she made up for it by mopping up the blood afterwards!

Bushie wrote on July 26, 2007 4:26 PM:

I believe honorable and ethical (by congressional standards)approach would be to sell it back at market value.

Cal Damage wrote on July 26, 2007 4:29 PM:

Wait a minute...If she was 'favored' (read: bribed) with this property at a below-mkt-rate price, in return for some favors to Penney, that's all sorts of illegal. NOW that she's under investigation (or at least scrutiny,) she gives it back to Penney at the original, below-mkt-rate-price, essentially handing Penney the excess value back as a shut-your-face payment. That seems like she's compounding the probability of a crime...

Republican, crime, that seems to ring a 'bell' (security word)

Linen wrote on July 26, 2007 4:34 PM:

If she thinks so much of it why doesn't she just give a fair market value for the land?

moi wrote on July 26, 2007 4:36 PM:

I guess it did come back to bite her, eh?

My hope is that a whole lot of stuff comes back to bite a whole bunch of people over the course of the next few months and years.

Great job of reporting, Muckrakers and Laura especially!!!

Dave Bowman wrote on July 26, 2007 4:37 PM:

Perhaps Ted Stevens will try giving back the new second story on his house?

The investigation and eventual Senate censure should proceed apace...

Anonymous wrote on July 26, 2007 4:39 PM:

can she also sell back he senate seat she bought from her dad?

Steve5117 wrote on July 26, 2007 4:42 PM:

Linen

Lisa hasn't been in office long enough to have built up her bank account.

Bad Troll wrote on July 26, 2007 4:55 PM:

It's great to see that our GOP heroes are too busy saving the nation from hordes of evil-doers to ever have time to think about enriching themselves while pretending to conduct the peoples business.

Oh, wait ... lemme check with the Dukester and Jack-er-roo on that one.

westo wrote on July 26, 2007 5:26 PM:

I'd like to echo the other commenter's congratulations, especially Laura, on uncovering more blatant republican corruption. Thanks guys.

Dale wrote on July 26, 2007 5:28 PM:

Great job, Laura.

So she's returning the bribe? Wow, that's not quite good enough. Donating the property to charity would be a little closer to justice but I still hope the investigation continues.

Amos Rutledge wrote on July 26, 2007 5:48 PM:

My caption for the photo of Murkowski and the fish:

"Murkowski's Reputation Sleeps with the Fishes."

kevo wrote on July 26, 2007 6:05 PM:

In yet another display of disgracefulness for this early 21st century Republican party, Lisa (not the honorable Senator she thinks herself to be) wants a do-over to make her ethically challenged decision go away. Do-overs and Re-dos are what this party machine is all about all of a sudden.

Me thinks such sludge should be pressed back into their corrupt faces so as to effect a sense of humility where hubris has been for far too long. I hope voting citizens in the great State of Alaska will end Lisa's and Ted's tenure in the Senate in their next respective election cycles. -Kevo

Steve Pordon wrote on July 26, 2007 7:12 PM:

When I was a dumb kid I went "pool hopping" with some friends (this involves climbing over the fence to do some after-hours swimming for those who aren't familiar with the phrase). When we were caught and ticketed by the police, I offered to go back the next day and pay the entry fee.

Long story short, I think it's a bit late for Lisa to pay the entry fee, and this move is as pathetic as mine was when I was 12.

JNagarya wrote on July 26, 2007 10:41 PM:

Murkowski: "Ooops!"

Did anyone get a photograph of her trying to pull her hand out of the cookie jar just as the secret handcuffs therein clicked closed on her wrist?

Amazing how readily she admitted guilt . . .

JEP wrote on July 27, 2007 8:59 AM:

Great work, Laura!

You guys all rock!

Viva La Blogs!

JEP wrote on July 27, 2007 9:13 AM:

Maybe Penney ought to pay the real market value, just to cover the fines they should levy against her...

Anyone wanna bet that riverfront property has jumped (skyrocketed) in value due to this strange publicity. More free advertising than you can shake a stick at..

Penney may actually be the ultimate beneficiary of his own undoing, if he survives ethics and corruption investigations, he's sitting on Alaska's new gold mine.

Too bad the nativfe Americans don't get a bigger chunk of thsi change, though, the story of how this land went from native to national news includes a big rip-off of the original "owners" that might be worth a deeper perusal.

Grumpy wrote on July 27, 2007 11:40 AM:

Linen: "If she thinks so much of it why doesn't she just give a fair market value for the land?"

If only. That would be the ultimate scam. "Here, Lisa. I'll sell you this property such that it looks like an obvious payoff. When word gets out, you dump the property for market value and rake in the profits."

Since she intends to sell it at cost, I wonder what the real scam is. I'm not enough of a con artist to figure out who might gain from this. JEP suggests Penney will be able to charge more after laundering the land thru Lisa; I'm not sure it works that way.

ouch wrote on July 27, 2007 12:22 PM:

smelly Anchorage real estate deals?
Elmendorf AFB housing
4 ave theater
parking contracts
common thread?

also did Lisa sell her house for appraised or market value on government hill?

enquiring minds want to know

Jeffrey Jefferson wrote on July 27, 2007 3:44 PM:

In todays ADN (7.27.07.) it is reported that Mr. Penny states the true value of the property was diminished because of an agreement between Mr. Penny and Senator Murkowski, which required that if the property was resold by Senator Murkowski within five years, that any proceeds over the purchase price would be split 50/50 between Penny and Murkowski. Does this agreement not make Mr. Penny and Senator Murkowski partners in the property for five years, thus requiring proper disclosure of this relationship as required by law by Senator Murkoski?

Drj wrote on July 27, 2007 3:45 PM:

In todays ADN (7.27.07.) it is reported that Mr. Penny states the true value of the property was diminished because of an agreement between Mr. Penny and Senator Murkowski, which required that if the property was resold by Senator Murkowski within five years, that any proceeds over the purchase price would be split 50/50 between Penny and Murkowski. Does this agreement not make Mr. Penny and Senator Murkowski partners in the property for five years, thus requiring proper disclosure of this relationship as required by law by Senator Murkoski?

Tom wrote on July 29, 2007 7:42 AM:

OOPS!!! Got caught--NEVER MIND!!!!!

Hottie Tottie wrote on August 2, 2007 7:11 PM:

This ran in the Fairbanks Daily Miner today - the other side of the equation from an Alaskan.

Sen. Murkowski Delivers Full Value for Alaska

“There is no there there.” The quote from Gertrude Stein kept coming to my mind as I followed the coverage about Lisa Murkowski purchasing a Kenai River lot for its assessed value.
Sadly for all of us, there is actual corruption in Alaska politics. There has been one conviction and will probably be more. We have to clean up our politics. In pursuit of that goal, however, we need to be wary of trial by headline and driving out good people by throwing mud at any available target.
The heart of the issue has been the allegation that the Senator and her husband, Verne Martell, purchased a lot on Kenai River for less than its value. Many years ago I worked as an appraiser. I don’t claim expertise, but was curious enough to make a few phone calls.
Senator Murkowski and her family wanted to purchase land on the Kenai River to build a home. Bob Penney, who is a lifelong friend of the Senator’s, and is not involved in any matters before Congress, owned a parcel of land next to his home. Mr. Penney is fortunate that he doesn’t have sell the land, but was interested in guaranteeing that he could pick his neighbors.
The sale imposed conditions through an MOU signed by all parties on December 14th. If Martell and Murkowski sold the property within five years, Penney would have both first right of refusal and as well as 50% of any appreciation over the original sale price. When a sale carries restrictions such as first right of refusal or ceding a portion of profits from a future sale back to the seller, the full and true value can be significantly less.
The Senator, Mr. Martell, and Mr. Penney knew that because of the Senator’s position they would have to establish a fair selling price. They agreed upon the property’s assessed value. Alaska Statute AS 29.45.110. Full and True Value requires that “The assessor shall assess property at its full and true value as of January 1 of the assessment year . . .” and “The full and true value is the estimated price that the property would bring in an open market and under the then prevailing market conditions in a sale between a willing seller and a willing buyer both conversant with the property and with prevailing general price levels.” The local government assessment is the only government-established, valuation of property in Alaska.
Unfortunately, based on allegations on a web site called TPMMuckracker and several generalized quotes from realtors about asking prices, the ADN adopted the position that assessments represent artificially low values. It did so without any consideration of deed restrictions or analysis of comparables, and without talking to Shane Horan, the Kenai Borough Property Assessor (I had no trouble reaching him), or any appraisers working in the area. For the 2006 tax year, 311 Kenai property owners appealed their assessments; none because their assessment was too low. Full and true value for both appraisals and assessments is properly established through comparisons of actual sales, adjusted for differences, not by comparisons to asking prices. If the staff of the ADN believes asking price automatically represents full and true value, I have property I would like to sell them.
Senator Murkowski is an outstanding senator and a person of integrity. She, Verne Martell, Bob Penney, and the Kenai Assessor’s Office have been falsely smeared on this issue. Buying a lot for your home is one of the largest and most personal decisions a family makes. After trying to ensure they did the right thing, all parties were taken aback by the sudden attacks. I found it sad that the Senator and Mr. Martell were placed in a position where they have chosen to sell back the property to avoid unfounded allegations. We need to clean our political house, but we need to be very careful of feeding frenzy reporting and false allegations. When it comes to looking for a scandal about the Kenai River property sale, there is no there there.

McKie Campbell is the former Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and friend of all parties involved.

Anonymous wrote on August 17, 2007 3:28 PM:

What do you expect from a person who allows the airial gunning of wolves? Cowardess all the way around shameful woman.

janet wrote on August 17, 2007 3:33 PM:

What do you expect from a Crook? Look how the ariel gunning of our dogs ancestors the WOLF is being allowed...Cowards theives and murderers of innocent animals..why stop there? It will all come back to bite her. And I hope its a wolf! Since she is nothing more than a wolf in sheeps clothing! BAN THE AIREL GUNNING

al celentano wrote on August 17, 2007 4:09 PM:

you and your God Damn "Bridge to Nowhere"! nice job,dolt! did you just happen to see the I-35 bridge collapse in Minnesota that killed 6 people,by some chance? time for you and lots of other Political Hacks to get a real sense of priorities,aside from just trying to line your own pockets at the expense of the public! time to re-read your Oath of Office,and start taking it seriously,for a change.{by rights,any violation of said Oath really is a HANGING offense for a public official}

Anonymous wrote on August 17, 2007 6:22 PM:

Now...if she would just do an about face on her position on aerial hunting and hunting wolves, in general.

Note to all U.S. citizens...do the research and be very, very careful of who you vote into office. Our government is riddled with deception and out and out "crooks"...

mark godfrey wrote on August 20, 2007 9:58 AM:

How can a state liberal enough to have legalized cannabis keep electing such conservative reactionary ass-heads?
Oh that's right, the detailed election results were destroyed so we'll never know that mystery.
I have to guess that Alaskans aren't nearly as dumb as the system is crooked.