Sweetheart Mortgage Deals

The Philadelphia Daily News article exposing Senator Rick Santorum's seemingly sweetheart mortgage deal with Philadelphia Trust, along with serious questions about his use of PAC funds for everyday personal expenses has also brought attention to Treasurer Bob Casey Junior's close ties to Joseph O. Haggerty.

The interwoven threads between the Casey's and the Haggerty's is quite interesting. The fact Bob Casey refinanced his mortgage through a bank where family friend Joseph Haggerty sits on the Board has raised a few eyebrows.

The story on Senator Santorum's mortgage has resulted in considerable attention by the press and other campaigns. The only comment from the Casey campaign asks whether Santorum qualified as a customer under the private bank's criteria. Interestingly, they did not query whether tricky Ricky paid points on his loan. I want to know the terms of Casey's loan from First National Community Bank. Did he pay points?

The fact that officials at this bank were major contributor's to Santorum's campaign raise issues about the Senator's ethics. By the way has anyone seen proof that Santorum is actually paying this mortgage or is this another Duke Cunningham style deal? The out of control Republican culture of corruption makes deals like this highly suspicious.

Meanwhile others have asked some serious questions:

Committee for Responsible Ethics in Washington says this:

The complaint by the Committee for Responsible Ethics in Washington, or CREW, alleges that the mortgage from Philadelphia Trust Co. is a gift in violation of Senate Rule 35, which says that senators can receive loans or other banking services only on terms "generally available to the public."
Melanie Sloan, CREW's executive director, said in a statement that "Santorum's decision to accept a loan not available to other people in his financial position demonstrates his contempt for the rules. This is particularly ironic given that Sen. Santorum has long attempted to position himself as the poster child for public morality."

The Philadelphia Inquirer voiced the following concern about Bobby Casey Junior's mortgage:

Also on Wednesday, the Casey campaign disclosed that in 1998, Casey and his wife, Terese, refinanced their Scranton home through a 30-year, $120,000 mortgage with First National Community Bank in Dunmore.

The Philadelphia Inquirer discovered several First National Community Bank leaders contributed $3,750 to Casey's campaigns for auditor general, governor, and state treasurer between 2000 and 2005, while board director Joseph O. Haggerty and his family contributed more than $40,000. Casey's father, the late Gov. Robert P. Casey, was a founder of Haggerty's Scranton law firm, Haggerty, McDonnell and O'Brien, in 1965, according to the firm's Web site.

The only contributor to Casey's senatorial campaign from First National Community Bank was J. David Lombardi of Dunmore, who gave $500 on April 15, 2005, according to opensecrets.org.

The relationships between the Casey and Haggerty families goes much deeper than that between Santorum and Philadelphia Trust however. Let's begin by examing the relationship between Governor Robert P. Casey Senior and Joseph O. Haggerty.

According to the website for Haggerty's law firm Haggerty McDonnell O'Brien & Hinton:

Haggerty, McDonnell and O'Brien was founded in 1965 as Casey, Haggerty & McDonnell by Robert P. Casey, James J. Haggerty and Frank J. McDonnell. Mr. Casey served as Governor of Pennsylvania from 1987-1995. Mr. Haggerty served as Secretary of the Commonwealth and General Counsel to the Governor.

James O. Haggerty also serves on the Board of Directors of First National Community Bank which refinanced Casey's mortgage.

The Casey and Haggerty families founded a law firm together and Mr. Haggerty served Governor Casey as his General Counsel. Now James O. Haggerty and Bob Casey Junior maintain the close relationship between the families. These two prominent Scranton clans are intertwined within local business and professional circles. In addition to the banking relationship there are also connections with the local newspaper and University.

Ellen Harding Casey, the Governor's widow, is a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Scranton where James O. Haggerty Junior went to undergraduate school. The most interesting aspect of the families' recent connections has to do with the Scranton Times-Tribune.

The Times-Tribune, recently merged, promoted the new publication with a billboard in Scranton touting Casey's U.S. Senate candidacy with the fake headline "Casey to run for Senate." The problem is, that headline never ran in the newspaper. As a result the Santorum campaign cried foul, accusing the Casey campaign of accepting an illegal corporate contribution.

The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote all about the controversy and said:

Publisher George V. Lynett and his family have donated at least $85,000 to Casey's state campaigns, according to finance records. The publisher's sister, Cecelia Haggerty, and her husband gave $4,200 to Casey's Senate campaign in March, according to federal records.
Casey's brother, Pat, received more than $40,000 during his two unsuccessful bids for a Scranton-area congressional seat.
The family's political contributions have been largely limited to the Casey family, the Pennsylvania Democratic Party ($15,000), and past Democratic opponents of Santorum's.
In 1989 and 1990, Gov. Robert P. Casey Sr. wrote college letters of recommendation for Lynett and Haggerty children, according to the Pennsylvania Museum and Historical Commission Web site.

Hmmm, Cecelia Haggerty? Where have we heard that name before?

In the same article:

Reiff said the family members were "great supporters."
"I hope they give us more" money, he said.

Does the deep relationship and questionable dealings between the Casey's, Haggerty's, and Haggerty interests raise questions about Bob Casey's ethics? The actions of the newspaper on behalf of Casey's Senate campaign, along with the extent of their monetary support- much more extensive than that of Philadelphia Trust and Santorum-raise questions about the Casey mortgage.

Casey's relative silence about the Santorum mortgage speaks volumes about his concern that this may raise the lid of his own Pandora's box of questionable ethics. We cannot criticize the Senator without also criticizing Casey. The amount of money and support provided by the Haggerty's (Casey's bankers) makes Santorum's appear a pittance.