FBI, IRS CLOSING IN ON FAR RIGHT CONGRESSKOOK GARY MILLER

Usually when I have something to say about the Inland Empire's vicious right-wing congressman, Gary Miller (R-CA) it's that he's the single most reactionary member of California's congressional delegation-- worse than John Doolittle, worse than Duncan Hunter, worse than Ken Calvert, worse than Dana Rohrabacher, worse than Devin Nunes, Wally Herger, Buck McKeon, Jerry Lewis, Dan Lungren, Darrell Issa... the whole sick bunch. I feel I haven't spent nearly enough time talking about Miller's corruption. And although Miller is a small time crook-- think Randy "Duke" Cunningham-- compared to crime bosses like Jerry Lewis and Duncan Hunter, he has literally been getting away with millions of dollars in criminal activities since he managed to worm his way into Congress.

The sleazy real estate speculator-turned-congressman may not be getting away with it too much longer. Today's San Gabriel Valley Tribune is reporting that the FBI has been investigating Miller... seriously. Miller's case surfaced last summer when "a government watchdog group filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service alleging that Miller failed to report or pay capital gains tax on a nearly $11.8 million sale of 165 hillside acres to the city of Monrovia for a wildland preserve."

Following standard operating procedure for all cornered congressional Republicrooks, Miller has hired a flack to deny everything-- just as Cunningham and Ney did-- and even to deny, as they did, that there's are investigations into his criminal behavior by both the FBI and IRS. "It surprises me," he said. "I have no idea why they would (be investigating). There has been no impropriety."

A former Monrovia mayor confirmed FBI agents contacted her about Miller in December, and Monrovia city officials acknowledged Monday that federal agents had requested documents from them in the past three weeks. A Fontana redevelopment official said he was contacted by an FBI agent several months ago about the congressman... Monrovia spokesman Dick Singer said federal agents have contacted city officials, but he refused to comment on any specifics or to name the agency that had contacted the city. City Manager Scott Ochoa added that Monrovia is part of a "timeline of events" involving Miller. When asked whether his staff had been contacted about the congressman, Ochoa said only that federal agents had asked him to use the "utmost discretion" if asked about an inquiry. Ray Bragg, the redevelopment special projects director for the city of Fontana, said FBI agents called his office "a couple of months ago" and asked him to confirm details about Miller's business dealings with the city that had appeared in a Los Angeles Times article.

Miller had claimed he was forced to sell some land in 2002 that he was speculating on by the cities on Fontana and Monrovia-- under eminent domain, and then he used that argument to rip off the IRS. Both cities have testified that Miller wanted to sell the land and that there was no threat of eminent domain.

Right now Miller has another sleazy deal he's working on, attempting to develop a 381-acre property in the Rancho Cucamonga foothills, where he has proposed to build a 110-home, high-end housing tract. Neighboring residents are fighting the development and there is some thought that he is trying to create a situation similar to the ones he created in Fontana, Monrovia and Whittier so that he can rip off the tax payers without actually having to develop anything.

Hopefully the California Democratic Party and the DCCC will stop ignoring the district and start the long hard process of building a Democratic infrastructure that can take on crooks and extremists like Miller.


UPDATE: TALK ABOUT CLUELESS...

House Republicans have apparently learned nothing at all from the thrashing their corruption got them at the polls in November. "After months of GOP ethics scandals, House Republicans chose Rep. Gary Miller (R-Calif.) as the ranking member of a panel charged with investigating financial institutions-- even as the FBI was looking into his land deals. Representative Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.), ranking member of the Financial Services Committee, named Miller to the top GOP spot on the oversight and investigative subcommittee Jan. 9, according to a committee release. Watchdog groups have been raising red flags on several of Miller’s land deals since The Hill and other media outlets first scrutinized them early last year. Yesterday, a spokesman for the southern California city of Monrovia confirmed that agency officials had contacted the city about Miller’s land deals in the last two months. Bachus’s office did not return calls for comment."


ANOTHER UPDATE: THERE'S A VIDEO

The Miller case is heating up and getting wider and wider coverage. Apparently there's even a video. Thank God there isn't one of Calvert doing any of his perverted transgressions.