Chuck Schumer's Florida Mess: Patrick Murphy, Trumpist

Chuck Schumer recruited the worst possible Florida candidate to run for the open Marco Rubio Senate seat. Schumer likes him because he's an empty-headed conservative who will do whatever he's told (by Schumer) and because he has wealthy (Republican) parents who will spend massively. But he has to win a Democratic primary first and his Republican voting record in the House-- like 7 votes for the Keystone XL Pipeline and his interest in "compromising" away Social Security and Medicare benefits for the elderly, not to mention his vote to establish the Benghazi anti-Hillary witch hunt committee-- doesn't go down well among many Florida Democrats. In fact, many are more than aware that Murphy isn't a Democrat at all and some even remember this 2 year old article from the Shark Tank on that topic:

The contentious 2012 Congressional race between former Congressman Allen West and Democratic Congressman Patrick Murphy turned out to be the most expensive races in the country, and one of the bloodiest.

...According to a source very close to the Republican Congressional leadership, Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner granted Patrick Murphy’s request to a private meeting to discuss Murphy’s possible defecting to the Republican Party.

GOP leadership passed on Murphy’s offer, according to the source.

Murphy’s congressional seat is seen as the most vulnerable seats in the 2014 mid term elections, and considering that he barely beat West in the 2012 general election that was shrouded with scandal and possible voter intimidation and fraud-- not to mention that the district leans Republican-Murphy’s attempt to defect could be perceived by many politicos and talking heads as a smart move.

Alan Grayson, on the other hand, is an issues-and-policy-driven lifelong progressive Democrat. The video below explains the difference between the kind of Democrat he is and the kind of faux-Democrat Murphy is. Hopefully he can stop both Patrick Murphy and Chuck Schumer. Meanwhile though, it's important to remember that when Patrick was the "VP" of his daddy's construction company-- the sleazy, often-sued Coastal Construction Group-- they were working for Trump, making a fortune by using sub-standard materials building several condominiums in South Florida (Hollywood and Sunny Isles Beach). Eventually, Trump and the Murphys blamed each other--and sued each other-- for the shoddy buildings.

A construction defect suit by the condominium association at the swanky Trump Hollywood tower has left the developer TRG Holiday Ltd. and subcontractors pointing fingers at each other to avoid liability.

The plaintiff, 2711 Hollywood Beach Condominium Association Inc., filed suit in November 2013 against TRG Holiday and its glass and glazing subcontractor, R.C. Aluminum Industries Inc.

Condo owners complained of multiple defects, including a faulty post-tension cable system and incompatible steel and plastic PVC pipes in the fire sprinkler system throughout the high-rise at 2711 S. Ocean Drive in Hollywood.

They sued for breach of contract and of statutory implied warranties, claiming a chemical casing used for antibacterial insulation in the steel pipes caused cracks and leaks in the PVC.

But TRG said it wasn't to blame and filed a cross claim against RC Aluminum and contractor Coastal Construction of South Florida Inc. In court documents, it argued it paid Coastal just under $150 million to build Trump Hollywood, and expected a top-quality product for the project completed in July 2009.

"I have all the respect in the world for Coastal, but if what the association is alleging is true with regards to the fire sprinkler system, then Coastal has a lot of explaining to do," said TRG attorney Scott Kravetz, partner at Duane Morris in Miami.

But it looks like Coastal won't be the only one explaining, as the suit has since ballooned to add just about everyone involved in the development-- from the insurer to the architect, landscape designer, mechanical and structural engineers and four sprinkler system suppliers.

For TRG, the crux of its defense lies in setting a bull's-eye firmly on Coastal.

Its cross claim charges Coastal with facing a similar issue at Neo Vertika, a Miami skyscraper plagued by allegations of poor construction and a faulty fire sprinkler system.

TRG claims that before Coastal started work on Trump Hollywood, the contractor filed a lawsuit in Miami-Dade detailing knowledge of the pipes' incompatibility and seeking relief for damages arising from the mismatched infrastructure.

"Incredibly, despite having said superior knowledge, Coastal willfully and purposefully concealed" information from the developer, and "stood silent and constructed and installed the Trump fire sprinkler system using Allied ABF piping with the CPVC piping," TRG said in court filings.

"We believe that coastal had prior superior knowledge of the incompatibility of the Allied pipe and plastic pipe and failed to bring it to anyone's attention," said Kravetz, who's teamed with Duane Morris attorneys Michael Shuman and Richard Shane for the ongoing litigation.

Coastal's attorney is Ian Gillan, partner with Koeller Nebeker Carlson & Haluck in Orlando. He did not respond to requests for comment by deadline. The condo association's attorney, Nicholas Siegfried of Siegfried Rivera Hyman Lerner De La Torre Mars & Sobel, declined comment.

Dealing with Trump, shoddy building materials, questionable ethics, wanting to jump back into the Republican Party... this is all part of who and what Patrick Murphy is, but it's his voting record-- one of the worst of any "Democrat" in the House, that really gets me and that inspires me to ask for contributions to Alan Grayson's election campaign.





UPDATE: Murphy's Shoddy Business Career

Coastal Construction of South Florida Inc., Murphy's family business-- he was the Vice President and lived (large) off the company's profits-- always seems to be getting sued over using cheap, unsafe building materials. We're still getting the BP scandal materials together but third-rate Chinese-manufactured drywall used in the construction of luxury condominiums in South Florida, led to another law suited against Murphy's company.

After moving into the condominiums, the Villa Largo homeowners noticed noxious odors, corrosion of pipes and wiring and experienced television and computer failures, according to the suit.

Through investigation and testing, the plaintiffs discovered that the drywall used in their homes was manufactured in China and emits several sulfur compounds known to cause the problems the homeowners experienced, according to a 2009 U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission report cited in the complaint.