Dodd’s staff is, of course, denying it:
“The Dodds received a competitive rate on their loans,” spokesman Bryan DeAngelis said in a statement. “They did not seek or anticipate any special treatment and they were not aware of any.”
Conde Nast Portfolio begs to differ:
The magazine first reported Dodd's participation in a special program that awarded preferential rates to people considered “friends” of the company's chairman and chief executive, Angelo Mozilo.
Portfolio reported that Countrywide made two loans at special rates to Dodd in 2003. One was a $503,000 loan to refinance a Washington townhouse. The second was for refinancing a loan on a home in East Haddam, Conn.
Countrywide waived three-eighths of a point, or about $2,000, on the townhouse loan, and one-fourth of a point, about $700, on the second, according to internal documents cited by Portfolio. Both loans were for 30 years, with the first five years at a fixed rate.
Beyond that, Mr. DeAngelis, even if Dodd didn’t ask, he didn’t turn it down. Nor did a number of other “name” people.
The bottom line is, how much did Dodd save? Portfolio estimates as much as $70K, though that's being disputed
This appearance of unsavory behavior is bipartisan, though it’s sad to see the number of Democrats on the list:
The magazine said other participants in the company’s “V.I.P.” program included Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., chairman of the Budget Committee and a member of the Finance Committee, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Alphonso Jackson, former Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala, and former U.N. ambassador and assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke.
Yet another reason to vote Green or else not vote.
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