Who Are the "Friends of Angelo"?

L-R, Chris Dodd, Angelo Mozilo, Kent Conrad


Remember when I posted the information from the Center for Responsive Politics showing who the largest Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac money contribution recipients in Congress were? (Chris Dodd, John Kerry and Barack Obama). Well, now we know that Chris Dodd got a sweetheart deal from Countrywide to refinance his mortgage. The full story can be found at:

http://www.portfolio.com/news-markets/top-5/2008/06/12/Countrywide-Loan-Scandal

Dodd, and others got discounts that folks like you and I would never get. Guess what this discount is called?

The V.I.P. "Friends of Angelo" rate. This was a special deal for prominent people that waived points, lender fees and other borrowing rules.

Angelo Mozilo is the CEO of Countrywide, another company implicated in the financial mess. It was his loan to Jim Johnson that caused Johnson to resign from Barack Obama's VP search committee.

Others who got special V.I.P. treatment are; Senator Kent Conrad of North Dakota, who is chairman of the Budget Committee and member of the Finance Committee, Alphonso Jackson, former head of Health and Human Services under President George W Bush, Donna Shalala (after leaving the Clinton cabinet) and former State Department offical Richard Holbrooke.

The discounts amounted to a few hundred dollars to a couple of thousand dollars.

Dodd has claimed that he didn't know he was getting a discount. Countrywide didn't tell him, according to the Senator, who is chairman of the Banking Committee.

Oh, C'mon! Let's use our common sense here. When a company gives you a discount-they want you to know it. It's good business. If I get a discount from my local tire company, I am likely to go back next time I need tires.

In this instance, if Countrywide gives a special deal to a US Senator who can influence the success of their company, do you really think old Angelo isn't going to let the senator know he's getting a special deal? Dodd has stated he never met Mozilo. May be, but don't tell me that the person(s) who dealt with Dodd didn't let him know he was getting a special deal-a deal that even had a name (Friends of Angelo).

So should Dodd and Conrad be investigated by the Ethics Committee in Congress (whoever the hell they are)? This is not a campaign contribution we are talking about here. This is a home mortgage loan. This is personal and may well be in violation of Senate ethics rules.

But don't hold your breath.