Household HSBC Watch

As those of us here at Household - HSBC Watch predicted years ago Representative Bob Ney of Ohio has finally fallen from grace. Rep. Robert Ney (R-OH) accepted thousands of dollars in gambling chips from a businessman who wanted help selling U.S. airplane parts to prohibited countries.

That charge is one of several Ney pleaded guilty to in connection to the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal, the U.S Justice Department reported Friday. According to his plea agreement, Ney twice traveled to London in 2003 and met with an unidentified foreign businessman who was hoping to sell U.S.-made airplanes and parts in an unspecified foreign country where U.S. export law prohibits them from being sold. “Ney agreed to help the businessman with obtaining an exemption to the U.S. laws prohibiting the sale of these goods to the foreign country, and Ney also agreed to help the businessman obtain a visa to travel to the United States,” states a press release from the Justice Department.

As consumer advocates and watchdogs we always watch issues that hurt the consumer and favor big business. Ney was instrumental in helping associates while forgetting those who elected him. Ney once paved the way for disgraced predatory lender Household International, opting to overturn state and local anti-predatory lending laws. He supported stronger bankruptcy laws.

Ney claims he always takes responsibility for his actions and he is blaming his downfall on alcohol. We say he is crooked, greedy and stupid. Either way there is little we can do to overturn what he did in the past. You can decide if Ney deserves a proposed 27 month sentence. The maximum prison term is 10 years.