FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 18, 2010
Contact Jonathon Prouty
573-636-3146
Similar problems plagued Russ’ sister, Robin Carnahan
JEFFERSON CITY—Just days after several of 3rd District constituents filed an ethics complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics over Russ Carnahan’s repeated failure to disclose the existence of a company that he organized, Carnahan filed paper work with the Secretary of State to dissolve his LLC.
The LLC, which Carnahan organized in 2002 to “own and operate a recreational boat,” is at the center of a controversy surrounding Carnahan’s ownership of a yacht that he has docked across the river in Illinois to avoid Missouri property taxes.
The Articles of Termination for Limited Liability Company, signed by Russ Carnahanand filed on May 17, 2010, list the reason for dissolving Chris-Craft Commander, LLC, as “inactive and never used;” however, this does not explain why Carnahan’s membership in the business was reported in 2004 (two years after it was filed) but absent from his disclosure forms in 2005-2008.
“For years, Russ Carnahan failed to report his interest in a business that he organized and controlled as required by law, but now that an ethics complaint has been filed, he is scrambling to fix his mistakes,” said Lloyd Smith, Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party. “For more than a month, Russ Carnahan has refused to come clean about why he has avoided paying Missouri property taxes on his yacht—but in this case, actions speak louder than words. By altering the status of the business, Carnahan is admitting that he has a problem.”
This is the second time in less than a year that a member of the Carnahan family was forced to take action over the non-disclosure of a company that they claimed was never used.
Last year, Robin Carnahan came under fire for failing to disclose the existence of a business owned by her spouse, Juan Carlos Antolinez. Despite claiming that the company, Antolinez International Trade, did not exist, Carnahan quietly amended her financial discloser forms to report the existence of the company.
“Both Russ and Robin Carnahan have been forced to disclose or dissolve business interests under suspicious circumstances despite claiming that the companies were never used,” said Smith. “The Carnahans grew up immersed in Washington politics, so it’s not surprising that they have taken a page out of the DC playbook by saying one thing and doing another. Without scrutiny and oversight, there is no telling what they would try to get away with.”
Russ Carnahan has a history of ethics problems. According to the Associated Press, in 2006, he was fined by the Missouri Ethics Commission for “sign[ing] checks for the committee that he wasn’t authorized to.”
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