Politicians who wonder why the public has such a low regard of them only need to take into consideration Robert Mellow, the top Democrat in the Pennsylvania State Senate.
Mellow rented his office space from himself at over $3,000 a month.
A 1978 state ethics law forbid lawmakers from using their position “for the private pecuniary benefit of himself, a member of his immediate family or a business with which he or a member of his immediate family is associated.” In 1990, it was clarified to forbid lawmakers from renting office space from themselves.
From 1990 to 2001, Mellow rented the building from a top aide. In 2001, Mellow’s wife attained a 50% share in the building. When the Mellows divorced, ownership transferred to Mellow in 2007.
That makes it sound like a clear ethics violation, doesn’t it?
Not according to Mellow. He cites a Senate resolution routinely passed since the 1980′s which states that if a Senator rents office space from himself, then he the Clerk of the Senate must get an appraisal. Mellow has introduced this resolution at least 3 times this decade.
Thus, Mellow argues that a resolution passed only by the Senate, allowed him to skirt around state law.
Mellow’s arrogance that places him above the law doesn’t stop there.
He doesn’t think there was any problem with the state ethics laws when his wife was owner of the building.
“If I thought I had done something inappropriate back in 2000, I never would have made the declaration in 2006, to expose myself,” Mellow said.
Of course not, if he was going to do something crooked, then he would keep it secret.
What a guy.
Yet, Mellow cannot claim he is a paragon of openness, either.
When he attained ownership, he realized the problem but waited until the latest possible filing in 2008 to claim that he was paying himself rent in 2007.
Then there is that appraisal that the Clerk of the Senate is supposed to attain on Senator-owned property. Mellow said it is up to the Senate to attain the appraisal, not him or his then wife. He should know. He introduced the resolution authorizing that requirement.
The problem is that Russell Faber, the chief clerk, never got an appraisal because he never knew of Mellow’s wife’s interest in the property. When he did learn about in 2006, Mellow told him he was selling the property so Faber figured he would be saving the state the cost of an appraisal by foregoing it.
The reason Faber did not know of the Mellows’ interest in the building was because the resolution that Mellow kept introducing did not require Mellow to notify the clerk.
How conveniently everything fit.
The building did sell, but the new owner had a bonus with a reliable tenant — the state. Even though Mellow’s term expires in 2010, the lease between Mellow and the state for the building continues for six more years at the the premium rent of $4,600 a month.
Altogether, the state has paid the Mellows about $200,000 for renting an office space that violated state law.
