Going Postal
The husband of Senator Dianne
Feinstein chairs a company that brokers sales of USPS facilities.
It was recently learned that the United States
has entered into a contract with one firm to sell 56 buildings that currently
house U.S. Post Offices. The government has decided that it no longer needs
these buildings (many of which are located on prime land in towns and cities
across the country).
The sale of these properties will
bring in billions of dollars and, with that, millions of dollars in commissions
for the one Company that is in charge of handling the sale and negotiation of
the new leases.
What makes this such a matter of
concern is that the company that the Government has contracted with to conduct
the sales (and the corresponding leases for the new locations of the displaced
post offices) is owned by Richard Blum.
Does that name mean anything to
you? Maybe it should re-phrased and say that the person who owns the company that
is solely in charge of this multi-million-dollar transaction is Richard Blum the husband of Senator Dianne Feinstein.
Origins: Facing a deficit of billions of dollars in
recent years, the United States Postal
Service (USPS) has floated a number of number of proposals to reduce that
deficit, including selling off hundreds of post office properties in order to
gain cash flow and reduce expenses. According to the Postal Service's 2012
report to Congress, more than 600 buildings nationwide have been "earmarked
for disposal," and the "USPS Properties for Sale" web site
currently lists 40 buildings and land parcels for sale across the U.S.
In 2011, the CB Richard Ellis
Group (now CBRE Group, Inc.), the
world's largest commercial real estate
services firm, was awarded an
exclusive contract to market USPS facilities which provides CBRE with a
commission of 2 to 6 percent on the sale of those properties. This award has
been the subject of some controversy, as CBRE's Chairman of the Board is
Richard C. Blum, the husband of Senator Dianne Feinstein, who represents the
state of California
in the U.S. Senate.
It isn't accurate to say that
Richard Blum is "solely in charge" of CBRE or that he
"owns" the company, as CBRE is headed by President and Chief
Executive Officer Robert E. Sulentic is a public company whose shares are owned
by many different individuals and institutional stockholders. However, it is
indeed true that Richard Blum is both CBRE's chairman and the husband of a U.S.
senator, and that Blum Capital, a private equity firm founded by Richard Blum,
is one of CBRE's larger institutional stockholders.
Writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, columnist
Andrew S. Ross quoted a representative of Senator Feinstein as asserting that
she was not involved in her husband's business dealings, and that the contract
between the USPS and CBRE was not initiated or influenced by Congress:
As for accusations of a conflict
of interest and suspicions that Feinstein may have influenced the awarding of
the contract to her husband's firm, Feinstein's office strongly denies the
charges.
"Sen. Feinstein is not
involved with and does not discuss any of her husband's business decisions with
him. Her husband's holdings are his separate personal property. Sen.
Feinstein's assets are held in a blind trust. That arrangement has been in
place since before she came to the Senate in 1992," said Brian Weiss,
Feinstein's communications director.
In 2012, Feinstein voted for an
amendment to a postal reform bill that would have temporarily halted post
office closings. The amendment was defeated in the House.
Both the Postal Service and CBRE
insisted the 2011 contract was competitively bid. The Postal Service is an
independent agency that reports to Congress, but there is no indication
Congress plays any role in the awarding of contracts.
While CBRE handles the
transactions, it does not advise the Postal Service which facilities to put on
the market, I was told by both sides.
In June 2013 the USPS' Office of
Inspector General issued an audit report which noted that "outsourcing
real estate management services to one supplier is a fundamental change from
how the Postal Service previously managed its real estate portfolio" and
was critical of several aspects of the contract between USPS and CBRE, but
Richard Blum's marital relationship with Senator Feinstein was not among the
conflict of interest issues cited in that report:
Specifically, there are conflict
of interest concerns and no maximum contract value. In addition, the
contracting officer did not properly approve contract payments, appoint
contracting officer's representatives to monitor contract performance, or
ensure services were provided. As a result, it is difficult for the Postal
Service to determine whether the outsourcing effort has been or will be
effective in reducing costs.
Conflict of interest concerns
exist because the contractor provides a range of property values to negotiate a
lease and receives a commission from the lessor based on the property value
negotiated. Further, the contractor acts on behalf of the Postal Service in
negotiating leases and the contractor can also represent the lessor. The Postal
Service established a targeted incentive for reduced lease rates but in the
first year of the contract did not meet the target. In addition, Facilities
officials did not establish a maximum contract amount, which poses the risk of
escalating contract costs. Officials increased contract funding from $2 million
to $6 million and, as of February 2013, contract payments exceeded $3 million.
Lastly, in fiscal year 2012,
employees not appointed contracting officer's representatives certified $1.7
million for invoices, including $1.1 million for services requested and
certified by the same individual, which presents an increased risk of fraud.
Ineffective contract oversight poses an increased risk to the Postal Service's
finances, brand, and reputation.
San Francisco Chronicle
San
Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper.
Note: Chronicle Publishing Company
The Chronicle
Publishing Company was a print and broadcast media corporation
headquartered in San Francisco,
California that was in operation
from 1865 until 2000. Owned for the whole of its existence by the de Young
family, it was most notable for owning the namesake San Francisco Chronicle newspaper and KRON-TV, the longtime NBC affiliate in the market.
Demise
San Francisco
Chronicle: Hearst Corporation (longtime
owners the Examiner which was divested upon the purchase of the Chronicle amid
protests that San Francisco
would be left with one newspaper.)
Alan
D. Mutter was the managing editor for the San Francisco Chronicle, and the COO & founding partner for InterMedia Partners LP.
Leo J. Hindery Jr.
is a managing partner for InterMedia Partners LP, the founder of
InterMedia Advisors, LLP, a donor
for Media Matters, was a director at
the Millennium Promise, and the chief
officer for planning & finance for the Chronicle
Publishing Company.
Gary
L. Wilson is a director at the Millennium
Promise, and a director at the CBRE
Group, Inc.
Tom Daschle is a consultant for the InterMedia Advisors, LLP, a director at
the Center for American Progress, was
a director at the CBRE Group, Inc., and
a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).
Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Media Matters, the Millennium
Promise, the Center for American
Progress, the Brookings Institution
(think tank), and the Aspen
Institute (think tank).
George
Soros is the chairman for the Foundation
to Promote Open Society, and was a supporter for the Center for American Progress.
Laura D'Andrea
Tyson is a fellow at the Center for
American Progress, a director at the CBRE
Group, Inc., and was a trustee at the Brookings
Institution (think tank).
Andrew
H. Tisch is a trustee at the Brookings
Institution (think tank), and his father was Laurence A. Tisch.
Laurence A. Tisch
was Andrew H. Tisch’s father, and Preston R. Tisch’s brother.
Preston
R. Tisch was Laurence A. Tisch’s
brother, and the postmaster general for the U.S. Postal Service.
D. Michael
Bennett is a member nominee for the U.S.
Postal Service, and the SVP for BAE
Systems Inc.
Lee
H. Hamilton is a director at BAE
Systems Inc., and an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Bill
& Melinda Gates Foundation was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank), and the Aspen Institute (think tank).
William H. Gates
III is a co-chair for the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation, and a co-founder & chairman for the Microsoft Corporation.
Joanne K.
Bradford was a VP for the Microsoft
Corporation, and is the president of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Joanne R. Harrell
is the senior director, e-government programs for the Microsoft Corporation, and a member of the Belizean Grove.
Kimberly
Till was a VP for the Microsoft
Corporation, and is a member of the Belizean
Grove.
Mary Agnes
Wilderotter was the SVP for the Microsoft
Corporation, and is a member of the Belizean
Grove.
Belizean_Grove
is the equivalent to the male-only social group, the Bohemian Club.
Henry A. Kissinger is a member of the Bohemian Club, a director at the
American Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), and a 2008 Bilderberg conference
participant (think tank).
George H.W.
Bush is a member of the Bohemian Club.
Walter
L. Cronkite was a member of the Bohemian Club.
George H.W. Bush talks about the NWO and Walter Cronkite
said he is glad to sit at the Right Hand of Satan
Dark Secrets inside Bohemian Grove
Bohemian Club
Weaving Spiders Come Not Here
The Bavarian Order of the Illuminati Owl of Wisdom
William
Randolph Hearst was a member of the Bohemian
Club, and his grandson is William R.
Hearst III.
William R.
Hearst III is William Randolph
Hearst’s grandson, and a director at the Hearst Corporation.
Hearst Newspapers
is a division of the Hearst Corporation.
San
Francisco Chronicle is a publication for Hearst Newspapers.
Joanne K.
Bradford is the president of the San
Francisco Chronicle, and was a VP for the Microsoft Corporation.
William H. Gates
III is a co-founder & chairman for the Microsoft Corporation, and a co-chair for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Bill
& Melinda Gates Foundation was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank), and the Aspen Institute (think tank).
Richard
C. Blum is an honorary trustee at the Brookings
Institution (think tank), the chairman for the CBRE Group, Inc., and married to Senator Dianne Feinstein.
Dianne
Feinstein is married to Richard C.
Blum, a U.S. Senate senator, and
a member of the Alfalfa Club.
Frederic V. Malek
is a member of the Alfalfa Club, a
director at the CBRE Group, Inc., and
a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think
tank).
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