Hidden junket funds: How Deval Patrick secretly diverted millions to off-budget accounts

[unhappycamper]

http://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_politics/2015/06/hidden_junket_funds_how_deval_patrick_secretly_diverted_millions



Hidden junket funds: How Deval Patrick secretly diverted millions to off-budget accounts
Joe Battenfeld
June 10, 2015

Former Gov. Deval Patrick’s administration secretly diverted nearly $27 million in public money to off-budget accounts that paid for a $1.35 million trade junket tab, bloated advertising contracts, and a deal with a federally subsidized tourism venture backed by U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, a Herald investigation has found.

The maneuver to fatten the hidden “trust” 

accounts with millions from state quasi-public agencies allowed Patrick to skirt the state Legislature and evade state budget cutbacks during the recession, the Herald found.

State lawmakers never approved the funding plan, and it’s not clear who even knew about it, but it is clear who orchestrated the end-around the budget and got state agencies to contribute.

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The total cost of Patrick’s overseas trips, including a $225,000 visit to China in 2007 — before the trust accounts were created — cost $1,573,949, according to records from the state’s Housing and Economic Development office, which oversaw the accounts. The 10 overseas junkets, including a $364,000 trip to South America, cost far more than the Patrick administration previously disclosed.