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Cities overcharged by ex-politician through bond loan program

05/12/09 Posted in Business, First Amendment & FOIA

A $3 billion municipal bond loan program run by an ex-politician in Tennessee was overcharging Nashville and two other cities by hiding fees within reported interest rates, The Tennessean’s Brad Schrade reported. The multi-story investigation used federal bank filings, audits and other public records to expose problems with the non-profit loan program, including lack of disclosure, secrecy of the president/CEO’s pay and conflicts of interest involving consulting deals with the program’s chief financial partner, Bank of America, and other businesses.

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