The Robert Menendez scandal - a two-fer

More info comes out about Salomon Melgen. First, from the Sunlight Foundation:

Donor in Menendez probe hoped for riches from government contracts
Salomon Melgen, the Florida eye doctor whose relationship with Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez, D-N.J., is now the subject of a grand jury investigation, has left a trail of lawsuits over bad investments, including one involving a government contract in which he had attempted to tie his money to the coattails of another prominent Hispanic official.

Melgen, who has a port security firm in the Dominican Republic that Menendez denies he tried to help and a medical practice in Florida that the senator admitted he aided, has filed numerous lawsuits over other business dealings that went sour. The paper trail suggests that the litigious ophthalmologist whom Menendez claims as a friend is a high-rolling risk-taker with a self-promotional flair who is not averse to using government connections as part of his investment strategy.

Some of the cases in which Melgen, his wife and his principal investment vehicle, SFM Holdings have been plaintiffs:

• In June 2012, they sued Bank of America, claiming that they "suffered over ten million dollars in damages" from the concurrent swoon in Bank of America's stock; their claims, now part of a larger suit against the bank, are pending.
• In July 2011, they sued CitiGroup, whose falling stock price during the financial meltdown cost the couple $32 million, according to Melgen's complaint. Those claims are still in litigation.
• Among his more complex cases, one that has resulted in six separate lawsuits and three appeals, are a series of complaints that started in 2005, when the Melgens lost $15 million in the KL Fund Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors out of as much as $195 million. In an attempt to recover their money, they sued the three operators of the scheme. Then they sued Bank of America, which provided brokerage services to an account Melgen set up and turned over to one of the architects of the Ponzi scheme. Then they sued another victim of KL Funds who had also lost $150 million in Bernard Madoff's swindle. A federal judge dismissed the suit against Bank of America; the Melgens and their investment company have appealed. The case against the fellow victim, Nine West founder Jerome Fisher, is still pending in Florida state court.

Melgen's investment track record has not been stellar--in 2000, its first full year of operation, SFM Holdings lost $14 million, which led to the ophthalmologist's first dispute with the IRS, which he settled by paying a tax bill of $2.7 million.

Given that history, it's not surprising that Melgen looked for a safer bet. According to a lawsuit he filed in May 2011 in the U.S. District Court of Southern Florida, he thought he'd found one in the connected world of government contracting. In February 2009, Melgen claims he met Florencio Rendon, a former chief of staff to Rep. Solomon Ortiz, D-Texas. Rendon, whose boss was a member of the House Armed Services Committee before losing his seat in 2010, "touted his ability to put deals together and to win federal and state government contracts," Melgen said in his lawsuit.

There is a lot more at this site, complete with links to documentation. Next, this piece from Politico:

Robert Menendez donor courted President Obama, Harry Reid
Salomon Melgen had a knack for going straight to the top.

He posed for pictures with President Barack Obama, flew Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on his private jet and sought advice on a port security deal from an ex-CIA agent who helped lead the hunt for Osama bin Laden, POLITICO has learned.

Melgen, a wealthy South Florida eye doctor and investor, has seen his flashy forays onto the political stage backfire in spectacular fashion in the past few months. Federal investigators are probing his business dealings. He�s at the center of the controversy over Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and prostitutes in the Dominican Republic.

And now, new details show that Melgen also courted other leading politicians, including two of the top Democrats in Washington.

Amazing what a few dollars will do to our political system. The rot goes all the way to the top...