…it takes a lot of money to buy his vote. Somewhere in the neighborhood of $1 million, give or take:
Arkansas Rep. Mike Ross — a Blue Dog Democrat playing a key role in the health care debate — sold a piece of commercial property in 2007 for substantially more than a county assessment and an independent appraisal say it was worth.
The buyer: an Arkansas-based pharmacy chain with a keen interest in how the debate plays out.
Ross sold Holly’s Health Mart in Prescott, Ark., to USA Drug for $420,000 — an eye-popping price for real estate in a tiny train and lumber town about 100 miles southwest of Little Rock.
“You can buy half the town for $420,000,” said Adam Guthrie, chairman of the county Board of Equalization and the only licensed real estate appraiser in Prescott.
But the $420,000 that USA Drug paid for the pharmacy’s building and land was just the beginning of what Ross and his wife, Holly, made from the sale of Holly’s Health Mart. USA Drug owner Stephen L. LaFrance Sr. also paid the Rosses $500,000 to $1 million for the pharmacy’s assets and paid Holly Ross an additional $100,000 to $250,000 for signing a noncompete agreement. Those numbers, which Mike Ross listed on the financial disclosure reports he files as a member of Congress, bring the total value of the transaction to between $1 million and $1.67 million.
Inconceivable! I’m shocked.
Nothing to see here, people. Move along.
Why do Democratsdoes the White Housewant to protect this guy? He’s corrupt, and he’s getting in the way. You want to be bipartisan? Burn Ross.
I live in Arkansas and I cannot stand the Blue Dog democrats and dislike Ross completely. But it is not easy to make a judgement by comparing assessment and appraisal values to what one sells a property for. Also, 500,000 may be on par with what the assets were worth. Also, 100,000 to 200,000 is not atypical for a non-competition agreement although the ten year span for the agreement would not likely stand up in court.
I suspect that Ross got more from this than what he should have, but it is not a slam dunk to say that he was paid $1,000,000 for a vote.
I suspect he is much cheaper than that.
I liked this lines in the post as this shows how much you are into it.”You can buy half the town for $420,000,” said Adam Guthrie, chairman of the county Board of Equalization and the only licensed real estate appraiser in Prescott.