Democratic Senator Joe Manchin (W.Va.) reportedly lied to a West Virginia newspaper in a bid to cover up his connection to a company that owes hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid taxes.
Late last week, the State Journal reported that the Mountain Blue Hotel Group has been slapped with a lawsuit for defaulted loan and unpaid taxes amounting to $600,000. The report also mentioned that Manchin and his longtime aide Larry Puccio were named in the complaint because of their stake in the holding company that owns Mountain Blue, AA Property LLC.
Manchin responded to these accusations through a spokesman to deny that he, or his aide, had any connection to AA Property, or Mountain Blue.
“Manchin and Puccio have no affiliation or stake in AA Property Group and no ownership interest or stock in Mountain Blue Hotel Group or the Hilton Garden Inn,” read the statement from Manchin’s spokesman.
However, Manchin’s latest financial disclosure revealed that he owns stakes of between $50,001 and $100,000 in AA Property. The financial disclosure shows that Manchin made $11,200.18 in income from his property holds, in the last reporting period alone.
Johnathan Kott, Senator Manchin’s communications director was forced to correct the record, when confronted with this evidence. “After looking further into the paperwork, Senator Manchin has part ownership in AA.” However, they reject the claim that this means Senator Manchin is involved with Mountain Blue, “AA has no ownership or affiliation with the hotels.”
Additionally, Manchin and Puccio are also known to be heavily invested in Mylan, Inc. a pharmaceutical company that makes the epi-pen, a device used to treat deadly allergic reactions. While Manchin’s daughter, Heather Bresch, was CEO of the company, Puccio was listed as a lobbyist. Mylan also contributed $400,000 to Manchin’s political action committee.
In West Virginia, Puccio is a renowned Democratic operative and has worked by Manchin’s side for decades.
