Rick Perry's Cover-Up and Corruption: The $500,000 Land Deal

by: Phillip Martin

Sun Oct 31, 2010 at 03:00 PM CDT

Ed. Note: This is the third part of a ten-part wrap-up of Rick Perry's history of cover-up and corruption that will run on Burnt Orange Report today.

An investigative report by the Dallas Morning News showed that Rick Perry coordinated with two business partners to flip land he purchased and sold in order to profit more than $500,000. Perry covered-up this scandal by refusing to release the public listing agreement, attempting to hide the identity of the land buyer and hiding the fact that the buyer was a business partner with the original seller.

From the Dallas Morning News, "Murky land deals mark Gov. Rick Perry's past":

The Dallas Morning News found evidence that Perry's investment was enhanced by a series of professional courtesies and personal favors from friends, campaign donors and the head of a Texas family with a rich history of political power-brokering. Together they may have enriched Perry by almost $500,000, according to an independent real estate appraisal commissioned by The News.

When it is all added up, Perry made at least $573,238 in profit from the land deal.

Additional Sources

• Burnt Orange Report - Why Rick Perry's Land Deal Could End His Campaign: $572,238 in Profit 
• Texas Observer - "Reappraising the Governor" (Date: May 28, 2009)
• Associated Press - "Gov. Rick Perry's Wealth Fueled By Land Deals" (Date: September 26, 2009)
• Dallas Morning News - "Murky land deals mark Gov. Rick Perry's past" (Date: July 25, 2010)
  
• Dallas Morning News - "Perry's property buyer in '07 land deal was influential but 'invisible'"(Date: July 25, 2010)