Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), already under scrutiny for his relationship with Ponzi billionaire Allen Stanford, is deeply involved with a nonprofit group in Queens, New York called New Direction Local Development Corporation. Our review of IRS tax returns, New York state budget records, and other documents suggests that New Direction does little development. Instead, it appears to operate to the benefit of Meeks and a state Senator named Malcolm Smith, and much of the money it has raised is simply unaccounted for.
New Direction has received at least $56,500 in New York state taxpayer funds since 2001, at the direction of Smith in the form of “member items,” the state equivalent of an earmark. The group’s largest donation of $250,000 came in 2004 from a company called International Airport Centers, which successfully sought permission to build an airport cargo facility near JFK airport in their districts. New Direction also collected thousands of dollars for Hurricane Katrina victims.
On Friday, NLPC asked the House Ethics Committee to investigate Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) for paying $830,000 for a newly-built home in 2006 that was worth more than $1.2 million. The home was built by Robert Gaskin, a contractor who does work on numerous projects for which Meeks has secured taxpayer funds. 
