WASHINGTON -- Jeb Bush personally lobbied the secretary of health and human services, while his father was vice president, on behalf of a Miami figure who would later flee the country accused of one of the greatest Medicare frauds in the program's history.
Bush pressed then-HHS Secretary Margaret Heckler to give the man's HMO a waiver so that it could accept larger sums of Medicare money than it otherwise would have been allowed, Heckler told The Huffington Post.
Miguel Recarey Jr., head of the health maintenance organization International Medical Centers (IMC) who often boasted of connections to the Miami Cuban mafia, paid Bush $75,000 in the mid-1980s. Bush has acknowledged receiving the payment but said it was tendered for real estate consultation. But the deal he consulted on was never closed.
The New York Times recently reported that the younger Bush made frequent use of his connection to his father both as vice president and president. "Even within a family long steeped in politics, Mr. Bush stood out to White House aides for the frequency of his communications and the intensity of the opinions," the paper reported.
Jeb Bush, now a top GOP contender for president in 2016, has addressed the latest criticism by saying that he is his "own man."
Much More: When Dad Was VP, Jeb Bush Lobbied The Administration For A Medicare Fraudster
Oh my, this won't look good on Jeb's resume.
