Last year, the Daily News reported that Congressman Gregory Meeks, who represents the 6th District in Queens, took a $40,000 loan from a local businessman without any paperwork—and allegedly without any interest or a repayment schedule—in 2007. While he paid it back, Meeks admitted that it was an "oversight" that he didn't list it on his disclosure forms. Well, now a Congressional investigative report suggests that he probably did violate federal law. more ›

How much trouble are the Wilpons in? The Mets owners, who were investors in Bernard Madoff's huge multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme and are being targeted by the trustee trying to recover money for Madoff victims, are trying to sell part of the team to raise some money and now the Post reports that JPMorgan Chase "is trying to recruit other institutions to join a syndicate to put together a new loan that would tide the Mets over until they sell a minority stake in the ballclub." more ›

A former worker at the Tribute WTC Visitor Center, accused of stealing $40,000 from the charity between August and February, says he only did it because his family was being threatened by a loan shark. Emmanuel Reyes reportedly confessed to cops, "I never made any money off this." The Post reports, "Reyes claimed to cops that he'd borrowed $8,000 from a loan shark to pay for his mother's funeral, and feared for his family's safety after welching on $16,000 in required repayments." Reyes, who was indicted on 72 counts, including grand larceny, also said, "Another manager had showed me how to do transactions without showing a receipt. I altered the number of people coming in to make the average donation around $4." more ›

So St. Vincent's isn't closing yet, but it is losing many of its major functions. Last week it closed its outpatient HIV and mental health clinics and with a $6 million injection from the state and other lenders—meant to hold the hospital over until the end of the month while it tries again to restructure its debt—the facility will lose two-thirds of its beds. To save St. Vincent's "shared sacrifices" will be necessary from all parties, said Governor Paterson. He and other officials are frustrated that unions aren't giving an inch—even faced with the hospital's $700 million debt and $5 million to $10 million monthly losses. Hospital officials told the Daily News the no-interest loan will give them "the time we need to put together a potential plan for the future of St. Vincent's." more ›

Celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz, who had been facing a lawsuit because she failed to pay back a $24 million loan, worked out a deal with her creditor, which will allow her to buy back control of her photographs and pay back the money under new terms. Originally, Leibovitz had signed over the rights to all her photographs (past and future), as well as her three West Village townhomes and Rhinebeck estate, as collateral for the loan, which was supposed to have been paid back on Tuesday. It's unclear when the loan will be repaid at this time, but Art Capital is now letting "Ms. Leibovitz...retain control of those assets within the context of the loan agreement which shall prevail until satisfied." In a statement, the photographer said, “In these challenging times I am appreciative to Art Capital for all they have done to resolve this matter and for their cooperation and continued support. I also want to thank my family, friends, and colleagues for being there for me and look forward to concentrating on my work"—and maybe selling off some of that real estate. more ›

New York investor Hassan Nemazee, whose prolific political fundraising for Democrats like Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Charles Schumer, was released on $25 million bond yesterday. Nemazee is " accused of lying about his assets to obtain a $74 million loan from Citibank." The NY Times further explains, he "orchestrated the fraud by using forged documents showing that he held accounts with collateral worth hundreds of millions of dollars," but the accounts never existed or were closed. Nemazee did end up paying the money back to Citibank on Monday, but was arrested on Tuesday. He is under house arrest—monitoring device plus no computer or Internet access—at his Upper East Side duplex, which the Daily News says is worth $20 million (that plus his $8 million Katonah estate are what's securing his bond). Vice President Joe Biden, Rep. Carolyn Maloney and Sens. Barbara Boxer, Chris Dodd and Schumer told Politico they plan to return his donations. Time has a 2-minute look at Nemazee. more ›

It's the Hillary Clinton we all know and love! The NY Times reports that the Secretary of State-designate is seeking to make the State Department "more powerful... with a bigger budget, high-profile special envoys to trouble spots and an expanded role in dealing with global economic issues at a time of crisis." However, "Given Mrs. Clinton’s prominence, expanding the department’s portfolio could bring on conflict with other powerful cabinet members." In other HRC news, she is not expecting to receive her $13 million loan to her presidential campaign yet, since she, via papers filed with the Federal Election Commission, is formally writing off the loan. more ›

The NY Post suggests that a "homeless man was better off than the city employee paid to protect him," because the employee--Department of Homeless Services security officer Robert Proctor--borrowed $600 from the homeless man in November 2006. Apparently the homeless man filed a complaint against Proctor when he only paid back $350 of the money by March 2007. Proctor admitted he violated the City Charter and "agreed to a 10-day suspension, worth $1,499.50, a loss of 10 vacation days, which total $770 in value, and a one-year probation period." He has also since paid off the loan. Other things the Conflicts of Interests Board has been dealing with: Term limits. more ›

Last night, the federal government gave insurer AIG a new lease on life with an $85 billion loan--in exchange for a 79.9% stake in the company. The NY Times reports, "The decision, only two weeks after the Treasury took over the federally chartered mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, is the most radical intervention in private business in the central bank’s history." As the Wall Street Journal noted, the Fed decided not to bail out Lehman Brothers, but "this time, the government decided AIG truly was too big to fail." more ›