We have all heard of intimate relationships between lobbyists and public servants before. But buying a house together?

As the New York Times recently reported, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) paid off the multi-million dollar mortgage on its town-house headquarters with generous contributions from major corporations, including the taxpayer-owned General Motors and Altria, the nation’s largest tobacco company.

The CBC avoided what’s left of the rules regulating corporate political contributions by funneling the money through a shadowy network of non-profits. These tax-shelters claim to provide scholarships to needy children, but have spent the bulk of their money on social events for politicos, including gala dinners with expensive catering tabs, plush golf-outings, and an annual gambling retreat.

As CREW followers know, this is only the tip of the iceberg.

The CBC’s behavior is notable only for its excess. Just last month, CREW filed ethics and IRS complaints against Rep. Steve Buyer (R-ID) for using a non-profit to skirt the tax-code and hobnob with corporate interests. (Days later, Rep. Buyer announced he would not seek reelection. CREW is awaiting a response to its complaints.)

The tactic is hardly confined to members of Congress. As the Los Angeles Times has reported, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA) makes extensive use of corporate-funded non-profits to cover his international private-jet trips, pay for his luxury hotel accommodations, and even compensate his office staff. Meanwhile, right here in Washington, D.C., Doug Coe and his mysterious "Fellowship" used non-profit designation to dodge years of taxes on their infamous C Street house, their "Family" refuge for ethically-suspect Republican officials with fidelity issues.

We’ve long admired the CBC’s record of fighting for civil rights and the rule of just law. It’s a pity its current behavior isn’t living up to its storied past.

Four days after CREW filed complaints with the IRS and the Office of Congressional Ethics against Rep. Steve Buyer, the Indiana Republican announced today that he will not seek re-election. Huffington Post reports:

Nine-term Rep. Steve Buyer (R-Ind.), dogged by accusations that he ran a phony charity that took campaign donors on golf outings instead of giving out scholarships, announced Friday that he will not seek reelection. He will, however, serve out the remainder of his term.

Buyer, the senior Republican on the Committee on Veterans Affairs, said his decision was prompted by the illness of his wife, who he said is suffering from an "incurable autoimmune disease."

In the wake of Buyer's announcement, CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan stated:

"CREW is sorry to learn of Mrs. Buyer’s illness and hopes for her full recovery. The timing of Rep. Buyer’s announcement, however, and the fact that he will remain in Congress for another year, suggests his retirement may well be tied to the OCE and IRS complaints against him and his foundation. Given that Rep. Buyer is still a member of Congress, his announcement should not short circuit an investigation of his conduct."

Click here to read the full statement by CREW.

CREW today filed two complaints against Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN) with the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for using his “charity”, The Frontier Foundation, to attend exclusive golf outings and funnel money from corporate donors to his campaign committee and leadership PAC.

Rep. Buyer helped found Frontier in 2003 as a way to provide Indiana students with scholarships to attend college, staffing the organization with his family members and political friends. To date, the foundation has provided not a single scholarship to the public, instead focusing on golf fundraisers where corporate clients are given direct access to the congressman. Rep. Buyer, who sits on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, appears to be trading legislative support for issues supported by these corporate players in exchange for donations to his campaign committee, PAC and foundation.

In one example out of many, the pharmaceutical group PhRMA has donated $200,000 to Frontier and hired Rep. Buyer’s son, Ryan, straight out of college. The congressman, in turn, has taken positions beneficial to the pharmaceutical industry, helping in 2007 to defeat a proposed three-year ban on advertising new drugs.

CREW asked the IRS to investigate whether Frontier’s actions have violated the tax laws governing charities and asked the OCE to determine whether Rep. Buyer violated any ethics laws.

CREW’s executive director, Melanie Sloan, said today:

Apparently, Rep. Buyer did not pay very close attention to the Jack Abramoff scandal. He seems to have missed the lesson that charities are not created to allow congressmen to play golf with their cronies. It is not quite stealing from orphans, but it is hard to imagine something much more callous than playing golf on the backs of poor students – at least one of whom surely could have gone to college on the money Frontier spent on Rep. Buyer’s golf trips. The IRS, at least, frowns on such behavior. There is always hope Congress will too.

Click here to review CREW's two complaints and the accompanying exhibits for each.

What is it about golf and political scandals? In today's New York Times, Nick Confessore writes that these two worlds seem to intersect a lot:

It was on a golf junket to Florida that [former N.Y. State Senate leader Joseph Bruno] first sold an Albany-area entrepreneur on the idea of paying him generous fees to help drum up investment, including earmarks that were arranged by the senator himself.

... In June, Salvatore F. DiMasi, a former speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, was indicted on charges that during rounds of golf, he plotted to rig state computer software contracts. This fall, an Indiana congressman, Steve Buyer, came under scrutiny when it was revealed that a charity he established to help teenagers pay for college had spent nothing on scholarships but $260,000 on lavish golf junkets.

And, of course, there was the infamous Jack Abramoff golf junket.

CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan was quoted in the N.Y. Times article:

"More politicians will succumb to a pricey golf outing than to a sexy woman in a negligee. You have a lot more privacy than in your office and in a restaurant, and it’s socially acceptable to leave your office for half the day to play golf."