Four overdrafts of unspecified amounts; he thought checks were deposited at start, not end of month
One overdraft, won’t disclose the amount Alaska
Availed himself of “overdraft protection” Arizona
May have “inadvertent” overdrafts. “But the public can judge for themselves who was an abuser and who was not”
Two overdrafts; no details Arkansas
In AP top 24; 499 bum checks
Concedes numerous overdrafts, says amounts were minimal California
One overdraft of $156.21; “most dismayed” by “inadvertent error”
87 bad checks, an average of two a month; the biggest was $2,000. “This is the biggest embarrassment of my life. I have a wart, and this is it.”
Five bad checks, including one for $2,533
Wrote $15,000 bad check to purchase car; mistake was “inadvertent”
27 overdrafts, total: $6,553. “I never defrauded anybody.”
One overdraft for $100–to buy stones for a backyard shrine to the Virgin Mary
One overdraft; amount unspecified; blames bank error
At least two bad checks; amounts not specified
Overdrew 407 times since 1988, totaling $129,225. Says scholarship donations put him in “moral balance.”
One overdraft; no specifics
Problems with “a handful of checks”; no details
At least a half-dozen overdrafts; amount unspecified
21 bad checks for “household-type things”: son’s college tuition, paying the paperboy. Total: $11,196.
“Probably” has overdrafts; regrets “public disillusionment”
Three overdrafts of less than $175. “I’m embarrassed by the errors and I take full responsibility.”
Four bad checks: $1,963
One bad check; blames a bank “foul-up”
At least 17 bad checks; says deficits were always covered within 10 days
Overdrawn; no details Colorado
Several bad checks; amounts unspecified Connecticut
“A number” of overdrafts; says not a big abuser
A single bad check
Is “working through accounts” to count overdrafts
“I did not want, I did not ask for and I never even knew I was receiving this service.” Eighteen overdrafts totaling $46,949.55. Delaware
“Only two” overdrafts Florida
Three bad checks for total of $156. Says wife made the mistakes– perhaps distracted by crying baby.
Six bad checks in one year, the biggest: $4,900. “Hell yes, I am embarrassed.”
No details on how many overdrafts. Said wife may be to blame: “If she wrote a check, she assumed there would be money to cover it. So did I. But [sometimes] the bank’s records and mine didn’t agree.” Georgia
Ethics committee member admits to a few bad checks
Three bad checks; no details on amounts
On AP list of top 24, with 819 bad checks; overdrawn by more than his paycheck for 35 months. Attributes the problems to a heart attack three years ago and a recent divorce: “I haven’t been a high-liver, I don’t think.”
At least four bad checks; amounts unspecified. Idaho
Admits to 10 overdrafts; one in excess of $1,000 Illinois
Unspecified number or amount of overdrafts. Blames bank’s “carelessness and unprofessional practices” but is still “embarrassed.” “I never asked for a bank account in Washington that was any different from my account in Illinois.”
One of AP’s top 24, with 716 checks and a negative balance larger than his paycheck for 15 months Indiana
Admitted early to an overdraft of $11
Two overdrafts for “very small amounts”
“Modest” overdrafts covered “within hours.” Blames the bank, whose faults “are as big as the San Andreas.”
One or two overdrafts, total in the $200-$300 range. Kansas
Some bad checks; no specifics. “If we’re honest and open, I think the folks at home will understand.”
May have overdrafts because bank held up deposits while questioning his signature
Has bounced one check but not during the 39-month period under investigation Kentucky
32 overdrafts in one year. Was running for governor when the news leaked; his campaign sputtered.
One of AP’s top 24 bouncers, with 514 bad checks; overdrawn by more than next paycheck for 14 months Louisiana
11 bad checks, total: $44,000. Blames largest, $22,966, on a misdeposited loan.
Some two dozen bad checks, most under $100. Often goes several months without balancing his checkbook. Maryland
Bounced one check, less than or equal to one month’s paycheck Massachusetts
Overdraft of unspecified amounts. Blames “the difficulties of running two households”; both he and his wife were writing checks on the account.
One of the top 24 offenders, says AP, with 140 bad checks and overdraft larger than paycheck for 15 months
Some overdrafts. “We don’t know how many or for what amounts. We’re waiting to find out.”
Bounced several checks but says problem is partly due to sloppy signatures or no signatures on checks
At least four overdrafts; one for only 15 cents Michigan
House whip won’t give specifics; says “this was a bank that was not really a bank”
No specifics on number or amount of bad checks
Says he maintained a separate credit line (and paid interest on it) to cover overdrafts; AP says he’s one of top 24, with 273 bad checks
Admits to overdrafts of unspecified amounts
Seven bad checks during one week in 1990 when he was “out of town”
20 “discrepancies”; the biggest: $413. Is “enraged” that he wasn’t notified. “You have to distinguish between those who exploited the system and those who were victims of it.”
Aides say he always covered overdrafts
Several bad checks, the largest: $150
Unspecified overdraft; attributes it to an unexpected Christmastime delay in depositing his paycheck
One bad check of unspecified amount Minnesota
Overdrawn, less than $100
Three bad checks totaling $99 paid for membership in the Minnesota Corn Growers, envelopes and a donation to the International Christian Youth Exchange. Says office manager mishandled the account.
Wrote 671 bad checks in 39 months, totaling $119,966.67. His wife, Susan, took the blame for handling their finances. But, says Sikorski, “We should not have been so casual and careless with our personal account.”
Member of appropriations committee wrote 125 bad checks totaling $47,987. Mississippi
Admits to overdrafts; no further specifics Missouri
On the AP top-24 list with 329 bad checks; was overdrawn by more than his next paycheck for 10 months
Three small overdrafts by House majority leader
One overdraft of $59
Recalls a few phone calls over the years from the sergeant at arms, asking for payments to his account, but doesn’t think he was one of the worst abusers. Nebraska
Several bad checks of unspecified amounts, mostly due to deposits that took “too long to clear” New Jersey
Several checks overdrawn; Shearson-Lehman admits failing to make a $27,000 deposit on schedule
Admits to two accounting errors, one of $1,400 New Mexico
“Goofed” only once, but on $4,500 check New York
Member of House ethics committee admits to 119 errors; amount of overdraft unspecified
Says he was not “a paragon of virtue” but gives no specifics. He isn’t hopeful the public will understand, because this “doesn’t happen to normal people.”
Admitted in October to overdrafts; amounts unspecified
Thinks he may have some bad checks but “no one ever called”
The sergeant at arms gave him a letter clearing him of wrongdoing, but he admits to two overdrafts totaling $485. Says he voluntarily paid $25 for each bad check.
Cleared by sergeant at arms, the acting chair of the House ethics committee was “surprised” to learn he’d bounced one check; amount unspecified
Bounced seven checks, largest for $103, during December 1989
One of the worst abusers, says AP: 972 bad checks and a negative balance exceeding his paycheck for 23 months
Half-a-dozen bad checks in early 1991; told The New York Times, “I’m a dope, not a crook”
Admits to 10 bad checks over 10 years, but none larger than $200
Banking-committee member wrote four bad checks; highest amount: $100
Blames bookkeeping errors–but AP says he’s one of the top 24, with 169 bad checks and a negative balance larger than his paycheck for eight months
Says he is “aware” of overdrafts but not of number or amounts; AP says he’s one of 24 worst offenders, with 743 bum checks and a negative balance larger than his paycheck for 30 months. He blames “slipshod and haphazard record-keeping” by the bank.
On the AP top-24 list: 408 checks and an overdraft larger than his paycheck for 18 months; he attributes problems to an embezzlement in his office
Five bad checks totaling $2,285.20
Banking-committee member admits to five overdrafts; says three were bank’s coding errors North Carolina
Some overdrafts; amounts unspecified. Says he has not been able to get further information from the bank.
Wrote two bad checks in 17 years
Came up $104 short for a January 1990 rent check
Five overdrafts totaling $326.09, resulting from a “single arithmetic error” North Dakota
Four bad checks; total: $445 Ohio
One of the 24 worst, according to AP, with 397 bad checks and an overdraft larger than his paycheck for eight months
One overdraft; blames the sergeant at arms
Acknowledges six bad checks; AP says she has 217 and is among the worst offenders
Some bad checks; amounts unspecified
Acknowledges “several” overdrafts but doesn’t know number or amounts Oklahoma
Admits to bad checks; no details Oregon
Seven bad checks for $491 in a two-day period when “on vacation”; made the disclosure last fall Pennsylvania
Overdrafts of unspecified amounts. “My biggest mistake was depositing my paycheck in what I thought was a bank that was following normal banking procedures.”
One bad check; amount unspecified
According to one account, had $23,000 overdraft; concedes only 19 checks totaling $19,000. “We’ve been double-crossed,” he told The Washington Post.
One $2.49 overdraft Rhode Island
At least seven overdrafts, total: $4,494. Largest single bad check: $1,000. Said he had no reason to believe he had a problem “until the day we looked into it.” South Carolina
About 40 bad checks; will not reveal further details Tennessee
Received letter clearing him, but wrote six bad checks for $2,463. Largest: $700. “For someone who tries to be cleaner than clean, this is humiliating.”
One the AP list of 24 worst offenders: 388 bad checks; an overdraft larger than his paycheck for 31 months
Four bad checks for $1,100; largest: $600
Three bad checks, all dated Dec. 30, 1990, for total of $3,800. Regrets the overdrafts, which he calls “inadvertent mistakes.” Texas
Admits bad checks; amounts unspecified
Banking-committee member had seven overdrafts for $1,748.14; largest: $560
May have overdrafts; no further specifics
Admits bad checks; amounts unspecified
Admits four bad checks; AP says is one of 24 worst, with 673 bum checks and a negative balance larger than his paycheck for 23 months
Acknowledges “problem checks” of unspecified amounts. “There is really no one to blame except myself. I apologize to my constituents and thank God that no taxpayer funds were ever involved.”
Says the marks on his checks indicate that he has bounced “a few”; amounts unspecified
Six to eight bad checks; total is under $2,000
Bounced three checks, the largest for $627.05
One bad check of $60
Admits to several bad checks but doesn’t know how many or for what amounts. Was “shocked to say the least,” to find that he was overdrawn, and “embarrassed that in my own way I have added to the negative attitude expressed by people toward the Congress.”
81 bad checks, including $6,500 to the Internal Revenue Service. Admits being “a sloppy bookkeeper” but says “you have to remember, this wasn’t a bank, it’s a “financial cooperative’.” Promises to donate $25 to charity for each bad check. On the AP list of 24 worst offenders; had a negative balance larger than paycheck for eight months. Utah
From July 1989 to June 1990, had an average monthly deficit of $484, but insists he would’ve earned more interest in a regular bank account. Was “astounded” by his errors and attributes them to “a combination of my sloppy approach and their unprofessional accounting system.” Washington
Three bad checks, the largest $1,600; total: $2,241.91. Had no idea until aides checked his bank records after the disclosure vote.
House speaker, who led fight against disclosure, revealed two bad checks, one for $500. Says House bank “was never a bank…it’s a payroll office.”
Think she may have overdrafts West Virginia
Just learned of $1,000 bad check from six years ago Wisconsin
A dozen bad checks; amounts unspecified
Disclosed early having overdraft of $4.41
Admits to bad checks during 1990
Admits to 10-20 bad checks during 13 years in Congress; says he has not been able to get full accounting
Advanced himself about a month’s salary 13 times; States News Service estimated total overdraft of $134,000; says he’s victim of “sloppy bank management” Delegate: Virgin Islands
Admitted early to overdrafts; no specifics
title: “Housecleaning” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-24” author: “Victoria Warren”
Four overdrafts of unspecified amounts; he thought checks were deposited at start, not end of month
One overdraft, won’t disclose the amount Alaska
Availed himself of “overdraft protection” Arizona
May have “inadvertent” overdrafts. “But the public can judge for themselves who was an abuser and who was not”
Two overdrafts; no details Arkansas
In AP top 24; 499 bum checks
Concedes numerous overdrafts, says amounts were minimal California
One overdraft of $156.21; “most dismayed” by “inadvertent error”
87 bad checks, an average of two a month; the biggest was $2,000. “This is the biggest embarrassment of my life. I have a wart, and this is it.”
Five bad checks, including one for $2,533
Wrote $15,000 bad check to purchase car; mistake was “inadvertent”
27 overdrafts, total: $6,553. “I never defrauded anybody.”
One overdraft for $100–to buy stones for a backyard shrine to the Virgin Mary
One overdraft; amount unspecified; blames bank error
At least two bad checks; amounts not specified
Overdrew 407 times since 1988, totaling $129,225. Says scholarship donations put him in “moral balance.”
One overdraft; no specifics
Problems with “a handful of checks”; no details
At least a half-dozen overdrafts; amount unspecified
21 bad checks for “household-type things”: son’s college tuition, paying the paperboy. Total: $11,196.
“Probably” has overdrafts; regrets “public disillusionment”
Three overdrafts of less than $175. “I’m embarrassed by the errors and I take full responsibility.”
Four bad checks: $1,963
One bad check; blames a bank “foul-up”
At least 17 bad checks; says deficits were always covered within 10 days
Overdrawn; no details Colorado
Several bad checks; amounts unspecified Connecticut
“A number” of overdrafts; says not a big abuser
A single bad check
Is “working through accounts” to count overdrafts
“I did not want, I did not ask for and I never even knew I was receiving this service.” Eighteen overdrafts totaling $46,949.55. Delaware
“Only two” overdrafts Florida
Three bad checks for total of $156. Says wife made the mistakes– perhaps distracted by crying baby.
Six bad checks in one year, the biggest: $4,900. “Hell yes, I am embarrassed.”
No details on how many overdrafts. Said wife may be to blame: “If she wrote a check, she assumed there would be money to cover it. So did I. But [sometimes] the bank’s records and mine didn’t agree.” Georgia
Ethics committee member admits to a few bad checks
Three bad checks; no details on amounts
On AP list of top 24, with 819 bad checks; overdrawn by more than his paycheck for 35 months. Attributes the problems to a heart attack three years ago and a recent divorce: “I haven’t been a high-liver, I don’t think.”
At least four bad checks; amounts unspecified. Idaho
Admits to 10 overdrafts; one in excess of $1,000 Illinois
Unspecified number or amount of overdrafts. Blames bank’s “carelessness and unprofessional practices” but is still “embarrassed.” “I never asked for a bank account in Washington that was any different from my account in Illinois.”
One of AP’s top 24, with 716 checks and a negative balance larger than his paycheck for 15 months Indiana
Admitted early to an overdraft of $11
Two overdrafts for “very small amounts”
“Modest” overdrafts covered “within hours.” Blames the bank, whose faults “are as big as the San Andreas.”
One or two overdrafts, total in the $200-$300 range. Kansas
Some bad checks; no specifics. “If we’re honest and open, I think the folks at home will understand.”
May have overdrafts because bank held up deposits while questioning his signature
Has bounced one check but not during the 39-month period under investigation Kentucky
32 overdrafts in one year. Was running for governor when the news leaked; his campaign sputtered.
One of AP’s top 24 bouncers, with 514 bad checks; overdrawn by more than next paycheck for 14 months Louisiana
11 bad checks, total: $44,000. Blames largest, $22,966, on a misdeposited loan.
Some two dozen bad checks, most under $100. Often goes several months without balancing his checkbook. Maryland
Bounced one check, less than or equal to one month’s paycheck Massachusetts
Overdraft of unspecified amounts. Blames “the difficulties of running two households”; both he and his wife were writing checks on the account.
One of the top 24 offenders, says AP, with 140 bad checks and overdraft larger than paycheck for 15 months
Some overdrafts. “We don’t know how many or for what amounts. We’re waiting to find out.”
Bounced several checks but says problem is partly due to sloppy signatures or no signatures on checks
At least four overdrafts; one for only 15 cents Michigan
House whip won’t give specifics; says “this was a bank that was not really a bank”
No specifics on number or amount of bad checks
Says he maintained a separate credit line (and paid interest on it) to cover overdrafts; AP says he’s one of top 24, with 273 bad checks
Admits to overdrafts of unspecified amounts
Seven bad checks during one week in 1990 when he was “out of town”
20 “discrepancies”; the biggest: $413. Is “enraged” that he wasn’t notified. “You have to distinguish between those who exploited the system and those who were victims of it.”
Aides say he always covered overdrafts
Several bad checks, the largest: $150
Unspecified overdraft; attributes it to an unexpected Christmastime delay in depositing his paycheck
One bad check of unspecified amount Minnesota
Overdrawn, less than $100
Three bad checks totaling $99 paid for membership in the Minnesota Corn Growers, envelopes and a donation to the International Christian Youth Exchange. Says office manager mishandled the account.
Wrote 671 bad checks in 39 months, totaling $119,966.67. His wife, Susan, took the blame for handling their finances. But, says Sikorski, “We should not have been so casual and careless with our personal account.”
Member of appropriations committee wrote 125 bad checks totaling $47,987. Mississippi
Admits to overdrafts; no further specifics Missouri
On the AP top-24 list with 329 bad checks; was overdrawn by more than his next paycheck for 10 months
Three small overdrafts by House majority leader
One overdraft of $59
Recalls a few phone calls over the years from the sergeant at arms, asking for payments to his account, but doesn’t think he was one of the worst abusers. Nebraska
Several bad checks of unspecified amounts, mostly due to deposits that took “too long to clear” New Jersey
Several checks overdrawn; Shearson-Lehman admits failing to make a $27,000 deposit on schedule
Admits to two accounting errors, one of $1,400 New Mexico
“Goofed” only once, but on $4,500 check New York
Member of House ethics committee admits to 119 errors; amount of overdraft unspecified
Says he was not “a paragon of virtue” but gives no specifics. He isn’t hopeful the public will understand, because this “doesn’t happen to normal people.”
Admitted in October to overdrafts; amounts unspecified
Thinks he may have some bad checks but “no one ever called”
The sergeant at arms gave him a letter clearing him of wrongdoing, but he admits to two overdrafts totaling $485. Says he voluntarily paid $25 for each bad check.
Cleared by sergeant at arms, the acting chair of the House ethics committee was “surprised” to learn he’d bounced one check; amount unspecified
Bounced seven checks, largest for $103, during December 1989
One of the worst abusers, says AP: 972 bad checks and a negative balance exceeding his paycheck for 23 months
Half-a-dozen bad checks in early 1991; told The New York Times, “I’m a dope, not a crook”
Admits to 10 bad checks over 10 years, but none larger than $200
Banking-committee member wrote four bad checks; highest amount: $100
Blames bookkeeping errors–but AP says he’s one of the top 24, with 169 bad checks and a negative balance larger than his paycheck for eight months
Says he is “aware” of overdrafts but not of number or amounts; AP says he’s one of 24 worst offenders, with 743 bum checks and a negative balance larger than his paycheck for 30 months. He blames “slipshod and haphazard record-keeping” by the bank.
On the AP top-24 list: 408 checks and an overdraft larger than his paycheck for 18 months; he attributes problems to an embezzlement in his office
Five bad checks totaling $2,285.20
Banking-committee member admits to five overdrafts; says three were bank’s coding errors North Carolina
Some overdrafts; amounts unspecified. Says he has not been able to get further information from the bank.
Wrote two bad checks in 17 years
Came up $104 short for a January 1990 rent check
Five overdrafts totaling $326.09, resulting from a “single arithmetic error” North Dakota
Four bad checks; total: $445 Ohio
One of the 24 worst, according to AP, with 397 bad checks and an overdraft larger than his paycheck for eight months
One overdraft; blames the sergeant at arms
Acknowledges six bad checks; AP says she has 217 and is among the worst offenders
Some bad checks; amounts unspecified
Acknowledges “several” overdrafts but doesn’t know number or amounts Oklahoma
Admits to bad checks; no details Oregon
Seven bad checks for $491 in a two-day period when “on vacation”; made the disclosure last fall Pennsylvania
Overdrafts of unspecified amounts. “My biggest mistake was depositing my paycheck in what I thought was a bank that was following normal banking procedures.”
One bad check; amount unspecified
According to one account, had $23,000 overdraft; concedes only 19 checks totaling $19,000. “We’ve been double-crossed,” he told The Washington Post.
One $2.49 overdraft Rhode Island
At least seven overdrafts, total: $4,494. Largest single bad check: $1,000. Said he had no reason to believe he had a problem “until the day we looked into it.” South Carolina
About 40 bad checks; will not reveal further details Tennessee
Received letter clearing him, but wrote six bad checks for $2,463. Largest: $700. “For someone who tries to be cleaner than clean, this is humiliating.”
One the AP list of 24 worst offenders: 388 bad checks; an overdraft larger than his paycheck for 31 months
Four bad checks for $1,100; largest: $600
Three bad checks, all dated Dec. 30, 1990, for total of $3,800. Regrets the overdrafts, which he calls “inadvertent mistakes.” Texas
Admits bad checks; amounts unspecified
Banking-committee member had seven overdrafts for $1,748.14; largest: $560
May have overdrafts; no further specifics
Admits bad checks; amounts unspecified
Admits four bad checks; AP says is one of 24 worst, with 673 bum checks and a negative balance larger than his paycheck for 23 months
Acknowledges “problem checks” of unspecified amounts. “There is really no one to blame except myself. I apologize to my constituents and thank God that no taxpayer funds were ever involved.”
Says the marks on his checks indicate that he has bounced “a few”; amounts unspecified
Six to eight bad checks; total is under $2,000
Bounced three checks, the largest for $627.05
One bad check of $60
Admits to several bad checks but doesn’t know how many or for what amounts. Was “shocked to say the least,” to find that he was overdrawn, and “embarrassed that in my own way I have added to the negative attitude expressed by people toward the Congress.”
81 bad checks, including $6,500 to the Internal Revenue Service. Admits being “a sloppy bookkeeper” but says “you have to remember, this wasn’t a bank, it’s a “financial cooperative’.” Promises to donate $25 to charity for each bad check. On the AP list of 24 worst offenders; had a negative balance larger than paycheck for eight months. Utah
From July 1989 to June 1990, had an average monthly deficit of $484, but insists he would’ve earned more interest in a regular bank account. Was “astounded” by his errors and attributes them to “a combination of my sloppy approach and their unprofessional accounting system.” Washington
Three bad checks, the largest $1,600; total: $2,241.91. Had no idea until aides checked his bank records after the disclosure vote.
House speaker, who led fight against disclosure, revealed two bad checks, one for $500. Says House bank “was never a bank…it’s a payroll office.”
Think she may have overdrafts West Virginia
Just learned of $1,000 bad check from six years ago Wisconsin
A dozen bad checks; amounts unspecified
Disclosed early having overdraft of $4.41
Admits to bad checks during 1990
Admits to 10-20 bad checks during 13 years in Congress; says he has not been able to get full accounting
Advanced himself about a month’s salary 13 times; States News Service estimated total overdraft of $134,000; says he’s victim of “sloppy bank management” Delegate: Virgin Islands
Admitted early to overdrafts; no specifics
