Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Wall Street freebies for Vargas staffer

Multibillion-dollar host subject of naked short sales controversy

Scott Hinkle
Scott Hinkle

Things may be busy on Capitol Hill with the budget deal and all, but Scott Hinkle, acting legislative director for freshman Democratic congressman Juan Vargas, still managed to get away for two days in Manhattan earlier this month, one of them paid for by Wall Street's Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation.

According to an itinerary filed by Hinkle with the House ethics office, the December 6 tour featured a trip to the floor of the New York Stock Exchange to witness the closing bell, as well as discussions about "strengthening global derivatives markets," "cash markets and financial benchmarks," and "shortening the settlement cycle."

"We note that this trip includes one day at your personal expense," says a November 12 letter to Hinkle from House ethics committee chairman K. Michael Conway. "We also remind you that, because the trip sponsor employs a federal lobbyist, you may participate in officially-connected activity on one calendar day only."

The total transportation cost for Hinkle picked up by the corporation was $332, along with free food valued at $47.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The clearing corporation, a multibillion-dollar creature of the Street, has been involved in numerous controversies over the years, in particular the transparency of naked short sales. Board members include powerful financial-industry insiders such as Paul Compton, chief administrator officer of JPMorgan Chase, and Bank of America corporate treasurer Mark Linsz.

Federal disclosures show that Hinkle, who previously worked for Vargas during his time as a state senator, was a consultant to the Vargas 2012 congressional campaign.

"I am the Acting Legislative Director for Congressman Vargas," Hinkle said on his House ethics committee disclosure filing. "I handle his Agriculture Committee assignment, as well as his financial services and tax portfolios."

Hinkle's boss, Vargas chief of staff and longtime political intimate Tim Walsh, took a leave of absence to serve as campaign manager of this fall's failed San Diego mayoral bid of ex-Republican assemblyman–turned-Democrat Nathan Fletcher.

Among his previous endeavors, Walsh was a partner at Elevate, LLC, a San Diego–based campaign-consulting outfit composed of Vargas regulars — including close friend Colin Rice — that has done work for Democratic assemblyman Ben Hueso, the San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council, and Vargas's state-senate campaign, among others.

An independent campaign fund calling itself "Restoring Trust in San Diego - A Committee to Support Nathan Fletcher for Mayor 2013" has so far paid Elevate a reported total of $35,231 in consulting fees this year, according to city disclosure records.

From the beginning of this year through August 31, according to salary data posted online by Legistorm.com, Walsh has received $99,166 as Vargas's congressional chief of staff. Hinkle has made $49,505 from January thorough the end of September, the data shows.

A receptionist in Vargas's capitol office said that Hinkle was in a meeting and could not immediately be reached for comment.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

East San Diego County has only one bike lane

So you can get out of town – from Santee to Tierrasanta
Next Article

Memories of bonfires amid the pits off Palm

Before it was Ocean View Hills, it was party central
Scott Hinkle
Scott Hinkle

Things may be busy on Capitol Hill with the budget deal and all, but Scott Hinkle, acting legislative director for freshman Democratic congressman Juan Vargas, still managed to get away for two days in Manhattan earlier this month, one of them paid for by Wall Street's Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation.

According to an itinerary filed by Hinkle with the House ethics office, the December 6 tour featured a trip to the floor of the New York Stock Exchange to witness the closing bell, as well as discussions about "strengthening global derivatives markets," "cash markets and financial benchmarks," and "shortening the settlement cycle."

"We note that this trip includes one day at your personal expense," says a November 12 letter to Hinkle from House ethics committee chairman K. Michael Conway. "We also remind you that, because the trip sponsor employs a federal lobbyist, you may participate in officially-connected activity on one calendar day only."

The total transportation cost for Hinkle picked up by the corporation was $332, along with free food valued at $47.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The clearing corporation, a multibillion-dollar creature of the Street, has been involved in numerous controversies over the years, in particular the transparency of naked short sales. Board members include powerful financial-industry insiders such as Paul Compton, chief administrator officer of JPMorgan Chase, and Bank of America corporate treasurer Mark Linsz.

Federal disclosures show that Hinkle, who previously worked for Vargas during his time as a state senator, was a consultant to the Vargas 2012 congressional campaign.

"I am the Acting Legislative Director for Congressman Vargas," Hinkle said on his House ethics committee disclosure filing. "I handle his Agriculture Committee assignment, as well as his financial services and tax portfolios."

Hinkle's boss, Vargas chief of staff and longtime political intimate Tim Walsh, took a leave of absence to serve as campaign manager of this fall's failed San Diego mayoral bid of ex-Republican assemblyman–turned-Democrat Nathan Fletcher.

Among his previous endeavors, Walsh was a partner at Elevate, LLC, a San Diego–based campaign-consulting outfit composed of Vargas regulars — including close friend Colin Rice — that has done work for Democratic assemblyman Ben Hueso, the San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council, and Vargas's state-senate campaign, among others.

An independent campaign fund calling itself "Restoring Trust in San Diego - A Committee to Support Nathan Fletcher for Mayor 2013" has so far paid Elevate a reported total of $35,231 in consulting fees this year, according to city disclosure records.

From the beginning of this year through August 31, according to salary data posted online by Legistorm.com, Walsh has received $99,166 as Vargas's congressional chief of staff. Hinkle has made $49,505 from January thorough the end of September, the data shows.

A receptionist in Vargas's capitol office said that Hinkle was in a meeting and could not immediately be reached for comment.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Hike off those holiday calories, Poinsettias are peaking

Winter Solstice is here and what is winter?
Next Article

Reader writer Chris Ahrens tells the story of Windansea

The shack is a landmark declaring, “The best break in the area is out there.”
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader