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Just two weeks ago, the Wall Street Journal revealed the latest example of the Kean family's unethical abuses of influence and shady fundraising practices. Tom Kean Sr sits on the board of UnitedHealth Group. On May 1, he participated in a board meeting to consider whether company executives fraudulently granted themselves stock options. That same day, some of the UnitedHealth Group executives whose fate lies in the hands of Tom Kean Sr attended a fundraiser for his son, Tom Kean Jr. Former Republican chairman of the SEC, Harvey Pitt, called the situation "'ill-advised and strange' and something that could be seen as an attempt to influence a witness because of the senior Kean's role on the compensation committee."
It's not the first time the Kean family has unethically used their influence for political fundraising. As documented by PoliticsNJ, in March of 2004 Tom Kean, Sr, abused his influence as President of Drew University to help his son fundraise:
Earlier this month, Drew University -- where former Governor THOMAS KEAN, SR. serves as President -- paid a hefty fee for former U.S. Secretary of State HENRY KISSINGER to deliver a lecture. As long as he was in Madison on Drew's dime, Kissinger was also the main draw at a rather exclusive fundraiser to benefit the campaign of Kean's son, State Senator THOMAS KEAN, JR. The Kean family's documented history (Kissingergate, UnitedHealth, etc) of unethically trading influence for campaign contributions might make them think twice about repeating such obvious offenses, but we know we can expect these kinds of practices to continue in the future. How do we know that? Because they've told us so. Last Tuesday, Tom Kean Jr appeared on RNN TV where Richard French asked him whether he would do it all over again. This is how the exchange went:French: Would you do it the same way, if the opportunity presented itself, you wouldn't change a thing?
Kean Jr: I would, I woulda done it the exact same way we did it. The Kean family sets the bar high for others when it comes to ethics, yet they trip over it every time. They act like the gatekeepers to a strict code of ethics, but in their hands those strict rules suddenly become very malleable and are bent and twisted to suit their needs. Anyone who would dare point out this walking contradiction is denounced by the Kool Aid drinkers, but history shows that the squeaky-clean image of the Keans is a farce.
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