Who was Alcee Hastings’ girlfriend Patricia Williams?
REPRESENTATIVE Alcee Hastings once faced a House ethics probe for his conduct involving a subordinate member of staff who turned out to be his girlfriend.
Hastings, who passed away on April 6, 2021, allegedly had been paying Patricia Williams the highest salary of any of his members of staff.
Who was Alcee Hastings’ girlfriend Patricia Williams?
Patricia Williams was a congressional staffer in Alcee Hastings office for 29 years. The pair have been in a relationship for 27 years.
According to House disbursement records beginning in 2011, Williams, as Hastings’ deputy district director, earned more than Hastings’ former chief of staff.
Library of Congress records showed that Williams was an aide to Hastings from 2002 to 2006, before transitioning into her role as deputy district director from 2006-2018.
Traditionally, the chief of staff is the highest-paid congressional staffer and reports directly to the member of Congress.
How much did Alcee Hastings pay Patricia Williams?
In 2018, Hastings paid Williams $168,411, the congressional staff salary.
Arthur W. Kennedy, who was Hastings chief of staff at the time, made $166,978 the same year despite being Williams’ boss.
Hastings began paying Williams more than Kennedy starting in 2011..
The politician said Williams’ high salary was due to her seniority at his office. “One of the things, and I will say this to you, that I do deeply resent is the comparison, for example, of her salary after 27 years to other members’ staffers who have worked five years or six years,” he said to the Miami Herald.
The Palm Beach Post reported that Williams earned nearly $3 million since 2000.
In 2017, the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust, a conservative watchdog group, included Hastings on its list of “worst ethics violators” of the year, citing Williams’ high salary and her relationship with the congressman.
Hastings dismissed any suggestion of wrongdoing at the time.
What was Alcee Hastings’ net worth?
Hastings served as a member of the United States House of Representatives for Florida’s 23rd congressional district from 1993 to 2013 and Florida’s 20th congressional district from 2013 until his death.
In a 2011 survey of U.S. lawmakers, the Center for Responsive Politics named Hastings the “Poorest Member of Congress,” with a 2018 average net worth of −$7,549,002.
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In May 2009, The Wall Street Journal reported that Hastings spent over $24,000 in taxpayer money in 2008 to lease a luxury Lexus hybrid sedan.
As of 2010, his congressional financial disclosure form noted that Hastings did not have any earned income and that his bank balance reflected $1,000-$15,000 in savings.
He owed several million dollars in attorney fees pertaining to charges brought against him in the 1980s.