Matt Doheny
Content
MATT DOHENY
Matt Doheny’s personal behavior is embarrassing and unbecoming of a potential Congressman. In March, Doheny, who is engaged, was caught twice by the media kissing and groping a campaign consultant who is not his fiancé. In 2004, he was charged twice with boating under the influence in a two week span. Further, he has been sued multiple times for failing to pay his bills. Even so, Doheny has made millions on Wall Street, owns actual islands, and claimed that “Getting paid $174,000 is not going to do anything for me financially.”
Embarrassing Personal Behavior
POTENTIAL INFIDELITY
Doheny Caught Kissing Consultant Who Is Not His Fiancée. In March 2012, House GOP leaders hand-selected Doheny as one of the fifteen “strongest GOP challengers in the country” to attend the National Republican Congressional Committee’s “candidate school” in Washington, DC. After the first day of workshops, Doheny met up with Monica Notzen, a campaign consultant who had worked on Doheny’s 2010 campaign, and other friends at Bobby Van’s, a popular steakhouse. Doheny was photographed kissing Monica, despite being engaged to Mary Reidy. Monica confirms that she was there, but refuses to specify whether or not a kiss took place. "We're just friends, and it was a whole big group of us," she said. She would not discuss whether she or Matt had been drinking. [Gawker, 3/28/12] • Doheny Spokesman Called Photograph “Nothing More Than Horsing Around Between Two Old Friends.” According to Gawker, “Doheny press secretary Jude Seymour sang a similar tune, refusing to discuss the specifics of the candidate's contact with the consultant or the contents of their drinks: ‘These pictures demonstrate nothing more than horsing around between two old friends as they sat together with other friends. Frankly, it's sad that some Democratic operative is going to infringe on the private moments of some friends enjoying an evening.’” [Gawker, 3/28/12]
Doheny Caught Rubbing Backside of Consultant Who Is Not His Fiancée. According to New York Post, “Matt Doheny, a newly engaged Republican running in the 23rd Congressional District upstate, was recently spotted partying in a DC bar with two women, groping both and kissing one. Neither one was his fiancée. The Post has obtained a video of Doheny with his arms around the women after last week’s GOP candidate retreat in Washington. His hand can be seen sliding over the backside of Monica Notzon, a fund-raising consultant to his campaign.” [New York Post, 3/30/12]
DRUNKENNESS
Doheny Described as “Party-Hearty Kind of Guy” by GOP Official. According to New York Post, “The video and photo didn’t come as a shock to some GOP insiders. They described the former Wall Street investor as a party-hearty kind of guy. ‘He’s your Wall Street-type — go, go, go, work hard, play hard,’ said a GOP official. ‘You might be able to do that on Wall Street, but not as an elected official.’” [New York Post, 3/30/12] Doheny Charged Twice in 2004 for Boating While Impaired. According to New York Post, “Doheny was arrested twice in 2004 for boating while impaired on the St. Lawrence River. He was so belligerent once that cops handcuffed him, reports state.” [New York Post, 3/30/12] • Doheny Admitted to Being Charged Twice with Boating Under the Influence Charges During Two Week Span. According to Watertown Daily Times, “Matthew A. Doheny, a Republican candidate for the 23rd Congressional District, has disclosed that he was twice charged with boating under the influence during a two-week span in 2004. ‘I’m deeply embarrassed that it happened,’ he said. ‘I’m disappointed in my actions and disappointed as to what happened.’ […] Mr. Doheny gave the Times copies of the paperwork from the U.S. Coast Guard. In both instances, Mr. Doheny was stopped while returning to his private island from Alexandria Bay. He paid two fines, totaling $2,500, to resolve the issue, which included four infractions, such as failing to have one life preserver on board.” [Watertown Daily Times, 8/3/10] Doheny Was “Uncooperative, Very Angry, and Combative” While Begin Questioned. According to Watertown Daily Times, “The incidents involving Mr. Doheny occurred on July 10 and July 24, six days before and eight days after his 34th birthday. In a report detailing the first incident, Coast Guard patrolmen described him as ‘uncooperative,’ ‘very angry’ and ‘combative.’ ‘I told Mr. Doheny to calm down and sit down, (but) he proceeded not to and turned toward me and started yelling at me, telling me to arrest him,’ wrote Ryan W. Chatland, then a petty officer third class. ‘I then put Mr. Doheny in handcuffs for his safety and my crew’s.’” [Watertown Daily Times, 8/3/10] Doheny Registered .096 Blood Alcohol Content During Field Test. According to Watertown Daily Times, “Mr. Doheny registered 0.096 percent blood alcohol content during a field test. State law recognizes 0.08 percent BAC as the threshold for intoxication. The candidate said that the second charge was ‘a true wake-up call,’ and that he has not driven any boat after drinking alcohol in the past six years.” [Watertown Daily Times, 8/3/10]
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DIDN’T PAY HIS BILLS
Doheny Sued by Contractor Who Alleged that the Candidate Underpaid him for Improvements to his Island Home. According to Watertown Daily Times, “Mr. Doheny in April 2006 was sued by a contractor who alleged that the candidate underpaid him for improvements to his island home. Mr. Doheny moved for the case to be dismissed, according to paperwork supplied by the campaign. A Jefferson County judge granted that dismissal eight months later.” [Watertown Daily Times, 8/3/10]
Doheny Sued Twice for Failing to Pay Rent on Time for Separate New York City Apartments. According to Watertown Daily Times, “Mr. Doheny was sued twice, in 2000 and 2005, for failing to pay rent on time for separate New York City apartments. He said he was overseas in at least one of the instances and did not see any notice before the petition was filed in court. In both instances, he said, the rent was paid the next day.’ These are just honest-to-goodness mistakes,’ he said. ‘I used to travel quite extensively and work nonstop. I can pay my rent.’” [Watertown Daily Times, 8/3/10]
Out of Touch
WEALTHY WALL STREET INVESTOR
Doheny Worked at Deutsche Bank in the Distressed Products Group. According to Washington Post, “At Deutsche Bank, he joined the ‘distressed products group,’ tackling the problems of insolvent or suffering companies. He would rise to become the managing director for troubled assets, and dealt with companies like Pacific Gas & Electric and Adelphia, which went bankrupt in 2002 after executives engaged in what the SEC called ‘one of the most extensive financial frauds ever to take place at a public company.’” [Washington Post, Accessed 6/26/12] • Doheny Touted Work with Adelphia Communications. According to Watertown Daily Times, “In two new television campaign advertisements, Republican congressional candidate Matthew A. Doheny touts his professional experience turning around bankrupt companies and protecting the jobs they provide. […] The candidate said Adelphia Communications, once the fifth-largest cable company, had financial, legal and operational problems and was host to corporate fraud. He led the restructuring of the Pennsylvania cable company on behalf of Deutsche Bank after it filed bankruptcy in 2002 and before it was acquired by Time Warner Cable in 2006.” [Watertown Daily Times, 7/1/10] Adelphia Executives Received $41 Million in Bonuses and Severance, At Least 500 People Lost their Jobs. In 2002, Adelphia Communications, the cable television operation, filed for bankruptcy protection. The company was under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission and two federal grand juries due to undisclosed loans to the company’s owners. According to Washington Post, “Adelphia Communications won a judge’s permission to pay as much as $41 million in bonuses and severance to encourage executives to stay at the company as it tries to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The cable television company can provide $35 million in bonuses and $5.7 million in severance for more than 200 executives, the judge ruled, saying the company demonstrated that the plan is critical to making Adelphia attractive to prospective buyers. Several creditors argued that the program is too expensive.” In 2006, Time Warner announced they were going to close a call center in New York, one of the last vestiges of Adelphia. The closure would cost more than 500 of the region’s best-paying jobs, causing a shock wave that would be a blow to the local economy. [New York Times, 6/26/02; Washington Post, 9/16/04; Star-Gazette, 12/14/06]
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Doheny Earned More than $7 Million at Wall Street Firm. According to Washington Post, “In 2008, Doheny left Deutsche Bank for Fintech Advisory, an investment-advisory group based in New York, which 2009 paid Doheny more than $7 million.” [Washington Post, Accessed 6/26/12]
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Fintech Focused on Investments in Mexico and Argentina. According to Watertown Daily Times, “He left the New York City bank in 2008 to take a similar role at Fintech Advisory, a private partnership of less than 12 people. Public records show Fintech has focused its investments in Mexico and Argentina, both prior to Mr. Doheny’s arrival and afterward. The candidate said the partnership is ‘a truly global’ entity, but that his focus is as it was at Deutsche Bank — on distressed North American companies that are in need of reorganization.” [Watertown Daily Times, 7/1/10]
Doheny’s 2010 Congressional Campaign Particularly Well-Funded Due to Wall Street Network and Over $1 Million of His Funds. According to Washington Post, “Doheny’s campaign was particularly well-funded, as he drew financial support not just from his district, but from his Wall Street network and from his own pocket. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, as of fall 2010, Doheny had sunk at least $1.69 million of his own funds--or 65 percent of total money raised-into his 2010 campaign.” [Washington Post, Accessed 6/26/12] Doheny Said $174,000 a Year is “Not Going to do Anything for me Financially.” According to Post Star, “Doheny, a wealthy investment fund manager from Watertown, said he is running for Congress based on principle, not self-ambition. ‘I don’t need the job, that’s just a statement of fact. ... Getting paid $174,000 is not going to do anything for me financially. I’m going to do the right thing,’ he said.” [Post Star, 5/25/12] Doheny Owns Two Islands. According to Washington Post, “Indeed, by 2003, he had been able to purchase an island near his hometown. Shamrock Island set him back $360,000; in 2007, a second piece of land, Caprice Island came with a $335,000 price tag. (The island got him into trouble during the 2010 campaign, after local media began asking about two charges he received in 2004 for ‘boating while intoxicated.’)” [Washington Post, Accessed 6/26/12]
Matt Doheny’s personal behavior is embarrassing and unbecoming of a potential Congressman. In March, Doheny, who is engaged, was caught twice by the media kissing and groping a campaign consultant who is not his fiancé. In 2004, he was charged twice with boating under the influence in a two week span. Further, he has been sued multiple times for failing to pay his bills. Even so, Doheny has made millions on Wall Street, owns actual islands, and claimed that “Getting paid $174,000 is not going to do anything for me financially.”
Embarrassing Personal Behavior
POTENTIAL INFIDELITY
Doheny Caught Kissing Consultant Who Is Not His Fiancée. In March 2012, House GOP leaders hand-selected Doheny as one of the fifteen “strongest GOP challengers in the country” to attend the National Republican Congressional Committee’s “candidate school” in Washington, DC. After the first day of workshops, Doheny met up with Monica Notzen, a campaign consultant who had worked on Doheny’s 2010 campaign, and other friends at Bobby Van’s, a popular steakhouse. Doheny was photographed kissing Monica, despite being engaged to Mary Reidy. Monica confirms that she was there, but refuses to specify whether or not a kiss took place. "We're just friends, and it was a whole big group of us," she said. She would not discuss whether she or Matt had been drinking. [Gawker, 3/28/12] • Doheny Spokesman Called Photograph “Nothing More Than Horsing Around Between Two Old Friends.” According to Gawker, “Doheny press secretary Jude Seymour sang a similar tune, refusing to discuss the specifics of the candidate's contact with the consultant or the contents of their drinks: ‘These pictures demonstrate nothing more than horsing around between two old friends as they sat together with other friends. Frankly, it's sad that some Democratic operative is going to infringe on the private moments of some friends enjoying an evening.’” [Gawker, 3/28/12]
Doheny Caught Rubbing Backside of Consultant Who Is Not His Fiancée. According to New York Post, “Matt Doheny, a newly engaged Republican running in the 23rd Congressional District upstate, was recently spotted partying in a DC bar with two women, groping both and kissing one. Neither one was his fiancée. The Post has obtained a video of Doheny with his arms around the women after last week’s GOP candidate retreat in Washington. His hand can be seen sliding over the backside of Monica Notzon, a fund-raising consultant to his campaign.” [New York Post, 3/30/12]
DRUNKENNESS
Doheny Described as “Party-Hearty Kind of Guy” by GOP Official. According to New York Post, “The video and photo didn’t come as a shock to some GOP insiders. They described the former Wall Street investor as a party-hearty kind of guy. ‘He’s your Wall Street-type — go, go, go, work hard, play hard,’ said a GOP official. ‘You might be able to do that on Wall Street, but not as an elected official.’” [New York Post, 3/30/12] Doheny Charged Twice in 2004 for Boating While Impaired. According to New York Post, “Doheny was arrested twice in 2004 for boating while impaired on the St. Lawrence River. He was so belligerent once that cops handcuffed him, reports state.” [New York Post, 3/30/12] • Doheny Admitted to Being Charged Twice with Boating Under the Influence Charges During Two Week Span. According to Watertown Daily Times, “Matthew A. Doheny, a Republican candidate for the 23rd Congressional District, has disclosed that he was twice charged with boating under the influence during a two-week span in 2004. ‘I’m deeply embarrassed that it happened,’ he said. ‘I’m disappointed in my actions and disappointed as to what happened.’ […] Mr. Doheny gave the Times copies of the paperwork from the U.S. Coast Guard. In both instances, Mr. Doheny was stopped while returning to his private island from Alexandria Bay. He paid two fines, totaling $2,500, to resolve the issue, which included four infractions, such as failing to have one life preserver on board.” [Watertown Daily Times, 8/3/10] Doheny Was “Uncooperative, Very Angry, and Combative” While Begin Questioned. According to Watertown Daily Times, “The incidents involving Mr. Doheny occurred on July 10 and July 24, six days before and eight days after his 34th birthday. In a report detailing the first incident, Coast Guard patrolmen described him as ‘uncooperative,’ ‘very angry’ and ‘combative.’ ‘I told Mr. Doheny to calm down and sit down, (but) he proceeded not to and turned toward me and started yelling at me, telling me to arrest him,’ wrote Ryan W. Chatland, then a petty officer third class. ‘I then put Mr. Doheny in handcuffs for his safety and my crew’s.’” [Watertown Daily Times, 8/3/10] Doheny Registered .096 Blood Alcohol Content During Field Test. According to Watertown Daily Times, “Mr. Doheny registered 0.096 percent blood alcohol content during a field test. State law recognizes 0.08 percent BAC as the threshold for intoxication. The candidate said that the second charge was ‘a true wake-up call,’ and that he has not driven any boat after drinking alcohol in the past six years.” [Watertown Daily Times, 8/3/10]
•
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DIDN’T PAY HIS BILLS
Doheny Sued by Contractor Who Alleged that the Candidate Underpaid him for Improvements to his Island Home. According to Watertown Daily Times, “Mr. Doheny in April 2006 was sued by a contractor who alleged that the candidate underpaid him for improvements to his island home. Mr. Doheny moved for the case to be dismissed, according to paperwork supplied by the campaign. A Jefferson County judge granted that dismissal eight months later.” [Watertown Daily Times, 8/3/10]
Doheny Sued Twice for Failing to Pay Rent on Time for Separate New York City Apartments. According to Watertown Daily Times, “Mr. Doheny was sued twice, in 2000 and 2005, for failing to pay rent on time for separate New York City apartments. He said he was overseas in at least one of the instances and did not see any notice before the petition was filed in court. In both instances, he said, the rent was paid the next day.’ These are just honest-to-goodness mistakes,’ he said. ‘I used to travel quite extensively and work nonstop. I can pay my rent.’” [Watertown Daily Times, 8/3/10]
Out of Touch
WEALTHY WALL STREET INVESTOR
Doheny Worked at Deutsche Bank in the Distressed Products Group. According to Washington Post, “At Deutsche Bank, he joined the ‘distressed products group,’ tackling the problems of insolvent or suffering companies. He would rise to become the managing director for troubled assets, and dealt with companies like Pacific Gas & Electric and Adelphia, which went bankrupt in 2002 after executives engaged in what the SEC called ‘one of the most extensive financial frauds ever to take place at a public company.’” [Washington Post, Accessed 6/26/12] • Doheny Touted Work with Adelphia Communications. According to Watertown Daily Times, “In two new television campaign advertisements, Republican congressional candidate Matthew A. Doheny touts his professional experience turning around bankrupt companies and protecting the jobs they provide. […] The candidate said Adelphia Communications, once the fifth-largest cable company, had financial, legal and operational problems and was host to corporate fraud. He led the restructuring of the Pennsylvania cable company on behalf of Deutsche Bank after it filed bankruptcy in 2002 and before it was acquired by Time Warner Cable in 2006.” [Watertown Daily Times, 7/1/10] Adelphia Executives Received $41 Million in Bonuses and Severance, At Least 500 People Lost their Jobs. In 2002, Adelphia Communications, the cable television operation, filed for bankruptcy protection. The company was under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission and two federal grand juries due to undisclosed loans to the company’s owners. According to Washington Post, “Adelphia Communications won a judge’s permission to pay as much as $41 million in bonuses and severance to encourage executives to stay at the company as it tries to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The cable television company can provide $35 million in bonuses and $5.7 million in severance for more than 200 executives, the judge ruled, saying the company demonstrated that the plan is critical to making Adelphia attractive to prospective buyers. Several creditors argued that the program is too expensive.” In 2006, Time Warner announced they were going to close a call center in New York, one of the last vestiges of Adelphia. The closure would cost more than 500 of the region’s best-paying jobs, causing a shock wave that would be a blow to the local economy. [New York Times, 6/26/02; Washington Post, 9/16/04; Star-Gazette, 12/14/06]
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Doheny Earned More than $7 Million at Wall Street Firm. According to Washington Post, “In 2008, Doheny left Deutsche Bank for Fintech Advisory, an investment-advisory group based in New York, which 2009 paid Doheny more than $7 million.” [Washington Post, Accessed 6/26/12]
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Fintech Focused on Investments in Mexico and Argentina. According to Watertown Daily Times, “He left the New York City bank in 2008 to take a similar role at Fintech Advisory, a private partnership of less than 12 people. Public records show Fintech has focused its investments in Mexico and Argentina, both prior to Mr. Doheny’s arrival and afterward. The candidate said the partnership is ‘a truly global’ entity, but that his focus is as it was at Deutsche Bank — on distressed North American companies that are in need of reorganization.” [Watertown Daily Times, 7/1/10]
Doheny’s 2010 Congressional Campaign Particularly Well-Funded Due to Wall Street Network and Over $1 Million of His Funds. According to Washington Post, “Doheny’s campaign was particularly well-funded, as he drew financial support not just from his district, but from his Wall Street network and from his own pocket. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, as of fall 2010, Doheny had sunk at least $1.69 million of his own funds--or 65 percent of total money raised-into his 2010 campaign.” [Washington Post, Accessed 6/26/12] Doheny Said $174,000 a Year is “Not Going to do Anything for me Financially.” According to Post Star, “Doheny, a wealthy investment fund manager from Watertown, said he is running for Congress based on principle, not self-ambition. ‘I don’t need the job, that’s just a statement of fact. ... Getting paid $174,000 is not going to do anything for me financially. I’m going to do the right thing,’ he said.” [Post Star, 5/25/12] Doheny Owns Two Islands. According to Washington Post, “Indeed, by 2003, he had been able to purchase an island near his hometown. Shamrock Island set him back $360,000; in 2007, a second piece of land, Caprice Island came with a $335,000 price tag. (The island got him into trouble during the 2010 campaign, after local media began asking about two charges he received in 2004 for ‘boating while intoxicated.’)” [Washington Post, Accessed 6/26/12]
