Phil Gramm Involved In Firm Consulting On Lottery Sale

Phil Gramm simply will not go away.

Back in 2003, we were forced to endure as the former U.S. Senator tried to pawn off a “dead peasant” life insurance scheme on the Teacher’s Retirement System of Texas. At that time, he was accused of illegally lobbying the state and Governor Rick Perry for the scheme.
Now, still from his perch at USB Investment Bank, it turns out he has been the bird chirping in the Governor’s ear about a possible sale of the Texas Lottery.

And, USB confirms that Gramm played a role in the discussions about the lottery even though Perry spokesman Robert Black acted as though he had no clue and mumbled something about conspiracies, which doesn’t make it much better:

“I understand that cynics will see a conspiracy behind every bush and a boogie man underneath every bed, but the fact is this is a legitimate endeavor where we have to ask questions of experts in the field to determine what the lottery would bring on the open market,” Mr. Black said. “There’s no other way to do it.”

He could not say whether Mr. Gramm was involved in the discussions, but a spokesman for UBS confirmed that the former senator played a role.

The main difference between the lottery negotiations and the dead peasant scheme, though, is that the governor’s office contacted USB instead of the other way around. Evidently, Gramm has stopped playing traveling salesman with a satchel full of bad ideas. That, and he and Perry, at least according to Black, haven’t personally discussed the sale.

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