Buttigieg’s political action committees took money from 23 companies who then got jobs from South Bend’s Board of Public Works, whose members he established, records received by DailyMail.com show.
The former presidential candidate received donations the same day the companies were awarded contracts on two occasions.
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Other city contractors gifted the mayor cigars, alcohol, and golf trips worth hundreds of dollars.
The companies, their executives, and spouses donated $253,750 to Buttigieg’s campaigns and received a total of at least $33,310,426 in city contracts between 2011 and 2019.
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After Buttigieg appointed one former company executive to the city’s Public Works department, the firm was handed multiple infrastructure jobs and became one of Mayor Pete’s largest donors.
Buttigieg served as the mayor of South Bend from 2012 to 2020. He was appointed transportation secretary by President Joe Biden early last year.
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Government watchdogs say the pattern of donations and contracts could present the appearance of a “pay to play” scandal – and raises concerns over the $210billion earmarked in the bipartisan infrastructure bill for Buttigieg to dish out in discretionary grants as transport secretary, part of a $1.2trillion budget.
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“The pattern of contracts and donations appears to be a huge conflict of interest,” Taxpayers Protection Alliance President David Williams told DailyMail.com.
“This really doesn’t bode well for the secretary of transportation when he has access to almost $1.2trillion in infrastructure money.
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“This is alarming, and very concerning because this is the swamp personified. You don’t have to be a Rhodes Scholar to look at this and think that something’s wrong here.
“Was there a quid pro quo? Was there some sort of backroom deal for these projects? taxpayers deserve answers.”
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The City of South Bend told DailyMail.com that Buttigieg “was not involved in the awarding of engineering and construction contracts” and that all contracts are awarded “through a professional procurement process that is public and transparent” and given “to the lowest, responsive, responsible bidder per State Law.”
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The Department of Transport said they have “consistently made transparency and accountability to the American people a top priority” and that the federal grant money in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law awards funding to cities, states, ports, and local entities, not contractors.
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The spokesperson told DailyMail.com any suggestion of corruption in Buttigieg’s U.S. government department was “absurd”.
The former Indiana mayor, 40, cultivated close relationships with construction firms during his tenure in South Bend, which became a significant source of funding for his political campaigns.
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