A genius lobbyist committed suicide by drinking a bomb, and Washington K Street diving rules surfaced

Picture source: JESSICA KURONEN/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Reporter Brody Mullins

You have to remember

4da The first street I know is Wall Street, and the second is K Street (K Street) in Washington, DC. It is often referred to as "Lobbying Street" or "the fourth largest department of the U.S. government" because there are several The headquarters of the most influential lobbying organizations are here.

The protagonist of this article was once a young talent and bright star on K Street. However, a series of ulterior operations eventually turned him into a K Street traitor, and ended his life at the age of 38.

is out of Washington, Evan Morris is unknown; however, in this opportunistic capital, he is a talented player.

When Clinton was in power, Morris first entered the White House as an intern and made many dignitaries. At the age of 27, he was already the top lobbyist of Roche Holding AG, the world's largest pharmaceutical company.

Morris thought of a way: bypassing elected officials and passing the company's intentions directly to voters. This strategy has created hundreds of millions of dollars in wealth for the company. In 2010, he became Roche's youngest vice president in 120 years.

As the head of Roche's Washington office, Morris oversees a budget (in ten years, this funding has increased to $50 million per year) and supports hundreds of lobbyists and consultants.

Morris’ success has also brought him a luxurious life: 2,000 bottles of wine, a 3 million dollar beach house, a 300,000 dollar mahogany speedboat and 4 Porsches. He is a member of 8 private golf courses and has hired top chefs to host dinners at home. He is married and has two children.

Evan Morris in October 2007. Photo credit: TOM WILLIAMS/ROLL CALL/GETTY IMAGES

July 8, 2015, Morris and Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe and others drank all night. His family has just finished a campaign fundraiser. They smoke cigars and drink Petrus, the most expensive wine in the world, produced on a 28-acre estate in Bordeaux.

The next day, everything fell apart. The general counsel of the company arranged a meeting with Morris and asked him about some unusual expenses. Morris arrived as promised, and soon left.

Finally, he went to his favorite golf club, took a bottle of wine, and walked to a secluded corner on the court. Morris sat down on the wooden chair, took out his phone, and started texting his wife.

According to informed sources, the US Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have launched an investigation into Morris. Government investigators now suspect that for more than a decade, Morris had embezzled the company millions of dollars through kickbacks, and Washington government consultants with whom he did business were also involved.

This case is gradually fermenting into one of the largest US investigations into Washington lobbying activities since the Jack Abramoff case. In the mid-2000s, the corruption case of super lobbyist Abramov shocked Washington.

Investigators are trying to determine whether the lobbyists, media consultants, political strategists, and consultants employed by Morris have helped him hide so-called kickback payments, which could lead to fraud or other charges . Federal prosecutors have submitted evidence to the grand jury.

A person familiar with the company's internal investigations said that millions of dollars were missing in the accounts of the Washington office that Morris supervised. The spokesperson said that the investigation concluded that “a senior vice president violated the company’s policies and procedures.”

Prosecutors are investigating whether Morris embezzled public funds to purchase real estate, golf club memberships, Rolex watches, Premium wines and cigars.

Among the many lobbyists in Washington, Morris is the forerunner to exploit the loopholes in the information disclosure system. Through this method of cover, major companies can spend millions of dollars in covert lobbying activities, while funding Most of the whereabouts cannot be traced back.

This kind of behavior in the eyes of legislators may be an act of prejudice to the world. In fact, it is the product of lobbying groups operating outside of conventional tactics (Morris and his team call it "secret operations" ). Morris took advantage of the momentum and inspired his men, who also enjoyed riches and honors, and ended up ruined.

We interviewed relevant consultants, lobbyists and government officials, as well as Morris’s friends and colleagues, based on which we wrote this Morris’ personal history of rise and fall.

The road to wealth

Morris was born in Queens, New York, and lives in a family of four with his parents and sister in New York Between JFK Airport and LaGuardia Airport, the house covers an area of ​​about 140 square meters.

In 1996, Morris went to the White House for an internship while attending Union College, while he was sitting outside the office of Harold Ickes, a senior adviser to President Clinton. Morris graduated with honors and received a bachelor's degree in political science.

In 2003, he joined Patton Boggs (Patton Boggs), this lobbying company has a long-standing reputation in Washington and has a close relationship with the Democratic Party. The founder of the company is Thomas Hale Boggs (Thomas Hale Boggs Jr., known as "Tommy"). His father was the then House Majority (Democratic) leader, and his mother worked in Congress for nearly two decades. The disclosure report shows that in the 2000s, Patton Boggs was the lobbying organization with the strongest ability to attract money.

In the fall of 2005, Abbecronbi, the former chief executive officer of Roche Pharmaceuticals North America business, pictured right. Picture source: JOSHUA ROBERTS/REUTERS

Roche spends millions of dollars every year to hire Patton Boggs and other lobbying organizations to work, intending to expand its lobbying department in Washington. In 2004, Roche had 27 billion U.S. dollars in revenue from drugs used to treat AIDS, anxiety, breast cancer and bird flu.

While working at Barton Boggs, Morris met George Abercrombie, the then chief executive officer of Roche's North American operations. Abbecronbi hopes to make the Washington team's business better. Morris told him that as long as the resources are sufficient, he is sure to take the company to the next level.

A few months later, in 2005, Morris joined Roche as a lobbyist. Soon after, he was promoted to head of the Washington office.

People who know Morris say that he is a natural lobbyist, he is bent on trying to stand out, and senior colleagues are impressed by him. Early 2005, His chance came.

At that time there were dozens of deaths of bird flu abroad, and Americans began to worry about domestic bird flu outbreaks. Mike Leavitt, Secretary of the Bush Administration's Department of Health and Human Services, said at the time that the federal government was not ready to deal with the crisis.

Roche is the first to develop the star drug for the treatment of bird flu-Tamiflu. Morris keenly sensed the opportunity, and adopted an emerging lobbying strategy-to win the support of congressional voters. Compared with the warm and friendly traditional lobbying methods such as dinners and campaign donations to win over government officials, this new strategy is a supplement.

Morris also signed a cooperation agreement with a consulting company. In order to promote the sales of Tamiflu, they released news reports everywhere, which caused people to worry about the avian flu epidemic.

In October 2005, 32 Democratic senators sent a letter to President Bush, expressing serious concerns about the country’s unpreparedness for the serious threat of bird flu.

A few weeks later, President Bush ordered the establishment of an emergency reserve for bird flu treatment, which included more than $1 billion in Tamiflu pills. The U.S. government has also introduced subsidies, and the state governments have bought millions of dollars in Tamiflu.

Overnight, Morris became a major player in the company.

Close melee

In 2009, Roche acquired Genentech Inc., a pharmaceutical company in San Francisco, and started "Genentech Inc." "Technology" is the name of the company's US pharmaceutical division. The acquisition triggered fierce battles within the company.

Both companies have their own lobbying teams stationed in Washington, and now only one can be left. Morris wanted to be the leader, as did Heidi Wagner, a lobbyist for genetic technology. Her supporters called the Democratic congressional assistants and asked them to call Roche's executives and say something for Wagner.

Other congressional assistants who were familiar with Morris informed him about this. His supporters published an article on the political news website Politico, quoting anonymous remarks, saying that Morris was a more suitable candidate. He was the Democratic Party, which was the party that controlled the White House and Congress at the time. As for Wagner, the article mentioned that it was the Republican Party.

A few weeks later, Morris got what he wanted. He starts work before 6 o'clock every morning, often has meetings on the golf course, and always gets off work very late.

In 2010, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began to ban the use of Avastin for breast cancer. Avastin is one of the best-selling products of Gene Technology. It has received conditional approval from the FDA. However, the FDA later stated that the efficacy of this drug on breast cancer could not be confirmed, and the risk of serious side effects was extremely high. Changed attitude. The FDA did not question the effectiveness of Avastin in treating other cancers.

The picture shows breast cancer patient Christi Turnage speaking in support of Avastin. Image source: JOSHUA ROBERTS/BLOOMBERG NEWS

At the FDA hearing in June 2011, the FDA considered revoking the approval of Avastin as a breast cancer treatment. The picture shows breast cancer patient Christi Turnage speaking in support of Avastin. Picture source: JOSHUA ROBERTS/BLOOMBERG NEWS

In 2009, Avastin brought to the companySales of 6 billion U.S. dollars, of which the sales for breast cancer treatment is 1 billion U.S. dollars, and each patient spends an average of 90,000 U.S. dollars on the drug each year. Morris set out to block or delay the FDA's decision.

His team established a non-profit organization called "Patient Care Action Network", convening doctors and patients to strongly demand Congress representatives to oppose the decision. Morris’ team also published articles on conservative websites such as Red State, Breitbart News, and BigGovernment.com, quoting female patients as saying that this drug is their biggest Hope for recovery.

Republican Senator David Vitter is also one of the readers of the aforementioned media. He said that banning the use of Avastin is tantamount to a death sentence. In July 2010, he said at a press conference: "The government actually sets prices for people's survival time, which makes me shudder."

It was not until more than a year later that the FDA made a price. The final decision was made. At the end of 2011, the FDA revoked Avastin's license to treat breast cancer.

Morris took the credit for delaying this decision, and he boasted to his colleagues that the company made about 1 billion more dollars.

战利品

The success of Morris’ career has brought him a lot of rewards. In 2006, he replaced the purple Mazda Miata with a Porsche 911 convertible. The following year, he and his wife moved into a $1.7 million mansion in Belle Haven, a suburb of Washington. He claimed to have spent $1 million to renovate, which has five bedrooms, seven bathrooms, and a wine cellar, which stores 3,000 bottles of fine wines.

Morris’s wine cellar

Morris loves golf, food and wine. He placed six cigarette boxes in the Washington office of Gene Technology, which contained more than 1,000 cigars. In the afternoon, he often goes to the W. Curtis Draper cigar shop near the White House, smoking and making phone calls.

A former colleague of Morris recalled that at lunch one day, Morris ordered a bottle of $2,000 wine. After dinner, I ordered another bottle.

In October 2010, Morris bought a 1.4 million US dollar condominium in the tallest residential building in San Francisco. He told his colleagues that this was a reward from the company for his assistance in the acquisition of Gene Technology. But real estate records show that Morris bought the apartment himself.

San Francisco’s Millennium Tower (MillenniumTower). Photo Credit: BECK DIEFENBACH/REUTERS

Morris is a member of eight high-end country clubs in Washington, New Jersey and California. These courses—including the Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, New Jersey and the Olympic Club in San Francisco—are expensive. His favorite is the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in the suburbs of Virginia, with an entrance fee of more than $100,000.

As for the source of the golf club dues, Morris told his friends many different explanations. One version is that he will help the Clinton Foundation (Bill, Hillary and CHelsea Clinton Foundation) organized fundraising activities to pay for the membership. Another version is that these memberships are rewards from the company.

A spokesperson for the Clinton Foundation said that he has never had such an agreement with Morris. A Roche spokesperson also said that the company has never awarded Morris Golf Club membership as a reward.

In June 2011, Morris spent $3.1 million in cash to buy the Georgian Estate on the east coast of Maryland. The mansion covers an area of ​​730 square meters, with six bedrooms, eight bathrooms, a swimming pool, a hot tub and two Sea-Doo private jet skis. Friends said that Morris called this place "Duffy bought the house."

In 2012, Morris bought a mahogany speedboat and docked it outside the mansion. He named this privately-made speedboat Mulligan. He then bought a motorboat to practice docking on his private dock.

As for how the ship came, Morris’ explanation differs from person to person. He told some people that he had won it after buying a $50,000 raffle ticket at a charity auction; he told others that the ship was originally made by someone else, but it went bankrupt before it was delivered. Then he took over.

Because of his very effective lobbying, the company also gave him a relatively independent departmental budget of 3 million US dollars, without the need for prior approval of Gene Technology.

spokesperson for the James Beard Foundation (James Beard Foundation), a well-known culinary arts organization, said Morris joined the Beard board after spending $150,000 under the name of the Gene Technology Foundation.

In early 2015, the Morris family appeared on the Washington Post because they hired top chefs to take charge of the family dinner. Morris told a friend that in January this year, he spent $10,000 to invite the celebrity chef David Chang to have a dinner at home, the founder of Momofuku in New York City.

Playing with politics

The law stipulates that companies must publicly use the expenses of lobbying members of Congress and senior officials of the executive branch. According to this standard, Gene Technology spent approximately US$5 million on lobbying activities in 2015.

In fact, in order to agitate the people and promote business development, many companies, including Gene Technology, spend far more money on promotional activities.

Morris adopted this strategy very early, and he belongs to the most radical category. He invests money in television and online advertising, opinion polls and focus groups. He sponsored non-profit organizations and asked them to write appeals; he organized patient group activities and asked medical insurance companies to reimburse Gene Technology's drugs.

This kind of under-the-counter overhead does not have to be made public. In short, under the leadership of Morris, Gene Technology spends $50 million a year to influence policy.

He also controls the political fundraising account so that he can send money directly to members of Congress who are mutually beneficial.

A worker prepares Tamiflu capsules at the Roche factory in Switzerland. Image source: ZUMAPRESS.COM

Campaign donation records show that from 2005 to 2015, Morris had nearly 3 million US dollars in political donations. Roche and Gene Technology to Democrats and Republican GovernorsThe association donated more than US$1 million.

From 2003 to 2015, Morris and his wife (a former teacher) made personal campaign donations of up to 125,000 US dollars. The couple provided donations to nearly 50 congressmen, most of whom were Democrats. Among them, Hillary received the most donations.

With the help of Morris, the Washington trade group-Biotechnology Innovation Organization (Biotechnology Innovation Organization) hired Hillary Clinton to speak at its 2014 annual conference. Records show that Hillary's appearance fee this time is $335,000. Public records show that Morris arranged for the Ros Family Foundation and Gene Technology to donate US$110,000 to US$275,000 to the Clinton Foundation.

In 2010, Morris organized a fundraiser for a Democratic congressman at the Bayonne Golf Club in New Jersey. Former President Clinton was also there at the time. After a round of golf, Morris invited the donor to meet and take photos with Clinton.

Gene Technology donated $750,000 for the inauguration celebration of the second term of former President Barack Obama in February 2013. A few days before the swearing-in ceremony, Morris and his wife Tracy attended the White House party hosted by the Obamas. On the day of the inauguration, the Morriss sat on the VIP seats in the front row of the White House to watch the parade.

On March 6, 2014, at a White House event hosted by President Obama, Morris (first from left) is enjoying the performance of singer Patti LaBelle

The following year, Morris was invited to participate in the White House concert. Performers were Aretha Franklin, Patti LaBelle, Ariana Grande and Melissa Etheridge. The visitor log showed that about 200 people attended the entire event, including President Obama, First Lady Michelle and several cabinet secretaries. Morris and his wife were seated in the front row.

Behind the scenes manipulation

Morris does not need to disclose most of his expenses. The facts proved that he did not want others to understand his expenses.

In 2005, Morris began to work with the advertising company National Media and Washington media consultant James Courtovich (James Courtovich). Katowi worked for National Media and also opened two other companies, including Sphere Consulting LLC.

The financial transaction records reviewed by The Wall Street Journal show that from 2005 to 2015, these three companies had millions of dollars in consulting business dealings with Gene Technology. The records also show that National Media and the two companies under the name of Katowei have transferred millions of dollars to Morris' personal account.

"Morris systematically misappropriated company funds for personal gain, and deliberately concealed his actions." A written statement from Gene Technology wrote. Gene Technology did not say how much money was paid to these companies in ten years, or how much the company paid for Morris.

People familiar with the matter said that the contract value between Gene Technology and the three companies was as high as 3 million US dollars in a few years.

Documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal show that in 2012, Morris hired Kotowi’s Sphere Consulting company for $880,000 to work with the think tank.Policy work. Gene Technology paid $440,000 to Sphere on November 1 and December 1.

On December 10, Courtovich’s company transferred $448,986.22 to Morris’ personal account.

Kautuowei and Sphere Consulting’s lawyer Eric Lewis said that the payment was for reimbursement of Morris’ personal payments, and Morris said that the money was for his family The Washington think tank-American Enterprise Institute (American Enterprise Institute) held activities in advance. Lewis provided the "Wall Street Journal" with Morris's AEI invoice to Sphere in the amount of US$447,986.22.

AEI spokesperson stated that the invoice was forged.

Evan AEI invoice submitted by Morris. Image source: COURTESY ERIC LEWIS

Lewis said: “Sphere was shocked that customers provided forged documents, which not only deceived the client’s company, but also deceived us.” The standard practice of National Media and Sphere is that the accounting team will Review and approve Morris' receipt before issuing a reimbursement check. He also said that the US Internal Revenue Service has also randomly reviewed Sphere's transactions.

"Sphere has always believed that these documents were not only provided by Morris for reimbursement, but also provided to the accounting team of Gene Technology as required." Lewis said.

Gene Technology said in a statement: "We have no information to indicate that these reimbursements are legal, and in any case, we will not authorize suppliers to reimburse our employees for related business expenses."

There are also records showing that Gene Technology paid US$2 million to National Media for public affairs consulting and strategic consulting. A few days after receiving the last US$750,000, NationalMedia remitted US$303,048.95 to Hacker Boat Company on April 6, 2012, and it was this company that customized Morris’s Ligen" speedboat.

National Media Vice President Evan Tracey (Evan Tracey) said that Morris had submitted an invoice for the payment, saying it was in the Hacking Ship Company as a "Democratic Attorney General Group" "The cost of renting venues and purchasing food for events.

The Democratic Attorneys General Association and the yacht manufacturing company both stated that the so-called activities are pure fiction. A spokesperson for the hacker company stated that Morris’ yacht cost was US$303,048.95.

Tracy said that National Media terminated its partnership with Gene Technology in 2012. According to people familiar with the matter, Kotowi worked with Morris in private until 2015.

Tracy said that National Media’s business with Gene Technology has "corresponding contracts, purchase orders, and clear approval and verification processes."

Sphere lawyer Lewis said: “The Sphere team (or anyone we know) has never had reason to believe that these payments will be something other than reimbursement.”

Disappeared in fame

In January 2015, the Democratic Party announced that Morris would join the 2016 Democratic National Convention Fundraising Committee.

Morris told his colleagues that he might not be a lobbyist anymore. He said he has a plan to exit: to raise enough money for the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign, and then he will become the US ambassador, perhaps to be stationed in Switzerland, where Roche's global headquarters is.

In May 2015, Gene Technology Corporation received an anonymous letter reporting that there was a problem with Morris' financial arrangements, so the company conducted an internal investigation.

On July 8, 2015, Frederick Kentz, Chief Compliance Officer and Head of Legal Affairs of Gene Technology, informed Morris that he would fly from San Francisco to Washington, Meet with him the next day. He asked Morris to arrange the meeting schedule.

That night, Morris and his wife organized a fundraiser for Democratic candidates for the Virginia State Assembly at home. After the event, Morris and Virginia Governor McAuliffe were smoking cigars and drinking with several other guests in the backyard.

During the fundraising activity, Morris once revealed to some people that he was a little worried about meeting with Kens. McAuliffe said through a spokesperson that Morris did not show an annoyed look that night, and also talked about holding fundraising activities for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.

The next morning, on July 9, Morris drove a new Porsche to the office in downtown Washington and parked the car in the garage of the building.

The meeting of the two parties took place in the office of the law firm of Gene Technology. After Morris arrived, employees asked him to enter the conference room and told him that the company's investigation had found abnormal payments.

Kensi originally planned to tell Morris that he was suspended, but before he could speak, Morris suddenly left the office.

The picture shows the second round of the 2015 PGA Championship. Picture source: STEVE HELBER/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia. The picture shows the second round of the 2015 PGA Championship. Picture source: STEVE HELBER/ASSOCIATED PRESS

In the afternoon, Morris's wife saw that he had no news, so they called him and sent text messages. He replied to the text message, saying that he was in a meeting.

Morris went to the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia. The staff of the club are preparing for the upcoming professional golf tournament. The organizer is Tiger Woods and Gene Technology is the sponsor.

The day before the PGA competition, a charity event was held here, and Morris got a chance that everyone would admire. The organizers arranged for him to tee off with professional golfer Erik Compton (Erik Compton), who started taking Genetech drugs after a heart transplant.

Twilight will be late, and his wife is starting to worry. Morris did not return her call. Relatives and friends found his Porsche in the garage. Someone suggested that she check his debit and credit card consumption records online.

She discovered that her husband had a deal with Loudoun Guns Inc. in Leesburg, Virginia that day. She called him again, but he didn't answer. She givesHe sent a voice mail, telling him everything will be fine. She sent him pictures of the two children, and then called the police.

After playing golf, Morris walked into the locker room, took a shower, and put on the blue jacket of the club. He ordered a steak dinner in the clubhouse and invited everyone in the restaurant to have a drink.

Morris called for a bottle of Patus. At sunset, he walked to a quiet corner hundreds of yards away from the clubhouse, where members sometimes came to smoke cigars by the fire pit. He sat down in an Adirondack chair for a drink, then texted his wife, telling her the contact information of his accountant, financial planner and life insurance company.

Morris, who was 38 years old at the time, put a piece of paper on his knee and said "Don't save me." He took out his newly bought revolver and fired a shot at the fire pit. Then put the gun into his mouth.

At about 10 pm, the waiter of the club found his body.

Reporter Brody Mullins

December 18, 2019 15:59 CST update

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