Probe examines Mollohan Real Estate ties to McCabe-Henley's

The article discloses the relationship of Laura Kuhns husband's employer to the Waldo Hotel in Clarksburg and to the real estate deal that created the ISR facility. What follows is an excerpt.

"In April 2000, McCabe Land bought the historic but dilapidated Waldo Hotel in downtown Clarksburg for $150,000. Seven months later, McCabe Land sold the hotel to Vandalia for $197,000.

Boehm said McCabe Land gained a quick $47,000 profit, but McCabe rejects that notion.

After slight renovations and upkeep of the property, McCabe Land may have earned $20,000 from the sale, McCabe said.

"We didn't make much, given the significant amount of work involved in the property," said McCabe.

McCabe defended the hotel transaction. He said Mollohan staffers asked him to buy and hold the property for him until the congressman could garner enough funds so that Vandalia could purchase it.

Mollohan worried someone would buy the 100,000-square-foot hotel and raze it, McCabe said.

"We did it as an accommodation to the congressman in helping him save a historic building," said McCabe. "Some may view it as if we're friends of the local congressman. Rather, I see it as an example of the trust the business community has in the congressman in preserving historic properties."

The transaction is just one of several examples of ties between McCabe-Henley employees and Vandalia.

Donald Kuhns, the husband of Laura Kuhns, works as a sales associate at McCabe-Henley."