Meeks a member of the jet set

From the NY Times:

Money is so tight, Representative Gregory W. Meeks says, he does not have a savings account with more than a few thousand dollars in it. And yet Mr. Meeks, one of New York City’s most prominent Democrats, lives a life worthy of a jet-setter.

When he travels, he stays in luxury hotels like the Mondrian South Beach in Miami and the Ritz-Carlton in San Juan, P.R. He drives a Lexus, leased by the federal government, at a cost of $1,000 a month. He eats expensive meals at BLT Steak in Washington and Docks Oyster Bar in Manhattan, among other trendy spots.

And just a few years ago, he bought a $1 million house built for him in Queens by a local developer and campaign contributor.

Mr. Meeks forcefully defends his spending, saying demands on him by Democratic Party leaders to raise money have necessitated travel far outside his working-class Queens district.

“I do fund-raisers where the people with the money are,” he said, adding that he was very careful to honor all campaign finance laws. “I am not going to raise the money in my district that I need to be a player here in Washington.”

But his spending habits have drawn the scrutiny of ethics watchdogs and regulators, who have questioned whether Mr. Meeks is using campaign money to support a lifestyle that he otherwise could not afford. In 2008, he was fined for using campaign funds for personal expenses.