How a millionaire slumlord got sweetheart government deals to maintain armed forces housing and then left them to rot

John Picerne is a hereditary one-percenter whose contribution to his family legacy of "real estate development" was to spend millions on lobbying, which landed him millions more in government loans earmarked for taking over the maintenance of 26,000 units of on-base military housing in 13 locations, with the repayment of the loans coming straight out of enlisted personnel's paychecks.

Despite all that public largesse, Picerne's company, Corvias Group, did not live up to its promises: instead, it let the houses to rot, filling up with vermin and toxic mold, in buildings so ramshackle that soldiers' children have had their bedroom ceilings collapse on them while they slept. Critical infrastructure -- like pedestrian overpasses to help kids cross busy roads safely -- were never built.

All along, Corvias's profits soared, with Picerne's payday heading toward the billion-dollar mark -- even as they scaled back maintenance. Meanwhile Picerne has bought a 100-acre Irish estate with two mansions, a Palm Beach mansion, a six-bedroom neo-Georgian in Providence, a second Rhode Island home at the beach, and a luxury yacht, and had them redecorated by the Kardashian's celebrity designer, whose flourishes include exotic taxidermy (an alligator wrestling with a snake), custom marble black-and-white floors, and other tasteful elements for the discerning looter capitalist.

Picerne's fixer is Senator Jack Reed [D-RI], who is now the ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Thousands of military families have signed petitions begging to have their homes brought up to a decent, livable standard -- meanwhile, some have become disabled by the poor air quality and other hazards in their Corvias homes.