Herman Cain’s ‘lavish’ spending at National Restaurant Association drew scrutiny

The Ticket

Herman Cain is pointing fingers at Rick Perry's campaign for leaking details about harassment allegations leveled against him when he was head of the National Restaurant Association.

But as revelations keep surfacing, it seems clear that plenty of other people may have had an interest in divulging less-than-flattering details about the Republican candidate's tenure at the NRA.

As Bloomberg's Lisa Lerer reports, Cain irked some of his NRA colleagues by operating in a "free-wheeling, free-spending culture:"

Former employees of the association told Bloomberg News that work-related outings frequently featured heavy drinking as lobbyists entertained board members and lawmakers.

Cain was known for lavish spending, they said, racking up cell phone and travel bills that drew accountants' attention and angered some board members. He won over employees by giving generous raises to many, said three people who worked for or with the group and spoke on condition of anonymity.

According to Bloomberg, the group also paid for Cain to live in The Jefferson, a pricey luxury hotel near the White House, for an unspecified period of time.

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