Posted on 12/23/2009 9:17:21 AM PST by markomalley
A retired Florida couple would appear an unlikely source to have given $83,000 in campaign donations over a five-year period to members of Congress from all over the country.
Both in their 80s, they lived in a $118,000 Daytona Beach house they didn't own; they each voted only twice since 1992; and they seemed to lack the financial means to make the contributions.
Yet, both were listed as having given dozens of donations to lawmakers, nearly half of which went to members of the House Appropriations Committee - legislators who were especially important to their then-son-in-law, superlobbyist Paul Magliocchetti, who owned the house in which they lived.
Mr. Magliocchetti is now the focus of a federal investigation into whether he made illegal campaign contributions by reimbursing people, or "straw donors," who made contributions in their names to his favored candidates - helping the lobbyist avoid federal limits on his personal donations.
In addition to the elderly couple, The Washington Times has identified several other campaign contributors related to or associated with Mr. Magliocchetti who also do not appear to have had the financial means to make the donations listed in their names or who gave to candidates to whom they normally would not be expected to contribute.
Mr. Magliocchetti is a one-time congressional staffer who worked with Rep. John P. Murtha, Pennsylvania Democrat, on the powerful House Appropriations defense subcommittee in the 1980s. He built his company, the PMA Group, into one of the 10 top-grossing lobbying firms in Washington before it imploded after federal agents raided it and his home in November 2008.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
What a great way to round-trip your kickbacks.
Shake down your constituants, give the money to your lobbiests, who then straw dog contributions back to you.
Cold Cash Jefferson could have used this ploy very effectively, rather hiding his stash in the freezer.
Murtha still remains a POS!
Like the Chinese dishwashers who donated to Hillary..
There is a much broader scheme out there, in that hundreds of thousands of inactive credit cards are charged, the donation is sent to various cmpaigns, and before the billing comes due, the account is reimbursed the amount which had been "donated", funds coming from a large and shadowy organization that is trying to build the image of hundreds of thousands of small "contributors" to specific campaigns. It is a way of laundering money from very large special interests to candidates while geting around the limitations on the amount of donations from any one individual.
An organization with access to millions of credit account numbers all over the world, and endless deep pockets to replenish the takings, could get away with this for several years.
Ahhh, yes...another Hsu drops, this time on Murtha ; )
This is a long read but worth it. Murtha, Moran and Visclosky, as well as the lobbyist, should burn for this. The fact that the feds are involved should make this interesting. Grab the popcorn.
Murtha and Magliocchetti are friends and worked together at one time. It is a stretch to say Murtha didn't know about large donations coming from Magliocchetti's relatives to pay him off for favorably treatment of Magliocchetti's clients in regards to earmarks and no bid contracts, doubtful it will be proven though.
To be added to the Murtha Watch ping list please notify me.
Ban out of state contributions now. If they aren't in your district, tough cookies.
Many of us have tried to explain how dangerous ACORN & it’s minions are...
Nothing the Dems do is a surprise anymore.
My internal shock mechanism is on overload.
holy donuts batman...
Get to know candidate Col. Frank Ryan USMC ret’d from PA, running for the House.
Thanks for the ping and link, HC.
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