The death blow came Wednesday when Davis' staff tracked down the private Santa Monica home where the governor posed for pictures with a campaign contributor. The positive identification of the home by the host of the 1998 event rebuffed the Simon campaign allegation that the photos of Davis accepting a check were taken in the state Capitol, which would have been a violation of state law.
The house, with an abstract painting by artist David Amico, belonged in 1998 to Bruce Karatz, chairman and CEO of KB Home. The company was then called Kaufman and Broad. In the photos, "the door behind Gray leads into his (Karatz') den," said company vice president Larry Gotlieb. "(Karatz) recognized the door that leads into his den and he recognized the Amico painting."
Karatz has since sold the 8,451-square-foot house. But Gotlieb said Karatz still owns the distinctive painting that is shown in the photos. Gotlieb said Karatz hosted a campaign meeting on the morning of Jan. 31, 1998, the day the photos were taken. Gotlieb said he also attended the meeting.
Further supporting the Davis' account, campaign records filed with the secretary of state show that Kaufman and Broad gave Davis a $1,663 non-monetary contribution by hosting a "breakfast meeting" that morning.
Exactly...now the painting has been found, but apparently it is "moveable", since:
Karatz has since sold the 8,451-square-foot house. But Gotlieb said Karatz still owns the distinctive painting that is shown in the photos.
Therefore, the painting could have been hanging just about anywhere in 1998, and we have only Karatz's word (he the beneficiary of the "kick-front")that in fact the photo is of the interior of his previous residence. To prove his veracity:
we need a high resolution scan of the view over Lt. Gov. Davis' right shoulder.
Or perhaps more "corroborating photos" of the house, its surroundings, and the campaign event in question. Do we see Davis et. al. offering this proof?!
Seriesly, Simon needs to hammer Davis on kick-fronts and other of his mendacious and quite likely illegal political practices, but it's nice to have a "conspiracy theory" to go along with it...and after all, who knows? ;)