Torricelli war chest not for Lautenberg

He may have parted with his political career but, leading Democrats say, Sen. Robert G. Torricelli is determined not to part with more than $5 million in campaign cash.

Several sources close to the retiring U.S. senator say only a small fraction of Torricelli's money will be spent to boost his Democratic stand-in, former three-term Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg, who took over Torricelli's damaged campaign two weeks ago.

"Bob's already done more than his share for other Democrats; now he's thinking of himself,'' said one former Torricelli aide. "Frank Lautenberg is a millionaire. He's got more than enough money to easily win this campaign.''

More than $3 million of Torricelli's campaign fund, the sources said, will be spent on outstanding expenses from the aborted campaign and legal bills connected to the U.S. Justice Department's four-year probe of the senator's 1996 campaign.

Torricelli plans to pump another large chunk of money, perhaps $1 million or more, into a new political action committee. The federally registered PAC will make contributions to Democrats across the country and allow the 51-year-old Torricelli to maintain influence in political circles as he tries to build a private-sector consulting career.

Of the remaining cash, sources said, only a portion will likely end up in the campaign coffers of Lautenberg and other Democrats around the country running in close Senate races.

One Democratic official who has been close to Torricelli throughout his career said the Franklin Lakes native realizes he "must make a public gesture toward Lautenberg, even though he hates the idea.''

"Bob has pledged to help the Lautenberg campaign and he will, but he doesn't have to like it,'' the official said. "But it won't be a lot.''

Torricelli and Lautenberg served in the Senate from 1997 through 2001, but often clashed on matters of policy and personal style. In one highly publicized shouting match witnessed by the entire Senate Democratic caucus, a furious Torricelli threatened to cut off part of the senior senator's anatomy. Lautenberg and his staff told reporters privately that the brash, publicity-seeking Torricelli was an embarrassment to the Senate.

Torricelli's office declined to comment Wednesday on how the senator will distribute his campaign money.

"A final decision has yet to be made,'' said Debra DeShong, the senator's spokeswoman, who reaffirmed Torricelli's pledge to help the Lautenberg campaign. "Senator Torricelli is supporting the Lautenberg campaign."

Torricelli made his promise to Lautenberg in a brief phone conversation last week. Aides for both men said it was the first time the two had spoken in more than a year. Although Torricelli promised to support Lautenberg, aides said, it was never clear what he would do. The topic of money never came up, the aides said.

Tom Shea, a spokesman for Lautenberg, said his candidate will raise enough money to win, with or without Torricelli's dollars.

"It's Bob's money and he can do with it what he wants,'' Shea said. "It would be nice to get some of it, but we'll get by without it. The bottom line is that we're going to have the money we need in this campaign.''

Lautenberg, a Paterson native who became wealthy building an automated payroll business, has contributed millions to his own campaigns since first entering politics in 1982. He plans to spend up to $3 million of his own money in the race against Republican Douglas R. Forrester of West Windsor.

Under federal election law, Torricelli has no obligation to redistribute the money.

"He can give it back to the contributors. He can give it to other candidates. He can keep it in his account forever,'' said Ian Stirton, a spokesman for the Federal Election Commission. "About the only thing he cannot do is divert the money for his personal use.''

Stirton said there is ample precedent allowing Torricelli to use campaign contributions for legal expenses. A number of candidates, he said, including former presidential candidate Paul Tsongas, dipped into their contributions to defend themselves against criminal allegations arising from their political campaigns. Other politicians have used their campaign accounts to defend themselves against allegations raised in the media, he said.

"Torricelli would be far from the first politician to pay criminal lawyers from his campaign,'' Stirton said.

Just how much Torricelli owes his lawyers is unclear. Figures released this week by the senator's office show Torricelli paid lawyers $33,000 from his legal defense fund between July 1 and Sept. 30 of this year. Torricelli's office said it did not have copies of the fund's most recent quarterly report.

In the past 3½ years, reports show, Torricelli has paid more than $3 million to lawyers defending him or his aides against allegations of improper fund raising in the 1996 campaign. The U.S. Department of Justice dropped its investigation in January without filing charges, referring the matter to the Senate Ethics Committee. The panel's public admonition contributed to Torricelli's departure from the Senate race.

Advising Torricelli has been a galaxy of criminal attorneys, including Robert Bauer, managing partner of the Perkins Coie firm based in Washington. Bauer's firm, which represented Torricelli before the ethics panel, has received more than $1 million from Torricelli's campaign committee and the legal defense fund established by the senator in 1999.

It is also unclear what debts and obligations Torricelli still carries from his abortive reelection run. In a report filed this week, Torricelli's campaign reported outstanding debts and obligations of only $21,152 as of Sept. 30. Although the senator's office said there were a number of obligations not reflected in the report, it could not supply details.

Sources close to Torricelli said the campaign has obligations to various fund-raising and media consultants. Recent campaign finance reports show that Torricelli has hired a number of prominent consultants outside of New Jersey.

He also has hired several New Jersey-based consultants, including his ex-wife, Susan Holloway, who has received more than $48,000 this year from Torricelli's campaign and other Democratic fund-raising committees tied to Torricelli. Holloway is an assistant treasurer of New Jersey Senate 2002, a federally registered PAC that collects large, loosely regulated "soft money" corporate contributions.

"Susan Holloway may be the most successful national Democratic fund-aiser in the U.S.," DeShong said. "She met and surpassed every fund-raising goal in this cycle."

This week, New Jersey Senate 2002 reported having raised and spent almost $1.1 million this year. The fund had only $78,000 on hand as of Sept. 30, the day Torricelli withdrew from the race.

Some leading Democrats say privately that party leaders from Trenton to Washington are furious with Torricelli's reluctance thus far to part with any campaign cash. They say Torricelli's millions are needed not only in the Lautenberg-Forrester race, but in close contests in other states that could determine control of the Senate.

It is ironic, they point out, that Torricelli, who in 2000 raised more than $100 million for Democratic candidates, is undermining one of his biggest accomplishments - giving his party parity in the Senate.

"Bob Torricelli remains, as ever, a complex and maddening figure," one top Democrat said. He helped us win the Senate. Now he may be helping us lose it."

Regardless of how the election comes out....ya gotta LOVE THIS!!!!!!!!!!! Maybe Doug ( Forrester ) should ask the Torch for a campaign contribution......( giggle )....

He's a crook. What did they expect? Once a crook always a crook. So now he's going to set himself up as the chairman of this PAC he is setting up and pay himself a big salary. There ought to be a law against this type of self dealing, but of course there probably isn't.

"About the only thing he cannot do is divert the money for his personal use.''

Can he claim the interest?...On $5,000,000.00, that would be a tidy sum, no?

What a dick.

FMCDH

Maybe he'll have enough left over to squire another rich man's wife. That seems to be his style.

There's a basic premise here that it is acceptable to use campaign donations in order to feather your own bed. Why is it that some campaign donations for influence are "bad" while it's O.K. for Toricelli to wield political influence by controlling this money?

Maybe Laut should have jimmied the polls initially to make it look like more of a contest so that the Torch would have had to give a few bucks to 'save the Senate for the DemocRATs!'

How sweet this will be if Forrester wins. Then the Torch, who cried crocodile tears that he didn't want to be blamed for the Democrats losing the Senate WILL BE BLAMED for the Dems losing, because he didn't pony over his dough.

This alone should drive the Pubbies to the polls!

It reminds me of how greedy the Mafia is for money. If a Mafia don is cheated, he gets even. Generosity only happens when the return on the investment is excellent.

And I don't think we are too far from the Mafia when we speak of Demon_rats in New Jersey.

Good for Torch! And to think that I didn't give him credit for having principles.

i remember when i was a small boy that someone said when ex-gov jimmy davis was trying to make a comeback, he was asked...gov..do u think u can win....davis replied...don't have to win, there's damn good money in running.....i did not personally hear this conversation but it was a common story back then.....fact or fiction..i'm sure it represents the mindset of lots of pols.

Tonight, I heard Doug Forrester on the Bob Grant show and afterwards, Mr. Grant seemed very upbeat about Forrester. I pray that he wins. Forrester said that "Lausenberg"
was afraid to debate him. I hope Lausenber gets his a$$ kicked.

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