Andre Carson's Dirty Money

U.S. Rep. Andre Carson raised more money from Democratic activist Marla Stevens than any other Democratic politician. Stevens and her partner gave more than $25,000 to Carson's campaign committee before the FBI caught up with the pair and charged them with stealing $6 million from Aviva (formerly Indianapolis Life Insurance Co.). When this flap arose last year, Carson, through a congressional spokesman, denied knowing the two women despite their long history of supporting his grandmother, U.S. Rep. Julia Carson, and Marla's history of spreading defamatory information about Carson's political opponents.

This blog chronicled Carson's nationwide quest during the 2008 special election to raise an unprecedented amount of money in the 7th congressional district race at a record pace. Carson criss-crossed the country raising money from every special interest group and lobbyist imaginable. He even allowed CAIR, an unindicted co-conspirator in the federal government's investigation of groups tied to raising funds for radical Muslim terrorists, to host a fundraiser for him in D.C. Carson was forced to return at least one contribution when it was discovered that one of the contributors was linked to Muslim terrorists.

An equally unlikely fundraiser for Carson is a former top aide to former U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay. According to That's My Congress website, Tim Rupli, a lobbyist for payday lenders and other banking interest groups, hosted a fundraiser at his D.C. townhouse on March 24 of last year for Carson. "Rep. Andre Carson was the beneficiary of a fundraiser at the Rupli townhouse, for which his campaign committee did not pay expenses," the public interest site reports. "Rep. Carson is a member of the House Financial Services Committee that Tim Rupli is paid to lobby on behalf of banks, credit card corporations and payday lenders." Almost 37% of the fundraisers with which Rupli feted members of Congress involved members of the Financial Services Committee.

Carson has also accepted $10,000 from House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Charlie Rangel's National Leadership PAC. Rangel is the subject of multiple investigations by the House Ethics Committee, largely due to his failure to report income he earned on various income-producing properties. According to the Washington Examiner, a company that donated $1 million to a school in New York that will bear Rangel's name received lucrative tax breaks from Rangel's tax law-writing committee. Rangel has even been accused of using his official government stationery to solicit campaign contributions.

Don't expect our Indianapolis media to examine Carson's campaign contributions. If something involves a conservative, Republican politician like U.S. Rep. Dan Burton or U.S. Rep. Steve Buyer, the news media is all over the story. When it comes to examining Carson, the news media applies the standard one would expect to be applied to a special needs child, which essentially means he gets no scrutiny at all.

Politicians' Reply On Durham Contributions: The Money Is Spent

It looks like most Republicans have decided to take the view that they've already spent the money Tim Durham lavished on them so they feel they are under no obligation to return any contributions based on a story in today's Star by Heather Gillers. Gov. Daniels, who raised a record amount of money in his re-election campaign and who has received at least $200,000 from Durham, took that view. Marion Co. Prosecutor Carl Brizzi only plans to give up $3,500 he has received more recently from Durham. The $160,000 he earlier received from Durham was spent during his 2006 re-election campaign he says. The House Republican Campaign Committee has made no decision on the $59,580 it accepted from Durham. House Republican Leader Brian Bosma dodged questions about the $10,000 he personally accepted from Durham. The Indiana Republican Party says it has spent the $211,200 it got from Durham. There are exceptions. Sen. Mike Delph and Attorney General Greg Zoeller plan to set aside their contributions, awaiting the investigation of Durham to unfold. Marion Co. Sheriff candidate Tim Motsinger ended his campaign and says he is dissolving a $200,000 loan he got from Durham.

Not surprisingly, Marion Co. GOP Chairman Tom John takes a very dismissive view of the whole matter. He works for Ice Miller as a lobbyist where Durham once worked and devotes his energy to landing plum appointments for his new wife's family members and government contracts for her business. "Marion County Republican Central Committee Chairman Tom John said he had no concerns about Durham's leadership of GIRFCO, which he said entailed making calls to donors seeking support," Gillers writes. "He said neither the Marion County Republican Central Committee, which has received $16,200 from Durham since 2003, nor GIRFCO, which has received $25,000, plans to return the money." The truth is that the party is broke and has nothing to return.

There seems to be consensus that Brizzi faces the most difficult dilemma because of his personal and business ties to Durham. Gillers writes:

Brizzi not only received a large donation -- $160,000 -- when he ran for re-election in 2006, he also trusted Durham to be his campaign finance chairman, which entailed seeking contributions and hosting a fundraiser. Brizzi has received $3,500 in cash donations from Durham since.

Then there is his personal and business relationship with Durham.
Brizzi has called Durham "one of my best friends." Durham footed the bill -- $4,500 -- to take Brizzi to the 2007 Super Bowl in Miami.

Brizzi even appeared in a YouTube video plugging Durham's son's campaign for high school office -- joking that young Tim Durham is "single-handedly responsible for bringing down crime in Indianapolis." The video starts with the aspiring teen politician pretending to take a bribe from a friend.

Brizzi's business relationship includes his decision to serve on the board of Durham's company Fair Financial, which is under investigation, and his ownership of what Brizzi once reported was more than $10,000 worth of stock in another Durham company, CLST Holdings, which is under scrutiny by the Securities and Exchange Commission . . .

Henry Karlson, an emeritus professor at Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis, agreed that Brizzi's relationship with Durham "could have a negative effect on his re-election if he wants to be re-elected. Particularly if he doesn't give (the money) back."

Some Republicans are asking whether Democrats, who were quick to urge Republicans to give up the money they received from Durham, should be doing the same with the money they've received from the ISTA, which has been accused of securities fraud in a lawsuit filed this past week by the Secretary of State's Securities Division and is being investigated by the FBI. The ISTA PAC pretty much bankrolled the successful political campaigns of State Reps. John Barnes, Mary Ann Sullivan and Ed DeLaney, for example. I would like nothing more than to see Democrats forced to give up the millions they have received from the ISTA, which dwarfs the contributions Durham gave to Republicans; however, I think there is a fundamental difference between the two. The ISTA contributions would appear to come from money its member teachers contribute to the statewide union organization and not from any fraud its financial arm may have committed on Indiana's school districts, which appears to amount to $24 million. If it turns out that any of those contributions were derived from its financial activities in administering health and long-term disability plans for school districts, then I would agree that those contributions should be given up.

The IBJ's Greg Andrews has a story today on the obvious. Tim Durham only appoints close friends to the boards of businesses he controls regardless of their business acumen. We already know about Marion Co. Prosecutor Carl Brizzi accepting a directorship with Fair Finance, from which he abruptly resigned after the IBJ began raising questions about the self-dealing loans Durham had the company make for his benefit. He put his buddy David Tornek, who co-owns the Touch restaurant in South Beach with Durham, on the board of CLST Holdings, which is now facing an SEC investigation. He put Dan Laikin on Fair Finance's board before he got nabbed by the SEC in a stock manipulation scheme at National Lampoon, another company controlled by Durham. Brizzi took his place on Fair Finance's board. When Brizzi left that board after a short time, Durham named his childhood friend and former WISH-TV reporter Scott McCain to take his place on the board. McCain also serves as an officer of Durham's Obsidian Enterprises. Durham helped out McCain and his wife financially when she suffered from ovarian cancer.