"Grossman taps donors with state business; Quietly raised thousands despite transparency pledge" by Frank Phillips, Globe Staff / February 6, 2011
State Treasurer Steven Grossman, who won election last fall on a platform of transparency and reform, personally solicited campaign donations for the state Democratic Party last year from lawyers and executives of firms that now have business before him, seek treasury work, or are regulated by his office.
Out with the old, in with the same old.... sigh.
In turn, Grossman received hundreds of thousands of dollars in financial support from the party.
The link between Grossman and contributions to the Democrats recently came to light when his political committee detailed in campaign finance filings the extensive financial support it received from the party....
Both Grossman and the state party said they were unable to provide a list of all the contributions he personally sought. A Globe review of party contributors revealed a host of donors who do business, are seeking contracts, or are regulated by the treasurer’s office. In some cases, Grossman acknowledged going to them for funds.
Among the funds Grossman helped bring in for the state party were thousands of dollars from executives of Scientific Games, the gaming firm that has a $12 million-a-year contract to supply instant tickets to the state Lottery, which Grossman now chairs.
See: Massachusetts' Mega-Looting Lottery
I'll be right with you, readers, just let me wait to pay for my Globe while my fellow citizen orders up a role of those rip-off rub-offs.
He also solicited contributions from executives of liquor distributors, which are regulated by his office, and from at least one law firm seeking work with the treasury on pension fund litigation.
Drunk on power already.
Neither Grossman nor the party broke any campaign finance laws, but they used what campaign finance reform advocates say is a loophole that allows politicians to skirt disclosure laws and limits on contributions to candidates.
In an interview, Grossman acknowledged that he made numerous calls to potential contributors but said his fund-raising was part of a joint effort with Governor Deval Patrick and other party leaders to build Democratic coffers for the fall campaign.
“Nobody should have any illusion that they would get special treatment from Steve Grossman for contributions to my campaign or the Democratic Party,’’ he said.
You wanna win reelection?
The Democratic State Committee revealed in its year-end report last month that it spent more than $728,000 on Grossman’s campaign, most of it on radio and television advertising in the final weeks of the race.
Suzanne Bump, the Democratic state auditor candidate who won a tough race against a Republican opponent, received no financial help, records show.
See: Bumping the Incumbent Auditors
No such luck.
Also see: Misogynist Massachusetts
Yeah, I'm kind of sick of the sanctimonious, self-righteous political culture in this
Attorney General Martha Coakley got $46,890 in assistance from the party, and Secretary of State William F. Galvin received nothing....
But some of the biggest bills — $620,000 the party gave to Grossman’s media consultant, Joe Slade White & Co. — were paid about the same time the donations were deposited into the party’s account.
Grossman said the party determined that his candidacy was particularly vulnerable because Republican Karyn Polito had the resources to mount a major advertising campaign. (Grossman, however, has contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to his own political campaigns.)
Related: Treasuring My Vote
“If the state party hadn’t leveled the playing field, we may well have ended up with a Republican in the treasurer’s office,’’ he said.
That and auditor would have been nice -- and what this state needed.
Instead we get a Democratic party hack to cover up the stench of one-party corruption in this state.
State Democratic Party chairman John Walsh said, “I had to make a decision on how we used our resources. Polito was up early and with a lot of ads.’’
In Bump’s race, Walsh said, the party used its organization to help.
But the fund-raising structure raises questions about Grossman’s vow, both as a candidate and as treasurer, to be open, candid, and transparent. Grossman said that Leonard Barrack, the lead partner in the firm, is a longtime friend who worked with him in Jewish philanthropy and Democratic Party fund-raising. Grossman said he had no knowledge of the firm’s interest in contracting with the state pension fund board, which he chairs. But he was adamant that the donations and his relationship with Barrack will make no difference in his decision-making.
At least two executives at liquor wholesalers — whose businesses are regulated by the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission, which is under the treasurer’s office — donated to the party at Grossman’s urging, Grossman said. Robert Epstein, president of Horizon Beverage, gave $5,000 on Sept. 29, while Harvey Allen, the chief executive of M.S. Walker Inc., gave $2,500 six days earlier....
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Related: MSM Monitor Left Feeling Blue About Massachusetts
For a whole bunch of reasons.
And looking back at the last guy:
"SEC looks at Cahill, Goldman Sachs link; Subpoenas focus on ex-treasurer, aides, bank official" by Frank Phillips, Globe Staff / January 24, 2011
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has delivered subpoenas to the state treasurer’s office in a wide-ranging request for documents concerning dealings between investment banking giant Goldman Sachs and former treasurer Timothy P. Cahill, onetime top staff members, and former campaign aides, according to an official briefed on the document request.
The agency’s subpoenas, which seek e-mails, phone records, schedules, files, and memorandums, come just over a month after Goldman Sachs removed itself from two state bond deals in Massachusetts following the disclosure that a vice president at the firm, Neil Morrison, was active in Cahill’s 2010 gubernatorial campaign, which could violate federal securities regulations. Morrison had previously served as a top deputy to Cahill in the treasurer’s office.
The SEC served the papers just before the close of business Friday, catching the new treasurer, Steven Grossman, and his staff off guard....
Related: Irish Speaker Likes Playing the Ponies
SEC released the stuff on a Friday just before the close of bus.... sigh.
Morrison, a former Taunton city councilor, joined the Treasury staff after Cahill was elected to his first term in 2002, rising to become first deputy treasurer. He left in 2006 and joined the Swiss banking firm UBS. He was hired by Goldman Sachs in July 2008.
Oh, he worked at UBS, too.
Related: UBS Makes Out Like Bandits in Massachusetts
UBS Hits Massachusetts Lottery
UBS Cuts Massachusetts a Break
How nice.
The decision by the water-pollution control board to give Goldman Sachs the bond work last spring came just months after the SEC had charged Goldman, one of the most influential and prestigious investment firms in the country, with fraud in a federal suit. The regulators argued that Goldman’s investment banking division had created a system that allowed the company to bet against the mortgage securities it had sold to some of its clients.
Yup, they knowingly sold s*** to local and state governments, pension funds and the like, and made money on both sides.
It's the most massive case of fraud the world has ever seen, and yet they doing bidness with the state!
In July, the firm paid a $550 million fine to settle the suit.
Chump change to those robbers.
It also launched an advertising campaign to repair its image.
Excuse me, readers, I need to use the toilet.
Although some state agencies were concerned about contracting with the company, Goldman Sachs had also landed work last year managing bond sales for the MBTA and Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency. But late last year, Goldman Sachs, concerned about the revelations that Morrison was involved in the political campaign, suddenly withdrew.
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more--" And just think: you will be picking up his legal bills, taxpayers of Massachusetts.
More about Morrison: Globe's Governor's Race: State Treasurer Didn't Pay His Taxes
And how much has Goldman picked us for?
"Firm fired ex-Cahill aide over outside activities" by Frank Phillips, Globe Staff / January 25, 2011
Goldman Sachs, which has worked on $20.75 billion in state general obligation bond issuances since 2000. The firm has been under a microscope after the SEC charged it with fraud in the sale of mortgage-backed securities. The company paid a $550 million fine in July and has since sought to restore its reputation....
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Related: Bonding With the State
Also see: Counsel hired in treasury inquiry
Globe Editorial Treasurer’s duty is to the state; fundraising for Dems must end
