Fattest Cat

B O S T O N, July 28, 2004 — As Sens. John Kerry and John Edwards arrived in Boston today for the Democratic National Convention, so did the California man who is their single biggest contributor.

He is Stephen Bing, a wealthy film producer who, with little fanfare, has managed to steer a total of more than $16 million of his money to Democratic candidates and the supposedly independent groups that support them.

"To most of the people who track money and politics, they're like, who the hell is Steve Bing?" said Chuck Lewis, founder of the Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit, nonpartisan watchdog organization.

Bing is perhaps best known for sparking a tabloid frenzy when he publicly expressed doubt that he was the father of actress Elizabeth Hurley's baby. (A paternity test proved he was indeed the father.) He repeatedly has refused to say why he is funneling millions of dollars to the Democrats.

"We can identify who the big donors are, but how much do we really know about any of them?" he said.

In fact, Democratic Party officials said they knew nothing about the man who law enforcement officials tell ABC News is Bing's friend and business partner — Dominic Montemarano, a New York Mafia figure currently in federal prison on racketeering charges.

Montemarano has a long criminal record and is known to organized crime investigators by his street name, Donnie Shacks.

"Donnie Shacks' main activity was murder. No question about it. That was his main function for the Colombo family and for organized crime in general. He was one of the top hit men in the New York area," said Joe Coffey, a former NYPD investigator.

According to The Los Angeles Times, Bing paid Montemarano's legal fees after his most recent scrape with the law. Montemerano's lawyer said his client was an employee of Bing's.

After a recent private lunch with Democratic vice-presidential candidate Edwards, Bing also declined to answer questions about his relationship with Montemarano.

The American people have a right to know who's funding their presidential candidates and their parties," Lewis said. "The Bing situation shows us how little we really know."

Campaign reform advocates say the role of secretive big money is all a throwback to the days of Richard Nixon and the scandal that grew out of the 1972 Republican Convention.

The telephone company that helped pay the costs of that convention, ITT, later got favorable consideration on an antitrust issue, when it became the world's largest conglomerate.

"It raised a huge public outcry and led to basic reforms which said the public funds will be used to pay for these conventions, but that's the only money you can use," said Fred Wertheimer, president and founder of Democracy21.com, a nonpartisan watchdog organization.

He added: "Today, we'll have over $100 million from corporations and other special interests helping to fund these two national conventions."

For the Democrats, some $40 million in corporate money, in addition to $15 million in public funds, is underwriting their national convention — a no-expenses-spared operation.

There are even two private trains underneath the convention floor, courtesy of the railroad industry, with luxury club cars serving as cocktail and cigar lounges for top Democratic officials.

"This is money to curry favor, to gain influence," said Wertheimer. "The very thing that the Watergate laws were designed to stop."

BING, STEPHEN L
LOS ANGELES, CA 90035
INVESTOR

DCCCC NON-FEDERAL ACCOUNT #5
09/12/2000 100000.00 20036214149

DCCCE NON-FEDERAL ACCOUNT #5
06/30/1999 50000.00 99034604544

DSCC NON-FEDERAL INDIVIDUALS
06/15/1999 50000.00 99020060536

BING, STEPHEN L
LOS ANGELES, CA 90035
SCREENWRITER

DNC-NON-FEDERAL INDIVIDUAL
05/19/2000 25000.00 20035761695
10/06/2000 193000.00 20036392202
10/12/2000 192000.00 20036392202

BING, STEPHEN L
LOS ANGELES, CA 90035
SHANGRI-LA ENTERTAINMENT

DSCC/NON-FED UNINCORP ASSOC
06/10/2002 500000.00 22020493316

BING, STEPHEN L MR
LOS ANGELES, CA 90035
SCREENWRITER

DNC-NON-FEDERAL INDIVIDUAL
09/16/1999 75000.00 20035104568

BING, STEPHEN L. MR.
LOS ANGELES, CA 90035
SELF-EMPLOYED

DNC - BUILDING FUND
01/25/2002 3000000.00 22990699610

DNC-NON-FEDERAL INDIVIDUAL
01/25/2002 2000000.00 22990699386
07/31/2002 3000000.00 22992103977
08/30/2002 175000.00 22992103978

Total Soft Money: 9360000.00

Contributions to Political Committees

BING, STEPHEN
,

STABENOW, DEBBIE
VIA STABENOW FOR US SENATE
03/29/2000 1000.00 20020131371

BING, STEPHEN
ENCINO, CA 91436
SHANGRI-LA ENTERTAINMENT

COMMITTEE FOR HISPANIC CAUSES - BUILDING OUR LEADERSHIP'S DIVERSITY PAC (CHC-BOLD PAC)
05/15/2003 2500.00 23991620690

BING, STEPHEN
HOLLYWOOD, CA 90028
FREELANCE SCREENWRITER

PRYOR, MARK LUNSFORD
VIA MARK PRYOR FOR US SENATE
09/26/2002 1000.00 22020701995

BING, STEPHEN
LA, CA 90035
PRODUCER WRITER

GOTTLIEB, MICHAEL TIMOTHY
VIA MIKE GOTTLIEB FOR CONGRESS
08/05/1998 1000.00 98033670268

BING, STEPHEN
LOS ANGELES, CA 90035
INDEPENDENT

ROSS, MICHAEL AVERY
VIA MIKE ROSS FOR CONGRESS COMMITTEE
06/30/2000 1000.00 20035884461
06/30/2000 1000.00 20035884461

BING, STEPHEN
LOS ANGELES, CA 90035
INVESTOR

NELSON, BILL
VIA BILL NELSON FOR U S SENATE
03/30/2000 1000.00 20020112530

BING, STEPHEN
LOS ANGELES, CA 90035
SCREENWRITER

WASHINGTON STATE DEMOCRATIC CENTRAL COMMITTEE
10/03/2000 50000.00 20036424017

BING, STEPHEN
LOS ANGELES, CA 90035
SELF-EMPLOYED/FREELANCE SCREENWRI

EMANUEL, RAHM
VIA FRIENDS OF RAHM EMANUEL
08/30/2001 1000.00 22990368570

BING, STEPHEN
LOS ANGELES, CA 90035
SELF/PRODUCER

HILL PAC
12/11/2002 5000.00 23990270609

BING, STEPHEN
LOS ANGELES, CA 90035
SHANGRI-LA ENTERTAINMENT

FEINSTEIN, DIANNE
VIA FEINSTEIN FOR SENATE
06/29/2002 1000.00 22020561561

BING, STEPHEN
LOS ANGELES, CA 90035
STEPHEN BING/WRITER

SANCHEZ, LINDA
VIA COMMITTEE TO ELECT LINDA SANCHEZ
02/08/2002 1000.00 22990445111

BING, STEPHEN
LOS ANGELES, CA 90067
SELF EMPLOYED/WRITER

PAC FOR A CHANGE
04/30/2003 5000.00 23991428189

SOLIDARITY PAC
04/22/2003 5000.00 23991627794

BING, STEPHEN
LOS ANGELES, CA 90067
SELF-EMPLOYED/WRITER

NEW HOUSE PAC
04/15/2003 5000.00 23991626549

BING, STEPHEN
LOS ANGELES, CA 90067
WRITER

BOXER, BARBARA
VIA FRIENDS OF BARBARA BOXER
04/28/2003 2000.00 23020290815
04/28/2003 2000.00 23020290815

BING, STEPHEN L
,

CARNAHAN, MEL
VIA CARNAHAN FOR SENATE COMMITTEE
03/29/2000 1000.00 20020131689

CARPER, THOMAS R
VIA CARPER FOR SENATE
03/31/2000 1000.00 20020122128

BING, STEPHEN L
,
SCREEN WRITER

BAUCUS, MAX
VIA FRIENDS OF MAX BAUCUS
04/26/2001 1000.00 21020120724

BING, STEPHEN L
LA CANADA, CA 91011
SELF EMPLOYED/SCREENWRITER

EDWARDS, JOHN
VIA EDWARDS FOR PRESIDENT
02/01/2003 2000.00 23990751742

BING, STEPHEN L
LOS ANGELES, CA 90035
INVESTOR

AMERICANS FOR RESPONSIBLE LEADERSHIP
03/29/2000 5000.00 20035513210

ROBB, CHARLES S
VIA ROBB FOR THE SENATE
03/29/2000 1000.00 20020111371

BING, STEPHEN L
LOS ANGELES, CA 90035
WRITER/PRODUCER

KERRY, JOHN F
VIA KERRY COMMITTEE
06/30/1998 1000.00 98020172136
04/27/1999 1000.00 99020083564

BING, STEPHEN L
LOS ANGELES, CA 90077
SHANGI-LA ENTERTAINMENT

STRICKLAND, THOMAS LEE
VIA STRICKLAND FOR COLORADO INC
03/31/2002 1000.00 22020202926

BING, STEPHEN L.
LOS ANGELES, CA 90067
SELF-EMPLOYED/WRITER

DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE
04/09/2003 25000.00 23990973473

BING, STEPHEN L. MR.
LOS ANGELES, CA 90035
INFO REQUESTED / WRITER/PRODUCER

GORE, AL
VIA GORE 2000 INC
09/30/1999 1000.00 99990070117

* Jorge Cabrera : Cabrera is a convicted drug runner with connections to the Castro regime. Also known but not made public is that Cabrera was cooperating in 1995 with Castro’s DGI (Direccion General de Inteligencia or the General Directorate of Intelligence). The DGI was formed along the lines of the KGB and was once under the control of KGB General Viktor Simenov. Despite the collapse of the Soviet Union the DGI maintains close links with Russian and Chinese intelligence services. - "The Democrats’ drug running links," by Gerard Jackson , The New Australian News with Commentary, Friday 1 June 2001

* Senator John Kerry : Massachussetts senator. Accepted campaign funds from Vivian Mannerud, a Democratic campaign donor linked to cocaine trafficker Jorge Cabrera. Even when other Democrats returned such donations, he opted to keep them. Mannerud hosted an $18,000 Kerry fund-raiser, gave $1,000 in donations and arranged foreign travel for Kerry's staff as recently as April 2000. Though Kerry's advisors warned him that Mannerud's drug connection could prove troublesome, Kerry wasn't swayed. "We accept her word she had no knowledge of Mr. Cabrera's illicit activities," the Herald quoted Kerry spokesman David Wade as saying.- Boston Herald

* Jerome Berlin : MIAMI -- Jorge Cabrera, a drug smuggler who has emerged as one of the most notorious supporters of President Clinton's re-election campaign, was asked for a campaign contribution in the unlikely locale of a hotel in Havana by a prominent Democratic fund-raiser, congressional investigators have learned.
...her only strong memory of Cabrera is at the fund-raising dinner on Dec. 3, in Coral Gables, Fla., at the home of Jerome Berlin, a lawyer who was indicted in 1990, and later acquitted, of federal conspiracy charges of bribing public officials. -- "Drug Smuggler Made Clinton Donation in Cuba,Investigators Say," By DON VAN NATTA Jr., New York Times, April 4, 1997 via 50 posted on 04/29/2003 3:36 PM EDT by Brad Cloven

see also :
Miami businessman Jerome Berlin, once described as the country's most powerful Democratic fundraisers, died in a murder-suicide this morning at the Signature Grand, the huge and popular Davie banquet hall in Davie that he owned with partner Michael Pecora. Police say Pecora is the other person found dead in a second floor office of the hall. An employee reported hearing a loud argument, then three gunshots behind the locked door. The shooting occurred following a loud argument while hundreds of public school students ate lunch one floor below. Police broke in and found two white males -- a part of the catering hall's upper management -- on the floor.
... Police stopped traffic on State Road 84 near 70th Avenue. Berlin, who over the years has raised millions of dollars for political candidates, was acquitted in 1991 of federal charges that he and another lawyer conspired to defraud a crippled securities investment firm in 1985. ---"Well-known Democratic fundraiser dead in shooting at Signature Grand (banquet hall)," Herald staff, Miami Herald, Apr. 29, 2003, http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/902597/posts

...Not sure how he got his money, but its not through films.

According to Mother Jones:

Stephen Bing made his money the old-fashioned way: He inherited it. The millionaire grandson of New York real estate magnate Leo Bing, he stands to inherit an estimated $600 million from his father, Peter, who serves on the board of Stanford University

But....

According to a 1949 appeal with the Calif State Board of Equalization regarding his 1941 income taxes, Leo S. Bing, his wife, and his son Peter Stephen Bing were all found to be residents of Nevada.

Perhaps the millions Steve Bing has inherited were made in Nevada enterprises, not New York?

www.boe.ca.gov/legal/pdf/49-sbe-007.pdf
.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.