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HELPING HAND FROM DAD Family funds fill till of gubernatorial hopeful Spitzer (backstory)
Copyright © 2007, Newsday Inc. ^ | June 22, 2006 | MICHAEL ROTHFELD, Newsday Staff Writer

Posted on 10/12/2007 7:14:02 AM PDT by Liz

When AG Eliot Spitzer accepted the Democratic Party's endorsement for governor, he credited the influence of a father.........But Bernard Spitzer is far more than a role model. He has used assets valued at nearly $500M to help enhance his son's political career.

The elder Spitzer, 82, and his immediate family have pumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into his son's campaigns.....A family charity donated at least $140,000 to groups led by his political allies - a practice that some have questioned.

Bernard Spitzer also lent his son $5M..........Though Spitzer has little trouble raising money now, his relatives continue to do their part. He reported $19M in campaign coffers in January....his parents and brother Daniel, a neurosurgeon, donating $326,000, records show.

The Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust - on which Eliot, Daniel and their parents are board members - gave $66,000 in 2004 to NARAL Pro-Choice NY, an abortion rights group.....groups whose leaders back Spitzer for governor, received $75,000 from his charity between 2000 and 2003......a fraction of the $2.6M the Spitzer foundation awarded in 2004.......

For his two campaigns, Spitzer spent a total of about $12M, mostly personal funds and bank loans. Spitzer borrowed about $5M from his father to help settle loans, and was earning $200,000 a year consulting for his father. Between 2000-2004, the charity gave $101,000 to NARAL's foundation. NARAL also has given $10,500 to Spitzer's two campaigns and endorsed him.

The Spitzer trust invests in hedge funds, including some whose managers donate to Spitzer. Lawrence Golub, Spitzer's high school friend, and his wife, Karen Finerman, gave a total of $100,200 to Spitzer's bid for governor. Both have been managers in Bedford Falls Investors Lp, and he is a founder of Golub Capital Partners. The trust had $4.8M invested with those groups in 2004.

(Excerpt) Read more at newsday.com ...


TOPICS: Extended News; Politics/Elections; US: New York
KEYWORDS: democratparty; eliotspitzer; spitzer
During Spitler's 1998 AG campaign, he indignantly denied allegations by his GOP opponent, Dennis Vacco (Vacco is a top-notch pro-life conservative), that Spitler's wealthy father had provided millions in loans to his AG campaign. Candidate Spitzer insisted he was using only his own money (family members are limited by law to $110,000 in total contributions) and accused Vacco of "smearing" his father.

Not until he'd actually taken office did Spitzer admit that Dennis Vacco had been correct, after all. In fact, it turned out Spitzer, despite earlier denials, had done the exact same thing during his unsuccessful 1994 run for AG.

==================================================

The Bernard & Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust Inc.
(Formerly:The Bernard & Anne Spitzer Foundation Inc.)
730 5th Ave----Suite 2202
New York, NY 10019-4105
Telephone: (212) 765-5170
Contact: Bernard Spitzer, President; Anne Spitzer, Treasurer
Type of foundation: Independent
Fiscal Date: 12/31/05
Assets: $35,115,418
Total Giving: $578,663
EIN:137298842

Most Recent IRS Filing: 990 FORM FINDER http://dynamodata.foundationcenter.org/990s/f990_pdf?idx=13&ein=137298842&fd=123105&fn=The%20Bernard%20%26amp%3B%20Anne%20Spitzer%20Charitable%20Trust%20Inc.%3Cbr%3E730%205th%20Ave.%2C%20Ste.%202202%3CBR%3ENew%20York%2C%20NY%2010019-4105%3CBR%3E&a.pdf

1 posted on 10/12/2007 7:14:05 AM PDT by Liz
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To: ridesthemiles; Reaganwuzthebest; Wurlitzer; The Mayor

ping


2 posted on 10/12/2007 7:18:24 AM PDT by Liz (Rooty's not getting my guns or the name of my hairdresser.)
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To: Liz

If these are charitible foundations; why aren’t they giving more? Isn’t that what they are for. Or are they tax dodges so the family can hide behind it and spend the money on not so charitible donations; such as family members campaigns for political office. Some fair and balanced, right?????


3 posted on 10/12/2007 7:20:56 AM PDT by freekitty ((May the eagles long fly our beautiful and free American sky.))
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To: freekitty; Grampa Dave; The Mayor

You got that right.

Political financing schemes-——non-profit donations to non-profits——— need to be stopped.

One of the biggest foundation scams and tax evasion schemes is a tax-exempt “donating” to a tax-exempt.

These are nothing more than insider deals to skim off money-—the donee takes a cut of the “donation” and launders the rest in an offshore bank for the donor’s later use.

Th Spitzer scam is all neatly outlined above.

I guess they thought “working-class dummies” would not be be able to figure it all out.

Their need to “feel” superior is so important (snicker).


4 posted on 10/12/2007 7:42:43 AM PDT by Liz (Rooty's not getting my guns or the name of my hairdresser.)
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To: All
TO REPORT SUSPECTED TAX-EXEMPT FRAUD:
CONTACT THE SEC EMAIL enforcement@SEC.gov
PHONE THE IRS TOLL FREE 1-800-829-0433 You may remain anonymous if you wish.

TO REPORT ILLEGAL CURRENCY CONVERSIONS, AND VIOLATIONS OF BANKING LAWS: CONTACT askDOJ@usdoj.gov.

TO REPORT VIOLATIONS OF ELECTION LAW FINANCING: CONTACT the Federal Election Commission.

5 posted on 10/12/2007 7:44:34 AM PDT by Liz (Rooty's not getting my guns or the name of my hairdresser.)
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To: GreenLanternCorps; NativeNewYorker; george76

Political financing schemes-——non-profit donations to non-profits———need to be stopped.

One of the biggest foundation scams and tax evasion schemes is a tax-exempt “donating” to a tax-exempt.

These are nothing more than insider deals to skim off money-—the donee takes a cut of the “donation” and launders the rest in an offshore bank for the donor’s later use.

The Spitzer scam is all neatly outlined above———in their own words.


6 posted on 10/12/2007 8:04:01 AM PDT by Liz (Rooty's not getting my guns or the name of my hairdresser.)
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To: Liz

The real issue is the double standard we get from the media. Does anyone doubt if all these shady deals had taken place with a GOP governor they wouldn’t be all over it? Eliot Spitzer: do as I say, not as I do.


7 posted on 10/12/2007 8:16:38 AM PDT by Reaganwuzthebest
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To: Liz

It is a testimony to how utterly corrupt the NY press is that this story is only now coming to light. The NY Times has pocketed thousands upon thousands of dollars from Spitzer via real estate advertising, and never once mentioned the conflict of interest when they endorsed Elliot for governor.


8 posted on 10/12/2007 8:19:26 AM PDT by NativeNewYorker (Freepin' Jew Boy)
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To: Liz

One of the biggest foundation scams and tax evasion schemes is a tax-exempt “donating” to a tax-exempt.

Many tax exempts are very corrupt. They say the pc stuff as they do their dirty work .


9 posted on 10/12/2007 9:07:11 AM PDT by george76 (Ward Churchill : Fake Indian, Fake Scholarship, and Fake Art)
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To: Liz

Amazing that the great state of NY is doing nothing about their criminal governor.

Ooops! I forgot that he was a democRat and there is no controlling legal authority when Rats commit crimes.


10 posted on 10/12/2007 10:13:17 AM PDT by Grampa Dave (Could it be time to burn Mexican Flags as our First Amendment right?)
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To: Grampa Dave

Better write that down-——only way I can remember important crooked Demo facts (/sarc).


11 posted on 10/12/2007 11:59:29 AM PDT by Liz (Rooty's not getting my guns or the name of my hairdresser.)
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To: freekitty

Where’s Eliot Spitzer’s humility? Spell “Eliot” backwards and add a “t”.


12 posted on 10/12/2007 8:17:17 PM PDT by Fitzy_888 ("ownership society")
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To: Fitzy_888

LOL You are so smart. I just love it.


13 posted on 10/12/2007 8:25:58 PM PDT by freekitty ((May the eagles long fly our beautiful and free American sky.))
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To: Liz

Eliot Spitzer, as Attorney General denied any tactical errors, later claimed a decisive victory in the war against capitalist prosperity. “Money is offensive to my constituents who can’t make money themselves and instead have to beg for it in government offices,” he said later at a Midtown press conference. “We must clean our streets from the rich corporate scum that’s been infesting them. Nobody earning over a hundred thousand a year is innocent. Let’s all work together to make our city safe again for the homeless to frolic without the fear of being offended by tactless display of prosperity,” he finished to a standing ovation from an audience of mainstream media reporters.

Some retrogrades would call Spitzer an “extortionist” who threatens a corporation with a phony lawsuit that would cost them millions in legal fees and damage control. They “appease the beast” with a settlement hoping he would go away. But every corporate payoff makes the beast stronger and his appetite bigger. He then threatens their neighbor, and then the next neighbor - until the entire block on Wall Street is paying ransom, and then the next block, and so on. He learned it from the Unions who in their turn learned it from the Sicilian Mafia.

[satire] http://thepeoplescube.com/red/viewtopic.php?t=675&highlight=spitzer


14 posted on 10/12/2007 8:52:41 PM PDT by Fitzy_888 ("ownership society")
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To: Fitzy_888
Some would call AG Spitzer an “extortionist” who would threaten a corporation with a phony lawsuit that would cost millions in legal fees and damage control. The corporations “appeased the beast” with a settlement, hoping Spitzer would go away.

Shakedown artist is more like it.

Extortion would enter the picture if any of the corporations Spitzer threatened also made "donations" to his family foundation.

15 posted on 10/13/2007 12:17:24 AM PDT by Liz (Rooty's not getting my guns or the name of my hairdresser.)
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