'Bowl'ing for Dollars: Did a political deal cost the state millions? [Erskine Bowles]

Erskine Bowles may regret the day he set foot in Connecticut. A national Democratic Party bigwig, Bowles served as chief of staff to President Bill Clinton until 1998 and is now running for U.S. Senate in North Carolina. From early 1999 until the end of 2001, Bowles worked as a partner at Forstmann Little, a New York-based leveraged buyout outfit.

In the spring of 1999 Bowles came to Hartford for a "get-to-know-you" meeting with state treasurer Denise Nappier's staff.

The firm already had a relationship with the state. Back in 1997, then-Republican state treasurer Christopher Burnham committed $200 million in state pension money to two Forstmann Little-managed private equity partnerships.

Around the time Bowles showed up in 1999, Forstmann was about to invest its partners' money (including Connecticut's) in two telecommunications companies -- XO Communications and McLeodUSA.

Those companies turned out to be lousy investments, and the state pension fund lost over $100 million in the deal.

Earlier this year, Connecticut filed suit against Forstmann, alleging in part that the firm breached its contract with the state by misrepresenting the true financial condition of XO and McLeod.

Now the Connecticut lawsuit is having ripple effects in North Carolina. Questions about Bowles' ties to corporate America are surfacing because of current national concerns, and North Carolina media outlets are raising the Connecticut suit in the context of Bowles' work for Forstmann Little.

But Bowles himself is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit, and that's raising Republican eyebrows in both states.

Nappier's Republican opponent for the treasurer's office in November, Ross Garber, says Bowles should be examined for any role in losing state pension fund money.

"It appears from what I've seen that Erskine Bowles had a role in these investments," Garber says. "His role is unclear but it is absolutely critical it be disclosed."

Says Garber: "I think it raises serious questions about whether politics played a role in the management of the state's pension funds."

For her part, Nappier says Bowles was on the state's original list of defendants, but attorneys decided to drop him because the documents did not point to his direct involvement in the alleged Forstmann wrongdoings. Nappier says that she would have no problem including Bowles as a defendant if circumstances change.

"If evidence is forthcoming, [Bowles] would be treated like anyone else," Nappier says.

My file on the SOB:

ErskineBowles:

A quick search for Erskine Bowles reveals:

WEB RESULTS (Showing Results 1 - 50 of 98 Matches ) next »
Get the Top 10 websites for "Erskine Bowles "

1.	Clinton clones keep Bill out of the frame
	FreeRepublic.com "A Conservative News Forum" [ Latest Posts \| Search \| Topics \| Post \| Self-Search \| Settings \| Help! ] Click to scroll to commentary. TOPICS News/Current Events Politics/Ele

2.	Former Clinton aides make a run of their own
	FreeRepublic.com "A Conservative News Forum" [ Latest Posts \| Search \| Topics \| Post \| Self-Search \| Settings \| Help! ] Click to scroll to commentary. TOPICS News/Current Events Politics/Ele

3.	BILL GETS WEST WING ZING FROM EX-AIDES [Free Republic]
	FreeRepublic.com "A Conservative News Forum" [ Last \| Latest Posts \| Latest Articles \| Self Search \| Add Bookmark \| Post \| Abuse \| Help! ] Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are th

4.	NASCAR Team Owner Hendrick: Pardon Now Questioned [Free Republic]
	FreeRepublic.com "A Conservative News Forum" [ Last \| Latest Posts \| Latest Articles \| Self Search \| Add Bookmark \| Post \| Abuse \| Help! ] Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are th

5.	Will Clinton Get Vindication?
	FreeRepublic.com "A Conservative News Forum" [ Latest Posts \| Search \| Topics \| Post \| Self-Search \| Settings \| Help! ] Click to scroll to commentary. TOPICS Editorial Politics/Elections KEY

6.	JOHN PODESTA, THE MAN BEHIND THE CLINTON SCANDALS [Free Republic]
	FreeRepublic.com "A Conservative News Forum" [ Last \| Latest Posts \| Latest Articles \| Self Search \| Add Bookmark \| Post \| Abuse \| Help! ] Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are th

7.	List of White House, Camp David guests [Free Republic]
	FreeRepublic.com "A Conservative News Forum" [ Last \| Latest Posts \| Latest Articles \| Self Search \| Add Bookmark \| Post \| Abuse \| Help! ] Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are th

8.	Leo Wanta: Explosive Evidence in Foster Case and Corruption in Washington [Free Republic]
	FreeRepublic.com "A Conservative News Forum" [ Last \| Latest Posts \| Latest Articles \| Self Search \| Add Bookmark \| Post \| Abuse \| Help! ] Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are th

9.	The Debate Debate - Does it matter who debates, and when? ~ John Fund [Free Republic]
	FreeRepublic.com "A Conservative News Forum" [ Last \| Latest Posts \| Latest Articles \| Self Search \| Add Bookmark \| Post \| Abuse \| Help! ] Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are th

10.	Three-Ring Scandals {the endless circus} ~ WSJ. [Free Republic]
	FreeRepublic.com "A Conservative News Forum" [ Last \| Latest Posts \| Latest Articles \| Self Search \| Add Bookmark \| Post \| Abuse \| Help! ] Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are th

11.	White House workers aid Gore [Free Republic]
	FreeRepublic.com "A Conservative News Forum" [ Last \| Latest Posts \| Latest Articles \| Self Search \| Add Bookmark \| Post \| Abuse \| Help! ] Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are th

12.	Mark Lindsay knew Project X's 'scope' [Free Republic]
	FreeRepublic.com "A Conservative News Forum" [ Last \| Latest Posts \| Latest Articles \| Self Search \| Add Bookmark \| Post \| Abuse \| Help! ] Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are th

13.	Hillary Clinton Fudged Campaign Travel Costs [Free Republic]
	FreeRepublic.com "A Conservative News Forum" [ Last \| Latest Posts \| Latest Articles \| Self Search \| Add Bookmark \| Post \| Abuse \| Help! ] Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are th

14.	Clinton's mystery e-mail: Audit details huge gap in missing White House documents [Free Republic]
	FreeRepublic.com "A Conservative News Forum" [ Last \| Latest Posts \| Latest Articles \| Self Search \| Add Bookmark \| Post \| Abuse \| Help! ] Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are th

Which came from here:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/723210/posts

Liars-- and Sleaze, Incorporated... ( my files on the clintons and friends )

various links | 7-27-02 | The Heavy Equipment Guy

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.