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glaringly missing from the summary was mention of $15 million in fees paid by Burkle's Yucaipa Global Opportunities Fund since 2002

John McCain has been hammering rival Barack Obama for being little more than a vapid "celebrity" and "elitist." But The Nation has obtained a photo revealing just how star-struck a straight-talking maverick can become when offered the chance to celebrate his birthday aboard a yacht filled with celebrities--even if one of those celebrity types turns out to be an A-list con man. The photograph substantiates reports that in late August, 2006, McCain celebrated his 70th birthday aboard a yacht, the Celine Ashley, rented by A-list con man Raffaello Follieri and his then-movie star girlfriend Anne Hathaway. In the current edition...

New York, Jun 24, 2008 / 11:59 pm (CNA).- An Italian businessman who claimed to have close connections with the Vatican in his appeals to real estate investors was arrested on Tuesday on charges of operating a fraudulent real estate scheme.The 29-year-old Raffaello Follieri was charged with conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering in a U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Reuters reports.According to federal prosecutors and the FBI, Follieri is accused of misleading investors into believing he has close links with the Vatican that would enable him to buy the Catholic Church’s unwanted U.S. real estate at a discount.Follieri and...

For the past six years, the road to Bill Clinton has often run through Douglas Band, a 34-year-old former White House intern who has helped manage Mr. Clinton's time, accompanied him around the world and even fielded some of his calls. Two years ago, Mr. Band befriended a handsome and charming Italian businessman named Raffaello Follieri. The young Italian, now 29 years old, had moved to New York in 2003 to launch a business buying and redeveloping Roman Catholic Church properties. He claimed close ties with Vatican officials that would smooth the way for deals, according to business associates and...

Excerpt - Federal prosecutors charged Raffaello Follieri, an Italian entrepreneur and former business partner of California billionaire Ron Burkle, with funding a lavish lifestyle by using money from a real-estate venture that was supposed to capitalize on his alleged Vatican ties to redevelop surplus Catholic Church properties. ~ snip ~ A criminal complaint filed by the U.S. attorney in Manhattan Tuesday alleged that Mr. Follieri stole hundreds of thousands of dollars of investor money to pay for a $37,000-a-month New York apartment where he lived for a time with Ms. Hathaway; private jet travel; expensive restaurants and clothes; medical expenses,...

"For the past 6 years, the road to Bill Clinton has often run through Douglas Band, a 34-year-old former White House intern [and close friend of Monica Lewinsky] who has helped manage Mr. Clinton's time, accompanied him around the world and even fielded some of his calls." "Two years ago, Mr. Band befriended a handsome and charming Italian businessman named Raphaella Follieri [owner of Follieri Group.] The young Italian, now 29 years old, had moved to New York in 2003 to launch a business buying and redeveloping Roman Catholic Church properties. [Andrea Sodano, a consultant to the Follieri Group, is...