A strange tale of cash, lawmakers, legislation, “veterans”
Bobby Thompson | tampabay.com | The Rancher newsletter
By Dan Casey and Michael Sluss
The mysterious director of a Navy veterans fundraising group that’s under investigation in three states contributed $67,500 to the 2009 campaigns of key state officials.
Starting July 1, that group can resume soliciting money in Virginia under a state law that Gov. Bob McDonnell signed April 12, despite an unusual last-minute plea from its sponsor, Sen. Patsy Ticer, that he veto it.
Her office requested a veto after Ticer, D-Alexandria, became suspicious of the U.S. Navy Veterans Association and its former director Bobby Thompson.
Ticer had introduced the bill, SB 563, in January and it sailed through the Virginia House and Senate on unanimous votes.
That occurred after Thompson, a Florida-based director of the U.S. Navy Vets, personally contributed large sums to the 2009 campaigns of key Republican state officials, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, which tracks donations to state officeholders.
Those donations include $55,500 to Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s campaign. That made Thompson’s total contribution the second-largest by an individual to Cuccinelli’s campaign.
He also gave $5,000 to McDonnell’s campaign, and $7,000 divided among the campaign committees of four key Virginia lawmakers.
Thompson gave $1,000 to Ticer — the only Democrat to receive such a contribution — and $2,000 each to House Speaker Bill Howell, R-Stafford County, and Dels. Chris Jones, R-Suffolk, and Tom Gear, R-Hampton.
Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli
Most of the elected officials deny ever hearing of Thompson before his donations, ever meeting him in person or ever soliciting him for funds. Nor did they know any details about the U.S. Navy Veterans Association, they said.
But that was not the case for Cuccinelli.
Thompson made contributions of $5,000 to Cuccinelli on June 16 and $500 on Aug. 19.
Thompson made a $50,000 contribution Aug. 31 after Cuccinelli spoke to him by phone and asked for another donation.
“I talked to him by phone one time asking for the biggest donation,” Cuccinelli said Friday. He could not recall how much he asked Thompson to give.
May 16, 2010 - 2:11 AM
Thompson looks like a Wal-Mart version of the Men’s Wearhouse guy.
Wow, this is some shady stuff. Makes me wonder just how much HASN’T been discovered about plots and ploys like this. It only goes to solidify my opinion that politicians should have much more strict guidelines when it comes to campaign contributions.
All I can think of is the innocent older people who may have been bilked of money to support a veterans organization only to have that money be redirected into several politicians hands, regardless of the political stances of the donators.
So far, though its hard for me, I am willing to give the cooch the benefit
of the doubt on this one, unless there is some proof that he had guilty
knowledge of some shady or illicit activities by this group. Unfortunately
far too many of our politicins, (not all on one side) fail to use good
judgment in vetting who they solicit for contributions. The overpowering neeed to raise money for political campaigns is one of the greatest flaws
in the way our poltical process has developed. And the recent supreme court decision on corporate contributions is going to make it far worse.
I hope this investigation continues and if the misdeeds equal the smell
then this group needs to be shut down.
Congrats, Dan, on getting the Sunday headline story. I don’t know anything about the news business but that seems like a good place to be!
I don’t remember reading… and not that it really matters… but is Thompson actually a Navy Veteran?
I find it hard to believe that Cuccinelli had no clue as to why this guy was offering him such a large contribution. That amount of money does not usually come without a request. And why give the money to the AG campaign, and not to the governor’s? Definitely a lot of unanswered questions, still.
Lynda K,
Thompson has claimed to the St. Pete Times that he’s a retired Lt Commander. The newspaper has been unable to verify that at all, and they have combed through military records with military records experts.
On the NavyVets.org Web site (which has something like 8,000 pages, Thompson has claimed he is a veteran who was in the Gulf of Tonkin when the Vietnam war broke out.
When the St. Pete Times claimed they could find no such Bobby C. Thompson who had ever served in the Navy, he wrote them back that he enlisted underage, using a relative’s ID — so any military records would be under that relative’s name.
Which Thompson, of course, declines to provide.
In other words, the guy appears to be a con man. But I believe it’s far bigger than that.
Better stuff than you’d find in any mystery novel… keep us posted, Dan.
Dan
I applaud your restraint by not bashing Cuccinelli in your article. The temptation must have been great. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think that is the first time the RT has mentioned Cuccinelli’s name without a vituperative rant against him.
Cuccinelli is a STUD for offering to donate the $50,000 to a reputable veteran’s group if this guy is convicted. Did Clinton offer to give back any of his dirty money from the host of convicts who lined his packets and then got pardons? I will hold my breath for your editorial page to praise Cuccinelli for his moral and just offer.
Terps,
Cuccinelli never offered to donate the money. His 22-year-old campaign flunkie did.
That was the same 22-year-old campaign flunkie, I should add, who earlier in the week, before Cooch copped to soliciting the BIG money from the (apparent) con artist, who wrote me 2 emails suggesting the Cooch never had solicited that money.
I will give the Cooch credit for being honest and straightforward after his campaign flunkie was not.
It’s a great game, the old, “Get-your-underlings-to-lie-for-you.”
Priceless!
Note that in liberal journalism circles, any 22 year old who works for a conservative is a “flunkie.”
A 22 year old who works for a liberal democrat is driven by nothing except the noble pursuit of trying to make the world a better place.
OK, so are we saying it is fine to take money from any slug as long as you give it to charity when busted on it, or are we saying it doesn’t matter because other people have had the same problem or are we saying that it is OK for the Republicans because Dems do it too? I can’t keep up. Pretty sure that both Clintons and any other Dem have been thoroughly drug through the mud over campaign donors and any other nit any one of you could pick so lay off the “they did it too” and accept that the party of values never has really had any, they just like to pretend they do.
Yeah, I would love to see how the Roanoke Times would be spinning this story if Cuccinelli. was a Democrat. Probably the same way they spun it when it happened to President Barack Hussein Ali Bin-BamBam
Is it just me or does that guy look like a bad Chuck Norris impersonator?
I think he looks like Tony Orlando with a beard.
I think he looks like some scary homeless guy in clothing he garbage picked.
Can’t the Navy protect its brand better than this? Your average HS student could kick out a better site than that group did.
If they put out a site like this and stuck the name “Microsoft” on it…Bill Gates would have him strung up.
Henry what front was collecting money under false pretenses and pretending to be former military, playing on people’s patriotism while funneling money to Obama as they did Kooky-Cooch? Please do share that info, we are all just dying to hear why FIXED News, FlimFlambaugh and UnstableBeckistan are not screaming this “news” the rest of media “spun”.
I could be wrong, but MAYBE if the “party of values they don’t really have” would shut up about other people’s “sins” and “immorality” we might not be so inclined to roar with laughter when the hypocrites get caught red-handed with the “rent a boys” or in bathrooms or on junkets or on the trail or in hookerville or in scummy moneyland.
Yeah it’s amazing that you didn’t read about that stuff in the RT when it happened to a Democrat.
Hey Sandi, who received the largest amount of money from BP?
Yep, Barak Hussein Obama. He and his oil buddies are probably yukking it up over that spill in the Gulf.
#17
Henry: “Yep, Barak Hussein Obama. He and his oil buddies are probably yukking it up over that spill in the Gulf.”
Probably? Probably? As in “maybe they are or maybe they aren’t?” Sheesh. Spill it, Henry — have you got some insider info on Obama and his “oil buddies” or are you just throwing “mud” at the wall to see if it sticks?
I don’t think he is “yukking it up” any more than secret meeting Cheney is Henry. Even BP was tired of Repubs, go figure. You cannot scream “dirty” while rolling in it.
Keep on this story RT…Cuccinelli is continually manifesting as an embarressment to the Commonwealth…
This is not a democrat or a republican issue. This is a matter of possible corruption. As an example of why, this should be a major reason for reform with political contributions from lobbyist, or some type of regulation requirements with donations that exceed a certain amount. The state of VA didnt hesitate to cap tort laws regarding malpractice suits in the state of VA. I for one would like to see them cap and restrict their own resources…
of course in the best interest of protecting Virginia’s reputation…
AF,
Some people aren’t smart enough to see that Henry is playing off a phrase Democrats used for years talking about Bush?
And some people are not smart enough to notice it was already tied back to the evils of the Bush/Cheney regime. Go figure. Must be all those right wing blogs you read.
#21
Suzie: “AF,
Some people aren’t smart enough to see that Henry is playing off a phrase Democrats used for years talking about Bush?”
I don’t know whether to answer yes or no to this question.