Everyone can appreciate the benefit of having friends in high places. You never know when you might need a special favor. Agreed?
And it’s likely everyone knows how to cultivate office holders and office seekers. Plant green in their palms—green the shade of U.S. dollars.
Truth is, though, some who have the desire and more than enough money to make large political contributions, can’t. Crooks, foreign agents, and individuals and companies feuding with the government typically find politicians don’t want their money. Politicos dread being accused of accepting bribes or taking gangsters’ “dirty” dollars.
So how can undesirable donors cope with their handicap? A straw man might help.
Consider the discovery of New York Times’ reporters Raymond Hernandez, Alison Leigh Cowan, and Jo Craven McGinty. They located a political donor with no job and no known assets who contributes big time to powerful politicians.
The donor is James Robert Williams, a gray-haired, cane wielding resident of a low-rent apartment in Jamaica, Queens, New York. He has given $900,000 to 50 political campaigns.
In recent years, Williams donated $400,000 to state and county committees in New York, $57,000 to Sen. John McCain, the Arizona Republican, and $10,000 to Rep. Eric Cantor, the Virginia Republican and House Majority Leader. Williams gave $37,800 to help democrat Andrew M. Cuomo in his successful run for the New York governorship, and donated $18,000 to Rep. Charles B. Rangel, democrat of New York, among others.
Such generosity has made Williams prominent in Republican circles. The New York GOP chairman recently named Williams to an advisory panel along with a former White House spokesman and a former New York Secretary of State. And at one event, Williams shared a dais with the Mitt Romney, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee.
The Times reporters relate that Williams created 25 companies. Most had their headquarters at his apartment. All existed in name only. They were apparently dreamed up to help establish Williams’ credibility.
Williams claims to be a lawyer, but no law school claims him, and the law firm he says he worked for never heard of him. None of those who accepted Williams’ donations has any idea where his money comes from. Still, Williams is said to be quick to pick up a dinner check, owns a chauffeur-driven Cadillac, and employs a public relations spokesperson. He is said to know everybody, have a hand in everything, and to overflow with ideas.
Since the Times reporters began their inquiries, Williams has vanished. His spokesperson told the reporters that Williams was “completely unreachable.” That sounds dire. It also makes some sense. The FBI is chasing Williams. He and an accomplice have been accused of cheating would-be real estate investors of some 6,000,000. The investors went to Williams believing his political connections made him a likely middleman for purchases of affordable housing in New York.
The Times has uncovered much fascinating detail about Williams, but in the end, the nagging question looms. Where did he get the money he used to buy political clout? The real estate investment enterprise seems to have occurred following his many contributions.
Conceivably Williams could have inherited a huge sum from a relative who avoided a paper (or computer) trail by stashing his fortune under a mattress. Maybe he came across a personal metal detector and located buried riches at Brighton Beach. Maybe he’s one of those mythical New Yorkers who accumulated a fortune by fetching coins accidentally dropped into drainage grates. (Okay. That’s a stretch)
Could there be a clue in a report that Williams gets meals delivered to his door from an Italian restaurant?
My guess? There is more than an antipasto connection between the missing Mr. Williams and the Tony Soprano types who like to own and hang out in Italian eateries. If any group needs a straw man to help cover its campaign gifts, its the Mafia.
Here’s hoping The Times keeps us informed.
--Gus Gribbin
The Times account of Williams’ gift giving was headlined “Behind Big Political Gifts, a Mysterious Donor.” The story appeared on page one of the Saturday, July 28, 2012 print edition.
