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Mysterious Campaign Donor In Queens Disappears
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Jul 28, 2012
Modified Jul 28, 2012
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By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Jul 28, 2012
Modified Jul 28, 2012
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Ah, the sweet smell of alleged political corruption! Today, the Timesreports on James Robert Williams, who is reportedly responsible for donating nearly $900,000 to political campaigns all over the country, including Andrew Cuomo's gubernatorial campaign, Charles Rangel's campaign for House Representative and Senator John McCain's presidential run in 2008. A wealthy New Yorker handing out big bills to political bigwigs? Not necessarily news. Except!
It seems that the 64-year-old Williams' contributions to over 50 campaigns in four years are quite mysterious! Williams, who lives in a particularly low-income section of Jamaica, Queens, has few documented assets and apparently the source of his wealth is unknown. According to the Times, Williams has said he attended law school at Indiana University, though the school has no record of him being there, and records he filled out indicate he worked at a law firm that says they never employed him. He's also being investigated for reportedly losing $6 million in a failed, fishy real estate deal, in which he allegedly told investors to put cash in escrow accounts, then never followed through with the investments (Williams allegedly went so far as to show them a document signed by Chris Christie, which the investors say was clearly forged).
Williams' large contributions and hazy background caught the interest of the National Legal and Policy Center, which has begun to call attention to the possible corruption. And Williams, whose benevolence went so far as to warrant an appointment to the Republican Party's Chairman's Advisory Council, has seemingly disappeared as scrutiny has ratcheted up. "Mr. Williams has become completely unreachable," Williams' PR representative, Andrew Moesel, told the Times in an email. "If he ever does emerge and contact us, you will be the first to know." Wink.
So who is James Robert Williams? And more importantly, will he donate to Anthony Weiner's 2013 campaign fund? Stay tuned!
Tagged
corruption
Democrats
jamaica
james robert williams
nytimes
republicans
williams
Rebecca Fishbein
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