So, Virginia’s gubernatorial race is right around the corner, and let’s just say that Republican candidate Ken Cuccinelli has been disappointing. For starters, it seemed as if his campaign took a hiatus for a few months, which is something you cannot do in a state that’s increasingly becoming purple. Yes, Cuccinelli doesn’t have a war chest as big as the McAuliffe campaign, but Ken’s communications team should use this for all its worth.
It seems that Joseph Caramadre, a donor of Terry McAuliffe, has been profiting from the stolen identities of terminally ill patients. Now, that’s sick! What’s more is that Caramadre also donated some serious money to Harry Reid, Hillary Clinton, and the DNC.
- Since 1996, Joseph And Paula Caramadre, Have Contributed $178,350 To Democrat Campaigns And Committees. (Center For Responsive Politics, Accessed 10/9/13)
- Since 2000, Joseph Caramadre Has Contributed $137,900 To Democrats. (Center For Responsive Politics, Accessed 10/9/13)
- Since 1996, Paula Caramadre Has Contributed $40,450 To Democrats. (Center For Responsive Politics, Accessed 10/9/13)
- In 2009, Joseph Caramadre Contributed A Total Of $26,600 To Terry McAuliffe. (National Institute Of Money In State Politics Website, Accessed 10/9/13)
- Since 2005, Joseph And Paula Caramadre Have Contributed $13,000 To Hillary Clinton. (Center For Responsive Politics, Accessed 10/9/13)
- Since 2007, Joseph And Paula Caramadre Have Contributed $9,200 To Harry Reid. (Center For Responsive Politics, Accessed 10/9/13)
- Since 2007, Joseph And Paula Caramadre Have Contributed $5,000 To The DNC. (Center For Responsive Politics, Accessed 10/9/13)
- Since 2006, Joseph And Paula Caramadre Have Contributed $28,250 To The DSCC. (Center For Responsive Politics, Accessed 10/9/13)
- Since 2006, Joseph And Paula Caramadre Have Contributed $25,250 To The DCCC. (Center For Responsive Politics, Accessed 10/9/13)
Let’s get down to the details. It seems that McAuliffe also profited from his investments with Caramadre’s $30 million dollar scheme.
Emily Zanotti of Naked DC, wrote that:
Joseph Caramadre, who went on to plead “guilty to stealing the identities of terminally ill patients and using that information to falsely apply for annuities and bonds with death puts.” This guy and “co-worker” Raymour Radhakrishman milked the stolen identities of the terminally ill to the tune of $30 million.
Their system was simple: stalk out unknowing AIDS patients at hospices, hoist up ads offering them $2,000, throw out some lies to acquire personal information, and take that to get bonds and annuities for themselves.
What’s illegal about that, right?
The Washington Post has also reported on this development, which Ed Morrissey at Hot Air noted as something you want to be in the papers “less than four weeks out from an election.”
“Terry was one of hundreds of passive investors several years ago and had no idea about the allegations against the defendant — who, at the time, was widely respected by business leaders and elected officials,” Schwerin said. “The allegations are horrible and he never would have invested if he knew he was being deceived.”
Caramadre and his former employee Raymour Radhakrishnan were charged in November 2011 in a 66-count indictment accusing them of wire fraud, money laundering and witness-tampering. Both men pleaded guilty last November, the FBI said in a press release.
Yet, as Morrissey noted:
[W]hat exactly is a “passive investor” on that scale? McAuliffe didn’t have his assets in a blind trust at the time, and one would imagine that McAuliffe would take some care with his own money. If not, then how much care will McAuliffe have with everyone else’s money as governor of Virginia? As far as being “deceived like many others” (the Post’s reporting, it should be noted, and not a direct quote), the victims here were the terminally ill who had their identities stolen and who got exploited for an insurance scam. At the very least, McAuliffe contributed to that scam through his own carelessness about his investments — which isn’t a very good example of the kind of executive judgment that most people want to see in a governor.
He also added that “Caramadre’s contributions amounted to a little over $28,000 according to the Post’s report, which means the other $46,000 must have been the return on McAuliffe’s investment.” To make things worse, McAuliffe didn’t disclose his ties to Caramadre until last week. Granted, his campaign has been able to duck a little bit since the Associated Press retracted their story concerning McAuliffe lying to investigators.
Hey, at least McAuliffe didn’t accept any money from more sinister sources, like African gun runners, oh wait; he did.
A company linked to questionable arms deals in West Africa has given $120,000 in campaign contributions to Democratic Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe.
The Liberian International Ship And Corporate Registry donated to McAuliffe twice within the past 12 months. The two campaign contributions were the only ones made by LISCR in Virginia in the past decade.
Though it is based in Virginia, LISCR serves as a regulator of the shipping industry in the African nation of Liberia through a contract given to the company by former Liberian president and convicted war criminal Charles Taylor. In 2001, LISCR was associated with efforts of Taylor’s regime to arm rebels who committed atrocities in neighboring Sierra Leone in defiance of international sanctions.
Yeah, this guy could be Virginia’s next governor; an era of debauchery indeed.
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