As we noted, a woman who’s central figure in most of the current GOP fundraising scandals disappeared from her D.C. lobby firm earlier this week.
High-powered campaign finance specialist Barbara Bonfiglio was treasurer or adviser to a broad range of Republican money operations, from campaign funds to political action committees. An unfortunate number of them seem to be turning up in headlines.
Here’s a partial list of groups she’s worked for: Rep. Tom DeLay’s (R-TX) ARMPAC; Sen. Conrad Burns’ (R-MT) leadership PAC; Rep. Richard Pombo’s (R-CA) RichPAC; Santorum’s senate re-election campaign and leadership PAC; Rep. Jerry Lewis’ (R-CA) Future Leaders PAC; and former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham’s (R-CA)American Prosperity PAC. DeLay, Burns, Pombo and Lewis all had ties to Abramoff, mainly by taking his and his clients’ money. Cunningham, he’s his own kettle of rotting fish.
A managing partner at Williams & Jensen now tells Will Bunch she’s got a new job - as senior compliance officer with a Fortune 500 company. (Thanks to reader BK for the tip.)
Bonfiglio was recently nicked by stories coming out of the Pennsylvania media about Sen. Rick Santorum’s (R-PA) so-called charity, Operation Good Neighbor, for which she was treasurer. The group raised hundreds of thousands of dollars promising to “break the cycle of poverty,” but spent most of it on things unrelated to its mission, particularly travel and meetings.
In an old Public Citizen report, she’s listed as working for 31 PACs from 1998 to 2001, more than anyone else. She’s put her expertise, writing a book on the topic: How to Cross the Potomac Without Falling In, a guide on how politicians can take money and gifts and get away with it — er, not run afoul of the law.
She’s been subpoenaed at least once, in 2004, in connection with DeLay. What does she know? Who is she telling?
Has anyone read her book? Is it any good? It doesn’t seem to show up on Amazon.
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