OOPS!!! - RNC Chairman Steele's Hooker Problem

RNC Chairman Steele's Hooker Problem
by citizen92
Thu Mar 05, 2009 at 04:51:33 AM PST

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Over the past two weeks, we've learned that Michael Steele, the former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, failed Senate Candidate and now national GOP Chairman had some campaign funding irregularities back in 2005. The first tip came courtesy of the FBI, who had to admit that it is investigating Steele for finance improprieties during his ill-fated 2006 Senate bid. The second came yesterday as part of a Baltimore area TV station's investigation.

On March 3, we learned that in 2006 Steele's campaign paid a Maryland-based company called Allied Berton $64,000 for "political consulting." Trouble is, Allied Berton by its own description is in the business of trading commodities, such as minerals, metals, coffee and sugar," not political consulting. To add insult to injury, former Governor Ehrlich's campaign committee paid the firm $229,000, Ehrlich's running mate paid $73,000 and the state Republican party paid $50,000. That's a lot of money for a company trading coffee. Oops!

So just what have we learned?

I think the February 10 story received sufficient press, so I'm going to focus on Allied Berton.

Allied Berton is owned by a Maryland state GOP power player named Sandy Roberts. Sandy is a DC attorney. Sandy and his wife run airport news stands at BWI called Olympic News. And Sandy and his wife Terri sell supplies to hospitals, janitors, and the US military through their company Olympic Supply, Inc. Pardon my crassness, but Sandy trades on the fact that he is black. Both of Sandy's businesses take advantage of minority (or disadvantaged) contract preferences. More on that in a moment. Sandy is also a GOP powerbroker, having thrown several kickin' parties at the NY 2004 GOP convention, by undisclosed donors for the Governor and "da man."

So what about those hookers?

"We categorically deny any involvement in, or connection, with prostitution," Sandy Roberts, an attorney for Christopher D. Baker, president of Shirlington Limousine and Transportation Inc., said in a letter to The Washington Post. "Shirlington Limousine has never been a part of, nor involved in, any illicit or illegal activities that may have taken place in connection with Congressman Cunningham." WaPo

Yep, that's our guy, Sandy Roberts, back in 2006, defending Chris Baker from accusations that he chauffeured around corrupt Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham, now jailed CIA spook Kyle "Dusty" Foggo and jailed San Diego defense contractor Brent Wilkes to sex and poker parties at the Watergate Hotel. Chris Baker and Shrilington Limo were an interesting piece of this puzzle, because Baker somehow managed to land several contracts with the Department of Homeland Security, despite a "mile long rap sheet" and the fact that he fraudulently registered himself as a minority business. TPM Muckraker covered this story extensively in 2006.
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/0005...

read the rest:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/3/5/75133/93266/...