Virginia AG, others, and Political Slush Fund

(2PM EST – promoted by Nightprowlkitty)

In the Guise of a Navy, All, Veterans Nonprofit Support Group!

Just abit of recent backround:

Stand-ins Posed as Members of Navy Veterans Association

May 16, 2010 Lt. Cmdr. Bobby Thompson was under the gun.

A newspaper was about to report that his charity, the U.S. Navy Veterans Association, which reported annual income of $22 million and tens of thousands of members, appeared to consist of just one person – him.

Thompson said the group’s members are real and doing good deeds.

To show that, he could draw on what was supposed to be a coast-to-coast network of volunteers: 66,939 association members, 41 state chapters and dozens of officers, spending millions upon millions for gifts to veterans, military men and their families.

But rather than use any of them to demonstrate the group’s good deeds, Thompson looked for stand-ins. He found them at the office of Donald E. Phillips, a Tampa developer and political power broker. Continued

Fla. contributor to Va. campaigns raises questions

A man who lived in Florida and gave $67,500 to Virginia campaigns is under investigation.

May 16, 2010 The mysterious director of a Navy veterans fundraising group that’s under investigation in three states contributed $67,500 to the 2009 campaigns of key state officials.

Starting July 1, that group can resume soliciting money in Virginia under a state law that Gov. Bob McDonnell signed April 12, despite an unusual last-minute plea from its sponsor, Sen. Patsy Ticer, that he veto it.

Her office requested a veto after Ticer, D-Alexandria, became suspicious of the U.S. Navy Veterans Association and its former director Bobby Thompson.

Ticer had introduced the bill, SB 563, in January and it sailed through the Virginia House and Senate on unanimous votes. Continued

This has been heating up since the St. Petersburg Times investigation was reported a few months back.

McDonnell and others donating contributions, but not Cuccinelli

Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R), House Speaker Bill Howell (R-Stafford) and State Sen. Patsy Ticer (D) all said today that they plan to donate to established charities contributions they received from a Florida man who was a director of a charity that is now under scrutiny in three states.

That’s easy for them to say — they took $5,000, $2,000 and $1,000 respectively from Bobby Thompson, a former director of the U.S. Navy Veterans Association.

Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R) took more than $55,500 from Thompson, making Thompson Cuccinelli’s second-largest individual donor before the November election. Continued

Should be noted that Ticer, who sponsored a bill that would make this Thompson’s so called VSO easier to get contributions in Virginia, tried to get the governor to Veto her bill when she became suspicious of the reports and other states investigations into the ‘U.S. Navy Veterans Association’

Veterans Administration removes Navy Veterans Association from directory

It looks like U.S. Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) got some pretty speedy action from the Veterans Administration in response to a letter he sent yesterday questioning the continued listing of the nonprofit U.S. Navy Veterans Association in an online directory maintained by the agency of Veterans Service Organizations.

Check out the directory today, and there’s no sign of the group. But here was the listing just yesterday, before Webb’s letter arrived. Continued

Would be interesting to find out how long this was listed by the VA and if done so during the previous administration of and the non over site congresses that existed through much of, especially with the two long running occupations ongoing, abit more puter searches coming!

Cuccinelli pressured to return donation

Democrats question why Cuccinelli won’t give up $55,500 donated by an embattled Navy vets group.

State Democratic leaders tried Thursday to turn up the heat on Republican Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, criticizing him for keeping campaign contributions from the self-described director of a veterans charity that is under investigation in three states.

In a conference call, Democrats called on Cuccinelli to give up $55,500 that his campaign received last year from Bobby Thompson, the Florida-based director of the U.S. Navy Veterans Association. Thompson and the organization have been under scrutiny since an investigation by the St. Petersburg Times raised questions about the group’s fundraising and expenditures. The Department of Veterans Affairs removed a listing for the organization from its online directory this week after U.S. Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., raised concerns about the group. Continued

Cuccinelli should give up any contributions many yesterdays ago! And saying his office of State AG can’t investigate this scam should have the residents of Virginia calling for him to step down, that’s his job, what else would he balk at investigating, especially if connected to him in any way! There should probably be an independent investigation to find out what this Thompson was buying in light of the refusal by Ciccinelli in returning the campaign contributions!  This Thompson when found should be indicted for fraud and more and any who lent their names and or were soliciting funds for his phony group should be investigated to find if they knew what was going and indicted as well if they did!