Roanoke Times: "Why Did Bobby Thompson Give Virginia's Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli 55,000 Dollars?

Dan Casey, the Metro Columnist for the Roanoke Times, is asking why the con-artist Bobby Thompson gave Virginia's Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli 55,000 dollars. He notes that federal law enforcement authorities investigating Thompson may be asking that question, too. See his article "Metro columnist Dan Casey: Navy Vets donations were placed well" (5-6-12).  Check out the fine series of articles about Bobby Thompson at "Under the Radar."


Bobby Thompson seems to have given money to Virginia politicians who voted to end registration requirements for military charities. Dan Casey asks (5-6-12):


What, if anything, did Thompson tell Cuccinelli he wanted during the phone call that resulted in the $50,000 donation?


Did a Richmond insider give Thompson specific advice on where to pass his money around so he could get his bill through the General Assembly?...


I...put the question to Cuccinelli. "Attorney General Cuccinelli never advised or recommended 'Bobby Thompson' to do anything to try to get any law passed," said his spokesman Brian Gottstein.


You can bet that federal agents on this case will be asking Thompson if anyone did give him such advice, just for starters....


[A]n out-of-state grifter bought himself a Virginia law so he could continue cheating Virginians out of their own hard-earned money. And he did it by passing $67,500 around Richmond in some amazingly well-targeted campaign contributions, in a pattern that seems to defy coincidence.


Because of all the questions that remain, this thing still stinks like a dead cat rotting under the couch.


Thompson has some answers, and now that he's been caught, chances are much higher they'll come out.


Stay tuned. [Read the whole article.]


Cuccinelli's opponent for the position of Virginia's Attorney General, Steve Shannon, believes he knows why Bobby Thompson gave Cuccinelli 55,500 dollars. See this excerpt from his letter in "The Richmonder" (6-23-10):


The Office of Consumer Affairs is part of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. This department falls under the jurisdiction of the secretary of Agriculture and Forestry, who reports directly to the governor. The Office of Consumer Affairs is not part of the Office of the Attorney General.

Four days after Thompson gave Cuccinelli's campaign for attorney general $5,000, Cuccinelli publicly announced he would attempt to consolidate the responsibilities of the Office of Consumer Affairs under the Office of the Attorney General should he be elected. He later held a news conference to make the same pronouncement, less than three weeks after accepting another $50,000 from Thompson.

Earlier this year, two Republican legislators introduced bills to do just that - to give the attorney general primary authority for investigating and resolving consumer complaints related to the Virginia Solicitation of Contributions Law, which includes the reporting requirements and exemptions for charitable organizations soliciting in the state. One legislator served on Cuccinelli's transition team, and the other legislator - ironically - was recently appointed the state's new commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs. 


The Richmonder (6-23-10) observes:


Shannon's letter was picked up by Ben Tribbett of Not Larry Sabato. Tribbett has constructed a timeline of Cuccinelli's actions during the period covered by Shannon's allegations. The correlations between the payments received by Cuccinelli's campaign and the actions undertaken by Cuccinelli and his allies on behalf of the donor are striking: Thompson makes donations to Cuccinelli, and on each occasion, within days of the payments, Cuccinelli takes actions or advocates policy positions that directly benefit Thompson's fraudulent scheme. [Read the whole article as well as this timeline.]