Suspected swindler donated big bucks to Ohio GOP
Donation to GOP raises concerns; contributor under probe
Associated Press
CLEVELAND - A Lehman Brothers Inc. investment banker suspected in a $277 million scam donated $50,000 to the GOP in Hamilton County, Ohio, just weeks before he became a fugitive, a newspaper reported.
The Hamilton County (Cincinnati) Republican Party, which was helping finance Ohio Treasurer Joseph Deters' campaign for state office, received the money from Frank Gruttadauria in December, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported.
Gruttadauria, 44, of suburban Gates Mills, had previously done work for the treasurer's office, according to the paper.
Deters said he ''never, ever solicited a dime'' from Gruttadauria. The solicitation was made by Eric Sagun, a fund-raiser employed by both Deters' re-election campaign and the Hamilton County party.
Sagun said his fund-raising was legal. Deters, who defended Sagun as ''the most ethical fund-raiser I've dealt with,'' said he did not know Sagun had asked Gruttadauria for money.
''I have never discussed that with Gruttadauria in my life. Nothing like that,'' Deters said.
Gruttadauria wrote his personal check to the Hamilton County GOP just weeks before his Jan. 11 disappearance.
He surrendered Feb. 9 after spending a month as a fugitive. He is being held without bond on a charge of making false statements to a financial institution.
Gruttadauria allegedly swindled wealthy investors by diverting account statements to his post office box and replacing them with statements that falsified account information over a period of years.
Deters, when he learned about the Gruttadauria probe, said he directed the party to set aside the Gruttadauria donation and call the FBI. Deters said the state made millions on fixed-income deals Gruttadauria arranged. Deters said that, helped by recommendations from a GOP consultant and business leaders, Gruttadauria qualified for state work.
Since 1999, the SG Cowen Corp. and Lehman Brothers, where Gruttadauria worked in successive management jobs in Cleveland, completed a combined $5.9 billion in trades for the state treasurer's office.
Deters said his investment advisers found nothing improper in deals Gruttadauria arranged for the state.
Chip Gerhardt, executive director of the Hamilton County Republican Party, said his party ''is widely regarded as one of the most successful political fund-raising organizations in the state, if not beyond. It is not unusual for us to get donations from around the state.''
Deters was the primary beneficiary of the Hamilton County party's fund-raising efforts. Of the $284,262 raised by the party's state candidate fund last year, Deters received $203,622.
Publication date: 03-06-02
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