The Boland Group and American Pioneer Savings Bank controversy, 1991-94In May of 1990, American Pioneer, a savings and loan bank headquartered in Florida and owned by McAuliffe's future father-in-law (Richard Swann), was seized by federal regulators and placed into receivership with the Resolution Trust Corporation. [12]
In June of 1991, McAuliffe, Tony Coelho and John Boland organized a commercial real estate company named the "The Boland Group, Inc." McAuliffe responsibilities included business development.
Between 1991 and 1994, The Boland Group brokered at least two deals between American Capital Group and the Resolution Trust Corporation. A notable principle at American Capital Group was Dorothy (Swann) McAuliffe, daughter of Richard Swann. Specifically, Dorothy McAuliffe's presence raised eyebrows because the property her company purchased was held by her father's failed bank, American Pioneer Savings and Loan before turned its assets over to the taxpayer funded Resolution Trust Corporation. [13]
The Boland Group's client list included the Clinton/Gore 1996 Re-election committee, the Resolution Trust Corporation, the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation, The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service and several of Washington's most powerful and connected law firms and lobbying shops.
In 1997 McAuliffe told Mother Jones Magazine that he was never a partner in the Boland Group, that his exposure was limited to receiving referral fees and that he severed all ties with the company in March 1994. [14]
Telergy, 1999-2001From August of 1999 until August of 2001, McAuliffe served on the Board of Directors at Telergy, a telecom company. Press reports indicated that he had been helping the company in an unofficial capacity for the previous three years. In September 1999, a month after McAuliffe joined the board, Global Crossing invested $40 million in Telergy; McAuliffe brokered the deal and pocketed $1.2 million for his efforts. In August and September of 2001, Telergy laid off 450 employees without providing any severance package. In December that year, Telergy began Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings. |
