Lawyer Flips on Fugitive GOP Donor Who Allegedly Scammed Millions

[sabra]

Source: ABC News

Bobby Thompson Ran Sham Veterans Charity and Fled the Country, Lawyer Now Believes

The woman who once vigorously defended the U.S. Navy veterans charity run by an Ohio fugitive who is alleged to have swindled millions of dollars now concedes she, too, was fooled.

Helen MacMurray told ABC News that she has begun working with investigators to help them locate the man, who went by the name Bobby Thompson, but whose real identity remains a mystery. She believes he may have fled overseas to the Middle East or Eastern Europe.

"My understanding is that he had a lot of connections out of the country," she said. "He bragged about that."

Top law enforcement officials in Ohio have spent months hunting for the man they believe exploited the good name of America's warriors to abscond with more than $100 million. The eccentric looking Florida man called his charity the U.S. Navy Veterans Association, and for eight years he raised money for the group, mostly through phone solicitations. He told donors the group was assisting needy veterans, and garnished this pitch with dollops of credibility by donating small amounts to legitimate veterans' groups.

Federal election records show he invested some of the money -- more than $200,000 -- in campaign contributions to top Republican politicians, including President George W. Bush, U.S. Sen. John McCain, and the incoming Speaker of the House, John Boehner. In exchange, he received grip-and-grin snapshots with American political leaders -- the sort of photo that may be commonplace on office walls in Washington, D.C., but looked to outsiders like evidence of an important man with heavy-duty connections.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/lawyer-flips-fugitive-gop-donor-allegedly-scammed-millions/story?id=12460534

[rfranklin]

1. Scamming for vets? Could his real name be Hannity?

Did he escape in a limo? Have you checked the Four Seasons Hotel?

[Joanne98]

4. LOL good one!

[bongbong]

2. Shocked!

I'm shocked that a white collar criminal had ties to repigs. SHOCKED!

[seafan]

3. Background here.

Just another in a long line of criminals who funnel illegal cash to the GOP.

[hootinholler]

6. At what point are they prosecuted under RICO statutes? n/t

[wilt the stilt]

5. Listen to this party-repubs

Their true God is money, they worship it and berate everyone else. This is the core of this ugly group. What do you expect?

[Roy Rolling]

7. All I want for Christmas...

is for some reporter to ask Sarah Palin why she refuses to speak to news reporters the same way Bobby Thompson refuses to speak to reporters as head of the US Navy Veterans Association. Then, allow her to wax poetic with a "gee whiz, you betcha if it is okay for the US Navy Veterans Association and Bobby Thompson then I'm in good company to do the same as Bobby Thompson." Pleeze...

[Downwinder]

8. Is there an INTERPOL Red Alert for him?

[smiley]

10. no...

because he didn't have consensual sex with a broken condom

[JDPriestly]

9. Criminals support Republicans. It's a perfect fit.

Deregulation gives criminals free reign, lots of chances to bilk honest folk. That's what libertarianism and Republicanism are about.

They focus on terrorism and violent street crime but don't seem to recognize any other crime. And, of course economic crimes, fraud and the like and in the wealthiest and most respected sectors of our economy, are extremely common today and harm us greatly.