If someone wanted to launder money through a campaign, how would it work?

I don't know anything about campaign financing and am having trouble putting it together. Say you wanted to launder some money through the H8 campaign. You cut them a check and then somebody in the campaign hands that money over to your intended target who might be listed as a "vendor" on the campaign disclosure forms? Maybe as a law firm or a PR firm?

Is that how it works? And maybe if you wanted to launder a lot of money, you'd have other people cut checks, too, and the campaign would route it to the same "vendor"? Is that possible or no?

Who's smarter (or more devious, lol) than I am about this stuff? :)

lol

:)

I recall a case a few years ago of campaign money laundering. If memory serves, the offender used the technique you described.

But it you need more info, contact Rod Blagojevich in Chicago, IL. :evilgrin:

by claiming that he did this. He didn't but a campaign donor was laundering money through his campaign and through other venues, too. Everything I know about corruption, I learned from the San Francisco Chronicle. lol

If memory serves. Democrats are just as guilty and it's sickening.

trying to keep their donations secret is, their efforts sort of exceed the damage they might suffer as a result of boycotts. So, I think there's something else going on there.

No doubt SOME of them are afraid of being boycotted. But the people that would suffer the most are small business owners who probably can't afford this huge legal fight in terms of time or money. So, it's hard to believe those folks are behind this.

Which leaves the question, what is being hidden exactly and who wants to keep it that way? The only thing I can think of is money laundering.

(I did think of another possibility but it's sort of out there. It is possible that the Church fathers, either Mormon or Catholic, asked closeted people that are otherwise visible or successful for "donations" and now those people are trying to limit public knowledge of their involvement. But, I don't have enough tinfoil in the kitchen to cover that one very well. :) )

and put parishioners' names on them. Another idea I have had: a lot of the money may have come from out of state, and the Prop. 8 proponents don't want Californians to know that. In addition it is possible that some of the Prop. 8 donors are ashamed of their support for that bigoted measure.

That's sort of the granddaddy of scams here.

But, there has to be a smaller, more specific one/s for someone to put up this fight over these records, imho. :shrug:

How to answer your question the way it is worded.
But I am gonna try anyway.

IMO,politicians hide/launder bribes by calling them contributions.If I was a politician that is how I would launder bribe money.
If I was a crook with money to be laundered I would create a PAC then send it Anonymous donations.Then hire family/friends as "consultants" or contract with paper companies for services rendered.
When CorpGA and Ides were giving their tutorials on how to research SEC documentation I stumbled across what I belive to be a scheme to defraud the goverment using 'paper' corporate entities.If their journals had not been scrubbed with their TSing I could show you what I found.

to search the "vendors" or "consultants" and see if they are legitimate. Hmmm.

Look for ownership and/or the type of services provided.
Services to look for would be ones that did not require actual material goods(cars houses,commodities,etc..) actually changing hands or something for which value is subjective.

Heres a couple of real lfe examples I know of;
1.A prostitute I know calls herself a massuese for tax purposes.Unless she was being specificly targeted for intense investigation no one at the IRS would be able to say differently.Another one I know calls herself an artist for tax purposes.
What they both have in common is no actual material good is exchanged that investigators could lay hands on.
'Intellectual property' could also be placed under that category.Like studies form a 'think tank'.
2.A drug dealer(deceased)that I knew laundered his money through an antique business.While material goods actually traded hands the value of said goods was highly subjective.What might be in reality a $5.00 dollar yard sale cast-off can(and did) easily transform into a 50 brazillian dollar table.
The 'artist' hooker I know could also fall in this category.While her paintings were okay at best it sure 'sold' for a lot!

Theoretically, a lobbyist could ostensibly put a BIG pile of gambling chips on the table in front of a politician,possibly a chairman investigating Indian Casinos...

Mmmh....how about at casinos? Especially Indian Casinos which are soverign nations and dont have to disclose much of anything?

How about through Religious Universities? Oral Roberts University is in a lawsuit right now for a secret bank account that was funnelling $1 BILLLION a year through the school.This university was founded by Oral Roberts. His son and daughter in law were in the news a lot for allegedlly unethical political and personal behaiors,in addition to the secret account.

Btw, I am not accusing this school of laundering money.

However, Chuck Grassley WAS investigating an entire coterie of the televangelist prosperity preachers last year.

I wonder whatever happened to the probe....

Grassley has stated that he now wants to open a probe of porn on Capitol Hill.

I kid you not!

Former ORU accountant claims Roberts funneled $1 billion per year ... Former ORU accountant claims Roberts funneled $1 billion per year through secret account. February 10, 2008 by John · from The New York Times: ...
truediscernment.wordpress.com/.../former-oru-accountant-claims-roberts-funneled-1-billion-per-year-through-secret-accoun... - 25k - Cached - Similar pages_________________________________________________________



Incidenatlly,this case was scheduled for a hearing this very week,but was canceled due to icy weather conditions in Tulsa,earlier inthe week.

drug dealers, casinos, big tobacco/oil/coal, Chinese buisness..? can make contributions to some really needy group, the charity only, by law, needs to give the charity 15% of the donations and can use the 85% left to raise more money or give it to politicians campaigns who support their cause.. as it was explained to me.

Another one I have seen is having the wife open a business such as an art gallery or bar or club of some kind.
Its kina wierd.The more money involved the fancier the means of getting laundered get.

get people to "volunteer" and then "charge" $10K a table or whatever.. Clever bookkeeping pads "expenses", and the candidate gets the money:)

If you're laundering money, what's the plan?

If you have drug-money to launder, and it goes to a campaign, and they KNOW where it came from.. well if they want MORE of it, they might be inclined to vote against stricter DEA laws..

Once it reaches the campaign, they can pretty much do what they want with it, unless someone digs up the dirt about a donor, and then they are shamed into sending it back..

I suspect that a lot of the shenanigans with money , are done with a wink & a nod.. all the involved parties "know" the routine, and only the amateurs get caught:)

nuff said..