read our release below:
Alliance for a Better Minnesota Asks Coleman to Refund Toussie Funds
Bush Recanted Planned Pardon of Swindler,
Father Maxed Out to Coleman Re-Election
Saint Paul, Minn. — Alliance for a Better Minnesota (ABM) a grassroots lobbying and online organizing group that works with progressive groups, requested today that U.S. Senator Norm Coleman refund the $4,600 his campaign received from Robert Toussie, the father of convicted swindler Isaac R. Toussie who ran a scheme funneling funds from working-class homeowners in New York state, and his wife. Both father and son were named in a class action suit filed on behalf of homeowners who lost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Isaac Toussie has entered the news lately because he is the only person in recent history known to have been pardoned by a President — and then un-pardoned. News reports indicate that President Bush decided against the recommendation to pardon Isaac Toussie when the severity of his crimes came to light.
“At a time when most people are trying to hold on to everything they have, we need our elected officials to take our side,” said Denise Cardinal, Executive Director of Alliance for a Better Minnesota. “Clearly, the Toussie family is not on the side of working Americans, and the funds donated to Senator Coleman from Robert Toussie may have come from questionable sources. We’re asking the Senator to return those funds.”
The news about Toussie’s donation to Coleman comes on the heels of other news reports state that Coleman will be using funds raised for his re-election campaign to pay for legal fees associated with a reported ongoing FBI investigation and lawsuit. The lawsuit, filed in Texas, states that Coleman’s friend Nasser Kazeminy funneled $75,000 to Coleman through the Senator’s wife. ABM has asked the FEC to look into the matter.
Copies of the letter ABM sent to the Senator’s office and the FEC can be found at: www.allianceminnesota.org
ABM is also providing Minnesotans the chance to sign a petition to show the FBI and the Senate Select Committee on Ethics support for the investigation by visiting: http://pnmn.bluestatedigital.com/page/petition/Investigatenorm
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