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Team 4: Treasurer Of Santorum Charity Out
POSTED: 5:36 pm EST March 10, 2006
UPDATED: 6:51 pm EST March 10, 2006
The following report by Team 4 investigator Jim Parsons first aired on Channel 4 Action News at 5 p.m. on March 10, 2006.
Friday's development follows Team 4's report two days ago, and a report Thursday in the Washington Post that Sen. Rick Santorum has resumed his regular meetings with lobbyists -- even though he vowed in January to put an end to those get-togethers.
Now, the lobbying firm principal who controlled the money at Santorum's re-election campaign and his leadership PAC and his charity is out.
Barbara Bonfiglio, of the Washington lobbying firm Williams and Jensen, is quitting to work for a Fortune 100 company, according to Williams and Jensen CEO Steve Hart.
Hart said Bonfiglio's resignation means she will be stepping down as treasurer of Santorum's re-election committee and his political action committee, known as America's Foundation.
It's unclear if she will also resign her post as treasurer of Operation Good Neighbor, the charity Santorum founded in 2001.
A Team 4 investigation Wednesday showed how Operation Good Neighbor's purse strings and day-to-day operations are run by principals in lobbying firms.
The charity's tax filings reveal that from 2001 to 2004 -- the most recent year available -- Operation Good Neighbor spent $501,000 on grants to community groups. But almost half that amount -- $216,000 -- was spent on travel, meetings and conferences.
Team 4 has asked the senator's office and the charity itself for records that would show who was doing all that traveling for the charity and where they went.
The request continues to be denied.
"If there is no question as to the legitimacy and legality of their operation, then everything ought to be on the table for the media and anyone else to look at," said Gerald Shuster of the University of Pittsburgh.
Shuster, a political analyst, said because Santorum has proclaimed himself to be the GOP's point man on lobbyist reform, he should open the books at Operation Good Neighbor.
"He himself ought to make a statement and come to the forefront and talk to you in person or with any of the media and say here's our books, they're open, they're on the table. You guys can peruse the books and examine them for whatever you think there is there. There's nothing to hide. Here they are," Shuster said.
Team 4 asked Operation Good Neighbor if Barbara Bonfiglio will be replaced as treasurer with another employee of a Washington lobbying firm.
A spokeswoman did not answer that question directly, but said in a written statement that Operation Good Neighbor is currently working to fill the position of treasurer.
Note: Bonfiglio signed Michael J. Malik's MJM Enterprises & Development as a client on Indian and gaming matters while she was concurrenty treasurer of Rep. Richard Pombo's leadership committee RICH PAC. While retaining Bonfiglio's firm, Malik his partners, affiliates and advocates contributed close to $100,000 to Pombo's committees and causes. MJM Enterprises, a brand few would have on their radar, quietly paid Bonfiglio's firm $220,000
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