A complete cumulative review (2005-2006) of contributions to "Friends of Pat Wiggins" adds further clarity to the first-term Senator's overnight romance with the Detroit casino syndicators. Disclosures indicate the Wiggins committee received a total of 606 contributions at an average of $616.
Prior to October 2006, there is no record of support for Wiggins by principals behind Detroit-based Barwest Gaming LLC. Likewise, last year when Barwest was desperate for friends in the legislature, then Assemblywoman Wiggins failed to come forward and publicly declare her support for Barwest's proposal to build twin Indian Casino Resorts in Barstow
That all changed after October 21, 2006, the date Michael J. Malik, Sr., day-to-day managing principal behind Barwest Gaming LLC passed along two checks to Wiggins: (1) from his personal Trust Account and (2) from MJM Enterprises & Development his solely owned company.
Although both contributions are reported as received on Saturday October 21, 2006, online disclosures indicate the Wiggins Committee reported the contribution noted above as (1) in its report of 10/26/06 and withheld reporting the contribution noted above as (2) until its January 31, 2007 post election filing; although both contributions are tagged to the 2006 General Election cycle.
One can only speculate why it is that Malik wrote two checks; or why he didn't write the second check on a Barwest LLC account since that's the company registered to do business in California; or why he failed to provide the same back up detail for both contributions; or why Wiggins' Committee didn't report both contributions at the same time; or why Wiggins pegged one of the Malik contributions from "Detroit, MI" and the other from "CA" when both Malik and MJM Enterprises & Development are based in Detroit.
Regardless of the unanswered questions, we know that with those two checks, ($4,000 total) Malik established his position atop Wiggins' 606 contributors as follows:
Malik Ranks #1
among Wiggins' Out-of-state Donors
Malik Ranks #2
among overall individual donors to Wiggins' campaign
(non-PAC/non-union)
Malik Ranks #11
among all donors to Wiggins' campaign
A little more than two weeks after Malik's checks showed up Patricia Wiggins won election to the Senate.
A little more than 90 days (January 31, 2007) after Malik made the political contributions, Senator Wiggins announced that she had agreed to author SB 157, a bill apparently no other new legislator was willing to carry.
Comprehensive campaign finance reports for the Fall election were due on the same day the announcement was made. The parties involved were assured their staged "news" regarding SB 157 would be out on the news wires long before anyone could analyze the campaign finance reports and track any money trail.
But if you were wondering what might have compelled Senator Wiggins to sign on when no one else would, perhaps this sheds a little light.
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