Candidate with ties to Aronoff considering campaign for Governor of Michigan

1.08.09

Patterson says, 'I know I can do better' as governor, plans on testing waters

BY TAMMY STABLES BATTAGLIA
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

Oakland County executive L. Brooks Patterson said he’ll formally announce Saturday he’s “testing the waters” on a run for Michigan governor in 2010.

“I know I can do better,” he said this morning. “I think I’ve proven that, if you look at how well Oakland County‘s managed and the things we’re doing here. I think we take the programs that are successful here and replicate that at the state level.”

Patterson said whether his bid becomes official depends on the response after his annual birthday bash Saturday night. At this point, he doesn’t have a war chest to finance a run, but he’s already had verbal pledges of support from around the state, he said.

"I don’t even have an exploratory committee,” he said today. “I’m going to send up a trial balloon. Right now, I’m just putting my name in the rumor mill.”

The Free Press reported Wednesday that supporters recently launched a Facebook group called “Draft Brooks Patterson for Michigan Governor.”

NOTE: A slush fund for Patterson's benefit was set up by lobbyists at Dykema Gossett and filled with money from affiliates of Daniel Aronoff (Landon Companies, Action Strategies, Inc.) and Harold Fried (Fried Saperstein Abbatt PC). Patterson used the fund to foot his travel bills and commission an artist's portrait of himself.

Slush fund bankrolled by Aronoff paid for fancy portrait of County Executive

A 527 Political Committee appears to have been a backdoor expense account for Oakland County (MI) Executive L. Brooks Patterson -- who has announced he's exploring a run for Governor of Michigan.

Among other things, that PAC known as “County Executive Administrative Account” paid $5,000 to The Portraits of Robert Maniscalco, Inc. located in Grosse Pointe, MI.

The Maniscalco Gallery’s Web site brags that the artist has “created portraits for a number of prominent individuals.” Among Michigan’s public officials, Maniscalco brags he has painted portraits of Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano and Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson.

Maniscalco was commissioned to paint the portraits of Mike and Marian Ilitch, Detroit billionaires, which hang on opposite walls in the couple's dining room. They own the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Red Wings, MotorCity Casino and founded Little Caesars Pizza.

Disclosures note that “County Executive Administrative Account” (527 Committee) was organized by attorneys/lobbyists at Dykema Gossett PLLC. That firm has been Oakland County’s exclusive D.C. lobbying firm since 2003.

The 527 Committee was funded primarily by Action Strategies, Inc., an affiliate of the Landon Companies (Daniel Aronoff’s company), and Fried Saperstein Abbatt PC. Attorney Harold Fried has represented Aronoff’s interests.

Aronoff and Fried, who have development interests in Michigan and Florida, are at the center of a scandal and investigation involving a $10 million earmark for a Florida interchange advanced by Alaska’s Congressman Don Young -- among other pork, he advanced the "Bridge-to-Nowhere."

Detroit Free Press: Patterson says, 'I know I can do better' as governor, plans on testing waters

Dykema Lobbyists set up expense account for Oakland County Exec Brooks Patterson

Oakland County (MI) Executive L. Brooks Patterson stood for re-election in 2004. (Wikipedia: L. Brooks Patterson)

A 527 Committee (a PAC) formed in 2004 by attorneys/lobbyists at Dykema Gossett PLLC was used to fund travel and other expenses for Patterson under the radar. That PAC was known as “County Executive Administrative Account.”

Among other things the committee covered travel expenses of $8,157 so Patterson and Arab American business leaders could attend a Dykema marketing event in Washington, D.C.

In September 2004, Dykema Gossett PLLC launched a Mideast Practice Initiative.

Richard McLellan, then a Dykema Gossett partner, was to be leader of the firm’s new Mideast Practice Initiative. He was also head of Dykema’s Government Policy Practice Group. (Note: McLellan, one of former Michigan Governor John Engler’s closest pals, has ties to various Indian gaming proposals being bankrolled by Michael J. Malik, Sr. and Marian Ilitch. McClellan recruited Lance Boldrey, Engler’s former counsel for Indian matters, to Dykema Gossett in 2003. Together McLellan and Boldrey have advanced the Malik/Ilitch gambling agenda).

Since 2003, Oakland County’s D.C. lobbying needs have been handled exclusively by Dykema Gossett lobbyists working in that firm's Government Policy Practice Group.

In 2004 & 2005, Jennifer Shoha was a government relations professional with Dykema Gossett’s Government Policy Practice Group working in the firm’s Bloomfield Hills and Washington D.C. offices. The Dykema Web site notes she was responsible for the firm's relationships with the Arab American business community. Like Boldrey, Ms. Shoha joined McLellan at Dykema after working as the one-time Director of Governor Engler’s Southeast Michigan office.

During 2004 & 2005, Shoha was Chair of County Executive Administrative Account, the 527 Committee which was apparently a receptacle for corporate contributions used to cover various expenses for Patterson, Oakland County's Executive. It should be noted that during 2005, Shoha was also registered as a D.C. lobbyist for Oakland County.

Disclosures indicate that among other things, the 527 Committee funded $8,157 in travel expenses for Patterson to attend an inaugural event for Dykema’s Mideast Practice Initiative in June 2005; an event that clearly designed to benefit both McLellan and Shoha among others at Dykema.

The paperwork to set up the 527 Committee was handled by Dykema employee Wendy Seigel. At that time, she was an administrative assistant working under McLellan in Dykema's Government Policy Practice Group.

The Dykema team raised $34,050 for the 527 Committee from 2004-2005.

It's notable that more than 55% of the 527 Committee's money came from two related sources:

(1) Action Strategies, Inc., affiliated with Daniel Aronoff and the Landon Companies; and

(2) Fried Saperstein Abbatt PC, a law firm headed by Aronoff's outside counsel Harold Fried.

Before, during and after this period; affiliates of Aronoff and Landon Companies had ongoing legal and real estate development matters pending in Oakland County which among other things involved the Novi Promenade.

What's more, the Aronoff affiliate Action Strategies, Inc. contributed nearly three times more to the 527 Committee for Patterson than any other donor. Others who contributed included Dick and Elizabeth DeVos, Detroit Edison Company and Quicken Loans.

Aronoff and Fried, both of whom reportedly split time between Michigan and Florida, are at the center of a major political scandal and U.S. Justice Department investigation examining their fundraising and lobbying practices as tied to Alaska's Rep. Don Young and a $10 million transportation earmark for a Florida interchange (Coconut Rd.).

Intentional or not? Tribe's seasoned D.C. lobbyist has a history of negligent, delayed reporting

Consider that Richard Alcalde (aka Rick Alcalde) has been a D.C. lobbyist for more than a decade.

On 2.16.06, Potomac Partners D.C., a lobbying firm founded by Richard Alcalde, formally filed a lobbying registration form revealing it had been representing the Shinnecock Indian Nation for more than 10 months. Alcalde indicated on that registration form that the firm was not being paid by any affiliated organization to represent the tribe.

Potomac Partners D.C. then late-filed, on 3.02.06, both its Mid-Year 2005 and Year-End 2005 reports of lobbying activity on behalf of the Shinnecock which totaled $120,000 in payments.

And then, more than three years after Alcalde (Potomac Partners) was hired to represent the Shinnecock Indian Nation, Alcalde amended the original registration form to indicate that an affiliate of the tribe, Gateway Casino Resorts, was paying the tribes bills and directing its lobbying activity.

Based on details available at OpenSecrets.org -- and the reliability of Alcalde's disclosures -- Alcalde and his firm Potomac Partners D.C. have been paid $430,000 to represent the Shinnecock starting in 2005.

Detroit-based Gateway Casino Resorts is one of several entities formed by Michael Malik and Mrs. Marian Ilitch to bankroll the Shinnecock tribe’s efforts to receive federal recognition and then build a casino resort on Long Island. Potomac Partners D.C. and its lobbyists (Alcalde and Daniel Feliz) have represented other Malik/Ilitch affiliates as well: MJM Enterprises & Development and Blue Water Resorts.

In recent years, Acalde has found himself in the middle of several Capitol Hill scandals involving Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA) and Rep. Don Young (R-AK). Notably Alcalde is at the middle of an ongoing investigation into a $10 million highway earmark for a Florida interchange (Coconut Rd.) reportedly carried by Young. That scandal involves Alcalde’s clients including Daniel J. Aronoff; Aronoff’s Landon Companies and its associates; Florida Gulf Coast University; and others. As TPMmuckraker.com and the Wall Street Journal reported, Alcalde is one of Young's "A-Team" of lobbyists who are to be granted unfettered access to Young's staff.

Young was the former chair of the House Resources Committee and until recently was ranking member of that committee which oversees Indian matters.

Attorneys tied to Aronoff and Ilitch helped them raise funds for Reps. Don Young, Candice Miller and others

Attorney Harold S. Fried, is president of the Michigan-based law firm Fried Saperstein Abbatt PC. Fried has represented Daniel J. Aronoff’s Landon Companies as confirmed in court documents filed 9.30.05 (Landon Development Corp. v. Target Corporation) and Minutes of the Novi Planning Commission. Fried and Aronoff are anchored in Michigan but both have residences and business interests in Florida. Aronoff’s Landon Development/Edison Farms and an office of Fried Saperstein are both located at 800 Seagate Dr, Naples, FL.

A Naples News article published 4.16.06, “Money a motivator in I-75 earmark?” indicates Fried helped Aronoff with a Florida fundraiser for Alaska’s Rep. Don Young that has now come into question as part of an alleged pay-to-play scandal involving a $10 million earmark for a Florida interchange.

According to the Michigan Bar Association member directory, Sarah Deson-Fried, Harold Fried’s wife, in 2003 she joined the Troy, MI law offices of Miller Canfield Paddock & Stone PLC as senior counselor in its real estate group; however, she’s no longer featured on the Miller Canfield Web site. Deson-Fried was a gubernatorial appointee to the Michigan Humanities Council Board of Directors and was elected its treasurer in 2005; however she resigned the post in 2007 with two years left on the term. She is also affiliated with HSL Investments, LLC.

The Michigan Humanities Council Web site lists the following as its largest donors for FY 2005:

Friends in FY 2005



Sage ($1,000 and over)
Daniel & Nancy Aranoff, Bloomfield Hills
Sarah Deson-Fried, Birmingham
Fried Sapersten Abbat PC
Miller, Canfield, Paddock & Stone
Marilyn Williamson, West Bloomfield

When it comes to defending high profile clients on criminal and personal matters, Harold Fried is frequently called upon by Michael Ilitch to represent his Red Wings players and several family members. And the Miller Canfield firm which employed Deson-Fried in its real estate group represented Ilitch/Detroit Tigers, Inc. in matters related to the development of Comerica Park; and handled business matters for Little Caesars Enterprises, Inc. and Ilitch Holdings.

A review of political contributions using OpenSecrets.org, suggests that when clients like Aronoff and Ilitch called upon Harold Fried to support political candidates they were trying to influence, Fried and his wife jumped on the bandwagon.

Between 1999 and 2005, the Frieds frequently made political contributions which mirrored contributions made by Daniel Aronoff and/or his wife Nancy. The beneficiaries of their political generosity included Reps. Don Young, Katherine Harris, Mario Diaz-Balart, and Thad McCotter among others.

Records available via CSPAN indicate Sarah Deson-Fried participated in a 3.11.03 fundraiser hosted by Detroit’s Ilitch family and attended by their friends, associates and a stable of their attorneys who raied money for Rep. Candice Miller. The fundraiser was held less than a month after Rep. Miller had introduced her first bill in Congress, H.R. 831, intended to pave the way for a Port Huron casino backed by Ilitch and friends. That bill was co-sponsored by Rep. Don Young.

Fried’s roster of high-profile clients who call when they’re in trouble includes:

*Sergei Fedorov, at the time one Mike Ilitch’s star skaters on the Detroit Red Wings, was arrested in 2001 after failing a field sobriety test and charged with driving while impaired. (Click-On Detroit)

*Bob Probert, another Red Wings player who was arrested in 1989 for smuggling cocaine and subsequently served three months in federal prison. (St. Petersburg Times)

*Nellie Varner, a former University of Michigan Regent who along with Herb Strather founded Atwater Entertainment Associates (MotorCity Casino), faced allegations of possible involvement in the 1998 murder of her daughter's ex-boyfriend. (Michigan Daily)

*Ronald Ilitch, the eldest son of Mike and Marian Ilitch, who was arrested on domestic violence charges in 2004 involving a girlfriend, Lisa Wood. Ilitch ultimately plead guilty to the charges. (Detroit Free Press)

*Fried also represented Ron Ilitch in a 1997 divorce proceeding. (Oakland Co. Courts)

*Michael Ilitch, Jr., another of Mike & Marian Ilitch's sons, has reportedly struggled with addictions during his life. Fried attempted to get Ilitch’s previously suspended Michigan drivers license re-instated during court proceedings in 2000. (Oakland Co. Courts)

Fried’s scruples have been questioned over the years:

In 1996, an Administrator representing Michigan’s Attorney Grievance Commission alleged that Fried and several colleagues participated in a scheme to counsel clients, who were dissatisfied with the judge assigned to their case, to retain an attorney related to that judge as co-counsel, solely for the purpose of removing the judge from their case. The Administrator alleged that Fried and the others received compensation based on their ability to get a client’s case transferred to another judge. (Grievance)

During a 2006 trial on wrongful discharge claims brought by a former Clerk of the 48th District Court (Bloomfield Township, MI), the Detroit Free Press reported that jurors heard testimony which alleged: “Harold Fried, an Oakland County defense attorney who has raised tens of thousands of dollars for myriad judicial candidates, routinely distributed tickets to prized sports events in an effort to curry favor with court employees.” (Detroit Free Press)

List of Michigan donors to Alaskan's Midnight Sun PAC is rather Dis-Honorable

The list of donors from Michign who have ever given money to the Midnight Sun PAC, Rep. Don Young's so-called leadership PAC, is rather short as one might expect given Young hails from Alaska. Just five donors. But those five donors, some bordering on infamous, made seven contributions totaling $23,500.

Further, a review of the short-list reveals a rather "Dis-Honorable Roll" of donors.
Ironically, book-ending this list are Detroiters Herbert J. Strather and Michael J. Malk, Sr.; one time partners, who respectively made the first and last contributions Midnight Sun PAC has ever received from Michigan donors. And sandwiched in the middle is Daniel J. Aronoff.

Malik and Strather were behind the legalization of commercial gambling in Detroit and were considered founders of Detroit's MotorCity Casino. However, the pair were among a handful of "investors" who were disqualified from receiving gaming licenses by the Michigan Gambling Control Board (MGCB) and as such had to dump their interests in the casino before it could open its doors. Among various considerations, Malik had recently been arrested for beating the 12-year-old son of a girlfriend and reportedly had IRS issues; and Strather, among other things, had previously been convicted of bribery.

Malik
For nearly a decade, Mike Malik has sought Rep. Young's help advancing unorthodox plans the casino syndicator is bankrolling for an Indian Casino in Port Huron, Michigan; and other earmark matters involving the Bay Mills Indian Community. (Anchorage Daily News: Alaska's Young a leader in Michigan Indian casino fight).

In 2005-06, Malik and his partners, members of Detroit's Ilitch family, were among the top five donors to Young's political committee and they gave Young the highest grossing day of fundraising he had in that entire two year campaign cycle . Only those affiliated with Veco (Bill Allen, Rick Smith), JHT Holdings (Dennis Troha) and Carnival Corp. contributed more than Malik/Ilitch Family. Vecco execs have plead guilty to political corruption charges and Troha has already been indicted on similar charges he "reimbursed" family members who contributed to various candidates.

Mike Malik is developing a pattern of political campaign finance violations. His affiliate Barwest LLC (another of his partnerships with Detroit's Marian Ilitch) was found to have violated California's political reform laws on two counts for failing to disclose a $26,600 contribution it made to former Rep. Richard Pombo's County GOP Victory Committee. Malik used Barwest to front private aircraft travel for Rep. Young.

Malik is the subject of an ongoing investigation by California's Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) because he denied making another $26,000+ in contributions to the committees of various California lawmakers in 2006 -- at the same time the previous FPPC investigation was concluding.

Strather & Dalgleish
Similarly, Herb Strather has bankrolled efforts to get approvals needed to build a large casino resort on Cape Cod in partnership with the Mashpee Wampanoag Indian Tribe. Young sat as Chair, Vice Chair and then ranking member of the House Resources Committee which has oversight for Indian matters.

Strather put $4 million into a hidden fund that enabled his partner, former tribal chairman Glenn Marshall, to carry out a scheme of illegal campaign finance activity including reimbursements to other so-called "donors." Marshall and other such "donors" from the tribe contributed to Midnight Sun PAC on the same date Strather and Mary Ann Dalgleish, a Strather & Associates Vice President, contributed to the PAC. We will assume Strather knew better than to reimburse Dalgleish for her contribution.

Dalgleish was apparently one of 100+ "investors" Strather recruited to syndicate Atwater Entertainment Associates LLC in the mid-1990s although Dalgleish had a personal history of financial hardship. AEA is the entity Strather syndicated to bankroll the legalization of gaming in Detroit and start MotorCity Casino. Dalgleish may also have been an investor in AtMashpee LLC, the syndication Strather organized to bankroll the Mashpee Wampanoag casino plans.

Aronoff
Appearing predictably on the PAC list three times -- and of all things, at the center of the list -- is Daniel Aronoff, perhaps so far the most publicly notorious donor on this list. (Note that the entry for Aronoff's most recent contribution has his last name misspelled as Aaronoff -- error or intention?).

Aronoff owns land in Florida and is the Michigan-based real estate developer at the center of the scandal and investigation into a $10 million earmark advanced by Rep. Young that was designated for improvements to the Coconut Road interchange off Florida's I-75. The project would have significant value to Aronoff who was a prodigious fundraiser for Young.

Aronoff, Malik and Strather have similar patterns of interaction with Young and have been significant bundlers/fundraisers for Young's various political committees, GOP causes and closest allies (former Reps Richard Pombo, John Doolittle, etc.). They've flown Young around in private aircraft, organized fundraisers, hired the some of the same notorious lobbyists and in exchange, sought help from Rep. Young above and beyond the norm.

Wend
The fifth Michigan donor on the list is Dennis Wend, who is referred to as a government employee albeit the only government employee from Michigan to contribute to Midnight Sun PAC -- and contribute $3,000.

Wend is executive director of technology transfer at the United States Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center, located at the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command in Warren. He contributed to Midnight Sun PAC only after he was given the spotlight in 2004 & 2005 at Alaska's Clean Energy Symposium I & II.

Could Rep. Young's controversial $10M Coconut Rd. earmark pave the way for Boston Red Sox?

The News-Press in Fort Meyers, Florida, reports that property in south Lee County, owned by Michigan developer Daniel J. Aronoff, is one of five sites under consideration for development of a new Boston Red Sox Spring Training Complex by 2012.

Aronoff's Florida land is under consideration because the Red Sox want a new complex with a stadium and practice field. In their current situation, the Red Sox play their games in downtown Fort Myers at City of Palms Park but hold early-spring workouts several miles away.

However, nothing is ever quite that easy. And, neither Aronoff or the two-square miles of wetlands property which sits along Interstate 75 are without controversy

See, both are at the center of a federal corruption investigation involving U.S. Rep. Don Young (R-AK) who earmarked $10 million for a Coconut Road interchange study after a 2005 Estero-area fundraiser, which Aronoff attended, netting Young about $40,000.

Capitol Hill Lobbyist Richard Alcalde (Potomac Partners DC) is also at the heart of the Coconut Road earmark investigation. Alcalde represented Aronoff's Landon Companies and Alcalde has been identified as one of a select group of "A-Team" lobbyists who are especially close to Young.

Alcalde represents another Michigan developer, Michael J. Malik, Sr., and Malik's casino gaming affiliate MJM Enterprises. Malik and a partner, Mrs. Marian Ilitch, are behind plans to advance several Indian casinos across the country. Alcalde represents one of their Native American partners as well, the Shinnecock Indian Nation of New York.

Like Aronoff, Malik and the Ilitch family have contributed and raised thousands for Rep. Young's committees and flown him around in their private aircraft; and in return, Young has helped advance plans they back for an Indian casino in Port Huron, Michigan.

And there's another Major League Baseball (MLB) connection too. Marian's husband, Mike Ilitch, owns the Detroit Tigers.

D.C. Lobbyist Alcalde made $25k in contributions using four different employers

D.C. lobbyist Richard Alcalde (Rick Alcalde) formed his lobbying firm Potomac Partners D.C. in the Spring 2005. However, according to CampaignMoney.com, since then he's contributed more than $25,000 to federal campaigns and PACs which list his employer/occupation as:

• Alcalde & Fay/owner or attorney
• Federalist Group/attorney or owner or partner or associate
• Hall Green Rupli LLC/lobbyist
• Potomac Partners DC/executive or president or partner or attorney or consultant or government affairs

Alcalde has been identified as one of Rep. Don Young's "A-Team" lobbyists. Alcalde is at the center of a Justice Department investigation surrounding Young's 2005 $10 million Coconut Road earmark. Alcalde had two clients involved in the circumstances surround the earmark: Michigan developer Daniel J. Aronoff (Landon Companies) and Florida Gulf Coast University.

Rep. Young repeats the same pattern of earmarks with Aronoff, Congel, Malik & Troha

As chairman of the House transportation committee, Alaska Rep. Don Young flew at least three times to upstate New York aboard a sleek jet owned by Robert Congel (Pyramid Companies), an ambitious shopping mall developer seeking federal highway dollars. Congel family members have contributed $68,700 to the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC).

With Young’s help, Congel got millions of dollars to boost his dream of building the largest mall in North America. Young, the veteran Republican Congressman, got something, too: more than $33,000 in political donations from Congel, his family and his associates.

Congel's Pyramid Companies has been represented by lobbyists at Williams & Jensen and Blank Rome LLP. Williams & Jensen provides counsel to Young's Midnight Sun leadership PAC. Lobbyists at Blank Rome LLP (Duncan Smith, Young's former aide; CJ Zane, Young's former chief of staff) are among Young's "A-Team" of lobbyists.

For Young, the Congel story was hardly unusual. Time after time, Young approved millions of dollars for highway projects for people who in turn fattened his campaign coffers.

Daniel Aronoff
In another such example, Young, then the chairman of the House Transportation Committee, inserted a $10 million earmark to widen I-75 in Florida's Collier and Lee Counties into the 2005 Transportation Funding Bill. The project was supported by local officials. That was the version passed by Congress.

But because of Young's unique position, he was able to make a crucial change: the bill later signed by the President had different language, directing the $10 million specifically to an I-75 interchange at Coconut Road.

That project had been opposed by local officials, but aggressively backed by Michigan real estate mogul Daniel Aronoff (Landon Companies), who'd flown Young to Florida and thrown a $40,000 fundraiser for Young that year. It's recently been revealed that Aronoff's lobbyists, Rick Alcalde (Richard Alcalde) and Dan Feliz (Daniel Feliz), are part of Young's "A-Team" of lobbyists with unfettered access to Young's staff. Aronoff family members have contributed $43,400 to the NRCC.

Both the Senate and House have officially called for investigations into the Coconut Road earmark matter.

Michael Malik
And then there's Michael J. Malik, Sr., (MJM Enterprises & Blue Water Resorts), a Detroit casino syndicator whose partners include Mrs. Marian Ilitch -- she owns Detroit's MotorCity Casino, the Detroit Red Wings and Little Caesars Pizza. Malik has been working to develop an off-reservation casino in Port Huron, Michigan, in partnership with the Bay Mills Indian Community for nearly a decade. They are also pushing off-reservation casinos in California and New York.

Several times between 2003 & 2005, Young tried to slip language into the 2005 Transportation Spending Bill that would have quietly paved the way for Malik's Port Huron casino. Jeff Parker a Bay Mills tribal leader has admitted publicly that they'd hope to use the Transportation Bill as a stealth way to get approvals.

In fact, according to a report in The Hill, Sen. John McCain and former Rep. Richard Pombo were furious when Young inserted an earmark for a transportation study in Port Huron into the 2005 Transportation Bill because the earmark included additional language buried in the earmark that would have required the Secretary of Interior to take actions paving the way for Malik's casino; bypassing the normal processes and committees with jurisdiction over such matters.

Like Aronoff and Congel, Malik & Ilitch fronted costs for Young to travel in their private jet at least twice during 2005. Like Aronoff and Congel, they got their family members and associates to raise money for Young. They helped raise $58,000 for Young on 5.23.05, making that Young's best day of fundraising in the 2006 campaign cycle. Malik and members of the Ilitch family have contributed $97,000 to the NRCC and National Republican Senatorial Committee.

And Malik hasn't backed off. In February, Young pushed to get a favorable vote on H.R. 2176, a bill supporting Malik's casino plans, in the House Natural Resources Committee. And he took the measure to the floor of the House in a heated debate on 6.25.08. The bill failed.

According to OpenSecrets.org, Malik contributed $3,000 to Young's Midnight Sun PAC on 8.15.07. He's contributed $15,000 to the NRCC since February 2007. On 3.31.08, Malik and his lobbyists (Richard Alcalde and Dan Feliz) joined other members of Young's A-Team who contributed another $17,000 to Young's warchest. Alcalde is also Aronoff's lobbyist. Previously Malik's affiliates were represented by Williams & Jensen, a firm that has also represented Congel's Pyramid Companies.

Dennis Troha
Young had the same patterns of behavior with Wisconsin transportation and casino gambling mogul Dennis Troha (JHT Holdings). Troha, his family and associates were among Young's top three contributors in 2006.

Troha had benefited from changes in federal trucking regulations which were included as an amendment in a highway spending bill that became law in 2005.

JHT Holdings has been represented by Colin Chapman (Young's former chief of staff).

Like Malik and the Ilitch family, the Troha family and associates also contributed to Young's campaign on 5.23.05. Troha contributed $50,000 to the NRCC.

A federal probe of Troha's activities was initiated. Troha has since been indicted on charges he inappropriately funneled money to the campaign of Wisconsin's Governor through family members.

Congel, Aronoff and Malik have each contributed to Young's Midnight Sun leadership PAC at some point.

More on lobbyist's relationship with Rep. Young

According to reports from the McClatchy Washington Bureau:

A-Team lobbyist Rick Alcalde (Richard Alcalde) was never a staffer to Rep. Don Young (R-AK). He lobbied for the 2005 earmark that shifted $10 million from a road-widening project in southwest Florida to a study of an interstate interchange (Coconut Road) that would benefit Daniel Aronoff, a Michigan developer who raised money for Young.

That earmark mushroomed into a national controversy in part because it was placed in the highway bill, by someone on Young's staff, after the House and Senate had voted on the bill but before it went to the president for his signature.

Young has said he supported the money because local residents and Florida Gulf Coast University requested money for the project. Alcalde has lobbied for both Florida Gulf Coast University and Aronoff's real estate firm, the Landon Companies. Lobbying disclosures show that in 2005, the Landon Companies paid Alcalde $80,000 specifically to lobby on Young's highway bill.

Now Alcalde finds himself at the heart of an official investigation into the Coconut Road earmark matter.

Mike Anderson, Young's chief of staff, said Young doesn't make decisions based on lobbying and his relationship with Alcalde is personal.

"If Rick Alcalde could talk to you on the phone he would tell you that when he was a youngster and so forth he was kind of a rabble-rouser and everything else. The Youngs looked out for him," Anderson said. "And that goes back to the relationship the Youngs have with Mr. Alcalde, with Hector, (Rick's) father and his mother. When Rick went through some tough times and so forth the Youngs were there to help him, to kind of give him some of that guidance he needed. ... Rick credits the Youngs with being a mentor."

Hector Alcalde, Rick's father, is a longtime, top-tier Washington, D.C., lobbyist.

Rick Alcalde represents Michael Malik's affiliates MJM Enterprises and Blue Water Resorts. He also represents Malik's partner the Shinnecock Indian Nation.

Prior to starting the lobbying firm Potomac Partners D.C. in 2005, Alcalde represented the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and Station Casinos as well as the Detroit International Bridge company. Malik has ties to all three of those entities.

Does Rep. Young's A-Team include detroit casino syndicator Mike Malik?

Rep. Don Young's leadership PAC is called "Midnight Sun." Young has raised as much as $200,000 in past election cycles through this little known PAC.

Many of Young's "A List-ers" traditionally use the Midnight Sun PAC to direct money to Young.

Daniel Aronoff, the Michigan developer at the center of Young's Coconut Road earmark scandal, has previously joined "A-List-ers" in contributing to Midnight Sun.

This time around Young has raised only $34,500 for Midnight Sun. That money has come from fourteen individuals including some of Young's "A-List-ers" (Randy DeLay, Jack Ferguson, C.J. Zane) and also Detroit casino syndicator Michael J. Malik, Sr.

Malik contributed $3,000 to Midnight Sun PAC on 8.15.07.

On 3.31.08, Malik also gave maximum contributions totaling $4,600 to Young's political campaign committee. Joining Malik in making contributions on 3.31.08 were "A-List-ers" Richard Alcalde (and his associate Dan Feliz) and Jack Ferguson. Alcalde and Feliz are lobbyists for Malik.

Since 1999, Young has helped shepherd bills that would pave the way for Malik to build and manage off-reservation Indian casinos. One such bill, H.R. 2176, was heard and approved by the House Natural Resources Committee in February. Young is ranking member of the committee. Young took H.R. 2176 to the floor of the House and fought hard for its passage but his colleagues overwhelmingly rejected Malik's casino bill on 6.25.08.

Rick Alcade, Rep. Don Young's "A Team" Lobbyist

In April, the U.S. Senate asked the Justice Department to open an investigation into the circumstances surrounding a $10 million expenditure for a highway interchange in Florida [Coconut Road earmark] promoted by Alaska Rep. Don Young (R), the former chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Then U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to request a federal criminal investigation into the matter which “shifted $10 million from a road widening project in southwest Florida to a study of an interchange that promised to benefit one of Young’s campaign donors,” Michigan developer Daniel Aronoff. Around this time, Young collected $40,000 in contributions from a variety of interests tied to Aronoff, including lobbyist Richard "Rick" Alcade, who “worked on behalf of Aronoff’s real estate firm, the Landon Companies.”

In 2005, Rick Alcalde (Potomac Partners, D.C.) represented both Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) and Aronoff’s Landon Companies. Landon Companies, a real estate company, has paid Alcalde’s firms (first Ogilvy Government Relations, then Potomac Partners) a combined $600,000 since 2003. FGCU has paid Potomac Partners $140,000 since 2005. Aronoff affiliates apparently fronted costs for Young including fundraising and travel aboard private planes.

In 2005, Alcade specifically lobbied Young on the highway bill.

Alcalde reports contributing $8,500 to Young's campaign committee. His clients have contributed much more.

Alcalde and his associate Daniel Feliz continue to represent Florida Gulf Coast University and Aronoff's interests in Washington, D.C.

Young's "An Intern's Survival Guide" includes Alcalde among a group of nine "A-Team" lobbyists who should get direct access to Young staffers whenever they call Young's office.

Alaska's Rep. Don Young a leader in Michigan Indian casino fight

6.24.08

Today's news for the Last Frontier
By Kathleen McCoy

Rep. Don Young shows up in Michigan fight over Indian casinos. The debate is over land swaps for casinos, according to Freep.com. The link to Young is a bit of alphabet soup, but it's quick.

Disgraced Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff, now serving time for fraud and tax evasion, once represented the Indian tribes fighting for the land swap. Developer Mike Malik worked on one of the casino deals. He hired Washington lobbyist Richard Alcade, who also worked for developer Daniel Aronoff. They've both been linked in news accounts to the $10 million Coconut Road earmark in Florida, promoted by Alaska's Don Young.

Here's the bottom line: Young is the ranking Republican on the Natural Resources Committee and supported the casino bills when they were passed by the committee in February. Malik contributed $4,600 -- the limit -- to Young's re-election committee March 31. Alcalde and an associate Dan Feliz also wrote checks to Young on March 31 -- as did several of Young's "A List-ers."

See the list of those who contributed 3.31.08 to Young's re-election committee.

Lobbyist Rick Alcalde is at the center of earmark controversy involving Rep. Don Young

as reported 5.02.08 by Senior Editor Susan Crabtree of The Hill:

"The earmark has been tainted by controversy. Lobbyist Rick Alcalde represented both FGSU [Florida Gulf State University] as well as the company owned by Daniel Aronoff, a real estate developer who owned 4,000 acres along Coconut Road and helped organize a fundraiser for Young during one of his visits to the area in 2005. Both entities requested the Coconut Road earmark." ... "Young flew to FGSU for a town hall meeting in 2005 on a chartered plane owned by a Michigan company; the owner told the Naples Daily News that the Aronoffs were among his biggest clients." ... "After the town hall, Young went directly to a fundraiser at the Hyatt Coconut Point, which Aronoff helped organize." ... "Young said Mack invited him to the town hall meeting." ... "Young also posted documents and photos on his website in an effort to demonstrate that Mack was deeply involved in the earmark. In one letter in March 2006 to FGSU’s president, Mack supported it."

Detroit-based casino syndicator Michael J. Malik, Sr. is another client of Alcalde's. Malik and his partner Mrs. Marian Ilitch are backing Indian casino proposals in California, Michigan and New York that have come or will come before the House Natural Resources Committee -- a committee once chaired by Rep. Young. Young is currently ranking member on the Natural Resources Committee.

Like Aronoff, Malik and Ilitch are from Michigan; have raised a substantial amount of money for Young; have flown Young around in private/chartered aircraft; and have Young's backing of a controversial off-reservation casino bill (H.R. 2176) that could bring millions to the Detroit casino syndicators.

Malik retained the services of Alcalde after Malik's previous lobbyist, Barbara Bonfiglio, came under intense scrutiny, left her firm abruptly (Williams & Jensen) and went into hiding. Alcalde and Bonfiglio had ties to Rep. Jerry Lewis (former chair of the House Appropriations Committee), former Rep. Richard Pombo, Tom DeLay, Young and others.

Florida County turns down Alaska Rep. Don Young's $10 million road construction earmark

8.18.07

A Congressman’s $10 Million Gift for Road Is Rebuffed

By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK

WASHINGTON — It is not often that a local government tries to turn down $10 million in federal construction money.

But then it is not every day that an Alaska congressman surprises a Florida community with the gift of a highway interchange that just happens to abut the property of a major political fund-raiser.

The money for the interchange was the work of Representative Don Young, the Alaska Republican who was chairman of the transportation committee before the last election.

Officials of Lee County considered the project a low priority, environmental groups opposed it and the Republican congressman from the district never asked for it.

But the interchange, on Interstate 75 at a place called Coconut Road, would be a boon to Daniel J. Aronoff, a Michigan real estate developer with adjacent property who helped raise $40,000 in donations to Mr. Young at a fund-raiser in the region shortly before Mr. Young inserted an earmark for the project in a transportation bill.

The connections were too much for the Lee County Metropolitan Planning Organization, said Carla Johnston, its chairwoman and a Democrat.

On Friday, the members of the organization voted overwhelmingly to return the money in the hope that Congress would let them spend it elsewhere in the county.

Adding to the intrigue, a researcher commissioned by Ms. Johnston said Mr. Young had added the earmark for the interchange to a transportation bill after both chambers of Congress had approved it, at a time Congressional aides were cleaning up the bill for President Bush’s signature.

“People were really highly outraged at the process,” Ms. Johnston said. “It was a classic end run.”

A spokeswoman for Mr. Young did not return calls for comment.

A spokeswoman for Mr. Aronoff, the developer and fund-raiser, defended the project, saying a study had determined a need for the interchange in a building plan years ago, partly to help with hurricane evaluations.

“Unfortunately, the real story is getting lost in this funding debate,” the spokeswoman, Elizabeth Hirst, said.

Daniel Aronoff and Mike Malik have similar relationships with Rep. Don Young

6.20.07

by David D. Kirkpatrick

WASHINGTON -- Campaign contributions sometimes lead to lucrative official favors, but seldom are the tradeoffs as obvious as in the case of Coconut Road.

The road, a stretch of pavement near Fort Myers, Fla., that touches five golf clubs on its way to the Gulf of Mexico, is the target of a $10 million earmark that appeared mysteriously in a 2006 transportation bill written by Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska.

The Coconut Road money is a boon, however, to Daniel J. Aronoff, a Bloomfield Hills real estate developer who helped raise $40,000 for Young at the nearby Hyatt Coconut Point hotel days before he introduced the measure.

Aronoff owns as much as 4,000 acres along Coconut Road. The $10 million in federal money would pay for the first steps to connect the road to Interstate 75, exponentially increasing the value of Aronoff's land.

A Republican commissioner of Lee County, Ray Judah, is campaigning against the interchange, calling it an example of congressional corruption that is "a cancer on the federal government."

Aronoff and Michael J. Malik share the same D.C. political operative: Richard Alcalde, founder of the lobbying firm Potomac Partners D.C.

Young may have first learned of Coconut Road on Feb. 17, 2005. That is when he flew to the region on a plane owned by a Waterford, Mich., charter company that is associated with the Aronoff family, which is based in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. The Aronoffs are among the company's biggest clients, its general manager, Tom Hector, said.

Young's re-election campaign reimbursed the company $3,422 for the flight, according to his campaign filings.

At the invitation of Mack, Young visited Florida Gulf Coast University for a meeting on the Interstate and other transportation questions. Afterward, Young went directly to the fundraiser at the Hyatt Coconut Point.

His campaign records show that he received more than $40,000 in contributions on one day around that time, mostly from southwestern Florida developers and builders.

Aronoff, whose family is a major contributor to Republicans, gave $500 to Young's campaign and later gave $2,500 to Young's Midnight Sun political action committee.

The Aronoffs gave more than $200,000 to Republican candidates and political committees in 2006. Their business, the Landon Cos., is best known for building mobile-home parks. But it also operates a real estate development business in Florida.

Daniel Aronoff has taken over management of the company from his father, Arnold Y. Aronoff, who had a checkered career in Florida real estate. In 1979, Arnold Aronoff was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to mail fraud in a scheme to sell Florida swampland at an inflated price.


NOTE: The Aronoff owned Landon Companies and Michael J. Malik's MJM Enterprises & Development share the same D.C. political operative, Richard Alcalde. Alcalde owns the Potomac Partners D.C. lobbying firm. MJM Enterprises is one of the entities Malik uses in syndicating various Indian Casino proposals backed by members of the Ilitch Family (his partners). But the similarities don't stop there:

• Rep. Young (R-AK) flying around in Detroit Casino Developers' private jet
• Rep. Don Young's Top 10 donor list includes prominent Great Lakes area families bankrolling 'off-reservation' casino projects
• Ilitch/Malik & Troha families responsible for 70% of the money Rep Don Young (R-AK) took in on his best fundraising day of the entire 2006 campaign
• Casino developer indicted on charges he laundered political contributions via his family
• There can be no question why Michael Malik found Rep. Don Young to be such an attractive political figure
• Tribe hoped language slipped into 2004 Transportation Bill would grant approvals for Port Huron casino
• UPDATED: Tribal leader admits lobbyists were trying to sneak casino plans through Congress without alerting opposition

Michigan Developer directed political funds to Rep Don Young and got $10 million earmarked for Florida road project

Complete article can be retrieved from the NY Times Archive or is available for review here.

Alaskan Gets Campaign Cash; Florida Road Gets U.S. Funds

By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK (NYT); National Desk
Late Edition - Final, Section A, Page 1, Column 1, 1209 words

Rep. Don Young, Alaska Republican whose constituents are far from Florida, nevertheless earmarked $10 million in federal transportation funds to link Coconut Road near Fort Myers to Interstate 75; Young is also congressman who steered more than $200 million to so-called bridge to nowhere in Alaska; Rep Connie Mack, who represents district, says he did not request money and Lee County officials twice refused to use it, but project would benefit Daniel Aronoff, developer who helped raise $40,000 for Young and owns up to 4,000 acres along Coconut Road; consultant Joe Mazurkiewicz credits 'very good impression' they made with getting Young's help on interchange funds and $81 million for work on interstate; Young's role escalates objections to project as environmental threat to wetlands and example of corruption and improper earmarking; Young was transportation committee chairman until Democrats won majority; Aronoffs gave more than $200,000 to Republicans in 2006.

* * *

Since 2003, Daniel J. Aronoff's Detroit-based Landon Companies have been represented in Washington D.C. by lobbyist Richard Alcalde. In 2004, Alcalde formed his own lobbying firm, Potomac Partners D.C. In addition to his ties to Rep. Don Young, Alcalde came under fire last summer when the Washington Post reported a $50,000 "consulting" realtionship Alcalde had with the daughter of Rep. Jerry Lewis. At the time Alcalde had clients with interests before the House Appropriations Committee which was chaired then by Rep. Lewis.

Since 2005, Alcalde has also represented Michael J. Malik's Detroit-based MJM Enterprises & Development. Malik is a syndicator of Indian casinos and his primary business partners are members of Detroit's billionaire Ilitch Family (owners of Little Caesars Pizza, Detroit Tigers, Detroit Red Wings, Detroit's MotorCity Casino, etc.).

According to Opensecrets.org for the Center for Responsive Politics, the family of Mike Ilitch and Marian Ilitch through Ilitch Holdings, Inc. (Detroit, MI) ranked #6 on Young's list of overall contributors for the 2006 election cycle. MJM Enterprises paid Alcalde's firm $300,000 for representation during that same period. Further, Malik/Ilitch controlled entities fronted more than $13,000 in private aircraft travel for Rep. Don Young in 2005.

As the New York Times notes above, Rep. Young held leadership positions on the House Transportation Committee (chariman); and he was a senior members and former chair of the House Natural Resources Committee. Both committees have been critical to he success of Malik/Ilitch casino ventures -- namely plans by Malik/Ilitch to relocate an off-reservation Indian casino in Port Huron, Michigan more than 300 miles away from the Bay Mills Indian Community's reservation.

Rep. Young backs the Malik/Ilitch plan for Michigan and has helped advance the plans in Congress several times. Proponents of the Malik/Ilitch backed casino convinced Rep. Young to bury approval of their plans in a Transportation spending bill during the 109th Congress but that attempt was thwarted.

• Alcalde is latest controversial player on the Ilitch/Malik DC Team
• You can tell a lot about a Capitol Hill lobbyist by the company they keep
• Ilitch & Troha families responsible for 70% of the money Rep Don Young (R-AK) took in on his best fundraising day of the entire 2006 campaign