The list of names keeps growing, but at the least it includes Jack Abramoff, Tom Delay, Mike Scanlon, Duke Cunningham, David Safavian, Brett Wilkes, Bob Ney, Mitchell Wade, Conrad Burns, and Katherine Harris. Perhaps it's time to add another name - Barbara Bonfiglio.
What, never heard of Barbara Bonfiglio? As a lawyer/lobbyist at the powerful DC firm of Williams and Jensen the Center for Public Integrity says she holds the record for the most Political Action Committees controlled by a registered lobbyist - 31! Bonfiglio was also the treasurer of five separate 527 organizations connected to members of Congress and at least two "charities"; Tom DeLay's Celebrations for Children and Rick Santorum's Operation Good Neighbor. Bonfiglio was the treasurer of now disgraced and soon to be incarcerated Duke Cunningham's American Prosperity PAC
Most recently Bonfiglio's name has been in the news attempting to defend Santorum's poorly performing charity. Now it appears Bonfiglio has been cut loose. She has abruptly left her position at Williams and Jensen, and cut ties with at least one PAC - Richard Pombo's RICHPAC. One can assume that more will follow.
A search of the internet reveals that Bonfiglio has been associated with all of the following organizations - and I'm sure there are more that I missed.
21st Century Pac
American Prosperity PAC (Duke Cunningham)
American Success PAC (David Dreier)
America's Foundation PAC
America's Majority Trust (Rob Portman)
American Public Communications Council Inc PAC
ARENA PAC
ARMPAC (Tom DeLay)
Battle Born Classic Committee (John Thune)
Come Back PAC
Common Sense Leadership Fund (Saxby Chambliss)
Fund for a Conservative Future (Jim Imhofe)
Future Leaders PAC (Jerry Lewis)
Great American Patriots PAC (Brian Bilbray)
New American Century PAC
Peace Through Strength PAC (Duncan Hunter)
Pete's PAC (Pete Domenici)
Promoting Republicans You Can Elect Project (Deborah Pryce)
Republican Majority Fund (Don Nickles)
RICHPAC (Richard Pombo)
Sandhills PAC (Chuck Hagel)
VIEW PAC (Deborah Pryce)
Williams And Jensen PLLC PAC
Operation Good Neighbor (Santorum charity)
Celebrations for Children (DeLay charity)
Public Citizen indicates that she was also the treaurer at one time for Conrad Burns' leadership PAC. And I've also seen articles that refer to her working for Mary Bono and former representative Phil Crane.
DeLay, Burns, Cunningham, Pombo, Bilbray, Imhofe, and Lewis. Quite a cozy little nest of sleaze. Bonfiglio must be either the smartest or dumbest lawyer in DC. Either she was a mastermind of trying to flout the law - or a dupe that couldn't figure out what these guys were up to and lent her name unwittingly to the enterprises. But since she's a former lobbyist and a lawyer, my guess is she was in it up to her eyeballs and it will be interesting to see if someone is ready to make her sing.