Opinion ID: 1314537
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Campaign Contribution Bribe

Text: In 1998, Silvester, who had been an interim appointment as Treasurer, decided to run for a full term and needed to raise funds for his campaign. As state law prohibited investment firms doing business with the Treasurer's Office from contributing to the race for Treasurer, Silvester instead attempted to raise money for the Connecticut Republican Party, which agreed to contribute 70% of the amount Silvester raised to Silvester's campaign. Silvester told Spadoni that it would be helpful to his campaign if Triumph could raise money for the Connecticut Republican Party, Trial Tr. vol. 5, 115, June 19, 2003, and Triumph accordingly made a $100,000 commitment to the party. Additionally, Silvester told Spadoni that he would like to have one of his employees, Lisa Thiesfield, serve as his full-time campaign manager, but she was not permitted to perform campaign activities during her work hours at the Treasurer's Office. Spadoni subsequently informed Silvester that Triumph hired Thiesfield for an assignment unrelated to state business, paying her a $20,000 to $25,000 fee. This allowed Thiesfield to quit her Treasurer's Office job and work as a full-time campaign manager. Silvester lost the election, and Spadoni promptly approached him to propose an investment deal with Triumph. Silvester decided to invest $150 million of state pension funds with Triumph before he left office, an amount comparable to the size of Triumph's previous contracts with the state. Silvester thought the deal made good business sense, but would probably not have agreed to this deal if Triumph had not donated $100,000 to the Connecticut Republican Party and hired Thiesfield. Trial Tr. vol. 5, 156.