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Former Rep. Dan Rostenkowski in a mug shot after pleading guilty to charges of mail fraud in 1996.
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Allen Weisselberg made his first-ever federal campaign contribution to a congressman who was known to be under investigation for fraud.
On April 18, 1994, Weisselberg donated $1,000 to the campaign of Rep. Dan Rostenkowski (D-Ill.), the chair of the chief tax-writing committee in the House. Federal Election Commission records show it was Weisselberg’s first-ever contribution to a federal campaign. He wouldn’t make another for 14 years.
At the time of Weisselberg’s gift, Rostenkowski had been under federal investigation for his financial dealings with the House Post Office, a situation that had been widely reported. And on June 1, 1994 the powerful lawmaker was indicted on 17 criminal charges, including fraud, concealing material facts, and conspiracy—charges similar to what Weisselberg faces today.
In 1996, Rostenkowski pleaded guilty to two counts of mail fraud and served 15 months in prison. He was pardoned by President Bill Clinton in 2000 and died in 2010.
Weisselberg did not immediately respond to an inquiry.
I took an unusual route to get here. In a past life, I worked as a travel and food writer, which is how I got the assignment in 2016 to cover the grand opening of the
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I took an unusual route to get here. In a past life, I worked as a travel and food writer, which is how I got the assignment in 2016 to cover the grand opening of the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., just a couple miles from my home. When Trump won the election and refused to divest his business, I stayed on the story, starting a newsletter called 1100 Pennsylvania (named after the hotel’s address) and contributed to Vanity Fair, Politico and NBC News. I’m still interested in Trump, but I’ve broadened my focus to follow the money connected to other politicians as well—both Republicans and Democrats.