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 From: MW00DS@N0SPAM.C0M 
  
 ABCNEWS: Is Dem's biggest money man mob connected???? 
  
  
  
 Fattest Cat 
  
 Officials: Democrat's Biggest Money Man Has Mob Connections 
  
 By Brian Ross 
  
 B O S T O N, July 28, 2004 - As Sens. John Kerry and John Edwards 
 arrived in Boston today for the Democratic National Convention, so did 
 the California man who is their single biggest contributor. 
  
 He is Stephen Bing, a wealthy film producer who, with little fanfare, 
 has managed to steer a total of more than $16 million of his money to 
 Democratic candidates and the supposedly independent groups that 
 support them. 
  
 "To most of the people who track money and politics, they're like, who 
 the hell is Steve Bing?" said Chuck Lewis, founder of the Center for 
 Public Integrity, a nonprofit, nonpartisan watchdog organization. 
  
 Bing is perhaps best known for sparking a tabloid frenzy when he 
 publicly expressed doubt that he was the father of actress Elizabeth 
 Hurley's baby. (A paternity test proved he was indeed the father.) He 
 repeatedly has refused to say why he is funneling millions of dollars 
 to the Democrats. 
  
 Lewis thinks it is cause for concern. 
  
 "We can identify who the big donors are, but how much do we really 
 know about any of them?" he said. 
  
 In fact, Democratic Party officials said they knew nothing about the 
 man who law enforcement officials tell ABC News is Bing's friend and 
 business partner - Dominic Montemarano, a New York Mafia figure 
 currently in federal prison on racketeering charges. 
  
 Montemarano has a long criminal record and is known to organized crime 
 investigators by his street name, Donnie Shacks. 
  
 "Donnie Shacks' main activity was murder. No question about it. That 
 was his main function for the Colombo family and for organized crime 
 in general. He was one of the top hit men in the New York area," said 
 Joe Coffey, a former NYPD investigator. 
  
 According to The Los Angeles Times, Bing paid Montemarano's legal fees 
 after his most recent scrape with the law. Montemerano's lawyer said 
 his client was an employee of Bing's. 
  
 After a recent private lunch with Democratic vice-presidential 
 candidate Edwards, Bing also declined to answer questions about his 
 relationship with Montemarano. 
  
  
 http://abcnews.go.com/sections/Politics/Vote2004/convention_step 
 en_bing_040728-1.html 
  
  
  
  
  
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