A top fundraiser for Bill Clinton's presidential library pressed the White House to pardon convicted perjurer William Fugazy, after the Justice Department rejected the request, the New York Daily News reported today.
The report, if confirmed, would be the latest in a series of scandals surrounding the former president's last-minute pardons.
New York supermarket mogul John Catsimatidis, member of an elite advisory board to the Clinton library, has pledged to raise one million dollars for the sprawling complex in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Mr Catsimatidis was also one of several prominent people who lobbied for Mr Fugazy's pardon, but rather than going through traditional channels at the US Department of Justice, his appeal went straight to President Clinton's chief of staff, John Podesta. "In the last 50 years, I don't know of anyone who's gotten a pardon who hadn't paid a lot of money to a lawyer or hasn't known somebody," Mr Catsimatidis told the newspaper. Mr Fugazy told the daily Friday that he deserved the pardon.
"I don't think I did anything wrong. I think I was entitled to (a pardon)," he said. "I took a plea. It's the silliest thing I ever did, but that's life. There was really no case."
The Mr Fugazy pardon is the latest example of a possible conflict of interest between contributions to Clinton's library and the access needed to obtain presidential clemency.
A US congressional committee has been looking into the possibility of improper access to the White House and whether improper procedures took place in Clinton's pardon of fugitive Marc Rich, who fled the United States for Switzerland in 1983 in the face of 48 million-dollar tax evasion charges.
Former White House counsel Bernard Nussbaum told the Daily News that he called the White House counsel's office to press for the Fugazy pardon with people who used to work for him.
"I made a call to the White House counsel's office to people that I know," he said. Mr Fugazy has long been a prominent fixture in New York's political and charity scene, but during the 1980s, his consulting company, Fugazy International, faced several suits and owed 10 million dollars to banks and tax collectors, according to news reports.
After he filed for personal bankruptcy, prosecutors said he transferred assets to a company held in his children's names.
Mr Fugazy continued to play a central role in running the company, but lied under oath about who owned the firm.
Under a deal, Mr Fugazy pleaded guilty to one felony count of perjury and was sentenced in September 1997 to two years' probation, including six months of home detention. Justice Department officials insisted they would not support a pardon for anyone until at least five years after the date of conviction or release from prison.
"I was aware of the five-year rule, but I was also aware that the president has discretion," said Mr Nussbaum, who said he handled the case for free. "I did not do this in my capacity as former White House counsel. I did this in my capacity as somebody who knew Bill Fugazy." AFP