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Brizzi agrees to pay Fair Finance nearly $200K

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Former Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi and his campaign committee have agreed to pay Fair Finance Co.’s bankruptcy trustee $195,881—by far the largest settlement with a politician who received campaign contributions from the company’s CEO, indicted Indianapolis financier Tim Durham.

Under the deal filed Monday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Akron, Ohio, the Brizzi for Prosecutor Committee will repay all $170,881 donated by Durham, Fair Finance and affiliated companies.

In addition, court papers show that bankruptcy Trustee Brian Bash alleged that Fair Finance and Durham provided Brizzi with personal loans and financial assistance totaling $55,735 for trips and miscellaneous expenses.

Brizzi disputes the amount, according to the settlement, but agreed to pay $25,000. Though the deal requires court approval, Brizzi’s campaign committee already has provided the trustee with a $170,881 check, and Brizzi has provided a $15,000 check. He’ll pay the remaining $10,000 in monthly installments of $1,000, the settlement says.

Brizzi did not return a call from IBJ, but in a text message to a reporter with WRTV-TV Channel 6, he wrote: "It's time for that chapter to close."

David Proano, a Cleveland attorney representing the bankruptcy trustee, declined to comment.

The trustee for months has been negotiating with Indiana politicians who were beneficiaries of Durham’s largesse before his financial empire collapsed two years ago. The trustee contends the payments were fraudulent transfers because they were made when Durham and his companies were insolvent.

The trustee since early 2010 has been trying to recover money for Fair Finance's investors—Ohio residents who purchased unsecured certificates with interest rates as high as 9.5 percent. Bash alleges Durham “utterly looted” Akron-based Fair after buying it in 2002, stripping the business of the financial wherewithal to repay more than 5,000 investors who are owed more than $200 million.

Before his downfall, Durham was one of the largest contributors to Indiana politicians, particularly Republicans. The trustee expects to recoup a total of about $115,000 from six earlier settlements with campaign committees and politicians who'd received Durham donations. The highest-profile office-holder to settle so far is Speaker of the House Brian Bosma, who returned $10,000. Gov. Mitch Daniels, who received about $200,000 in Durham donations, hasn’t reached a deal.

Brizzi, once considered a rising star in Republican politics, didn't seek re-election in 2010 following criticism over his ties to Durham, a friend who served as his 2006 campaign finance chairman. Brizzi now is in private law practice.

Durham and two business partners, James Cochran and Rick Snow, were arrested in March after being indicted on 12 felony counts, including conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud. They deny wrongdoing.

More of IBJ's coverage of Durham and Fair Finance can be found here.
 

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  • Where is Mitch now?
    Where are you Mitch, how about returning the 200k of STOLEN MONEY Mr. Durham stole to give to your campaign ? Would that not be the decent thing to do?
  • come clean and Mitch Daniels dont match
    Waitng for Mitch Daniels to come clean and pay back his contributions is not going to happen. Ask the employees at IPL and ask IBM. Better yet ask ...... anyone who knows him. SMS = short man syndrome - he crys and rants and raves until he has things his way. Remember way back when at a time where he equated a move made by then Mayor Peterson to be a act of terrorism. HUH. not my man!
  • Karma
    Surprised the trustee didn't tell Carl to surrender the income from the Elkhart property.

    Hmmm...maybe someone needs to see if Carl et al have sold or stripped the equity out of it....L&BAB....

    Since Carls positions in Red Rock and CLST are worthless.... Can someone explain Carls timely purchases of both.... Massive purchases of both....is that what Timmy lent him the $$$ for?

    Carl can tell us--one can only guess he is " stalking " the board tonight.... Hahahaha
  • I believe Mitch will never pays back...like the IBM contract.

    I would guess that Mitch will use the special privileges of the governor to avoid ever paying back the funds, much like he has done when he selected IBM for welfare processing and then broke the contract. Mitch, as governor, cannot be forced to testify. (I would guess it would be much like the Durham dealings if disclosed in court.) ]
  • Now it's Mitch Daniels' turn
    I suppose paying back dirty money under duress is better than not at all. Now we need to collect the $200k he gave Mitch Daniels.

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  1. liek the rest of America

  2. These quaint,obsessed musings by the stalkers are certainly entertaining, but I'm trying to figure out what, if anything, all the yelping below has to do with Zak Brown.

  3. It's evident that Moffett was pushing the right buttons and corporate America is now trying to squash him. He just wanted to withdraw the free pilot services provided to the company by the pilots to try and put some pressure on a company that has not been interested in negotiating a contract in over 5 years. The company does not provide a contract because not having one has saved them a bundle of money. Shame on any Republic pilots not standing behind their union leader just because things are getting tough, can you not see such strategic moves by the company as putting the last union president in a corporate position and into THEIR pocket. Do you really believe the last union president is so appalled at the attempts by Moffett, do you not remember his oppositions to the company? We stood behind him. It has been proven over and over again for thousands of years without fail, a man cannot serve two masters. Anyone that believes people vote contrary to their paycheck and livelihood deserve to be taken advantage of, the recent statements by the former union president are laughable as he denounces the current union president from his new corporate position. Have you ever seen a drafted sports player score points for his previous team, it cannot be done, he is not on the pilots side anymore, he gets his money a different way now than you and I do, and he should not be allowed to remain on the seniority list. A drafted player brings strength, credibility, tactical knowledge, and a strategic advantage to his NEW team, he would not be drafted or paid were it otherwise. We are all forced to choose only one side to play for and support, not doing so has many references in life such as insider trading and shaving points, all illegal for good reason. This basic fact is why corporate moguls, scientist, and engineers all sign non-discloser agreements and non-compete clauses, as protection in case they are lured into switching sides as our former union president has done. No NFL coach ever drafted a player so that both teams could benefit and better understand each other, they are recruited to win the game against that former team, period. Likewise the company does not recruit the former union president by accident or mutual understanding, its strategy. Don't confuse playing the game with good sportsman-like conduct in support of common business and prosperity goals, with the requirement to only play for one side. Good men we all love and favor fall subject to this manipulation, often without their knowledge, and it is not a betrayal of their friendship to oppose them when they switch sides. If we did not love and trust them, they would not have been chosen and lured to the other side in the first place. The deception by the drafted player is not made at a conscious level, it's just human nature and it's all about money and power which corrupts our ability to be objective and loyal to two masters. This is why our court system created the defense attorney, and why our military created counter intelligence. Its strategy and its propaganda, and it works, and that's why the "powers to be" manipulate the chess pieces by sometimes changing their colors. Some players know they are being manipulated when their color is changed, but it brings them more money and power so they do not care. The rest have good intentions but do not even realize they are being manipulated. This tactic is also known by another name, Divide and Conquer. In battle sending an imperfect message with an imperfect team is obviously not ideal, but it's still being sent by YOUR team, your union leader, a leader that has common goals and common rewards with you, they are the best, because we have elected them to do a job for us. If you are not backing Moffett but believing the spin by those that have recently switched sides, you are taking food out of your own mouth. Showing unity and backing an imperfect situation still results in taking just as much ground, it's about unity and bargaining power. It's not necessary to wait around for that perfect attack because it will never come, the company will spin and attempt to destroy anyone that gets in their way. Ultimately it's not about any specific attack anyway, ASAP or whatever it makes no difference, it is and always has been only about power. If this company cared about safety it would not build pairings with 8 hour overnights, come on, are you that naive? Besides, do you really think Hoffa cares, no, he got a call from corporate America and was squeezed into denouncing Moffett. If he didn't they would spin the safety card against him and the Teamsters National with implication for truckers, future contracts, insurance rates etc...saying something like the Teamsters use safety as a bargaining chip, blah blah blah... Do you really think any pilot is going to do something unsafe for the contract, absolutely not, the only ones threatening safety here is the company with reduced rest, fatigue, and poverty. Do you not find it odd that Hoffa and the Teamsters are opposing a Teamster president publicly? Would the Teamsters National not normally support and work with one of their own? Why did they not sit down and help him strategize, correct any mistakes, and charge ahead? Would the Teamsters National not normally support and leverage a contract for all those pilots that have been paying Teamster dues, isn't that why we have all been paying Teamster dues in the first place? I sure haven't been paying dues so that the Teamsters National could come along and write this kind of an article undercutting our union leader and our unity. Whose side is the Teamsters National really on, it's obviously not the Republic pilots side.

  4. No matter what Moffatt does the company is going to spin it like he is the terrorist and brainwash people like you into believing it, wake up, back your players that are trying to change things for you and your livelihood. Where has Hoffa been for the last 6 years, except collecting our dues. Seriously, do you really think an FO going for upgrade, signed off by a checkairman ready for the upgrade, who then fails, is not even capable of returning as a First Officer.

  5. whoa!

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