The Connecticut Democratic Party raised nearly $350,000 in individual contributions to its federal account last month, including thousands from state contractors.
The party reported its latest haul to the Federal Elections Commission a week ago. Although state contractors and recipients of state aid are banned from donating to candidates or political parties, they can legally give to a party’s federal account. Democrats drew attention to the practice recently by using the federal account money to support the reelection of Gov. Dannel Malloy, prompting Republicans to sue.
Donors associated with the state contractor HAKS Engineers gave another $20,000 to the Connecticut Democrats last month, bringing their total contributions since last year to $70,000.
Other notable donors include:
- George Soros gave $10,000.
- Activist investor Nelson Peltz gave $10,000, as did his wife.
- Dermatologist and author Nicholas Perricone gave $10,000.
- The two founders of RFR Holding, a New York real estate company with holdings in Stamford, gave a total of $15,000.
- Chris “Frack Master” Faulkner, founder and CEO of Dallas-based Breitling Energy, gave $5,000.
- Executives from the Fusco Corporation, part of a joint venture with a “$79 million contract to design and construct the core and shell of a new outpatient care center and parking garage on its Farmington campus,” together gave $5,000.
- John Cafaro, an Ohio-based developer with a federal conviction for violating campaign-finance laws, gave $2,500.
- Ukranian-American billionaire Leonard Blavatnik gave $2,500.
- Joseph Pabon, chief investment officer of Clearview Investment Management and formerly of Antares Investment Partners, gave $2,500.
- Mark Boxer, a vice president at First Five company Cigna, gave $1,500.
- Richard Ebersol, a senior advisor to NBC Sports, another First Five company, and his ex-wife gave $1,000 each.
- Sharon Ruben Barbarotta, wife of Malloy’s friend Al Barbarotta, gave $1,000.
- David Lazowski, of Brookline, Mass., owner of ZipPark, gave $1,000.
- Howard Sachs of Cherryhill Construction gave $1,000.
Update: John T. Moore, CEO of the Marwood Group, gave $10,000 to the Democratic Party’s federal account last month. His colleague at Marwood, Ted Kennedy Jr., is running for state senate in Branford. Kennedy’s Republican opponent, Bruce Wilson Jr., recently filed a complaint accusing him of using the state party to make contributions over the legal limit.