Feds: Notorious Alleged Con Man 'Bobby Thompson' Was Military Spy
Source: ABC
Authorities revealed today that they believe "Bobby Thompson," the man accused of using a fake veterans charity to swindle more than $100 million and to rub shoulders with top-level Republicans, is actually a former military intelligence officer named John Donald Cody.
Officials said Cody has been on an FBI watch list for 25 years after being accused of various frauds and was wanted for questioning related to an espionage investigation.
U.S. Marshal Peter Elliott told reporters that he discovered Cody while searching through old FBI Wanted posters. He said details about the two identities kept matching up, from his unusual hairstyle, his history in the state of Arizona, and his knowledge of the law. Cody, Elliot said, had graduated from Harvard Law School.
...
The man known as Thompson was nabbed in Ohio in May. At the time, he was accused of being the mastermind behind the fake charity U.S. Navy Veterans Association that swindled more than $100 million from unsuspecting donors, as detailed in an ABC News investigation. Prosecutors charged Thompson with identity theft, fraud, and money laundering.
Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/feds-notorious-alleged-con-man-bobby-thompson-military/story?id=17365035#.UGnXHlGwV4E
This man raised more than $100 million dollars in the name of conservative and GOP causes and was under indictment in a number of states including Ohio.
joycejnr
(326 posts)...especially when the GOP SCOTUS helps out with a decision that sources of political contributions can be hidden. After the Citizens United decision, I wondered how long it would take for criminals to start buying protection again.
"To help enhance the charity's credibility, Thompson allegedly used some of the money to make large campaign contributions to prominent politicians, most of them Republicans, including President George W. Bush, Sen. John McCain, and Ohio Rep. John Boehner, now Speaker of the House. He attended events with the political figures, and posed proudly for now infamous photos with them."
It used to work great for the Mafia, I wonder what today's mobsters might be doing this election season to help out their various enterprises by political bribery...
Democat
(11,617 posts)A spy and a fraud.
bongbong
(5,436 posts)What is different about this guy from the thousands of other repig grifters?
PuppyBismark
(593 posts)Also, he was actually indited by a number of jurisdictions including the Feds. Most of the rest of those guys are still free to continue their ways.
Baitball Blogger
(46,576 posts)HooptieWagon
(17,064 posts)I haven't read that he was employed. No connection with Romney or Ryan. Only direct connection with GOP polititions appears to be photos he had taken with them. He did hire lobbyists on behalf of his scam. Much money was donated to conservative candidates and causes. It's still pretty much a mystery how much money he took in, how much he donated, and how much he kept.
Baitball Blogger
(46,576 posts)Good ole boys. Dear God. Could he be the same guy?
If so, the House of Cards is beginning to come down.
mahatmakanejeeves
(56,897 posts)Here's a link to the article they ran today, which came from the Associated Press.
Feds: Veterans charity scam suspect 'Bobby Thompson' is Harvard Law grad
John Donald Cody is jailed awaiting trial on charges of defrauding donors in 41 states of up to $100 million through a bogus Florida-based charity.
Associated Press
CLEVELAND -- A former fugitive suspected of running a $100 million cross-country scam collecting donations for Navy veterans has been identified as a Harvard-trained attorney wanted on unrelated fraud charges since 1987, authorities said Monday.
U.S. Marshal Pete Elliott said the man who identified himself as Bobby Thompson and signed legal papers as "Mr. X" is really John Donald Cody, 65, whose true identity was uncovered through 1969 military fingerprints that didn't make it into the national crime system.
....
According to the marshal, Cody graduated from the University of Virginia in 1969 and Harvard Law School in 1972 and practiced law at several locations around the country. Harvard confirmed a John Cody graduated from its law school in 1972.
....
Comment about this story on the Blue Ridge Caucus blog.
http://blogs.roanoke.com/politics/2012/10/01/authorities-to-reveal-identity-of-charity-scammer/
Updated: Authorities to reveal identity of accused charity scammer
Federal authorities finally have determined the identity of a man who used the name Bobby Thompson and allegedly ran a fraudulent veterans charity that bilked donors in Virginia and other states out of millions of dollars.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports* that authorities will disclose Thompsons identity this morning in a press conference at the federal courthouse in Cleveland. Thompson is in custody in Ohio** awaiting trial on charges of theft, money laundering, corruption and tampering with records for his role running the now-defunct U.S. Navy Veterans Association. He also has been under investigation in Virginia, where the USNVA collected at least $2 million from state residents.
Authorities said Thompson stole the identity of a Washington man to orchestrate a fundraising scam that generated tens of millions of dollars since 2001. The Florida-based organization collected at least $2 million from Virginia residents over a five-year period that ended in 2010, according to findings by the states consumer affairs agency that were made public last year.
Thompson gave $55,500 to the campaign of Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli in 2009. After Thompson went missing in 2010, Cuccinelli donated the sequestered campaign funds plus interest to veterans support groups in the state.
Update: The Tampa Bay Times reports*** that authorities will announce that the suspects name is John Donald Cody, a former military intelligence officer who has been on an FBI wanted list since 1987.
* http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2012/09/true_identity_of_accused_scamm.html
** http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/308264
*** http://www.tampabay.com/news/article1254270.ece
http://www.azcentral.com/specials/special14/articles/0407coldcase0407.html
Oddball lawyer accused in theft of clients' cash
Major Hogwash
(17,656 posts)That goes back a long ways.
Thanks for that post and all of those links.
mahatmakanejeeves
(56,897 posts)that he was an equal opportunity donor in Virginia, in that he gave money to Democrats as well as Republicans. His goal in Virginia was to get favorable treatment from the legislature for his "charity." Politicians of both parties were glad to help veterans in any way they could. Once the scam started to unravel, the politicians donated the money they had received from him to charity. The last holdout was Ken Cuccinelli, but even he finally handed over the donated money.
Search DU; there have been many threads about this guy. Also look at the Roanoke Times and newspapers around Tampa Bay and St. Petersburg, Florida, for stories about him.
Navy Vets suspect identified as Harvard Law grad
The state agency began investigating the charity in 2010 after news reports raised questions about its fundraising and spending practices and the whereabouts of its leaders. Cody donated $68,500 to Virginia politicians. With the help of lobbyists, he urged members of the General Assembly to pass a bill exempting his organization from registration and reporting requirements for charities that solicit in the state.
State lawmakers passed the exemption in 2010 and repealed it a year later after investigators in the state's consumer affairs agency concluded that Cody's charity was a fraud.
The agency's findings were turned over to Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli's office, which has civil enforcement authority under the state's charitable solicitation law.
Cuccinelli has distanced himself from the case because he accepted $55,500 in political contributions in 2009 from the man known as Bobby Charles Thompson, who was the second-largest individual contributor to Cuccinelli's campaign.
After Thompson went missing in 2010, Cuccinelli donated $55,700 - the sequestered campaign funds plus interest - to veterans support groups in Virginia. Cuccinelli's chief deputy, Patricia West, is overseeing the investigation of the U.S. Navy Veterans Association.
alfredo
(60,065 posts)If he was, he was probably an 05G.
The Army Security Agency was deactivated in 1976. I am sure some of the specialties carried over into the then combined MI and SigInt community, called INSCOM on 1 January 1977. Cody is certainly the right age to have been in the ASA. I am not sure if he would have had enough time to attend 6 or 7 years of college law school and then attend language schools while an officer in the Army. He may have learned his Italian and Tagalog after he left the military. Information indicates he speaks both but it does not say he is fluent. He might left the military around 1980ish, so he could have spent about 7 or 8 years in ASA/INSCOM.
Back to lurking....
moroni
(former 05H) 7th RRFS
alfredo
(60,065 posts)He's a turncoat in my book.
moroni
(145 posts)bucolic_frolic
(42,676 posts)Thompson or his donors?