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Romney fundraiser faces lawsuits
June 21, 2007
More
Romney / Lichfield news ...
Utahn Robert Lichfield's legal
trouble surrounding his schools for troubled teens have been linked
to his fund-raising for presidential candidate Mitt Romney,
according to a story published today in Washington, D.C.- based
newspaper The Hill.
Lichfield's, one of Utah's top
political donors, is also one of six co-chairs of Romney's Utah
finance team. The article says the candidate has "collected hundreds
of thousands of dollars through the fund-raising efforts of a
supporter targeted by several lawsuits alleging child abuse."
The story points out that 133
plaintiffs have alleged in a federal court case filed in Utah that
Lichfield owned or operated schools where students where suffered
"physical abuse, emotional abuse and sexual abuse" ranging from
unsanitary living conditions, exposure to extreme temperatures,
beatings, confinement in dog cages, or sexual fondling.
There is also a pending case in the
U.S. District Court of the Northern District of New York, that
alleges Lichfield and several partners defraud people by operating
an unlicensed boarding school in upstate New York, according to the
article.
Such claims against Lichfield are
not new nor is his work raising money for Romney, as he has raised
money for numerous political candidates. But the story says the
"allegations could force Romney to re-examine his relationship with
his Utah finance co-chairman or put pressure on him to give away the
contributions Lichfield helped raise."
Romney's campaign told the Deseret
Morning News that it "will continue its policy to make our
fund-raising efforts as transparent as possible." Lichfield could
not be reached for comment.
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