Harold Simmons, the rightwing billionaire behind the anti-Obama ad attacking him over his alleged "ties" living in the same city as William Ayers, was sued by his own daughters who accused him of, among other things, making illegal campaign contributions using their trust fund. He also tried to game the system for a special tax break that would net him $100 million.
The details of his shenaningans are as follows:
1.
"Ms. Patigian and Ms. Swanson, but not the other[Simmons] daughters, have sued, asking the court to remove Mr. Simmons from control of two trusts he set up for his daughters and appoint a new trustee. They contend that Mr. Simmons, one of the nation's largest Republican donors, has used the trusts as his own personal checking account, living lavishly and making what Ms. Patigian called illegal contributions to politicians she opposed."
Link here.
2.
"Frank Ikard Jr., a lawyer for Mr. Simmons's older daughter, Scheryle S. Patigian, said that she was only trying to remove [Harold] Simmons from control of the trust. ''Mr. Simmons is a very abusive and controlling man,'' Mr. Ikard said. ''He's a brilliant businessman and a rotten father.''"
Link here.
3.
"The estranged daughters, Andrea Swanson and Scheryle S. Patigian, contended their 66-year-old father had abused his power in controlling the two trusts that hold most of the fortune he amassed as a corporate raider in the 1970's and 1980's.
The two women and two other sisters are named beneficiaries.
The estranged daughters argued that his success in building up the trusts' assets did not give him the right to use them as he pleased. Actions they questioned included donations to conservative Republican political candidates they loathed, the purchase of luxury homes for his use, jewelry for his third wife, and distribution of millions of dollars into charitable foundations that made gifts in his name.
The Jury unanimously agreed that Simmons abused his fiduciary duties as the trustee.
Link here.
- Simmons tried to game the system by getting a special tax break!
"In using one of his first three line item vetoes, President Clinton today dashed a Texas billionaire's plan to preserve a capital gains tax break while renegotiating the sale of one of his businesses. And in doing so, Mr. Clinton highlighted the sort of special benefits that have long found their way into the nation's tax laws, often to the benefit of only a handful of wealthy or influential people.
In this case, the President unraveled the plans of 2,000 beet farmers and of Harold C. Simmons, who has given more than $1 million to Republican candidates and causes since the early 1980's. A provision in the tax bill, included at the behest of several members of Congress, would have granted Mr. Simmons and the Oregon beet farmers something they all desired: a graceful exit out of a cumbersome joint venture they had formed for the sole purpose of cutting Mr. Simmons's tax bill.
To defer or avoid at least $80 million in capital gains taxes on the sale of a beet-sugar refining company, Mr. Simmons formed the joint venture with the Snake River Sugar Cooperative, which the beet farmers had set up for the purpose. The joint venture was to own the plant, sharing profits. Under existing tax laws, this arrangement was not technically a sale, and Mr. Simmons owed no capital gains taxes, even though the cooperative paid him $260 million."
Simmons eventually settled the lawsuit with his estranged daughters after the 8 week trial of the case ended in a mistrial because the Jury was deadlocked on issues unrelated to whether Simmons abused his duties as trustee. On that quetsion, they were unianimous: He did.
I do not like the idea of simply rebutting the attack ad. [Although Obama did so today with his own ad]. I think we have to go after the scumbag who funded it. A man who, apparently, abused his daughter's trust fund to make illegal campaign contributions to rightwing politicians against his daughter's wishes.
UPDATE: Thanks for putting me on the rec list! Also, here's some more dirt on Harold "rotten father" Simmons:
Billionaire corporate raider Harold Simmons controls Contran and Valhi, holding companies that run an empire of sugar, manufacturing, metal, chemical, oil, real estate, insurance and other interests.
Simmons built part of this empire through hostile takeovers like the one he is now pursuing against third-generation managers of West Bend, a Wisconsin manufacturing firm. Simmons' companies have been charged with raiding their workers' pension funds to finance such takeover deals.
With 2000 sales exceeding $1 billion, Simmons' empire depends on friendly government policies. Taxpayers subsidize Simmons' sugar prices, bankroll military purchases of his aerospace metals and ultimately pay for the limits that government officials place on his tax and pollution liabilities.' Then-President Clinton used the line-item veto to narrowly avert a 1997 loophole for Simmons to dodge $80 million in taxes.'
Simmons' NL Industries faces a slew of toxic lawsuits for the lead that it added to paint and spewed on a Dallas neighborhood.' Regulators have named NL as a "potentially responsible party" for many toxic Superfund sites, including Dallas, Waller and Hardin Counties sites.
And I didn't even get into Simmons' effort to make money dumping nuclear waste in Texas.
YET ANOTHER UPDATE: Here are some more details of Simmons' unethical abuse of his daughters' trust fund to fund rightwing politcians.
"Simmons has already admitted in the civil trial, which began Oct. 23, that he forged his daughters' signatures to make political contributions from the trusts to Jessie Helms, R-N.C.
"I thought it was right to sign the names because it would help the Helms campaign. It was a mistake, wrong and bad judgement," he testified.
Simmons' political donations have been a cornerstone of the trial by Ms. Swanson and Ms. Patigian, who say they do not support the conservative Republican causes to which their father has given money in their names. [Hesiod: Ms. Patigian donated $1000 to John Kerry in 1990.]
Some of the recipients of the funds included Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, as well as Oliver North in his unsuccessful Senate race.
Simmons has said that from 1991 to 1995 he made $110,000 in contributions to political action committees in his daughters' names, exceeding the legal limit. Federal election law limits an individual to $5,000 per year to any group of affiliated political committees."
[...]
Serena Connelly, one of the daughters who is not suing her father, objected to the contributions in a letter filed with the court, writing: "I believe this practice to be highly unethical... I do not care what you do with your money. I do care what you do with my name."
Simmons has had previous run-ins over federal election law.
In 1993, he was fined $19,800 by the Federal Election Commission for breaking campaign donation limits. In June, The Dallas Morning News quoted sources saying the U.S. Justice Department has opened a federal investigation in Simmons' business dealing and campaign donations.
What a scumbag.