Who's behind $1 million in corporate donations to Romney-aligned super PAC?
By Jacob Fenton Jun 20 2012 2:13 p.m.
Restore Our Future, the super PAC supporting Mitt Romney, accepted three donations totaling $1 million from three different corporate entities at the same Dayton, Ohio post office box, according to campaign finance reports filed Wednesday. The checks--two for $333,333 and one for $333,334--were all dated May 22.
The checks came from "Waterbury Properties, LLC", "Fairbanks Properties LLC" and "CRC Information Systems, Inc." all with a return address of P.O. Box 2608, Dayton, Ohio 45401. CRC Information Systems was bought by The Reynolds and Reynolds Company in 2008--which has listed the same P.O. Box as a return address on old filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Reynolds and Reynolds provides "software, business forms and supplies, and professional services that support all areas of automotive retailing for car dealers and automakers" according to their web site.
Thomas Schwartz, a spokesman for Reynolds and Reynolds, said he didn't know about the political donations, and had never heard of Waterbury Properties or Fairbanks Properties. "Those names have never come up," he said. CRC Information Systems makes "software for the printing industry," according to Schwartz.
Texas corporate records for Fairbanks Properties and Waterbury Properties list Reynolds and Reynolds CEO Robert T. Brockman as being director of both groups, which share the same board. All board members of the LLC's listed an Ohio or Texas address also used by Reynolds and Reynolds.
The Robert T. Brockman Charitable Foundation also uses the same Dayton post office box listed on the campaign contributions.
Brockman has already given as much as he legally can to the Romney campaign. According to Federal Election Commission records, he gave $7,500 on April 24. Because that's over the $5,000 limit for individuals, $2,500 had to be refunded, FEC records show. Brockman also gave $2,100 to Romney's presidential campaign in 2007 and $2,300 in 2008. Brockman didn't respond to a request for comment made through a corporate spokesman.
Since 2009, Brockman has also given $12,500 to the Free and Strong America PAC, which Romney launched after bowing out of the 2008 presidential race.
Charles Spies, treasurer for Restore Our Future, asked that questions about the donations be emailed to him. He did not reply.
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