WASHINGTON — Federal authorities are investigating a former top campaign finance official for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) in connection with a Hollywood gala for Clinton and her husband on the eve of the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles in 2000, people familiar with the investigation said.
The focus on David Rosen, a Chicago-based political consultant and Democratic fundraiser, is related to a federal inquiry into the activities of celebrity fundraiser Aaron Tonken, who Tuesday pleaded guilty to federal charges that he diverted hundreds of thousands of dollars from donors and underwriters of Hollywood charities and galas that he organized.
Tonken helped organize the August 2000 event, a glittering tribute to President Clinton, which also raised $1 million for the first lady's then-fledgling Senate campaign.
But almost from the beginning, the fundraiser has been infused with controversy -- generated mainly by Peter Paul, a onetime Clinton booster, media entrepreneur and ex-con who says he fronted nearly $1.9 million in expenses to stage the event. He has claimed the Clinton campaign never properly reported the money to federal election officials.
Paul, co-founder of a once high-flying Internet firm based on the works of the creator of Spider-Man and other comic-book characters, has said that he agreed to underwrite the event to ingratiate himself with the soon-to-be-former president in hopes that Clinton would work for his firm, Stan Lee Media, after he left office.
The deal fell apart amid revelations in the media that Paul had convictions for cocaine possession and other felonies from the 1970s, and he subsequently sued the Clintons and others, including Rosen, for fraud. The suit is pending in Los Angeles Superior Court.
Rosen, who as finance chief for the Clinton senatorial bid played a central role coordinating the event, did not return phone calls seeking comment. Currently president and chief executive officer of the Competence Group, a consulting firm, he was recently identified by Crain's Chicago Business as one of its top "40 under 40" community and business leaders.
In recent years, Rosen has been hired to help bankroll myriad Democratic causes, including the fight against the recall of Gov. Gray Davis, and the campaign last year to unseat Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. Lately, he has also raised funds for presidential contenders, including retired Gen. Wesley K. Clark.
