Giuliani deep 'in the hole' over campaign debts John Byrne

Published: Wednesday February 13, 2008



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Print This Email This "Winding down a presidential campaign that sputters  like cleaning up after one of those great Hollywood epics that remain unfinished  can be a complicated, joyless task," the New York Times' Michael Cooper writes artfully in Wednesday editions. "After the dream dies, there are lots of bills to pay and loose ends to tie up." We are deeper in the hole than I thought we would be, wrote John Gross, the campaigns treasurer, in an e-mail message to several senior campaign aides obtained by the Times. Windown is likely to be less than projected, but travel expenses are higher, Gross added. We cannot prefer any one creditor. We probably could make a 10% payment to all qualified creditors at this point, but probably not much more. Gross did not respond to followup emails from the Times. A "senior campaign official" which the Times granted anonymity, said "all creditors would be paid and that a report to be filed this month with the Federal Election Commission would show that the campaign had roughly $9 million on hand at the end of January, with about $2 million in debts." If Giuliani is deeply in debt, it shouldn't come entirely as a surprise. According to a 2007 Washington Post piece, the erstwhile mayor has routinely stayed at recherche hotels while enjoying the luxury of private jets. "Whether it was $2,010 at the Greenbrier Hotel in West Virginia, $4,034 at La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, Calif., or $5,370 at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco (dining room pictured at left), the former mayor found himself top-notch lodging," the Post wrote. "(At the Fairmont, The Trail got a glimpse of the candidate's large suite -- it had a fantastic view of the bay, overlooking Alcatraz Island.) Water views seem to be a prized asset for Giuliani -- during an early trip to New Hampshire, the former new york mayor stayed at the Wentworth by the Sea resort, a AAA Four-diamond resort that advertises 'postcard-perfect views of the waterfront' in Portsmouth." "He also spent more than $565,000 reimbursing various corporate supporters for private jet travel," they added. "The biggest chunk of those flights came via Elliott Asset Management, a New York hedge fund known by some as a "vulture fund," so-named because they buy debt cheaply from cash-starved countries, and then sue them for the full repayment. The head of the firm, Paul Singer, is in charge of Northeastern fundraising for Giuliani." In addition to private planes, Giuliani spent a whopping $800,000 on charter jets.



