In a court statement, he identified himself as finance chair for Democrat Mark Singel's 1994 race for governor and then-Republican Barbara Hafer's 1996 state treasurer's bid.

Raising money for Democrat Marty Weinberg's Philadelphia 1999 mayoral campaign, Feldman went head to head against fund-raising powerhouses such as State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo (D., Phila.) - often beating them.

"I had never seen him before. I had never heard of him before," said Ken Smukler, a Philadelphia political strategist who met Feldman on Weinberg's campaign. "The guy goes gangbusters in raising money. "

Political players spent a lot of time trying to figure out what made Feldman tick. The consensus: It wasn't really ideology, or even business.

"He likes to be perceived as being important and being in the inner circle of whatever candidate he picks," said consultant Howard Cain, a longtime political operative for Fumo. "He likes to be courted by candidates and acknowledged. It may be simple as that. "

After Weinberg lost, Feldman moved seamlessly into Street's mayoral campaign, as finance cochairman.

Soon, Casey came calling for help in the governor's race.

"I knew he was a really good guy and a great fund-raiser, and I had a lot of work to do to raise money," Casey said. "It was pretty simple. "

Feldman had built significant fund-raising muscle, and he began to exercise it. One example came in 2001, when Feldman served simultaneously as top fund-raiser for gubernatorial campaigns in two states - Casey's in Pennsylvania and McGreevey's in New Jersey.

As usual, Feldman's network of donors sent hundreds of thousands of dollars to assist both men, records show.

This time, $250,000 donated to Casey was sent across the Delaware River into New Jersey.

The donations came in two installments, in March and October 2001, and were distributed to four political committees supporting McGreevey, finance records show.

The money transfers are striking because of their size and timing; in 2001, Casey was struggling to raise money for a primary fight against the better-financed Rendell.

Casey aides said it was a strategy: They hoped to generate good will in New Jersey so money would flow back to Casey.

Through the May 2002 Democratic primary, New Jersey donors gave $1.2 million to Casey and $885,000 to Rendell, records show.

Casey says he's now fuzzy on the details.

"I do remember we contributed to him or committees that were supporting him," Casey said of McGreevey.

Casey matched Rendell's fund-raising, but still lost the primary. Soon after, Feldman became one of Rendell's four finance cochairmen.

Providing access

Feldman's ability to deliver $25,000, $50,000, and sometimes $100,000 donations, seemingly with ease, confounded his rivals. The beneficiaries marveled at it.