"He was one of those guys who didn't do a lot of posturing or a lot of talking. He just came in with checks," said Shawn Fordham, Street's campaign manager in the 2003 race.

Flashy - he and Ron White rode chaffeured Mercedeses with their initials imprinted on the license plates - but also intensely private, Feldman rarely talked about his consulting business, political associates say.

In newly filed court documents, Feldman gave some details about his life as a top political dealmaker.

At least five firms, whose principals formed the foundation of his fund-raising network, paid Feldman to "primarily help with meetings, access. "

"Say I am having lunch with someone and I may have three consulting clients," Feldman said in a court statement. "If the person that I am meeting with would have some interest in any of my clients, I would mention them.

"It is not time-consuming. "

The five firms that paid Feldman as a consultant put $636,000 into Casey's gubernatorial campaign, $546,000 into Street's campaigns between 1999 and 2003, and $230,000 into Rendell's campaign in 2002, records show.

The most detailed disclosures concern Investment Management Advisory Group, or Image, a politically active Chester County investment firm to governments and nonprofits.

Feldman began consulting for Image in May 2000, earning more than $1.2 million through 2003, court documents show.

His compensation spiked in the months after McGreevey took office, rising from $30,000 in January 2002 to $187,000 in August 2002, court documents show. At that time, Image's government portfolio expanded as the firm won more than $4 million in work from the McGreevey administration, according to news reports.

It was Feldman's business partnership with White, the Philadelphia lawyer indicted on corruption charges, that attracted FBI scrutiny.

Together they raised money for Street and McGreevey, and tried to generate deals for themselves and people in their fund-raising network.

It didn't always run smoothly.

In that September 2003 taped conversation, White told Feldman that there was no more room in the Penn's Landing deal. White went on to protest that he was delivering for their "whole network," mentioning Image and Hill International, a Marlton construction company.

"Whatever you needed, I went in and asked for. For you," White said. "We got a lot. "

"Me? " Feldman said.

"Well, your people," White said.

Not good enough, Feldman replied.

"When I raise money, they got to help me, too . . . so that I can continue to raise money," Feldman said.

Executives from Image declined to comment; Hill executives failed to respond to interview requests.