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Info on state contractors sought in McCord case

Late last year, federal agents sent the state Treasury Department a long list of names. It was a subpoena for records related to contractors and political donors, including correspondence they may have had with Treasury officials, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Former Pennsylvania Treasurer Rob McCord resigned last week under the cloud of a federal investigation.
Former Pennsylvania Treasurer Rob McCord resigned last week under the cloud of a federal investigation.Read more

Late last year, federal agents sent the state Treasury Department a long list of names.

It was a subpoena for records related to contractors and political donors, including correspondence they may have had with Treasury officials, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Among the names: a prominent Philadelphia law firm, an obscure suburban investment company, and a little-known political action committee with deep Democratic ties.

The subpoena arrived around the time agents confronted Treasurer Rob McCord with recordings of conversations in which he pressured campaign donors during his unsuccessful run for governor last spring.

With McCord now scheduled to plead guilty to extortion, based on those calls, authorities are examining donors and state contractors, according to officials familiar with the probe but not authorized to discuss it.

And multiple sources have cited three entities named on that subpoena list: the Stradley Ronon law firm; Valley Forge Investment Corp.; and the Enterprise Fund, a political action committee whose treasurer is John Estey, a former chief of staff to Gov. Ed Rendell.

It is unclear if any were potential targets of an investigation, victims of McCord's campaign shakedown, or merely groups about whom agents sought more information. There is no indication that beyond McCord, the Treasury Department is being investigated for wrongdoing.

In an interview Wednesday, William Sasso, Stradley Ronon's chairman, said the firm had no knowledge of any inquiries by federal investigators. "We have had no discussions with prosecutors," he said.

Richard W. Ireland, one of the founders of Valley Forge Investment, repeatedly hung up when called by The Inquirer, finally saying: "Will you please leave me alone?"

Estey did not return phone calls or e-mail requests for an interview.

Documents made public in McCord's case this week state that the two-term treasurer from Bryn Mawr had warned the managing partner at an unnamed Philadelphia law firm last April that he could hurt its state business if he did not receive a sizable campaign contribution.

That firm, according to the documents, had multiple state contracts, including with the Treasury Department, and its managing partner was close to then-Gov. Tom Corbett, a Republican. McCord, a Democrat, had received a commitment from the firm for $5,000, but wanted $25,000, according to the records.

Stradley Ronon is among several Philadelphia law firms that have Treasury contracts. Since 2009, it has collected more than $350,000 in state fees, records show.

The firm also made one campaign contribution to McCord last year: $5,000 on May 8, just 12 days before the Democratic primary.

On Wednesday, Sasso was adamant that Stradley was not the firm cited by McCord and prosecutors in his plea agreement.

"I have no reason to believe it is us, and every reason to believe it is not," said Sasso, a top Corbett supporter. "I'm sure a lot of law firms did work for the treasurer's office."

Valley Forge Investment, according to state records, has done business with the Treasury Department for more than a decade.

Neither Ireland nor the firm donated to McCord's campaign in 2014. But top officials of a hotel venture Ireland founded contributed $100,000 to McCord in December 2013, according to campaign records.

And when McCord first ran for treasurer in 2008, Ireland and his partner at Valley Forge made substantial contributions to both McCord and his Republican opponent.

The two entrepreneurs made the contributions either through their various business ventures, or to a political action committee that then contributed to McCord, according to an Associated Press story at the time.

The Enterprise Fund, the political action committee, contributed $120,000 to McCord - and did so the day after McCord lost the primary. State finance records suggest that was its only contribution in 2014. No records show the Enterprise Fund receiving any state business.

Estey, its treasurer, is now general counsel at the Hershey Trust.

According to court documents released this week, McCord attempted to strong-arm contributions last spring from an unnamed Western Pennsylvania property management firm. The pitch came as he was trailing in the polls behind Tom Wolf, who won the Democratic primary and later defeated Corbett.

Those close to McCord say he became desperate in his quest to raise money, though campaign finance records show he received numerous six-figure donations for his gubernatorial run.

His biggest contributor was Al Lord, a onetime head of Sallie Mae, who now sits on Pennsylvania State University's board of trustees, and who donated $250,000 in May. McCord also received $50,000 from Robert Turner, whose Berwyn firm, Turner Investments, has a $25 million contract with the Treasury Department. Turner could not be reached for comment. McCord also received $150,000 in April from Baltimore trial lawyer Peter Angelos, owner of the Baltimore Orioles baseball team and a prolific donor to Democratic causes and candidates.

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