Private equity donations to politicians uncovered

Crain's New York Business reports:

In the pay-to-play scandal involving state pension fund dollars, the buck doesn’t stop at the top. A USA Today study of private equity firms showed that employees of some of the most prominent investment groups contributed mightily to political campaigns. Though individual employees have not been accused of wrongdoing, Friday’s report exposes further the potential for political gain.

The data show that employees of The Carlyle Group donated about $115,000 to candidates running in 10 states for offices that would give them oversight of pension funds over the past decade. Campaign records indicated that nearly $30,000 of it went to officials in California. Over roughly the same period, that state’s giant pension fund manager CalPERS invested more than $4 billion with Carlyle.

Employees at the Blackstone Group have been similarly politically active. The data show that top Blackstone executives and their family members have contributed roughly $50,000 to political campaigns in New York and Pennsylvania since 2002. The amount included $22,000 to that state’s Gov. Ed Rendell, who appoints the majority of the state’s pension board members.

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