Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Ex-U-T owner was "good guy" in Romney's alleged auto bailout profiteering

Romney charged with failing to report massive profits in deal tied to auto bailout. Platinum Equity failed in attempt to be workers' savior, according to press reports.

A coalition of good-government and labor groups called today (Nov.1) for the United States Office of Government Ethics to investigate presidential candidate Mitt Romney's alleged failure to disclose the massive profits he raked in from the auto bailout, which he opposed. Shortly, there will be a press conference in Toledo seeking to get the government to compel Romney to disclose his investments or divest them. Those pushing the investigation are the United Auto Workers (UAW), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Public Citizen, People for the American Way, Public Campaign, and the Social Equity Group.

The charges are based in large part on an article in the Nation Magazine last month stating that the Romney family profited at least $15.3 million, and possibly more than $100 million, from the 2009 government auto loans through his investment in private funds putting money into the Delphi Corp. auto parts company, which was bailed out by the federal government as a necessary part of the General Motors and Chrysler rescues. Beverly Hills-based Platinum Equity, which recently sold the U-T to "Papa Doug" Manchester, had a plan for a Delphi takeover that would retain many Delphi jobs in the U.S. However, hedge funds in which Romney (in his wife's name) had invested outbid Platinum and got the prize. Last year, when Delphi went public, insiders raked in profits of more than 3,000 percent, according to the Nation article.

But according to the groups making the charges today, Romney's June 1, 2012 public financial disclosure report to the Office of Government Ethics did not reveal his alleged windfall because he didn't report underlying holdings of his private equity and limited partnership funds. The protesting groups suspect that Romney may have profited through offshore institutions. However, the candidate's refusal to reveal his 2009 income taxes precludes getting to the bottom of these transactions, according to those who have looked into the Delphi/hedge fund deal.

One question is how much effect will these revelations have on the election next week. I would guess they would have little effect. These are convoluted deals, deliberately made complicated to avoid public scrutiny. Incidentally, forcing Romney to divest his holdings would be an empty gesture; he has already made enormous profits, if what the investigators say is true.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

San Marcos Harvest Fest, The Distinct Modernism of San Diego

Events October 13-October 16, 2024

A coalition of good-government and labor groups called today (Nov.1) for the United States Office of Government Ethics to investigate presidential candidate Mitt Romney's alleged failure to disclose the massive profits he raked in from the auto bailout, which he opposed. Shortly, there will be a press conference in Toledo seeking to get the government to compel Romney to disclose his investments or divest them. Those pushing the investigation are the United Auto Workers (UAW), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Public Citizen, People for the American Way, Public Campaign, and the Social Equity Group.

The charges are based in large part on an article in the Nation Magazine last month stating that the Romney family profited at least $15.3 million, and possibly more than $100 million, from the 2009 government auto loans through his investment in private funds putting money into the Delphi Corp. auto parts company, which was bailed out by the federal government as a necessary part of the General Motors and Chrysler rescues. Beverly Hills-based Platinum Equity, which recently sold the U-T to "Papa Doug" Manchester, had a plan for a Delphi takeover that would retain many Delphi jobs in the U.S. However, hedge funds in which Romney (in his wife's name) had invested outbid Platinum and got the prize. Last year, when Delphi went public, insiders raked in profits of more than 3,000 percent, according to the Nation article.

But according to the groups making the charges today, Romney's June 1, 2012 public financial disclosure report to the Office of Government Ethics did not reveal his alleged windfall because he didn't report underlying holdings of his private equity and limited partnership funds. The protesting groups suspect that Romney may have profited through offshore institutions. However, the candidate's refusal to reveal his 2009 income taxes precludes getting to the bottom of these transactions, according to those who have looked into the Delphi/hedge fund deal.

One question is how much effect will these revelations have on the election next week. I would guess they would have little effect. These are convoluted deals, deliberately made complicated to avoid public scrutiny. Incidentally, forcing Romney to divest his holdings would be an empty gesture; he has already made enormous profits, if what the investigators say is true.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Broke cities (including San Diego)

Pension funds are putting money into hedge funds, venture capital, private equity funds
Next Article

Romney/Ryan and the New Padres Owners

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader