Frank Vennes/Tom Petters Interactive Timeline

A while back, I put together a timeline of events in the Petters/Vennes investigation and Bachmann's pardon letter for Vennes - I am in the process of updating it.

Take a look at the timeline at Dipity.

Daily Beast Article on Vennes Ties to Bachmann & Pawlenty

From Michelle Goldberg's Daily Beast article titled " Pawlenty, Bachmann, and the Right's Ponzi Scandal":

Tim Pawlenty and Michele Bachmann sought pardons for a major campaign donor now accused of fleecing faith-based charities in a Ponzi scheme. The 2012 presidential hopefuls should answer for helping make Frank Vennes Jr. respectable, writes Michelle Goldberg.

Last week, Frank Vennes Jr., one of the more bizarre characters in the history of recent financial scandal, was indicted on fraud and money-laundering charges in a U.S. District Court in Minnesota. A former North Dakota pawnshop owner who ostensibly found Jesus while serving a prison sentence in the 1980s, Vennes emerged as a pillar of Minnesota’s conservative Christian community. Then, according to the indictment, he channeled millions into a Ponzi scheme run by the businessman Thomas J. Petters, who is now serving 50 years in federal prison. Much of the money Vennes raised seems to have come from faith-based charities, pastors, and ministers, some of who have lost their life savings.

On its own, Vennes’s story would be a strange tale about audacious cynicism and religious gullibility. But Vennes’s entanglement with two likely presidential candidates, Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann and former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, gives it added weight. Vennes was a major donor to both politicians, and both politicians sought pardons for him in order to wipe away the taint of the crimes that first landed him in prison. Vennes’s respectability in conservative Minnesota circles seems to have enabled his crimes. Both Bachmann and Pawlenty should have to answer for bolstering that respectability.

The article mentions the excellent investigative reporting of Karl Bremer. Read Karl's article about the Vennes indictment at Ripple in Stillwater.

Karl Bremer: "Was money launderer Frank Vennes Jr. trying to buy a pardon from Bachmann, Pawlenty and Coleman?"

Karl Bremer over at Ripple in Stillwater has a good post on the story of Frank Vennes:

Convicted money launderer and cocaine/gun runner Frank Vennes Jr., a close personal friend and major campaign contributor of Minnesota presidential candidates Michele Bachmann and Tim Pawlenty, has been indicted on federal fraud and money-laundering charges for his alleged role in the $3.5 billion Tom Petters Ponzi scheme.

Vennes became implicated in the Petters Ponzi in 2008. Millions of dollars worth of his assets have been seized and are being liquidated to pay back some of the victims of the multibillion-dollar scam—the largest in Minnesota history. But until now, Vennes had not been charged with a crime for his involvement in the Ponzi scheme, which sent Petters to the U.S. Penitentiary at Leavenworth Federal Prison for 50 years.

If convicted, Vennes could go to federal prison for the second time in his life on such charges—and also be in need of a second presidential pardon.

Besides each taking tens of thousands of dollars in campaign cash from Vennes and his family, Bachmann and Pawlenty—along with former Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman and former Minnesota GOP Chair Ron Ebensteiner—unsuccessfully sought a presidential pardon from President George W. Bush for Vennes’ federal crimes from the 1980s. Vennes donated heavily to Bachmann’s congressional campaign, Pawlenty’s gubernatorial campaign, Coleman’s senatorial campaign, the state House Republican Campaign Committee, the Minnesota GOP and other GOP candidates, all during the time the four Republicans heartily endorsed his candidacy for a pardon.

The timing of Vennes’ largesse has led many to speculate that it was part of a “pay-for-pardon” plot.

Read the whole thing.

Also read Eric Black's article about Vennes at MinnPost.

My Posts on Other Blogs Mentioning Frank Vennes

A selection of posts from the Dump Bachmann blog:

Vennes Supporters Behaving Badly - December 19, 2010

Frank Vennes Jr. a No-Show at Hearing for His Motion - December 17, 2010

Frank Vennes Files Motion the Day After Election (links to Ripple in Stillwater) - November 08, 2010

MN Teen Challenge Returned Bachmann's Campaign Contribution From Frank Vennes Jr. April 20, 2009

More About Bachmann and MN Teen Challenge Saturday, April 18, 2009

Michele Bachmann's Pardongate - October 05, 2008


Frank Vennes Jr. Alleged to Have Known About Petters Ponzi Scheme - January 09, 2009

Bachmann Wrote Pardon Letter the Same Month Vennes is Alleged to Have Learned About Petters Ponzi Scheme - January 10, 2009

Petters Info blog:

The Sorry Saga of Hope Commons - APRIL 3, 2010

Vennes Property for Sale - 3515 2nd Avenue South - MARCH 5, 2010

Cost of Peters Fraud in Fees etc.- $12 million - FEBRUARY 6, 2010

Northwestern College Trustee Fracas - FEBRUARY 2, 2010

Bizarre Audio of Tom Petters, Bruce Prevost and Frank Vennes Jr. Talking Religion (and Money) DECEMBER 3, 2009

NSFW Wire Recording of Tom Petters's Breakdown (9/9/2008) DECEMBER 3, 2009

While Waiting for a Verdict... More Stuff About Frank Vennes - DECEMBER 2, 2009

Frank Vennes Talking About God & Money

Frank Vennes Jr. telling how God made him rich (or something like that). The other person introduced is Darrel Amiot who with Vennes spoke at something in February of 2007 called the "God and Money Dinner".

Here's the audio of Frank Vennes Jr. in 4 parts:

Letters From Michele Bachmann and Norm Coleman Requesting a Pardon for Frank Vennes

Eric Black at MinnPost gives a good round-up of the info regarding Frank Vennes and his relationship to Michele Bachmann, Norm Coleman and Tim Pawlenty. Eric Black also mentions the excellent reporting of Karl Bremer (also mentions Dump Bachmann). Read the whole thing.

Here are the two letters requesting a POTUS pardon for Frank Vennes:

Prevost and Harrold Plead Guilty, Will Testify That Vennes Committed Fraud

I attended the hearing today at the Federal Courthouse in St.Paul.

Bruce Prevost and David Harrold agreed to plead guilty to 4 counts of securities fraud each.

The indictment says Vennes recruited Harrold and Prevost in 2002 to raise money for Petters and PCI. PCI was the Ponzi part of the Petters empire. Vennes told Harrold and Prevost that he had negotiated and arranged financing for PCI for 8 years. Vennes described himself as Petters' "financier". Vennes also said Petters requested Vennes act on his behalf in doing the financial wheeling and dealing. Vennes told Harrold and Prevost that he knew Petters' business "intimately" and that Vennes had done due diligence on PCI. Vennes apparently set himself up as the gateway between the Palm Beach hedge fund and PCI.

From 2002 to 2008, in nearly 2,100 transactions the Palm Beach hedge fund invested $8 billion in PCI notes. By September 24, 2008, $1 billion of the hedge fund's investor's money was invested with PCI.

Vennes handled the transactions and made a nifty $60 million in fees.

The indictment says the three con artists conspired to lie to the investors - "swapping" PCI's fraudulent notes to hide the fact that Petters was unable to pay. Vennes did all the documentation on the note swaps. After as they were swapping the notes, they were taking investors' money... $75 million from more than 30 investors.

Vennes is charged with money laundering - a charge having to do with a $98, 814.12 check to the law firm of Howse & Thompson.

Will Frank Vennes also plead guilty?

Stay tuned...

(Click sketches to make them larger)




Cross-posted at Dump Bachmann.