Capital Athletic Foundation

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The Capital Athletic Foundation (CAF) is a 501(c)(3) organization started by Jack Abramoff "in 2000 with only $12,850," according to a heavily-documented March 1, 2005, letter from Melanie Sloan of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).

Sloan's information was taken from R. Jeffrey Smith's September 28, 2004, Washington Post article "Foundation's Funds Diverted From Mission. Records Detail Spending By GOP Lobbyist Abramoff."

  • In 2001, CAF received $1 million from the Coushatta and $177,415 from Foxcom.
  • The Coushatta apparently believed that the donation was for a sky box from which Abramoff would lobby Members of Congress during Redskins games.
  • In 2002, CAF collected $2.56 million from 9 donors including 3 tribes.
  • In 2003, CAF collected $2.15 million from tribes, Michael Scanlon and an internet casino client of Abramoff’s. $2.13 million of the money went to the Eshkol Academy, a school started [in 2001] by Abramoff.
  • In a February 2003 email, Abramoff told Scanlon to make sure that his share of money went to Eshkol directly – 'using school as conduit for some of our activities . .. If that won’t fly with them, use CAF.'
  • CAF also paid $120,000 in August 2002 for Abramoff, Robert W. Ney, Ralph E. Reed, Jr., and then-General Services Administration Chief of Staff David Safavian "to St. Andrews to play golf with a stop in London on way back. Ney later claimed that the trip’s purpose was to raise money for a foundation, but there were no fundraising events during the course of the trip."

On April 17, 2005, Tax Analysts reported that in a March 16, 2005, letter, Senate Finance Committee Chair Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) and ranking minority member Max Baucus (D-MT) had "asked lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his wife, Pamela, for various financial and organizational data regarding the Capital Athletic Foundation (CAF), a charity the Abramoffs founded," and "requested information about three other organizations Abramoff has had ties to: Eshkol Inc., the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), and Kaygold LLC, a consulting service owned by Abramoff. (For the Finance Committee letter, see Doc 2005-5551.)"

"The committee opened the investigation following allegations that Abramoff used NCPPR and CAF to pay for overseas trips for House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, and other Republican lawmakers and that he attempted to influence lawmakers with large donations from various American Indian tribes." [1][2]

"The committee had asked Abramoff to provide a list of the foundation’s employees and their compensation packages, an accounting of the travel and conferences attended by the foundation’s employees, and details of the foundation’s investments, among other information."

As of April 20, 2005, The Hill reported that Abramoff had not been "responsive" to the Committee's request that the documents be provided by April 15, 2005. [3]

"Interactive Spy Game Gala"

On March 5, 2003, Paul Bond of The Hollywood Reporter announced the March 26, 2003, celebrity fundraiser "Interactive Spy Game Gala" to be held at the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC, "to raise about $300,000 for the Capital Athletic Foundation."

  • "Daniel Greenberg, who works as creative director for the J.R.R. Tolkien franchise for Universal Interactive, has tapped his brother Andrew, also an award-winning video game designer, and theatrical director Patti Woolsey for the Spy Game Gala. About 30 teams of about 10 people each are to interact with 15 actors who will reveal clues for solving puzzles that will eventually reveal the mystery Greenberg has created. The competition will last about an hour, and the winning team will get $50,000 in prizes."
    "Being honored at the gala with the Capital Athletic Foundation's first lifetime achievement award is full-time philanthropist James Kimsey, the founding chairman of America Online."
  • "The gala is to be chaired by Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder, so the NFL will be well-represented. Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome Bettis will be there, and record-setting Philadelphia Eagles return man Brian Mitchell has signed on as event spokesman."
  • "Fox News Channel's Tony Snow is master of ceremonies, and Fox's Brit Hume and MSNBC's Chris Matthews are aboard. Opera great Placido Domingo is an event committee member. But, this being Washington, the event will be mostly populated by powerful lawmakers, including Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas; Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa.; and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif."
  • Also named in the announcement was the "foundation's director of community relations," Julie Doolittle, the wife of Representative John Doolittle (R-California).

Contact Details

The following may or may not be active information:
Capital Athletic Foundation
Trustees: Jack Abramoff, Pamela Abramoff
(formerly National Institute of Torah Foundation)
c/o Jack Abramoff
1101 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Ste. 600
Washington, DC 20004
E-mail: capathletic AT capathletic.org
URL: http://www.capathletic.org (inactive January 4, 2006)

SourceWatch Resources

External links

Data

Documents

  • Statement of Amy Moritz Ridenour At the Hearing before the United States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on Lobbying practices Involving Indian Tribes, June 22, 2005 (pdf).

2003

2004

2005

2006

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