Monday, March 13, 2006

Questions For Eric Roach?

Millionaire congressional candidate Eric Roach is touting his business acumen and financial background as strong assets in his campaign for Randy "Duke" Cunningham's former seat in the 5oth District Special Election.

Unfortunately, Roach's connection with the initial source of his financial success, Lombard Institutional Brokerage, looks like it is going to create some real issues for him.

Turns out that Roach's partner and apparent financial benefactor, Thomas Frank White, has a very disturbing record as a pedophile. San Diego Politics has the details regarding White and, more critical to Roach, the history of Lombard.

Read the story, if you can stomach it. Then decide if you think that San Diego Politics is correct in asking that Roach answer these questions:

1) Did you know that your business partner was engaged in this behavior? If so, did you confront him about this and explain that it was not OK to engage in sex with individuals under the age of 18?

2) Why is there a discrepancy about who started and funded the brokerage firm that you made your personal fortune from? Were you the principal founder or was White? Was it your money that started the firm or White’s? Or did the two of you go into the project together?

3) Since published reports about White’s activities have come out have you spoken to White? What kind of relationship have you had with him since Lombard was sold in 1997?

I think that the second question is the more germaine to Roach's congressional campaign. Roach's current story regarding the founding of Lombard is contradicted by information from San Francisco newspaper reports.

Certainly, it is understandable that Roach would not want to associate his name with White's, but if Roach has been creating an alternate story regarding his business past, it is going to be hard for voters to embrace what appears to be another ethically challenged Republican candidate.