October 03, 2008 01:59 AM UTC

Schaffer-Linked Fraud Case: Sentencing

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• by: Colorado Pols

On May 28th, local entrepreneur William Orr was found guilty on 22 counts related to defrauding the federal government via his now-defunct National Alternative Fuels Foundation, a case that turned heads around the country once it was disclosed that Senate candidate Bob Schaffer served on the NAFF board of directors. The Rocky Mountain News summarized back in June:

By joining the board, Schaffer’s name forever became linked with that of Orr, who later was accused by the U.S. attorney of misleading investors and falsifying documents to obtain the grant.

The same week that a federal jury found Orr guilty on fraud and other counts, the Colorado Republican Party nominated Schaffer for the U.S. Senate…

Which is pretty much where the story has sat since then. There was significant interest as the case played out regarding which member of Congress approved the earmark for Orr’s “research.” We’ve heard some interesting new details about this recently–for reasons unknown, Rep. Marilyn Musgrave’s office reportedly made inquiries about the earmark back in April, before Schaffer’s involvement was widely known–but no one has been able to either confirm or conclusively rule out who helped Orr get his grant money.

The Orr case has joined a litany of other “Schaffer Scandals”, and opponents have a grab-bag of material to pick from as they enter the final month of the campaign. Even though Schaffer opponents still aren’t matching the saturation level of anti-Mark Udall TV spots, the widely disseminated narratives of scandal associated with Bob Schaffer have already had the effect Democrats were hoping for–evidenced by his stubborn losing poll numbers and steadily rising negative impressions.

Tomorrow morning, Bill Orr goes in front of a federal judge again for a sentencing hearing. The past being any indicator, Schaffer campaign manager Dick Wadhams will aggressively work the phones tonight, making sure reporters understand that there is absolutely, positively nothing to see there.