- Gala Hollywood Farewell Salute to President Clinton
The Hollywood Gala Salute to President William Jefferson Clinton took place on
August 12 ,2000 at the privateBrentwood, California estate of businessman Ken Roberts. It was produced and hosted byPeter F. Paul andAaron Tonken , and was the largest Hollywood tribute ever produced for a sitting President of the United States.Fact|date=February 2007 Besides honoring PresidentBill Clinton , it also served as a fund raising event for the 2000 U.S. Senate election campaign of First LadyHillary Rodham Clinton , and was the largest such event of her campaign.Fact|date=February 2007 The event also included the largest invitation-only private concert, featuring eight international headlining artists.Fact|date=February 2007The event included both a dinner and a concert, and about 350 people accepted invitations to both. [http://www.washtimes.com/national/20050508-115753-6895r.htm] The singers during the concert included
Michael Bolton ,Cher ,Toni Braxton ,Patti Labelle ,Sugar Ray , andDiana Ross . Celebrities in attendance includedJohn Travolta ,Brad Pitt ,Jennifer Aniston ,Jason Alexander , andMuhammad Ali and his wifeLonnie Ali . White House daughterChelsea Clinton was also present for the event.Hillary Clinton's campaign failed to file proper documentation for the event with the
Federal Election Commission , and later paid $35,000 in fines.Shortly after the party, it was revealed that organizer Peter Paul had a criminal conviction for drug dealing, leading Clinton to distance herself from him. Three other men involved with the gala have also since been convicted of federal felonies. Co-organizer Aaron Tonken was sentenced to 63 months in jail for committing fraud connected with charity fund raising. Sponsor Raymond Reggie was convicted of bank fraud and served time in jail. Finally, a man named James Levin, who claimed to have been paid to "monitor" the party for Clinton pleaded guilty to a minority contracting fraud scheme involving the Chicago Public Schools. ["N.Y. Senator Wins in Court Against Campaign Donor," Josh Gerstein, The New York Sun, October 17, 2007]
References
ee also
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Hollywood fundraiser controversy
*Paul v. Clinton External links
* [http://groups.google.com/group/alt.gossip.celebrities/browse_frm/thread/4910f9db078b96ef/a9f25bd4eda3cebd New York Daily News anticipated show description]
* [http://groups.google.com/group/alt.fan.michael-bolton/browse_frm/thread/a6b56e3171e21108/92ac2173e11f1f18 Associated Press report on event]
* [http://groups.google.com/group/alt.fan.michael-bolton/msg/5f1cba31d374101b?hl=en& excerpt of Washington Post report on event]
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