FBI Probing How Torricelli Got His Car

A major political donor has told authorities he put money down to help Sen. Robert Torricelli buy a luxury car during his 1996 Senate campaign, but the New Jersey Democrat scuttled the deal, according to law enforcement officials and lawyers.

Torricelli bought the Mercedes Benz using his own money after businessman David Chang had put several thousand dollars down at the dealership, according to the officials familiar with Chang's account.

FBI officials are investigating whether Torricelli improperly solicited gifts from Chang, and agents gathered documents from two dealerships where the senator bought cars in the 1990s, lawyers and officials told The Associated Press.

The issue of gifts—a thorny subject under congressional ethics rules—has emerged as one of several disputes between Torricelli and Chang in an investigation that has broadened beyond political donations to the senator's personal finances.

Torricelli's office said Chang never provided any money to the senator in connection with the purchase of a car, and when the lawmaker learned of Chang's effort to put money down at the car dealership, he "put a stop to it immediately." Torricelli's lawyers have repeatedly attacked Chang as a "pathological liar."

Chang's attorney responded to the criticism Monday, saying Torricelli "never hesitated to hold out his hand" seeking personal favors from his client.

The officials and legal sources told the AP that federal authorities have ascertained that Chang and Torricelli each put several thousand dollars down at a New Jersey dealership on a Mercedes Benz in August 1996. At the time, Torricelli was a House member about to capture a seat in the Senate.

Chang has pleaded guilty to making improper donations to Torricelli's campaign and is cooperating with federal authorities.

He has told the FBI he discussed with Torricelli his interest in the car and made the payments to the car dealership in the senator's hometown of Englewood, N.J. Chang told authorities that Torricelli backed away from the financial help, according to officials and lawyers.

Torricelli purchased the used 1994 Mercedes Benz for about $32,000 - paying $5,000 cash and $27,000 in a check from his home equity loan, according to documents, officials and legal sources.

Torricelli's office said in a statement Monday that he never discussed the money with Chang and paid for his car himself, but learned from the dealership of Chang's effort to put money down on the vehicle and immediately stopped it.

"If David Chang has stated he discussed with Senator Torricelli providing him money for a car in any way, that is no more credible than the dozen lies even the Justice Department has stated Chang has told," the statement said. "No such conversation ever occurred, and the senator paid for his car himself."

Torricelli "immediately stopped Chang's effort" when told of it by the dealership, the statement said.
Previously, Torricelli's lawyer, Robert Bauer, called Chang's allegations the "fevered imaginings of a pathological liar." Bauer has pointed to court documents in which the government questioned Chang's credibility before Chang became a cooperating witness.

Chang's attorney, Bradley Simon, declined to discuss any specific information his client has provided the FBI but accused the politician of using Chang for personal gain.

"It is rather unavailing for Senator Torricelli and his subordinates to now engage in a campaign to discredit David Chang when for years he never hesitated to hold out his hand and use David Chang for his own benefit," Simon said Monday.

Simon declined to be more specific. Legal and law enforcement sources said the FBI also has looked into trips and jewelry purchases in connection with information Chang provided them in the Torricelli probe.

FBI agents gathered documents detailing Torricelli's purchase of two Mercedes Benz cars—the one in 1996 from the Englewood dealership and the other in 1998 in Binghamton, N.Y.

"They came in, requested some information, I think mostly sales information related to his car. I think we copied it and provided it," said John Feduke, the owner of the Binghamton dealership.

Torricelli purchased a used 1994 Mercedes E320 in 1996 from the Englewood dealership for about $32,000, according to documents and sources.

Two years later, the documents and sources said, Torricelli traded in the 1994 vehicle to purchase a 1998 model in Binghamton for about $45,000, paying $15,000 by check and getting $30,000 as a trade-in credit.

Allegations of a favor from another major donor - New Jersey businessman Grover Connell - first attracted FBI interest in Torricelli's personal and political finances, the AP reported last month.

In 1992, Connell arranged and guaranteed a $100,000 loan that helped Torricelli buy stock that made a $144,000 profit. Torricelli was interviewed by prosecutors in 1995 in connection with the loan and stock purchase and the inquiry was closed.

But information developed during that probe eventually led to the current investigation, law enforcement officials have said.