Global Crossing Development Corporation

Global Crossing Development Corporation, an international IT and telecommunications provider, is "a wholly owned subsidiary of Global Crossing Ltd.", according to the Securities and Exchange Commission (EdgarOnline.com).

In August 2003, President George W. Bush "allowed" Global Crossing to be "sold to a joint venture" of Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. of Hong Kong and Singapore Technologies Telemedia for $250-million "in a deal that required federal approval" by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. 

"Global Crossing, which is based in Bermuda but has corporate offices in Florham Park, N.J., built a 100,000 mile, high-speed fiber optic network - the world's most extensive - before it collapsed under $12.4-billion in debt in January 2002." 

Directors
Accessed September 2008:


 * Lodewijk Christiaan van Wachem - Chairman, Global Crossing Limited
 * Peter Seah Lim Huat - Vice Chairman, Global Crossing Limited
 * The Honorable E.C. "Pete" Aldridge, Jr.
 * Admiral Archie Clemins
 * Lt. General Donald L. Cromer
 * Richard R. Erkeneff
 * Lee Theng Kiat
 * Charles Macaluso
 * Michael Rescoe
 * Robert Sachs

Bankruptcy
In the "fourth largest bankruptcy in U.S. history", on January 28, 2002, "Global Crossing Ltd. and certain of its affiliates filed petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York." 

Failed Buy Out
In 2003, Global Crossing was looking for a prospective buyer in order to keep itself afloat. One of these proposed buyers was Li Ka Shing, a Chinese businessman with numerous holdings and connections to the Chinese PLA.

While the sale was pending approval by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, Richard Perle was hired as a consultant to guide the company through the process, presumably to use his high-end connections with the Bush administration to get approval. When the conflict of interest arose between Perle's sitting on the Defense Policy Board and his hiring as a consultant, Perle chose to resign his Board post in March 2003. 

In the end the takeover bid failed. 

PAC Campaign Contributions
"Global Crossing, founded in 1997 by Gary Winnick, a former junk-bond salesman and associate of Michael Milken, contributed $2.9 million to candidates and political parties during the 2000 election, up from just $34,000 in 1998, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics (CRP). That made Global Crossing, based in Beverly Hills and Bermuda, the fifth-highest donor among communications companies--ahead of WorldCom and BellSouth. Global even topped Enron's $2.4 million in such donations for 2000. 'They came out of nowhere and papered the town with money," says Larry Makinson, executive director of CRP," Richard S. Dunham, ed., wrote February 11, 2002, in BusinessWeek Online.

Global Crossing was "an evenhanded giver," Dunhan wrote in 2002: "Of its total $3.6 million in contributions since 1998, Republicans pocketed 53%, Democrats got 47%. Top recipients in Congress were key figures in telecom regulation: Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) got $31,000, and Representative Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), $12,500. In 1999, on behalf of Global Crossing, McCain asked the Federal Communications Commission to encourage the development of undersea telecom cables."


 * A correction to Dunham's article reads: "Of its total $3.6 million in contributions since 1997, Republicans pocketed 45%, and Democrats got 55%."

"The high point of Global Crossing's nonideological courtship was the summer of 2000. The company dished out $250,000 to each party's convention, hosted lavish parties for pols such as Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), and provided all of the Web hosting and connections for the GOP's confab," Dunham wrote.

"Since 1999, when Global Crossing became a major campaign contributor, it has given nearly $3.5 million in political donations, more than the $2.9 million handed out by Enron and its executives in the same period," Wes Vernon reported February 16, 2002, for NewsMax.

On its website, Open Secrets posted "Global Crossing Contributions to Federal Parties and Candidates, 1997-2001", as well as breakdowns according to House recipients and Senate recipients (based on FEC info 1/1/02). Additionally, "President Bush received $68,950 in contributions from Global Crossing during the 1999-2000 election cycle." 

According to Federal Election Commission records, contributions included $10,000 in 2001 to George W. Bush's "President's Dinner Committee". Other contributions included but were not limited to: Spencer Abraham, George Allen, John Ashcroft, Joe Barton, Evan Bayh, Sherrod Brown, Sam Brownback, Conrad Burns, Eric Cantor, Maria Cantwell, Max Cleland, Tom Davis, Harold Ford, Jr., Chuck Grassley, Judd Gregg, Jane Harman, Dennis Hastert, Orrin G. Hatch, Daniel Inouye, Bob Kerrey, Rick Lazio, Carl Levin, Blanche Lincoln, Bill Luther, Zell Miller, Jim Nussle, Charles W. Pickering, Jack Reed, Harry Reid, Tom Reynolds, Jay Rockefeller, Chuck Schumer, James Sensenbrenner, Louise Slaughter, Ted Stevens, Billy Tauzin, Henry A. Waxman, Heather Wilson, Frank R. Wolf, and Ron Wyden, as well as the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Democratic National Committee, Republican Majority Fund, and Republican National Committee.

The Global Crossing Development Corporation PAC&mdash;a 527 committee/political action committee&mdash;has used the 1441 Fourth Street, Santa Monica, California 90401 address of Bell, McAndrews & Hiltachk, LLP since 1997 to make contributions to both current and former political candidates.

In the 2006 election cycle, the PAC has contributed a total of $2,500 to U.S. Senate Republican candidates Tom Davis (R-VA) and Frank R. Wolf (R-VA) and $1,000 to U.S. House of Representatives Democrat candidate Mark Pryor (D-AR).

Contributions to the PAC
Individual contributions to the PAC for 1997 through 2001 came essentially from a single source: Personal contributions from Joseph P. Clayton, who was then President of Global Crossing's North American Region, and employees of the Frontier Corporation, the Rochester, New York, telecommunications company PAC, which included the Frontier Global Center and the Frontier Communications Service, Inc.  Many of the contributions were made in small increments via payroll deduction. 

Frontier was a subsidiary of Global Crossing Ltd.. The Federal Communications Commission was notified in October 1999 that Global Crossing had consummated its acquisition of the Frontier Corporation in September 1999. 

Political Campaign Money Carousel
In September 2005, the Global Crossing PAC disbursed $3,000 to DANPAC, Hawaii Democratic Sen. Daniel Inouye's political action committee. 

In October 2005 alone, DANPAC made significant contributions to PACs related to the telecommunications industry: $3,000 to the Global Crossing PAC; $5,000 to Clear Channel Communications PAC; $2,000 to Intelsat Corporation PAC; $5,000 to National Cable and Telecommunications Association PAC (NCTA PAC); and $2,500 to AT&T Corporation PAC, in addition to $2,500 to Inouye himself. 

Another example are disbursements in 1999 and 2001 from the Global Crossing PAC to COMPTEL PAC, which, in turn, disbursed campaign funds to a similar grocery list of candidates and PACs.

Contact Info
Contact Links Website: http://www.globalcrossing.com

Related SourceWatch Resources

 * soft money

Profiles & Documents

 * "Certain Relationships and Related Transactions," SEC EdgarOnline.com, April 27, 2001.
 * 2006 Summary: Global Crossing Development Corporation PAC, OpenSecrets.org. Also see FEC Documents.

2000

 * Holly Bailey, "And Now a Message From the Sponsors: A Look at Donors to the National Political Conventions," Open Secrets, July 10, 2000.

2001

 * Michael Scherer, "Global Crossing may be an upstart in the wireless business, but its top three executives are old hands when its comes to campaign contributions," Mother Jones, March 5, 2001.

2002

 * "Global Crossing Bankruptcy: GOP Insiders Question DNC Chariman McAuliffe Profit, Turned $100,000 into $18,000,000," Drudge Report, January 28, 2002.
 * Holly Bailey, "Global Crossing: Another Big Donor Heads into Bankruptcy," Open Secrets, January 30, 2002.
 * Richard S. Dunham, ed., "Global Crossing Tossed More Cash Around Town Than Enron," BusinessWeek Online, February 11, 2002.
 * David Lazurus, "Bush Sr.'s ties to Global Crossing. Bush family values," San Francisco Chronicle, February 11, 2002.
 * Wes Vernon, "McCain, Dems Reap Cash From Global Crossing," NewsMax, February 12, 2002.
 * Wes Vernon, "Global Crossing Funded Anti-Free Speech Incumbents," NewsMax, February 13, 2002: "Another RINO, the anti-Bush Sen. John McCain of Arizona, is the No. 1 congressional beneficiary of Global Crossing. Mr. Campaign Finance 'Reform' snapped up $31,000 from Global Crossing employees for his failed presidential campaign in March 1999, AP reported Friday."
 * Wes Vernon, "Global Crossing Tied to Clinton Defense Secretary," NewsMax, February 16, 2006.
 * Michael Weisskopf, "Equal-Opportunity Crisis. The G.O.P. hoped Global Crossing would be the Democrats' Enron. Now it's everybody's mess," TIME Magazine, February 22, 2002.
 * Richard S. Dunham and Mike McNamee, "Bush Sr.'s Profitable Crossing. The former President made a tidy $4.5 million from his shares in now-bankrupt Global Crossing," BusinessWeek Online, February 22, 2002.
 * Jeffrey Kaye, "The Long Fall," PBS Online NewsHour, March 21, 2002.

2003

 * Charles R. Smith, "Global Double Crossing," NewsMax, February 26, 2003.
 * Charles R. Smith, "Billionaire Fails in Bid for Global Crossing," NewsMax, March 5, 2003.
 * Stephen Labaton, "Pentagon Adviser Is Also Advising Global Crossing," New York Times (Office of Rep. Jan Schakowsky), March 21, 2003.
 * Jim Lobe, "Perle: 'Prince of Darkness' in the spotlight," Asia Times, March 25, 2003.
 * "Hawk Defense Adviser Perle Resigns," NewsMax, March 27, 2003.
 * Jamie McIntyre, "Top Pentagon adviser resigns under fire," CNN, March 28, 2003.
 * Jason Leopold, "The Enterprising Hawk. Richard Perle Flies the Coop," CounterPunch, March 28, 2003.
 * Richard Perle, "For the Record," Wall Street Journal (Benador Associates), March 31, 2003.
 * "President Bush signs off on Global Crossing sale," Associated Press (St. Petersburg Times (FL)), September 20, 2003.
 * "Administration Said To Pressure FCC On Global Crossing," Telecom Policy Report (FindArticles.com), October 15, 2003.

2005

 * Grahame Lynch, "The new bandwidth barons: buying binge shifts global fiber assets from American to foreign ownership," America's Network (FindArticles.com), February 2005.

2006

 * Janie, "DP World Part II: Hutchinson Whampoa Lte.," NewsHounds, March 23, 2006.