Vince Randazzo

Vince Randazzo is "the former head of Wachovia’s $2 million government affairs operations."

With Wachovia's merger with Wells Fargo, in 2009, Randazzo went to work on Capitol Hill as "Republican deputy staff director on the House Financial Services Committee" as part of the "revolving door." That Committee is charged with conducting oversight of the banking industry and, in his new job, Randazzo "oversees internal and external communications and strategy."

While Randazzo was leading Wachovia's lobby shop, the company came under fire for "extending an $8 million bailout loan to the cash-strapped National Republican Congressional Committee to finance last-minute election activities to help GOP House candidates [while] it was denying credit and freezing assets to thousands of small businesses." That controversial loan was made while Wachovia was in the middle of a buyout deal with the Bush Administration which was promising to guarantee up to $42 billion from U.S. taxpayers, for a buyout by Citigroup to cover losses after the FDIC declared Wachovia "systematically important," i.e., "too big to fail." Ultimately, that deal to subsidize Citibank's purchase of Wachovia's assets fell through and Wells Fargo merged with Wachovia.

Randazzo reported in 2008 that he made campaign donations to John McCain for President and to the Freedom Project, which "1) provides direct financial assistance to Republican candidates for federal office; 2) supports the travel of Congressman Boehner on behalf of Republican candidates across the country; and 3) maintains FreedomProject.org -- a web-based clearinghouse for Republican activism featuring online fundraising and grassroots tools, and regular updates on key races and critical issues."