More on No-Show Angelo

Romney is a Fraud has a great post today on the past legal troubles of No-Show Angelo Buonopane, whose recent troubles I posted about previously. Ben draws a connection between Buonopane and one Martin Hanaka who also was given a cushy job by Romney while the governor was in the corporate world -- despite having troubles of his own.

Martin Hanaka was the CEO of Staples back when Willard Mitt was a member of the Staples board of directors. Hanaka purportedly quit amid charges he was having an affair with a female underling, was reportedly arrested for allegedly assaulting said underling and was said to have paid upwards of $10,000 to the underling in hush money. (source: Boston Herald, 10/18/2002) Yes, we like the word 'underling.'

Less than a year later, Romney, who then also sat on the Sports Authority board of directors, purportedly helped seat Hanaka as CEO of that company. (source: Boston Herald, 10/18/2002)

When asked to explain Willard Mitt's sponsorship of Hanaka, Romney's now $150,000-a-year Loathsome Spokesman said, "Like anybody else (Martin Hanaka) deserved a second chance."

Why do these former deadbeats deserve second chances -- not to mention six-figure salaries -- and why does Romney bother to help them out? I wonder if the answer to that question has anything to do with the $1,000 that Hanaka dropped on Mitt's Senate campaign in 1994. Could it be that Mitt was paying back political favors even before he was elected governor? Does the rest of Team Reform know about this?

Actually, I imagine they do. Half of them probably got their own jobs the same way.