Money for Coleman, Grams, Madia came from Ponzi schemer Stanford’s direction

Photos: US Senate Historical Office (Grams), Sherman Group (Sherman)

Three Minnesota politicians — none of them now in office — received political donations from accused Ponzi schemer Sir Allen Stanford or his staff. Stanford’s largest and most recent gift ($2,300) was to Democrat Ashwin Madia, who tried unsuccessfully to succeed retiring Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Ramstad last year. Former Sen. Rod Grams got $1,000 from Stanford for his failed 2000 bid for re-election. And another former senator, Norm Coleman, received $1,000 in 2006 from a top Stanford employee, Jay Comeaux, who was then executive director at the Stanford Group Company. (He’s no longer listed at the Web site for the firm, which is now in receivership.)

The breakdown of gifts to Minnesotans — two contributions to Republicans, one to a Democrat — is the inverse of how Stanford and his employees split the $2.4 million they donated to politicians and political action committees since 2000. Two-thirds went to Democratic candidates and causes.

Stanford’s phony investment schemes are said to have left investors $8 billion poorer. Some politicians, including Sen. John Cornyn from Stanford’s home state of Texas, say they’ll make donations to charity or to the Stanford Group receiver in the amounts they received from Stanford.

Stanford — who goes by “Sir” after having been knighted by his adopted country, Antigua —  usually picked winners, but of the three Minnesotans, Coleman is the only one who might hold office in the near future. And that’s only if he wins his court battle to reverse the Minnesota State Canvassing Board’s election recount in favor of his DFL challenger, Al Franken.