This week, however, Kazeminy's name has been in the papers for an alleged payout that doesn't show up on any Federal Election Commission records. On Monday, Harper's Ken Silverstein reported, citing two anonymous sources, that the businessman had footed the bill for lavish clothing purchases by Sen. Norm Coleman at Neiman Marcus in Minneapolis.]]>

When Nasser Kazeminy’s name is mentioned in the media, it’s almost invariably preceded by the phrase “reclusive businessman.” The Iranian-born chairman of Bloomington-based NJK Holdings does plenty of talking, however, with his checkbook. Since 1990, Kazeminy has given nearly $800,000 to Republican candidates and causes, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, while his wife Yvonne has chipped in another $123,300 to campaign coffers.

This week, however, Kazeminy’s name has been in the papers for an alleged payout that doesn’t show up on any Federal Election Commission records. On Monday, Harper’s Ken Silverstein reported, citing two anonymous sources, that the businessman had footed the bill for lavish clothing purchases by Sen. Norm Coleman at Neiman Marcus in Minneapolis.

Coleman’s campaign has repeatedly refused to answer any questions about the allegation, blaming the controversy on angry bloggers. “There are very awful things that are said about people on the blogs,” Coleman told Pioneer Press reporter Dave Orrick on Tuesday. Then at a press conference yesterday Coleman’s campaign manager, Cullen Sheehan, again refused to confirm or deny the report. Instead he awkwardly repeated the same mantra a dozen times — “the senator has reported every gift he’s ever received” — becoming an instant YouTube celebrity in the process.

During the first 18 months of this election cycle, Kazeminy and his wife have made at least $55,700 in political contributions, almost exclusively to Republican candidates and causes. (The one exception: $2,300 to Bill Richardson’s presidential campaign.) This includes $20,000 to the Republican Party of Minnesota and $20,000 to Coleman’s Northstar Leadership PAC. This ranks the household 19th on the list of the state’s most generous political donors.

But given recent developments, Kazeminy is easily the most intriguing character on this section of the list. In 1981 he left a job as a district sales manager with Control Data Corp. in order to strike out on his own in business. In the ensuing years, NJK Holdings, a privately held investment firm, has engaged in a variety of businesses, including manufacturing, software design and health clubs.

Kazeminy lives in Palm Beach most of the year, where he owns an 8,800-square-foot, $19 million home and runs in some influential political and social circles. He’s long been close to former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole and gets a shout out from former FBI director Louis Freeh in his 2005 book “My FBI.” “Millions of Iranians will soon be free,” Freeh writes, “and great Iranian-American patriots like my good friend Nasser Kazeminy will have served the cause of peaceful democratic transition.” Kazeminy receives a similar endorsement from Lee Iacoca in his 2007 book “Where Have all the Leaders Gone?” “And of course still on my best friends list are Bill Fugazy, Vic Damone and Nasser Kazeminy,” the former Chrysler chairman writes.

Kazeminy first made a major splash in Minnesota politics in 1998 when he contributed $50,000 to the state Republican Party. A story in the Star Tribune at the time described the businessman as dismayed that his donation would be part of the public record. “He almost didn’t want to participate because of it, which is a shame,” Tony Trimble, a prominent Republican lawyer, told the newspaper at the time. “He said, ‘I don’t want publicity.’ He’s a very unique individual.”

His ties to Coleman go back even farther. The Kazeminy family made $4,000 in contributions to the then-St. Paul mayor’s 1997 re-election campaign. Three years later Kazeminy footed the bill for Coleman to fly to Jordan for a global trade conference. Since joining the Senate in 2002, Coleman has taken at least two more trips at the businessman’s expense. In 2004 the senator and his wife flew back from Paris on a private plane owned by Kazeminy, a $2,870 value. The following year Coleman and his daughter used Kazeminy’s plane to jet off to the Bahamas, a trip valued at $3,960. “It’s a friend with a plane,” Coleman explained to the Star Tribune after the subsidized trips came to light in 2006.

Top 100 donors: No. 11 through 20

The top 100 givers in the state have made $4.1 million in federal political contributions since the beginning of 2007, or more than $40,000 per household. Republican donors have cut checks for $2.3 million, while their Democratic counterparts have doled out $1.8 million. To get a better understanding of the state’s most generous political patrons, the Minnesota Independent commissioned a study by the Center for Responsive Politics looking at the top 100 contributors.

In the first five installments of this series we looked at the bottom 80 members of the list, those contributing between $23,000 and $54,000. Today we examine places 11 through 20. Donors on this section of the list contributed a total of $629,325 to federal political candidates and causes during the first 18 months of this election cycle. Republican contributors were in the majority, with GOP candidates getting roughly two-thirds of their donations.

Kazeminy’s aversion to the media spotlight is not shared by all the donors that occupy slots 11 through 20 on the list of the state’s top 100 political donors. Sam and Sylvia Kaplan are arguably the most influential political rainmakers on the Democratic side of the aisle. The couple were early backers of Paul Wellstone and provided a key support for Keith Ellison in his 2006 congressional race when some were questioning his support of the Jewish community. The Kaplans frequently host big-ticket fundraisers at their 10,000-square-foot Minneapolis home. A lengthy profile in The Rake last year by Brian Lambert labeled their support “essential to almost any Democrat who wants to get elected in Minnesota.” In the first 18 months of this election cycle, the Kaplans have doled out at least $55,350 to Democratic campaigns.

Jeffrey Anderson made his fortune as an attorney suing the Catholic Church on behalf of sexual-assault victims. He’s made tens of millions of dollars in hundreds of lawsuits dating back to the early ’80s. A 2003 City Pages cover story referred to him as “the guy more than a few Catholics have secretly prayed to have consigned eternally to hell.” But the church’s misfortune has been a boon for Democrats. So far this cycle, Anderson and his wife Julie have funneled $66,350 to DFL campaigns, including $33,500 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, making them the 13th most generous household in the state.

One slot higher on the list is former Target CEO Robert Ulrich, who is widely credited with transforming the company from a regional discount store chain into an international retailing behemoth. During his tenure the company’s sales tripled and the number of retail outlets increased ninefold. The Minneapolis native has long been a dedicated supporter of GOP causes, contributing more than $200,000 to federal campaigns since 1990. In the first 18 months of this election cycle he has written checks for $66,700, including $10,000 for the Republican Party of Minnesota, $15,000 for the National Republican Congressional Committee and $10,000 for Coleman’s Northstar Leadership PAC.

Here’s the complete list of donors occupying slots 11 through 20:

11. Donald and Beverly Oren, St. Paul, Dart Transit, $75,150

12. Robert Ulrich, Minneapolis, Target Corp., $66,700

13. Jeffrey and Julie Anderson, St. Paul, Jeffrey Anderson & Associates, $66,350

14. Kenneth and Grace Evenstad, Maple Grove, Upsher-Smith Laboratories, $65,900

15. Dean and Amy Sundquist, Anoka, Mate Precision Tooling, $64,100

16. William and Harriet Ludwick, Minneapolis, retired, $62,700

17. Mary Ann Barrows and David Wark, St. Paul, Mensch Makers Press, $60,450

18. Rosita Owens, Wayzata, Voyageur Financial Services, $56,925

19. Nazer and Yvonne Kazeminy, Palm Beach, FL, NJK Holdings, $55,700

20. Samuel and Sylvia Kaplan, Minneapolis, Kaplan, Strangis & Kaplan, $55,350

<strong>Previously in The Crunch:</strong>

Minnesota’s top 100 political givers: 21 to 30

Minnesota’s top 100 political givers: 31 to 40

Minnesota’s top 100 political givers: 41 to 50

Minnesota’s top 100 political givers: 51 to 75

Minnesota’s Top 100 political givers: 76 to 100