Rossi’s taken thousands in campaign donations from indicted fraudster and fugitive Michael Mastro, didn’t disclose a $50,000 loan from him, and even profited off a business deal with Mastro. Mastro was indicted for bank fraud and money laundering, allegedly defrauding 175 investors out of 100 million dollars, including middle-class retirees who invested nearly all of their life savings and a local church. (BACKUP) Rossi Failed To Disclose Mastro’s $50,000 Loan On His Financial Disclosures. “For several years while he served in the state Senate, Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi didn’t tell state regulators about a $50,000 loan from a real estate investor a misstep that Democrats are using now to question Rossi’s integrity in the final days of a heated election. Rossi acknowledged the error when it was brought to his attention by The Associated Press, which learned of the error from state Democrats.... Public documents show that Rossi borrowed the money in question in October 1997, when he was a state senator, from Michael R. Mastro, a real estate developer. A Seattle property which Rossi owned at the time served as collateral. The $50,000 was used as part of the down payment when Rossi and other investors, including two lobbyists, purchased a Mastro-owned Federal Way apartment building that year. Documents show Mastro loaned the investors $2 million to buy the apartment from him, with a sale price of $2.5 million.” [AP, 10/25/08] Mastro Donated To Rossi’s Campaigns. “Mastro sold apartment complexes in Lake Stevens and Federal Way in the 1990s to a budding Republican politician named Dino Rossi, financing both purchases, and later was an early donor to Rossi’s unsuccessful gubernatorial bids in 2004 and 2008.” [Seattle Times, 9/14/10] Mastro’s Family Gave $11,300 To Rossi’s Campaigns, Including $800 In 2008 When Mastro Was Accused Of Lying To Investors And Hiding Assets In Offshore Accounts. Date Name Type Election Employer Occupation Amount 5/19/2008 MASTRO LINDA Cash Primary HOMEMAKER 200 5/19/2008 MASTRO Cash General G&M OWNER 200 MICHAEL R. INVESTMENT 5/19/2008 MASTRO LINDA Cash General HOMEMAKER 200 5/19/2008 MASTRO Cash Primary G&M OWNER 200 MICHAEL R. INVESTMENT 10/12/2007 MASTRO LINDA Cash Primary HOMEMAKER 1,400.00 10/12/2007 MASTRO LINDA Cash General HOMEMAKER 1,400.00 10/12/2007 MASTRO Cash Primary G&M OWNER 1,400.00 MICHAEL R. INVESTMENT 10/12/2007 MASTRO Cash General G&M OWNER 1,400.00 MICHAEL R. INVESTMENT 9/27/2004 MASTRO Cash General G&M OWNER 100 MICHAEL R. INVESTMENT 10/24/2003 MASTRO LINDA Cash Primary HOMEMAKER 1,250 10/24/2003 MASTRO LINDA Cash General HOMEMAKER 1,250 10/24/2003 MASTRO Cash Primary G&M OWNER 1,250 MICHAEL R. INVESTMENT 10/24/2003 MASTRO Cash General G&M OWNER 1,250 MICHAEL R. INVESTMENT Total: $11,300 [National Institute on Money in Politics, accessed 8/7/18] Rossi Had 37.5 Percent Interest In Group That Bought Mastro Property and Sold It Three Years Later For $600,000 More Than It Was Bought For. “Windsor Court Apartments, 63-unit building in Federal Way, purchased from developer Mastro in October 1997. Rossi and a group of investors that included two Olympia lobbyists paid $2.5 million for the building, in which Rossi had a 37.5 percent interest. Mastro also financed the transaction. The group sold the building 3-½ years later for $600,000 more than it paid.” [Seattle Times, 10/20/04] U.S. Authorities Filed Indictment Against Mastro On 43 Counts Of Bank Fraud And Money Laundering. “Before the Mastros were arrested near Annecy, France, last month, U.S. marshals and the FBI had spent 16 months searching for the couple. They had disappeared in June 2011 along with $1.4 million in diamonds they had been ordered to turn over to the court. At a Nov. 7 hearing, Terrier had urged a panel of three French judges to free the couple while they wait for U.S. authorities to file for their extradition on a 43-count indictment for bank fraud and money laundering.” [Puget Sound Business Journal, 11/9/12] Mastro Raised More Than $100 Million From More Than 175 Investors He Referred To As Friends & Family, Using The Money To Buy And Develop Property And Make Loans To Other Developers. “Over the years, Mastro raised more than $100 million from more than 175 investors he referred to as Friends & Family, using the money to buy and develop property and make loans to other developers. The charging papers say he provided the investors with little information when they loaned him money, failed to adequately disclose risk, and kept them in the dark when his empire began to crumble last year.” [Seattle Times, 10/9/09] Washington Department Of Financial Institutions’ Securities Division Filed Securities Charges Against Mastro, Accused Mastro Of Making False Statements To Investors And Omitting Important Information To Investors From Whom He Raised $100 Million. “Bankrupt Seattle real- estate magnate Michael R. Mastro broke the law by misleading so-called ‘Friends & Family’ investors from whom he raised $100 million, state regulators charged Friday. Mastro made false statements to investors and omitted important information, the state Department of Financial Institutions’ securities division said. He also broke a state law barring the sale of unregistered securities, the 15-page document contends.” [Seattle Times, 10/9/09] Investor From Bellevue, WA Ripped Off By Mastro. “Mastro apparently sold notes worth more than $1 million to three investors in January and February of this year, and notes totaling nearly $15 million to more than 20 investors in 2008, according to the securities division. Rick Leavitt, of Bellevue, said he was one of those investors. He said he loaned Mastro money in August 2008 and asked if it was safe. ‘He said, ‘No problem,’’ Leavitt said Friday. ‘I’m upset. I believed him, that he was always a man of his word … He was taking money right up to the end, knowing he was in trouble.’” [Seattle Times, 10/09/09] Some Retired Investors With Net Worths Of Less Than $1 Million Loaned More Than 75 Percent Of Their Savings To Mastro. “Some retired investors with net worths of less than $1 million loaned more than 75 percent of their savings to Mastro, the charging papers say, and some were led to believe their investments entailed no risk. The developer also misrepresented to some Friends & Family that their investments were secured by insurance policies on his life, or by interests in real estate, the document adds.” [Seattle Times, 10/9/09] Many Investors Were Local, Included A Church. “And his Friends & Family — about 200 investors owed more than $100 million — are the creditors most at risk. Most are local. Many are Italian- Americans, like Mastro. A good number are in their 70s and 80s, and some have invested with him for decades. The investors include a church, the Italian Club of Seattle and the Seattle lodge of the Sons of Italy.” [Seattle Times, 9/27/09] Michael Mastro Fled The United States To Escape Criminal Prosecution On Fraud And Money Laundering Charges And Is Currently Living In France; In 2018, Court Ruled That Mastro Could Be Forced To Reveal Bank Account Information. “A bankrupt Seattle real estate developer who fled the United States to avoid creditors may be required to disclose foreign accounts, a Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate panel ruled Wednesday. The panel reversed a lower court’s decision not to compel disclosure due to lack of authority. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Washington can require Michael Mastro, who now lives in France, to sign a consent directive authorizing international banks to provide information about Mastro’s accounts, the three-judge panel ruled. Mastro, who was forced into the largest personal bankruptcy in Washington state in 2009, fled with his wife Linda to France to escape criminal prosecution on fraud and money laundering charges and to avoid turning over assets. France has refused to extradite the 93-year-old.” [Courthouse News, 6/07/18] .