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Company with Turkish Ties Gives to Schmidt Fund
asbarez
Saturday, May 12th, 2012
Rep. Jean Schmidt
BY DEIDRE SHESGREEB
Gannett Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - Since Rep. Jean Schmidt created a legal expense trust to
help repay an improper gift she received from the Turkish Coalition of
America, the Miami Township Republican has received a single $5,000
donation from a company called Global Eclipse.
The twist? The Delaware-registered company has significant Turkish ties.
The firm listed on Schmidt's most recent fundraising disclosure form
is described as a limited liability company with a mailing address in
Princeton, N.J.
Schmidt spokesman Barrett J. Brunsman said he did not know what kind
of company Global Eclipse is.
What kind of company is Global Eclipse? `I could not tell you that,'
said Schmidt's spokesman, Barrett J. Brunsman.
He emphasized that there was nothing illegal or untoward about the
donation. `It's an American company that meets all requirements to
contribute to the legal expense trust,' Brunsman said.
The disclosure form, which Schmidt filed last week, says that Global
Eclipse has four members. Three of Global Eclipse's members have
Turkish connections, and the other may have links to that country as
well, although publicly available information about it is sparse.
Campaign finance watchdogs say that Global Eclipse's donation is
notable, given that Schmidt's association with a Turkish-American
group is what landed her in ethical hot water in the first place.
Schmidt set up her legal expense trust last year, after the House
ethics committee ordered her to repay more than $400,000 in legal fees
the Turkish coalition paid on her behalf. The Turkish coalition paid
lawyers' fees that Schmidt racked up in a court battle with David
Krikorian, a political opponent who she sued after he falsely accused
her of taking `blood money' from the Turkish government.
The ethics committee said the Turkish coalition's move to pick up her
legal tab amounted to an improper gift. The panel said that while she
accepted the funds unwittingly, she still had to pay the money back.
So far, the only group that has lined up to help her pay off her debt
is Global Eclipse.
`She's someone whose positions appeal to (the Turkish Coalition), and
at the very least some members of the Turkish community are still
rewarding her for those positions,' said Bill Allison, editorial
director of the Sunlight Foundation, a watchdog group that has
researched the influence of foreign interests in American politics.
Brunsman said he was not sure how the contribution came about-whether
Schmidt solicited the firm or its members donated unprompted.
`I can't speak to this particular company but I can tell you the fact
that she has established a legal expense trust is common knowledge,'
Brunsman said.
The two most prominent members of Global Eclipse are: EA Havacilik, or
EA Aerospace, a Turkish aviation investment firm; and Ekim Alptekin,
the founder of EA Aerospace and an executive at Eclipse Aerospace, an
aviation firm based in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Alptekin founded EA Aerospace in 2009 to purchase, along with other
private investors, Eclipse Aerospace, which had developed a jet plane
called the Eclipse 500.
On its website, EA Aerospace is described as `the first Turkish
company ever to make an industrial investment in the United States.'
The company acts as `the sales office' for the Eclipse 500 aircraft
`in a large area encompassing Europe, Russia, Turkey and Middle East,'
the firm's website says.
`The company also provides maintenance repair and upgrade services to
Eclipse 500 owners at Europe's first Eclipse Aerospace Platinum
Service Center at stanbul's Atat¼rk Airport,' according to the
website.
Together, EA Havacilik and Alpetkin have about 41 percent profit
interest in Global Eclipse.
Alptekin is a businessman with ties to an array of commercial and
defense aviation interests in Turkey and the U.S.
In addition to his leadership roles at EA Aerospace and Eclipse
Aerospace, where is he executive vice president for Europe, Alptekin
is also a co-founder or board member of other Turkish aviation and
defense companies, including Seabird Airlines and ATH Defense and
Security Company, according to his biography on Eclipse Aerospace's
website.
`He is actively engaged in efforts to boost Transatlantic trade and
bolster the commercial angle of decades-long Turkish-American
partnership,' the bio says.
A receptionist at Eclipse Aerospace said Alptekin is based in Europe
and she did not have a number for him. She provided an email address.
But he did not respond to questions sent to that account.
The other two members of Global Eclipse are listed as Ugur Koyluoglu
and Cenay Havacilik. Koyluoglu is a partner at Oliver Wyman, a global
consulting firm where he works on banking issues.
Reached via email, Koyluoglu said he is an investor in Global Eclipse,
not a manager. He did not respond to a request for the manager's name
and contact information.
Koyluoglu's bio on Oliver Wyman's website says he taught mathematics
and engineering at Princeton and at Turkey's Koc University before
coming to the firm. He worked as Oliver Wyman's market manager for
Turkey from 1998 to 2010. He also appears to be the owner of the house
in Princeton that Global Eclispe lists as its mailing address.
There is no publicly available information about Cenay Havacilik.
Brunsman said he did not know anything about either Koylouglu or
Havacilik, adding that the trustee for Schmidt's legal fund would have
been the one to review information about any donors.
`I don't think there's any mystery that she seems to be supported by
Turkish-Americans,' said Jan Baran, a lawyer who specializes in
campaign finance and ethics issues. He said this donation seems to
reaffirm that, but added, `it's not unethical or illegal for
Turkish-Americans to support her legal defense fund.'
asbarez
Saturday, May 12th, 2012
Rep. Jean Schmidt
BY DEIDRE SHESGREEB
Gannett Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - Since Rep. Jean Schmidt created a legal expense trust to
help repay an improper gift she received from the Turkish Coalition of
America, the Miami Township Republican has received a single $5,000
donation from a company called Global Eclipse.
The twist? The Delaware-registered company has significant Turkish ties.
The firm listed on Schmidt's most recent fundraising disclosure form
is described as a limited liability company with a mailing address in
Princeton, N.J.
Schmidt spokesman Barrett J. Brunsman said he did not know what kind
of company Global Eclipse is.
What kind of company is Global Eclipse? `I could not tell you that,'
said Schmidt's spokesman, Barrett J. Brunsman.
He emphasized that there was nothing illegal or untoward about the
donation. `It's an American company that meets all requirements to
contribute to the legal expense trust,' Brunsman said.
The disclosure form, which Schmidt filed last week, says that Global
Eclipse has four members. Three of Global Eclipse's members have
Turkish connections, and the other may have links to that country as
well, although publicly available information about it is sparse.
Campaign finance watchdogs say that Global Eclipse's donation is
notable, given that Schmidt's association with a Turkish-American
group is what landed her in ethical hot water in the first place.
Schmidt set up her legal expense trust last year, after the House
ethics committee ordered her to repay more than $400,000 in legal fees
the Turkish coalition paid on her behalf. The Turkish coalition paid
lawyers' fees that Schmidt racked up in a court battle with David
Krikorian, a political opponent who she sued after he falsely accused
her of taking `blood money' from the Turkish government.
The ethics committee said the Turkish coalition's move to pick up her
legal tab amounted to an improper gift. The panel said that while she
accepted the funds unwittingly, she still had to pay the money back.
So far, the only group that has lined up to help her pay off her debt
is Global Eclipse.
`She's someone whose positions appeal to (the Turkish Coalition), and
at the very least some members of the Turkish community are still
rewarding her for those positions,' said Bill Allison, editorial
director of the Sunlight Foundation, a watchdog group that has
researched the influence of foreign interests in American politics.
Brunsman said he was not sure how the contribution came about-whether
Schmidt solicited the firm or its members donated unprompted.
`I can't speak to this particular company but I can tell you the fact
that she has established a legal expense trust is common knowledge,'
Brunsman said.
The two most prominent members of Global Eclipse are: EA Havacilik, or
EA Aerospace, a Turkish aviation investment firm; and Ekim Alptekin,
the founder of EA Aerospace and an executive at Eclipse Aerospace, an
aviation firm based in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Alptekin founded EA Aerospace in 2009 to purchase, along with other
private investors, Eclipse Aerospace, which had developed a jet plane
called the Eclipse 500.
On its website, EA Aerospace is described as `the first Turkish
company ever to make an industrial investment in the United States.'
The company acts as `the sales office' for the Eclipse 500 aircraft
`in a large area encompassing Europe, Russia, Turkey and Middle East,'
the firm's website says.
`The company also provides maintenance repair and upgrade services to
Eclipse 500 owners at Europe's first Eclipse Aerospace Platinum
Service Center at stanbul's Atat¼rk Airport,' according to the
website.
Together, EA Havacilik and Alpetkin have about 41 percent profit
interest in Global Eclipse.
Alptekin is a businessman with ties to an array of commercial and
defense aviation interests in Turkey and the U.S.
In addition to his leadership roles at EA Aerospace and Eclipse
Aerospace, where is he executive vice president for Europe, Alptekin
is also a co-founder or board member of other Turkish aviation and
defense companies, including Seabird Airlines and ATH Defense and
Security Company, according to his biography on Eclipse Aerospace's
website.
`He is actively engaged in efforts to boost Transatlantic trade and
bolster the commercial angle of decades-long Turkish-American
partnership,' the bio says.
A receptionist at Eclipse Aerospace said Alptekin is based in Europe
and she did not have a number for him. She provided an email address.
But he did not respond to questions sent to that account.
The other two members of Global Eclipse are listed as Ugur Koyluoglu
and Cenay Havacilik. Koyluoglu is a partner at Oliver Wyman, a global
consulting firm where he works on banking issues.
Reached via email, Koyluoglu said he is an investor in Global Eclipse,
not a manager. He did not respond to a request for the manager's name
and contact information.
Koyluoglu's bio on Oliver Wyman's website says he taught mathematics
and engineering at Princeton and at Turkey's Koc University before
coming to the firm. He worked as Oliver Wyman's market manager for
Turkey from 1998 to 2010. He also appears to be the owner of the house
in Princeton that Global Eclispe lists as its mailing address.
There is no publicly available information about Cenay Havacilik.
Brunsman said he did not know anything about either Koylouglu or
Havacilik, adding that the trustee for Schmidt's legal fund would have
been the one to review information about any donors.
`I don't think there's any mystery that she seems to be supported by
Turkish-Americans,' said Jan Baran, a lawyer who specializes in
campaign finance and ethics issues. He said this donation seems to
reaffirm that, but added, `it's not unethical or illegal for
Turkish-Americans to support her legal defense fund.'