Falcone and Arcadi Gaydamak, a Russian businessman now reported to be living in Israel, stand accused of funneling $1.8 million into the Swiss-bank account of Jean-Christophe Mitterrand, the son of former French president Francois Mitterrand (Mitterrand denies all wrongdoing). Authorities say the money was allegedly a commission for help arranging a $500 million weapons sale to Angola. News of the scandal stunned many residents of the wealthy Arizona suburb where the Falcones had become fixtures on the social scene and large donors to local charities. Last year Sonia Falcone also began showing up at Republican Party fund-raisers, hosting several for George W. Bush. Mrs. Falcone, a permanent resident of the United States, is listed as having personally contributed $1,000 to the Bush campaign.
Falcone denies any wrongdoing in the French case, and a spokesman for the Falcones also said that Essante’s contributions were made out of “millions” of dollars in company revenues from the sale of weight-loss and health products. But Essante’s comptroller told NEWSWEEK he had “no idea” company funds had been sent to the RNC.
