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Justice@studentloanjustice.org
Who Did It The list below provides information about individuals who appear to have been the most instrumental in the changes in Higher Education Act, and personally gained the most from the changes. As research continues, this list is refined. Any additional information regarding the lobbying, executive, or other pertinent activities of these individuals is welcomed, and appreciated.
1. Congressmen John Boehner, Howard "Buck" Mckeon, and Senator Mike Enzi Boehner and McKeon sponsored the HEA legislation, and have received the most cash from Sallie Mae, and other PACS and individuals who profit from the education legislation they are pushing. Boehner was recently at a student loan industry event (The Consumer Bankers Association), where many of the attendees wrote $1,000 checks, where he was quoted as saying "Know that I hold you in my trusted hands. I've got enough rabbits up my sleeve". Senator Enzi took hundreds of thousands from student loan companies and, like McKeon, used some of this money to employ family members. 2. Albert Lord and Thomas Fitzpatrick, Chairman and CEO of Sallie Mae. Mr. Lord joined Sallie Mae in 1981, and took over as CEO of Sallie Mae in 1995, and led the company's privatization. He and his wife, Suzanne, are by far the largest private conributors to the Sallie Mae Political Action Committee, and have donated large sums (hundreds of thousands of dollars) separately to political candidates. His compensation in 2000 was estimated by Washington Business Forward to be $2.3 million. However, in 2001, US News Reported that Mr. Lords' compensation had skyrocketed to over $33 million. It was recently reported that Lord has made about $225 million since 1999, primarily in the form of Sallie Mae stock bonuses. Mr. Lord recently attempted to purchase a major league baseball team, with the wealth he has extracted from student borrowers through Sallie Mae. Fitzpatrick recently topped the list of highest paid CEO's in Washington D.C. 3. Rose Dinapoli, Former Vice President of Governmental and Industry Relations for Sallie Mae Prior to joining Sallie Mae, DiNapoli spent several years as the chief republican staff person for higher education issues on the House Education and Labor Committee as a political appointee in both the Reagan and Bush Administrations. In this capacity, she worked on both the 1986 and 1992 reauthorizations of the Higher Education Act, and numerous other pieces of legislation related to higher education. It is highly probable that this individual is most responsible for the operations of the Sallie Mae lobbying machine. Moreover, her husband, Michael Sitcov, is (or was) a Directing Attorney for the US Department of Justice. The question of how Mr. Sitcov's influence within DOJ may have been used in support of Sallie Mae is a good one, especially given that Sallie Mae has had to defend itself in the past on matters of antitrust. Also, how much she was compensated by Sallie Mae is a subject of continuing research. Shortly after her husband made news for having practiced law for the Department of Justice for two years without a license, Mrs. Dinapoli left Sallie Mae.
5. Harrison Wadsworth III, Lobbyist This individual originally came to the attention of StudentLoanJustice.Org because he was Treasurer of the PAC that executives of the USA Group set up, called "Friends of Higher Education". It turns out that Wadsworth is a lobbyist registered to a plethora of clients, including the Consumer Banker's Association, Nelnet (A student loan provider), the Education Finance Council, The International Education Finance Corporation, the Coalition of Higher Education Assistance Organization, National Council on Economic Education, National Education Knowledge Industry Association, and Affiliated Computer Services. He is also executive Director of COHEAO (Coalition of Higher Education Assistance Organizations). He also has personally given thousands upon thousands of dollars to the politicians who champion the causes of Sallie Mae, and other big-money student loan interests. When asked if he ever engaged in a contract with Sallie Mae, Mr. Wadsworth did not answer. If you want to find an individual who is probably most responsible for your defaulted student loan nightmare, he would be at or near the top of the list. More information on this individual is HIGHLY appreciated. If you would like to reach Mr. Wadsworth, and let him know how his work has affected your life, his contact information, as reported in the Senate Lobbyist Registry, is: Harrison Wadsworth, Lobbyist 1101 Vermont Ave, SW, suite 400 Washington DC, 20005 phone (202) 289-3903 email hwadsworth@wpllc.net
6. James Lintzenich, and the executive staff of the USA Group. Lintzenich was "part-time" CEO of the USA Group, a non-profit student loan company. This organization reported over $1 million in lobbying expenditures between 1994-1999. Its Executives, with Harrison Wadsworth (see above), formed a PAC called Friends of Higher Education, which pumped money into politicians like Buck Mckeon, who supported the legislation that has cost student borrowers so much. Shortly after the passage of the Amended Act, Lintzenich's salary with USA Group rose abruptly from $750,000 in 1998 to over $3.5 million in 2000. In fact, the corporate pay of ALL the members of this organization escalated massively between 1998-2000. Lintzenich and other USA Group members also contributed personally to many politicians and organizations championing the HEA legislation. Sallie Mae acquired the USA Group in 2000. Lintzenich resigned 9 months after the acquisition, as did other USA Group Execs. Mr. Lintzenich received $21 million in stock after the buyout, a salary increase to well over $4 million, and also received an "early exit" payoff of $5 million from Sallie Mae, who wrote this into his contract in the event that he leave Sallie Mae within one year of the buyout. He also received a $500,000/year retirement package. ALL THIS FOR A "PART TIME" CEO!
7. Barry Munitz Mr. Munitz is a longtime shareholder, and boardmember of Sallie Mae. Mr. Munitz came to the attention of StudentLoanJustice because of the inordinately large donations he made to the Sallie Mae Political Action committee in the 2000-2004 election cycles. Mr. Munitz's past accomplishments include overseeing large fee hikes as Chancellor of the California State School System. Also, the federal Office of Thrift Supervision filed suit against Munitz and four other Maxxam (The parent company of Pacific lumber) executives in 1995, alleging the five had engaged in "unsafe and unsound" banking practices, including improper real estate lending and the payment of tens of thousands of dollars in allegedly improper bonuses to Munitz and others, according to a 1995 article in the Los Angeles Times. According to reports, Mr. Munitz was recently forced to resign as chairman of the J. Paul Getty Trust as a result of reportedly lavish spending in this position. Mr. Munitz paid the Trust $250,000 as a part of his departure agreement with the Trust. MUCH MORE TO COME.
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