WASHINGTON — Representative James P. Moran brought a special St. Patrick’s Day gift this year to his younger brother Brian, a candidate in the Democratic primary for governor of Virginia.
Representative James P. Moran has been helping his brother in his bid for Virginia governor.
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The elder Moran, a Virginia Democrat on the House panel that oversees military spending, let it be known that he would attend a holiday fund-raiser for his brother at the Ritz-Carlton hotel near the Pentagon, thus encouraging the attendance of military contractors and lobbyists. And Representative Moran even helped bring along a special guest, Representative John P. Murtha of Pennsylvania, the panel’s chairman.
Over the next four days, the younger Moran took in about $110,000, including about $20,000 from lobbyists and military contractors. Over all, of the roughly $2.3 million in individual contributions his campaign has raised, about 10 percent has come from people who work in the defense industry, some of whom have personally profited from contracts inserted as earmarks into spending bills by Representative Moran.
By comparison, people in the defense industry have contributed just 1 percent of the money raised by the rival primary campaign of Terry McAuliffe, a legendary Democratic fund-raiser with strong business credentials.
“Congressman Moran wants to do whatever he can to help his younger brother,” said Frank Shafroth, the representative’s chief of staff.
“He is very Irish in that sense,” Mr. Shafroth added. “The congressman is going to turn to anyone he knows who might have money and be willing to give it. I think that is an exceptionally natural thing to do.”
Critics contend that Mr. Moran is capitalizing on his position on the House military appropriations subcommittee, where his influence ensures a steady flow of contributions from lobbyists and contractors eager to seek his favor. According to an analysis by The New York Times, nine military contractors who together received about $38 million in earmarks that Mr. Moran inserted into the last two military bills contributed more than $102,000 over the last two years to the gubernatorial campaign of Brian Moran, a former Virginia state legislator.
“Defense companies don’t usually take much interest in Virginia state government, so these contributions seem to have a lot more to do with federal contracts, federal earmarks, federal dollars,” said Ryan Alexander, president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, which tracks earmarks. “They are contributing to Brian Moran because of who his brother is, not the office he is running for.”
Among Brian Moran’s notable defense industry donors is the lobbyist Paul Magliocchetti of the PMA Group, a company specializing in military earmarks that was raided in November in a criminal investigation of the possible use of straw donors to evade federal contribution limits.
Months before the raid, Mr. Magliocchetti, whose company was a major source of donations to Representative Moran and employed his former chief of staff as a lobbyist, donated about $2,500 in food and drink and a check for $10,000 at a fund-raiser for Brian Moran. Melissa Koloszar, the former Moran aide and PMA Group lobbyist, appears to have contributed $1,000 to Brian Moran at that fund-raiser and another $1,000 around the time of the St. Patrick’s Day event, according to state records. PMA clients and employees have given a total of more than $90,000.
A spokesman for Brian Moran’s campaign, Jesse Ferguson, disputed the idea of a connection between Representative Moran’s influence and donations to Brian Moran, pointing to the high concentration of military contractors in the Northern Virginia area that both Morans hail from.
“What it proves is that our donors come from Virginia,” Mr. Ferguson said, noting that many of Mr. McAuliffe’s donations have come from out of the state.
Mr. Moran also noted that several of Brian Moran’s big defense industry donors have also given to previous Democratic gubernatorial campaigns in Virginia as well, most notably to that of George Pedersen, chief executive of ManTech International and one of the top contributors to both brothers.
Mr. Pedersen’s company received about $8 million in earmarks in the most recent military bill, while over the last two years he and his wife gave about $20,000 to Representative Moran’s campaigns and political action committee, as well as more than $50,000 to Brian Moran.
Like other contributors to both Morans, Mr. Pedersen said his donations were unrelated.
“I know the brothers separately,” Mr. Pedersen said, “and Brian came directly to me. We have 2,500 people working in this state. It is crucial to us who the governor is, and I thought Brian was a good man.”
Still, there is no doubt that the elder Mr. Moran is working hard to encourage other donors to reach the same decision. Mame Reiley, a onetime aide and longtime fund-raiser for Representative Moran, is now contacting many of the same donors for Brian Moran. And the congressman recently sent out an urgent letter to his roster of donors.
“You have been a good friend to me, and generous,” Mr. Moran wrote.
“Will you help me, to help my brother?” he continued. “This will mean a lot to my brother. It means a lot to me.”
