"A document discovered by Mother Jones magazine sheds light on who Charles and David Koch, the billionaire petrochemical barons, are seeking as allies to advance their conservative agenda in Wisconsin and elsewhere.
A guest at a hotel where the Kochs recently held one of their secretive strategy conferences provided the liberal magazine with a document that one of the conference attendees had left behind. It includes a list of scheduled meetings between various wealthy business people, executives of Koch Industries and top operatives from Koch-affiliated organizations, such as Americans for Prosperity and Freedom Partners.
David Fladeboe, president of the Wisconsin chapter of Americans for Prosperity, the flagship Koch nonprofit, had two meetings with three major Wisconsin executives, presumably to either solicit contributions or discuss the group’s agenda in the Badger State.
Fladeboe first met with Bob and Steve Fettig, the CEO and CFO, respectively, of Tankcroft, a metal fabrication company based in Darien, Wisc. Accompanying them in the meeting was Jeff Noble, an executive for Koch Public Sector, the lobbying arm of Koch Industries.
In a second meeting Fladeboe and Michael Lanzara, another Koch Public Sector executive, met with Debra Waller, the CEO of Jockey International, the Kenosha-based underwear firm.
Similar meetings took place between business people in other states and leaders of other AFP chapters in Florida, Pennsylvania and Michigan. Most of the meetings also featured executives of Koch Industries.
Mother Jones explains the significance of the document:
“In the past, Koch Industries has distanced itself from AFP and its political activities. The company has said the group is just one of 'hundreds of organizations' that receive funding from the Kochs and that it operates 'independently' of Koch Industries. But the document suggests a close collaboration between officials of Koch Industries, AFP and Freedom Partners, whose staff and board are stacked with numerous current and former Koch Industries employees.”"
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