McDonnell to Give $5,000 to Va. Beach Charity
By Michael Sluss-
RICHMOND -
A Virginia Beach-based Navy charity organization will be the beneficiary of a $5,000 campaign contribution Gov. Bob McDonnell received last year from the director of a veterans group that is under investigation in three states. McDonnell's office said Wednesday that $5,000 will go to the Naval Special Warfare Foundation, which provides support for Naval Special Warfare forces and their families, including assistance to families that have lost loved ones in training or combat.
McDonnell said earlier this week that he would give up the money he received last year from Bobby Thompson, the Florida-based former director of a group called the U.S. Navy Veterans Association. Thompson and the organization have been under scrutiny since March, when an investigation by the St. Petersburg Times raised questions about the organization's fundraising and expenditures.
Thompson donated $67,500 to Virginia candidates and elected officials last year. The General Assembly unanimously approved a bill this year that will allow the U.S. Navy Veterans Association to solicit donations in Virginia beginning in July. McDonnell said he signed the bill into law before being made aware of concerns about Thompson and the organization.
Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli received $55,500 from Thompson and will give the money to a veterans group if Thompson is found guilty of misappropriating charitable donations, his political director said recently.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on Wednesday removed a listing for U.S. Navy Vets from its online directory of veterans service organizations. The agency's move came a day after U.S. Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia asked the department to review its procedures for placing veterans organizations on the Web site.
The Naval Special Warfare Foundation is certified by the Independent Charities of America as a "Best in America" Charity 
