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The fine art of politics: A New York museum's scatological show makes it an issue in the Rudy-Hillary race. (10/11/99)

Next time, do your homework: For Hillary, a hard lesson in N.Y. politics. (9/20/99)

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The first lady's New York state of mind. To run or not? A decision could be imminent. (5/24/99)













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U.S. News 11/8/99

CHECK, PLEASE


More foreign intrigue courts the Clintons

Through much of the Clinton administration, the White House has been dogged by allegations of dubious campaign contributions from overseas. Last week, a sensitized Hillary Rodham Clinton, gearing up for a Senate run in New York, dodged similar trouble when she abruptly returned money from a Bulgarian émigré.

At an October 22 fund-raiser in Washington, D.C., Hillary Clinton had been joined by some 300 admirers, including musicians B. B. King, Gloria Estefan, and John Fogerty. Among the donors was one Darina Pavlova, who turned in a check for $1,000. Pavlova says she took the opportunity to chat with President Clinton, who will visit her native Bulgaria next month.

Pavlova is no ordinary Bulgarian. She is married to Ilia Pavlov, Bulgaria's most notorious businessman. Pavlov, 39, is CEO of Multigroup, a sprawling band of enterprises linked by U.S. and Bulgarian officials to organized crime.

Return to sender. Four hours after U.S. News inquired about the donation, Hillary Clinton's campaign staff sent back the check to Pavlova. "Questions were raised, and the check has been returned," says spokesman Howard Wolfson.

Pavlova is a recently naturalized U.S. citizen, and her husband a resident alien of this country. In a confidential cable last year, the U.S. Embassy in Bulgaria warned immigration authorities in Washington that Ilia Pavlov may not be suitable for U.S. citizenship. The cable noted that Pavlov's companies were suspected of murder, larceny, money laundering, and smuggling–although no criminal charges have been filed. Other reports allege that company officials were intelligence agents under the old Communist regime.

News of Darina Pavlova's contribution quickly caused ripples in Sofia, the Bulgarian capital. In a letter to the U.S. Embassy, American businessman Phillip Bay resigned as head of the local organizing committee for President Clinton's planned visit, U.S. News has learned. Bay wrote that the president was associating with Bulgarians "who represent everything which is wrong with this Balkan nation."

Bulgarian law enforcement officials have publicly implicated Pavlov's Multigroup in crimes ranging from traffic in stolen cars and pirated CDs to tax evasion and bribery. Darina Pavlova depicts her husband as the victim of jealous government officials who fear his economic power. "Those charges are all allegations and lies," she says.

Company spokesman Stoyan Denchev blames the charges on the firm's testy relations with the government but says the relationship has improved. "There were lots of mistakes on both sides," he says. Multigroup officials have filed a libel suit in British court against Oxford Analytica, a consulting firm, for a report alleging criminal and intelligence ties. That allegation was supported in an affidavit filed in the case by Lt. Gen. James Williams, who headed the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency. He also tied company officials to the Communist-era secret police.

In just seven years, with support from the early post-Communist government, Pavlov's company has grown from virtually nothing into Bulgaria's leading enterprise. The firm claims worldwide sales of $2 billion, with 37 businesses and 25,000 employees. Darina Pavlova told U.S. News she has also contributed to the Women's Leadership Forum, part of the Democratic National Committee. She and her husband own several expensive homes in the Washington, D.C., area, including a 54-acre horse ranch in rural Virginia. -David E. Kaplan and Fred Vogelstein