GOP and Trump ties run deep on the U.S. Postal Service’s board of governors

Roman Martinez was confirmed to the USPS board last year.

Beyond his prior work on boards of various nonprofits, Martinez had a more under-reported role two years ago, as a representative for a Florida estate owned by Damon Mezzacappa, a wealthy investment banker. Prior to his death, Mezzacappa, a former vice chairman of Lazard, contributed to both political parties, but his biggest checks, for $15,000, went to the Republican National Committee in the late 1990s, according to data from CRP. The estate is just about a five-minute drive from the president’s exclusive club, Mar-a-Lago.

After Mezzacappa died, the home was reportedly sold for $41 million to Thompson Dean, a managing partner at investment firm Avista Capital Partners. Since 2008, Dean has given over $330,000 to Republican causes, including over $66,000 to the RNC in 2015 before Trump captured the Republican nomination. 

Martinez did not return a request for comment. 

Article source: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/18/gop-and-trump-ties-run-deep-on-the-us-postal-services-board-of-governors.html