THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 28, 1995 TAG: 9510280347
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ROBERT LITTLE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines
Smithfield Foods Inc. Chairman Joseph W. Luter III decided to give $100,000 to Gov. George F. Allen's Republican campaign committee after a private dinner with Allen last winter at the Governor's Mansion.
The two talked about Virginia politics and the difficulties that the state's environmental regulations have posed over the years for businesses like Smithfield Foods, Luter said Friday.
They never discussed how Allen could help a company like Luter's, or how Luter could use his considerable fortune to help Republicans, he said. And it was not until several months later, Luter said, that he learned the state was investigating his businesses for numerous environmental infractions and considering millions of dollars in fines.
``I have never asked for a political favor from the governor or anyone else,'' Luter said during a telephone interview from Chicago, where he was traveling on business.
``I've got the right to support the governor, and I've got the right to support Republicans campaigning for the legislature. So I am.''
Smithfield Foods' $100,000 contribution to Allen's Campaign for Honest Change political action committee has become fodder for Democrats since appearing in press reports this week. Top party officials - including Lt. Gov. Donald S. Beyer Jr. - have decried Allen's acceptance of the gift as a possible conflict of interest. A Democratic Party spokesman called it an ``obvious payoff.''
Luter contacted The Virginian-Pilot and several other news outlets in the state Friday, saying he thought his company's two $50,000 contributions have been unfairly portrayed by Democrats and the media. Said Luter: ``When someone implies that there's something shady going on with myself or someone I respect, I get angry.''
Allen invited Luter to dinner at the mansion sometime in February or March, Luter said. Allen's wife, Susan, and an aide also were there.
During the meeting, Luter told Allen that his company chose a North Carolina site for a new 3,500-employee processing plant several years ago largely because of Virginia's environmental regulations. In the past year and a half, Smithfield Foods has been cited two dozen times for releasing polluted water into the Pagan River.
The two had ``basic, philosophical'' discussions about state policy, he said, but none specifically concerning Luter's Isle of Wight meat-packing company. Luter said he has long agreed with the governor's stance on environmental and business issues and therefore would have no reason to seek special treatment.
``There was nothing he could do for me, and I wasn't asking for anything,'' said Luter, whose company donated $10,000 to Allen's 1993 election campaign.
``I didn't even think about any of this money going to the governor. It was an effort to help the Republicans gain control of the state legislature. I wanted to help the state of Virginia.''
Luter said he decided after the dinner to support Allen's PAC because he was impressed with the governor's views. He said he has had no contact with Allen or his staff since.
Asked Friday about the meeting with Luter, Allen said it was just one of hundreds of similar meetings he has had with Virginia business owners and dignitaries.
``I invite people over all the time, and we wind up talking about all kinds of things,'' said Allen, who was in Norfolk on Friday to visit a police officer participating in the state's ``police in residency'' program.
``He was a supporter, and he's a big employer for the commonwealth of Virginia. There's nothing unusual about that.''
Allen also said people should not be surprised that Luter, who long has supported conservative causes, would give money to a Republican committee in a critical election year. Allen has raised almost $800,000 this year to spend on television commercials, campaign travel and other expenses to help Republican candidates in the Nov. 7 election.
Democrats, meanwhile, have made the contribution an issue on the stump. Virginia Beach Sen. Clarence A. ``Clancy'' Holland, for instance, challenged his opponent, Ed Schrock, on Friday to demand that Allen return the ``tainted'' contribution. The gift, he said, ``implies trading cash for favors.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
Joseph W. Luter III
Gov. George F.
Allen
KEYWORDS: CAMPAIGN FINANCES CONTRIBUTION by CNB