IV. Top Mystery Donors

Many lawmakers failed to identify the occupation and employer of donors who gave them five-figure contributions. Indeed, 23 legislators flunked disclosure on one or more contributions of $10,000 or more.

Top Mystery Donors

Amount	Unidentified Donor	City	The Scoop	Recipient
$150,000	Molly & Frank  Homer	Paris	Retired Sonic restaurant  franchiser	Mark Homer
$50,000	Bob Perry◊	Houston	Perry Homes owner	Elizabeth Jones
$50,000	T. Boone Pickens◊	Dallas	CEO BP Capital; corporate  raider	Tom Craddick
$25,000	Maurico R. Celis	Corpus Christi	Owen & Associates attorney	*Abel Herrero
$25,000	Peter M Holt	Blanco	Holt (tractor) Co.; SA Spurs  owner	Elizabeth Jones
$25,000	Wayne Reaud†	Beaumont	Reaud Morgan & Quinn    attorney	*Judith Zaffirini
$25,000	Walter Umphrey†◊	Beaumont	Provost & Umphrey attorney	Judith Zaffirini
$25,000	Alice L. Walton◊	Mineral Wells	Wal-Mart heiress	Tom Craddick
$25,000	Alice L. Walton◊	Mineral Wells	Wal-Mart heiress	Craig Estes
$25,000	Alice L. Walton◊	Mineral Wells	Wal-Mart heiress	Todd Staples
$25,000	John Eddie  Williams†◊	Houston	Williams Bailey Law  Firm attorney	Judith Zaffirini
$15,000	Hon. Dolph  Briscoe†	Uvalde	Ex-governor; Briscoe Ranch  owner	Tracy King
$15,000	Bob Perry◊	Houston	Perry Homes owner	Elvira Reyna
$15,000	Charlotte Rhodes	Dripping Spgs	Wife of ex-Rep. Alec Rhodes	*Patrick Rose
$15,000	Alice L. Walton◊	Mineral Wells	Wal-Mart heiress	Jim Keffer
$12,500	Bennett Joe Glazer	Dallas	Glazer's Wholesale Beverage  CEO	Tom Craddick
$12,500	Barkley J. Stuart◊	Dallas	Glazer's Wholesale Beverage  COO	Tom Craddick
$10,000	David Alameel†◊	Dallas	Jefferson Dental Clinic	Roberto Alonzo
$10,000	David Alameel†◊	Dallas	Jefferson Dental Clinic	Yvonne Davis
$10,000	Bobby D. Cox◊	Fort Worth	Bobby Cox Co. [fast-food  franchises]	Tom Craddick
$10,000	Eleanor Crook	San Marcos	Widow of LBJ’s VISTA director	Patrick Rose
$10,000	J.H. Duplissey†	Beaumont	Owns Conex Int’l [construction]  Corp.	Allan B. Ritter
$10,000	Herbert Graham†	Odessa	Graham Bros. [nightclubs]  owner	*John Whitmire
$10,000	Frank Hegar	Hockley	Hegar Brothers rice farm	Glenn Hegar
$10,000	Don Henley◊	Woodland  Hills	Ex-member of the Eagles rock  band	Kevin Eltife
$10,000	Albert Huddleston◊	Dallas	Hyperion Resources executive	Kevin Eltife
$10,000	Maria Loya†	El Paso	Owns Fred Loya Insurance	Paul Moreno
$10,000	Joe LaMantia, Jr.†	McAllen	L&F [beer] Distributors owner	Juan Hinojosa
$10,000	Charles McMahen	Schulenburg	Retired Compass Bank  executive	Tom Craddick
$10,000	Robert J. Peltier†	Tyler	Peltier Enterprises car dealer	Kevin Eltife
$10,000	Bob Perry†◊	Houston	Perry Homes owner	Robert R. Allen
$10,000	Bob Perry†	Houston	Perry Homes owner	Eddie Lucio
$10,000	Bob Perry†◊	Houston	Perry Homes owner	Sylvester Turner
$10,000	Bob Perry†◊	Houston	Perry Homes owner	John Whitmire
$10,000	Dian Graves Stai◊	Abilene	Ex-Chair Owen Healthcare	Elizabeth Jones
$10,000	Alice L. Walton◊	Mineral Wells	Wal-Mart heiress	Kim Brimer
$10,000	David Williams†	Colleyville	Ex-Colleyville sheriff?	Kim Brimer

*Lawmaker received more than one poorly identified donation of at least $10,000 from this donor.
†Lawmaker left the occupation and employer fields blank for this contribution.
◊Ranked among the top 50 individual donors to Texas candidates and PACs in 2004.

Rep. Mark Homer (D-Paris) claimed the largest mystery donation despite knowing the donors as well as his own parents. Molly and Frank Homer, a retired Sonic restaurant franchiser, gave $150,000 to their son’s campaign. The campaign reported the elder Homers’ employer as “retired,” leaving the occupation blank.

Some of the biggest understatements involved Alice Walton, T. Boone Pickens and Don Henley. Alice Walton’s Wal-Mart inheritance fed her estimated $16 billion worth. Yet Sen. Todd Staples (R-Palestine), Speaker Tom Craddick (R-Midland) and Rep. Jim Keffer (R-Eastland) identified this heiress—whom Forbes ranks No. 20 among the world’s richest inhabitants—as a self-employed rancher or investor. Rep. Kim Brimer (R-Fort Worth) dubbed her a retired businesswoman. While Sen. Craig Estes (R-Wichita Falls) got it right, identifying this donor as a Wal-Mart “owner.”

Speaker Tom Craddick similarly identified T. Boone Pickens, the billionaire corporate raider who ranks No. 512 on the Forbes list, as a self-employed investor. Sen. Kevin Eltife (R-Tyler) also identified aging Eagles rocker Don Henley—who helped produce the best-selling album in world history—as a self-employed investor.

Sen. Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo), a champion of tobacco-control legislation, failed to identify the employers or occupations of three trial lawyers who litigated Texas’ $15 billion lawsuit against the tobacco industry. Rep. Tracy King (D-Batesville) failed to identify ex-Governor Dolph Briscoe, despite having used the title “Honorable” before this donor’s name.

Democratic Sens. Eddie Lucio (Brownsville) and John Whitmire (Houston) and Reps. Elvira Reyna (R-Mesquite), Robert Allen (R-Grand Prairie) and Sylvester Turner (D-Houston) all flunked disclosure for Texas’ top individual donor. Houston homebuilder Bob Perry gave Texas PACs and candidates $4.6 million in the 2004 election cycle alone. The accompanying table flags 10 other top mystery donors who ranked among Texas’ top 50 individual donors in 2004.