A George W. Bush fundraiser is now embroiled in an alleged $1 billion scam

Not all the people who donate to presidential campaigns are good. This fact comes to mind as we find out more about one of George W. Bush's big campaign donors -- a pleasant fellow named Scott Rothstein. Of course, he had plenty of company in goosing Bush's campaign coffers -- recall subprime mortgage lender Ameriquest, which contributed a mere $7.8 million.

But that's old news. Bloomberg News reports that Rothstein is a lawyer who persuaded investors to give him $1 billion, in exchange for which they allegedly got a chance to earn a share of what Rothstein promised would be big legal settlements just a few months after those investors' checks cleared. Apparently, it was a yet another Ponzi scheme -- the legal settlements didn't exist. Federal authorities have sued Rothstein, but he hasn't yet been charged with any crime.