This essay is an example of a phenomenon that occurs too often in politics. This is the story of a successful businesswoman from humble beginnings who made some unfortunate choices. Ramona Lopez recently started college and developed a small business, eventually becoming a well-known entrepreneur. She was also known as a philanthropist and donated her time and money to the "Battered Women's Shelter and Community Fund". The shelter even “named its daycare The Lopez Center to recognize the donation that funded the building” (Nadler, 2011). Like everything, with success comes money, with money comes problems. The story indicates that when Ramona's business began to grow, she needed to expand her business and unfortunately this saw some resistance from the community. To help alleviate the situation she contacted the local mayor to, as the author of the article puts it, “expedite the planning commission hearing and obtain council approval” (Nadler, 2011). This is where the story gets complicated, after meeting the mayor, the author mentions, “Mayor Janice Noonan was a little impressed with this savvy businesswoman and was eager to please her. Ramona mentioned her admiration for the mayor and offered to make a donation to his upcoming re-election campaign and publicly endorse him. In addition to his personal $10,000 check, he collected $1,000 checks from 25 of his top employees, which were later reimbursed, in violation of state law” (Nadler, 2011). This action is what got Ramona into trouble. The act of reimbursing his employees was why he crossed the line and committed a crime by violating state law. The question now remains: did he intentionally break the law to try to gain political favor... middle of paper... roversial donations [web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.nonprofitlawblog.com/donation-policy-controversial-donations/Reyes-Fournier, P. (n.d.) Fundraising Guidelines for Nonprofit Organizations. Retrieved from http://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/fundraising-guidelines-nonprofits-9040.html#(2008). The importance of a gift acceptance policy. PJ Philanthropy Journal, Retrieved from http://www.philanthropyjournal.org/resources/fundraisinggiving/importance-gift-acceptance-policyCommon Cause.(nd) Pay-to-Play. Retrieved from http://www.commoncause.org/site/pp.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=4923163Nadler. J. (2011, December 13). When is a contribution a bribe? Retrieved from http://www.scu.edu/r/ethics-center/ethicsblog/herhonor/11811/When-Is-A-Contribution-A-Bribe?Federal Election Commission (2014, April) Citizens Guide. Retrieved from http://www.fec.gov/pages/brochures/citizens.shtml