Obama still pocketing MF money

By JOSH MARGOLIN
Last Updated: 1:11 AM, December 26, 2011

President Obama is trying to put some distance between himself and the wreckage of bankrupt brokerage MF Global. But not too much distance.

After returning more than $70,000 to Jon Corzine, the CEO who led MF Global into bankruptcy, the president’s re-election organizations are still hanging onto nearly $150,000 connected to the firm, The Post has learned.

An Obama campaign official said no MF Global donations besides Corzine’s have been refunded. “Contributions will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, and if the facts merit it, they will be returned,” the official told The Post.

Late Friday, aides revealed that Obama had given in to Republican pressure and returned to Corzine the money the former New Jersey governor and his wife gave to the re-election campaign and the Democratic National Committee. The move was an effort by the president to distance himself from the scandal that has erupted in the wake of MF Global’s meltdown.

Before the MF Global episode, Corzine had been a key figure for Wall Street contributions to Obama and was openly being considered for the top spot at the Treasury Department in a second Obama term.

Corzine is not the only connection between MF and Obama. Three other MF honchos, including Corzine’s second-in-command, Brad Abelow, and his wife have given $5,000 to the president’s re-election campaign and another $30,800 to the DNC.

In addition to Abelow, the other MF donors are former board member David Schamis and Joseph Patt.

Reps for Abelow and MF Global declined to comment.