Bush family friends charged with insider trading... [View All]

[cynatnite]

The former President Bush calls him ''Zach,'' and the Bush currently in the White House calls him ``Zee Zee.''

He has been a repeat guest at the family's Crawford ranch, the White House and on Air Force One.

And when cardiologist Zachariah Zachariah had the Bushes over for dinner and served the green vegetable notoriously disliked by the former president, apparently no one flinched.

''Bush supporters flock to Zach's house like migratory birds,'' gushed former Gov. Jeb Bush at the dinner in 2004 for his brother's reelection campaign.

Zachariah's partisan zeal dating back to Ronald Reagan was the talk of Republican circles Tuesday, one day after he was charged with insider trading of IVAX stock, and in the stock of another company bought by a Boca Raton firm that employed Zachariah as a consultant. He pocketed at least $585,000 between the companies, the Securities and Exchange Commission alleges. Zachariah and his brother, Mammen Zachariah, who also faces SEC charges, were part of an elite circle of GOP fundraisers.

''He was at the top of the finance chart in Florida,'' said Fort Lauderdale lobbyist Justin Sayfie, a fellow Bush ''Ranger'' for collecting at least $200,000 in 2004. ``He was symbolic of the strong affinity that a lot of Florida Republicans felt toward the Bush family.''

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami_dade/story/532872.html