Interesting. If this happened, you'd have to be a trusting soul to think the chief of staff was some loose cannon who acted on his own. But this sounds all too familiar - political "pay to play" contributions are common, especially for bond firms:

Jan. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Federal prosecutors are asking if New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson’s former chief of staff told a state agency to hire a bond adviser that donated $100,000 to Richardson’s political committees, people familiar with the matter said.

A witness who testified before a federal grand jury in Albuquerque last month said he was asked if David Contarino, the former chief of staff, ordered New Mexties the same bond advisorico Finance Authority officials to hire Beverly Hills, California-based CDR Financial Products Inc. Another person familiar with the investigation said Contarino, 47, is a subject of the inquiry and that prosecutors are looking at whether he solicited contributions from firms that worked on finance authority bond deals.

Contarino “is a very effective political professional,” said Edward Romero, a former U.S. ambassador to Spain and the national finance chairman for Richardson’s 2008 presidential campaign. “He’s a hard worker.” Romero said he would be surprised if Contarino did anything improper.

By the way, Will Bunch ties the same bond advisor to a recent Philadelphia investigation. Hmmm.