Editing Robert Vesco (section)

==Nixon Campaign Contributions and Watergate Connection==
In 1973, Vesco was indicted for making an illegal $200,000 cash contribution to President Richard Nixon’s Committee to Re-elect the President (CREEP) in April 1972, allegedly to quash the SEC probe. The donation, delivered via [[Harry L. Sears]], a Nixon ally, was linked to the Watergate Scandal, with funds reportedly tied to the burglary of the Democratic National Committee headquarters. Two Nixon Cabinet members, [[Maurice Stans]] and [[John N. Mitchell]], were tried and acquitted of related charges. Vesco’s contribution, per The New York Times, aimed to leverage Nixon’s influence, but it failed to halt the SEC’s pursuit, cementing his fugitive status.