Was Romney Backer Reportedly Also Behind Risqué Hamptons Parties?

The man who hosted Romney's 'secret tape' fundraiser is also known for throwing debauched parties at his Hamptons estate.

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Mike Coppola / Getty Images

Sun Capitol CEO, Mark Leder

If news of Mitt Romney’s 47% theory of taxpayer delinquency isn’t being talked about enough, there’s still another story behind it that may well turn out to get more mileage than the most recent of the former Massachusetts governor’s gallery of gaffes.

Romney’s comments, were given at a fundraiser held at the Boca Raton, Fla., estate of hedge fund manager Marc Leder. Up front, there’s nothing salacious about having an event to raise money at a rich guy’s home. But Leder has become notorious for throwing raucous parties, according to the New York Post, which described one decadent end-of-summer soirée as “the talk of the Hamptons” last summer:

At the Bridgehampton home that Leder rented for a whopping $500,000 a month, guests cavorted nude in a pool and performed sex acts, while scantily clad Russian women danced on platforms. Dancers at the party also twirled flaming torches to booming beats.

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The Bridgehampton party continued, according to the Post, citing unnamed sources who describe two licentious guests putting on a display worthy of a Red Light district.

“They were in the pool swimming together. Then they started making out.” Multiple witnesses say the naked pair continued their show outside the pool and performed sex acts on a chair in front of astonished guests.

Leder, said to be worth $400 million, is co-founder and co-CEO of Sun Capital Partners, a Boca Raton-based private investment firm that focuses on leveraged buyouts, according to the company’s website. He is also a co-owner and board member of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers.

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Other events since given by the millionaire have been described fairly tame — at least in comparison to the Bridgehampton romp — including one done for Hip-Hop mogul Russell Simmons’ Art for Life charity and a December bacchanal described as “Event Week 2011/2012,” on the Carribbean island of St. Barts.

There were no reports of any lewd behavior at the fundraiser where Romney made his comments, however, which took pliace in May. In his own defense, Leder told the New York Times in a January interview that he is not the wild playboy described in the media. That he in fact helps to save struggling companies.

““I think the portrayal of me as having wild and crazy parties is absolutely incorrect,” he told the Times in a January interview. “I spend a small percentage throwing some parties, attending some parties. I like music. I like to dance. But rather than reporting on how I spend 340 days and nights of my year, the media likes to report on the other 25.”

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