Alice Rocchio lives in Flushing, Queens, a modest blue-collar suburb, with her husband, Pasquale.  She works as an office manager in Manhatten; He’s an Amtrak foreman.

They rent their home.  They drive a 2003 Buick and a 1993 Chevrolet.  The average income for their zip code is $58,069.

Nothing unusual so far, huh?

But what if I told you that the couple contributed $61,600 to the McCain campaign this year, the maximum amount allowable by law?

A little curious, you must admit.  How can a middle class couple afford to contribute that much?

Now what if I told you that neither one of them has contributed to any federal political campaign before… ever?

Okay.  Still a little curious. 

NOW…. what if I told you that Alice Rocchio is an office manager for Hess Corporation and they donated most of that money on June 24, the same day that eight other high-level Hess execs and family members (including CEO John Hess and his wife) each shelled out the same amount at a fundraiser?

Oh, and June 24?  That was a few days after McCain reversed his position on offshore drilling.

Hmmmmm….

Now, there’s nothing wrong with oil executives giving money to the oil-friendly McCain campaign.  But you can’t legally give money to someone else to give to a political campaign as a way to circumvent legal contribution limits.

Anyway, TPM blogger Greg Sargant contacted Mrs. Rocchio, who denies any wrongdoing:

I just reached Ms Rocchio and she insisted adamantly that the contributions were theirs.

"It was my option to give," she told me. "This is my favorite candidate…I fully acknowledge that [the donation] was done by myself personally, my own doing." She added that the same went for her husband.

When I pointed out that the Rocchios’ job titles seemed to jar a bit with the size of their donations, Ms. Rocchio said that no one could guess the real income levels of other people.

"No one knows what someone’s income taxes say," she told me.

Ms. Rocchio declined to say whether the contributions had been bundled by another Hess employee or who bundled them.

Okay.  Stick with that story.  It’s true… we don’t know what the Rocchio income is.  But keep in mind….

A former FEC official said that it’s possible that the Rocchios had the means to make those hefty contributions — their first reported donations to a federal campaign. But the official, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter, said that their donations also could trigger a complaint or otherwise catch the eyes of the agency’s enforcement staff, tasked to ensure that companies or wealthy individuals don’t illegally circumvent contribution limits by using employees or other third parties as "conduits” for cash.

My guess?  She got "her" money from her boss with an implicit (wink, wink) understanding that it should be donated.  I think the FEC is going to look into this one…..

*** UPDATE ***  WaPo reports on some other possible fundraising shennanigans by Mr. Campaign Finance Reform