Crapo’s campaign cash went to Las Vegas company

U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo’s ex-campaign manager blames his friend for making a “less than professional” investment of $250,000 from political donors in a Las Vegas company amid the 2008 global financial crisis.

That’s according to documents released Monday by Crapo’s office, three days after the Republican senator announced he was amending his Federal Election Commission filings to reflect losing the money.

Crapo’s former manager, Jake Ball, says in a sworn affidavit that Crapo approved his strategy of investing to boost campaign cash.

Ball says he gave the money in September 2008 to his friend, Gavin McCaleb.

In a separate affidavit, McCaleb says he invested it with Las Vegas-based Pyramid Global Resources, hoping for a big return within just two months.

The money disappeared.

McCaleb said Pyramid’s agreement “was a fraud.”