He may have groaned as he disbursed the man's vast fee, but the expert was worth his price.
Each time that Cilins flew from France to Guinea, he brought gifts — MP3 players, cell phones, perfumes — which he disbursed among his contacts.
Mr. Arnaout was in Pakistan and Afghanistan in the late 1980's and early 1990's, and two former Al Qaeda members said he disbursed funds for Mr. bin Laden and directed weapons shipments, the F.B.I. said.
He was entrusted with tickets to the Mike Tyson vs. Bruce Seldon fight at the MGM Grand, which he disbursed to Death Row Records members.
Asked if he had disbursed any of the $12m to third parties outside of Tanzania, he declined to comment.
He has disbursed pardons as political favors, even when the crimes are against the system he governs.
Representative Mark Souder, Republican of Indiana, said he admired several of the administration's initiatives, but he warned Mr. Duncan against being blinded to the grim economic conditions across the country by the billions he was disbursing.
Major contributors across the nation have said that Mr. Steele had not reached out to them and that they did not have confidence in how he was disbursing the party's money.
