Thomas P. (Tom) Rastin

Industry: Natural gas/manufacturing
Primary Company: Ariel Corporation
Age: Unconfirmed
Location: Mount Vernon, Ohio
Estimated Worth: Unconfirmed

Background

Thomas P. (Tom) Rastin is the husband of Karen Wright, CEO of Ariel Corporation, a producer of natural gas compressors¹Homepage, Ariel. Archived August 8, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/XYhS8 in Mount Vernon, Ohio.²“Contact Ariel,” Ariel. Archived August 8, 2024. Archive URL:https://archive.ph/7meZn Tom Rastin is Ariel Corp.’s vice president of marketing and engineering. Ariel Corp. was founded by Karen’s father, Jim Buchwald. She took over the business in 2001.³Lori Kurtzman. “CEO a quiet philanthropist for Mount Vernon,” The Columbus Dispatch, November 4, 2013. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/hSTHU

Both Tom Rastin and Karen Wright attended the June 2010 meeting of the Koch network in Aspen, Colorado. A list of attendees and a schedule for the Aspen summit was obtained by ThinkProgress.⁴“MEMO: Health Insurance, Banking, Oil Industries Met With Koch, Chamber, Glenn Beck To Plot 2010 Election,” ThinkProgress, October 20, 2010. Archived July 10, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/KUNp3

Tom Rastin is a board member of the Ariel Foundation, a private foundation founded by Karen Wright in 2009.⁵“About Us,” Ariel Foundation. Archived July 20, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/IOqNY

Originally from Tabriz, Iran, Tom Rastin attended Louisiana State University in the 1970s, and earned a doctorate in mechanical engineering. Rastin began working at Ariel Corporation in 1994 as an applications engineer.⁶“About Us,” Ariel Foundation. Archived July 20, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/IOqNY

Funding

Political Contributions

Both Tom Rastin and Karen Wright were on a 2018 list of Ohio’s top political donors. According to reporting by Cleveland.com, they gave more than $3.3 million to candidates and political groups, such as state Attorney General Mike DeWine in his run for governor, Rep. Bob Gibbs, State Rep. Keith Faber in his run for Ohio auditor, and Anthony Gonzalez in his run for Congress. Cleveland.com reported that Rastin and Wright “made a pair of $200,000-plus donations to the Republican National Congressional Committee (RNCC), the campaign arm for congressional Republicans.” ⁷“Money in politics: Here’s a list of Ohio’s top political donors,” Cleveland.com, June 28, 2018. Archived July 20, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/tzBuB

FEC filings for the “NRCC” show Karen Wright made two separate donations on February 13, 2018, for $101,700 and $101,500. The following day, Tom Rastin made one donation to the NRCC for $101,700, and another for $101,400. The total of all four donations was $406,300.⁸“Money in politics: Here’s a list of Ohio’s top political donors,” Cleveland.com, June 28, 2018. Archived July 20, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/tzBuB

Below is a partial summary of Tom Rastin’s political spending, highlighting committees that received $5,000 or more, via campaign finance data exported from the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Note that while efforts are made to ensure the accuracy of this data, errors may have been introduced in the original finance records.

View the attached spreadsheet for a complete list of Tom Rastin’s political spending by year (.xlsx).

Koch Events

June 2010

Both Tom Rastin and his wife Karen Wright attended the June 2010 meeting of the Koch network in Aspen, Colorado. A list of attendees and a schedule for the Aspen summit was obtained by ThinkProgress.⁹“MEMO: Health Insurance, Banking, Oil Industries Met With Koch, Chamber, Glenn Beck To Plot 2010 Election,” ThinkProgress, October 20, 2010. Archived July 10, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/KUNp3

Affiliations

• Ariel Corporation — Vice president of marketing and engineering.¹⁰“About Us,” Ariel Foundation. Archived July 20, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/IOqNY
• Ariel Foundation — Board member.¹¹“About Us,” Ariel Foundation. Archived July 20, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/IOqNY

Data from the FEC show a number of contributions by a Tom or Thomas Rastin that are registered to addresses associated with Thomas P. Rastin of Ariel Corp., but list different employers:

• Moonbuilders Guidance Center — Vice president of sales an marketing.
• Grimmway Enterprises — Co-owner.
• Halycon Financial Management — Executive.
• Cardinal Health, Inc. — Executive vice president.

Other Resources

• “Thomas Rastin Political Contributions,” CampaignMoney.com.

Sources

• 1
  Homepage, Ariel. Archived August 8, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/XYhS8
• 2
  “Contact Ariel,” Ariel. Archived August 8, 2024. Archive URL:https://archive.ph/7meZn
• 3
  Lori Kurtzman. “CEO a quiet philanthropist for Mount Vernon,” The Columbus Dispatch, November 4, 2013. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/hSTHU
• 4
  “MEMO: Health Insurance, Banking, Oil Industries Met With Koch, Chamber, Glenn Beck To Plot 2010 Election,” ThinkProgress, October 20, 2010. Archived July 10, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/KUNp3
• 5
  “About Us,” Ariel Foundation. Archived July 20, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/IOqNY
• 6
  “About Us,” Ariel Foundation. Archived July 20, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/IOqNY
• 7
  “Money in politics: Here’s a list of Ohio’s top political donors,” Cleveland.com, June 28, 2018. Archived July 20, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/tzBuB
• 8
  “Money in politics: Here’s a list of Ohio’s top political donors,” Cleveland.com, June 28, 2018. Archived July 20, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/tzBuB
• 9
  “MEMO: Health Insurance, Banking, Oil Industries Met With Koch, Chamber, Glenn Beck To Plot 2010 Election,” ThinkProgress, October 20, 2010. Archived July 10, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/KUNp3
• 10
  “About Us,” Ariel Foundation. Archived July 20, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/IOqNY
• 11
  “About Us,” Ariel Foundation. Archived July 20, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/IOqNY