The golden fleece.(Aaron Tonken and charity embezzlement scandal)

By the time Aaron Tonken turned 35, his lifelong obsession with celebrities seemed to be paying off: somehow, the high-school-dropout loner had become a top Hollywood charity-event organizer, capping his resume with a glittering farewell salute to Bill Clinton. In fact, that 2001 benefit gala was the pinnacle of a multi-million-dollar scam that ensnared stars and politicians including Hillary Clinton, Diana Ross, Rod Stewart, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the cast of Friends. With everyone from the F.B.I. to the I.R.S. investigating, BRYAN BURROUGH reveals how the A-list got taken

Of all the parties thrown in Hollywood that year, of all the fund-raisers and Oscar bashes and black-tie balls, the farewell celebration thrown for Bill Clinton two months after he left the White House was one of the splashiest. A charity benefit called "A Family Celebration 2001," the gala dinner was held Sunday night, April 1, the venue changed from U.C.L.A.'s Royce Hall to the Regent Beverly Wilshire's ballroom at the last minute.

The stars poured in. Sylvester Stallone was there in a tuxedo, chatting with his fellow honorees Betty and Gerald Ford. The evening's co-chairmen, Michelle Pfeiffer and her husband, Ally McBeal producer David E. Kelley, sat at Clinton's table, with members of the McBeal cast nearby. MTV's Carson Daly M.C.'d, and Elizabeth Taylor and Whoopi Goldberg made presentations, thanking Clinton for his years in office. And then came the music-songs from Dwight Yoakam and Ray Charles. Toward evening's end, Clinton put on a pair of Ray-Bans, grabbed a saxophone, and jammed for an uproarious five minutes with B. B. King, who then performed a bluesy "Let the Good Times Roll." The evening ended precisely at 10:50 with an energetic set by 'NSync.

For all the ex-presidents and celebrities who packed the Regent Beverly Wilshire that night, the star of the evening was a pudgy 35-year-old who nervously glided among the tables, leaning over to whisper in Clinton's ear, snapping at the security men, his eyes furiously scrunching in his trademark facial tic. His name was Aaron Tonken. He was the eccentric, up-and-coming Hollywood fund-raiser who had put the event together, luring Clinton, the Fords, 'NSync, and several Los Angeles foundations to participate in an evening that raised $1.5 million that Tonken would help distribute to various charities. "It was a miracle [it all] came off perfectly-to exec producer Aaron Tonken's credit," columnist Army Archerd raved in Daily Variety.

For Tonken, a high-school dropout from the Midwest, the gala capped a storybook 10-year rise that had taken him from a Los Angeles homeless shelter all the way to the White House. Many at the Regent Beverly Wilshire that night knew of Tonken's Zelig-like ability to befriend the stars and twist their arms into attending his events; he had done business with everyone from the Clintons and Fords to the cast of Friends, to Cher, to his close friend Natalie Cole. What almost no one knew was that Tonken's story had a chaotic dark side, that his world was slowly unraveling, that he was drowning in debt, that he had borrowed money from the wrong people, and that he would eventually be accused of looting the very charities he appeared to be helping. People knew even less about the suitcases of cash he ferried around town, his shadowy "investors," and his appetite for $3,000-a-night escorts.

Two years later a lot of money is missing, and so is Aaron Tonken, leaving behind a trail of angry charities, embarrassed celebrities, and myriad government investigations, plus one very difficult question to answer: "When I met the guy, I'm thinking, How does this schlumpy guy-five feet nine, like 240 pounds, dresses in a T-shirt, and has a twitch-how does he get all these people to give him all this money?" says Hollywood agent Norby Walters. "It just shows you how stupid people can be. You know, California, man, it makes people crazy, their brains get a little fried. You mention celebrities and it dazzles 'em. It goddamn dazzles 'em."

Tonken's is that rare story where serious Hollywood celebrities, serious Washington politicians, and seriously mysterious characters come together in a shadowy place that is now being explored by no fewer than six state and federal investigations. They include a lawsuit by the California attorney general, filed in March, that charges Tonken with stealing from a number of Hollywood charities; a related federal mail-fraud complaint in May; a Justice Department probe of fund-raising practices during Hillary Clinton's 2000 senatorial campaign; an F.B.I. investigation of the last-minute pardons President Clinton granted to Marc Rich and other criminals; an Internal Revenue Service investigation of gifts Tonken gave to dozens of celebrities; and a separate I.R.S. criminal investigation covering payments Tonken made to an interesting gentleman in Miami.