President Bush turned Brooklyn's Isaac Toussie into a poster boy for outrageous presidential pardons, granting, then rescinding, the order in 24 hours.
The mystery is how the administration ignored Toussie and his father's background - a tale of payoff and corruption allegations spanning more than 45 years - in pardoning the son for a massive housing scam.
White House officials did an about-face after they learned - by reading it in the Daily News - the father of scamster Isaac Toussie donated $28,500 to the Republican National Committee.
The rags-to-riches story began with Toussie's father, Robert, who clawed his way out of poverty to build empires in the clothing and real estate businesses.
Although the Toussie family record is filled with suits and scam allegations, as well as the fraud conviction that drew the pardon, it is also a story of triumph and contradiction.
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