When Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) bowed out as President Barack Obama's nominee to head the Commerce Department, he cited political differences

Two weeks later, though, the Associated Press broke a story

Gregg had secured earmarks to fund the redevelopment of a defunct Air Force base in his home state even as he and his brother, Cyrus Gregg, were investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in real estate in the area

a day before the AP's story saw print, Sen. Gregg filed an amendment to his financial disclosure pertaining to 2001, revealing further unpublicized ties linking the senator and his brother in business affairs that have received indirect assistance from federal money.

The amendment corrects Sen. Gregg's earlier filing which made no mention of his ownership stake in Photran LLC, a crystal manufacturing company co-founded by his brother, Cyrus Gregg.

Photran and Saphikon parent company Saint-Gobain Corp. have been actively employing Washington lobbyists since 2005