At that time, Jared Young, director of communications for Romney's presidential political action committee, wrote, "Don Stirling is an old and dear friend of Gov. Romney. He got over-enthusiastic and overstepped his bounds. The Commonwealth PAC has taken appropriate action to make sure it doesn't happen again."

According to the latest disclosure forms, Romney has been doing especially well in raising money from states with large LDS populations.

As the Deseret Morning News reported this week, six of the 10 states that gave Romney the most on a per-population basis also have large LDS populations: Utah, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, California and Wyoming.

Utah has given him the most: $1.50 per resident, or 14 times his national average of 11 cents per person.

But Stirling isn't alone. Romney's cadre of Washington advisers is also skyrocketing.

Barbara Comstock, a former Justice Department official who is an expert in opposition research, is being paid $15,000 per month. Patton Boggs, the well-connected Washington law firm, is on a $35,000 monthly retainer.

Alex Castellanos, Romney's media adviser, may be doing best of all. All of Romney's advertising money — $4.9 million — has flowed through his Virginia firm, National Media Inc., and its affiliate, Midnight Ride Media. Political ad firms typically make a commission as high as 15 percent, which would leave Castellanos with up to $732,000 for the quarter if Romney did not negotiate a flat fee or a lower commission rate.

Tom Rath, a prominent New Hampshire GOP consultant, is being paid $12,500 per month for strategic advice. Warren Tompkins, the former GOP executive director in South Carolina, is getting $12,000 monthly. Spencer Zwick, Romney's finance director, is being paid $25,000 per month. Romney's campaign manager, Beth Myers, is being paid at a rate of $100,000 annually.

Jay Garrity, the personal aide who shadowed Romney until he was accused last month of impersonating a law enforcement officer in two states, had an annual salary of $56,000. He remains on paid leave

Kevin Madden, Romney's top spokesman, defended the extensive ad spending, saying it helps explain why Romney is leading in polls in Iowa and New Hampshire, even if he trails GOP rivals Rudy Giuliani, John McCain and Fred Thompson nationally.

"We're still in the introductory phase of the campaign, so investing in television spots allows us to introduce Mitt Romney and his platform of ideas to many voters for the first time. It helps us build awareness and get the governor's message across, and the result has been a growing level of support for his campaign," Madden said.

Romney, 60, has a reputation as a cautious businessman, priding himself on ingesting volumes of data before continuing with a business deal. The approach has paid off: His net worth is estimated at up to $250 million.