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Tag: campaign funding
Former Representative Running For Old Seat Named Co-Conspirator In Campaign Finance Case

Former Representative Running For Old Seat Named Co-Conspirator In Campaign Finance Case

By Marc Caputo, Jay Weaver, and Patricia Mazzei, The Miami Herald

MIAMI — Miami congressional candidate and ex-U.S. Rep. David Rivera was officially named as a co-conspirator Tuesday in federal court when his friend and confederate pleaded guilty to criminal campaign finance violations.

That defendant, Ana Alliegro, didn’t name Rivera — that was done by a federal prosecutor at the urging of a judge who wanted to know the identity of a man previously identified only as a “co-conspirator.” According to prosecutors that person, along with Alliegro, secretly funded the 2012 Democratic primary campaign of ringer candidate Justin Lamar Sternad, who has been sentenced to seven months in prison.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Mulvihill initially declined to name Rivera, but then did so at the direction of U.S. District Judge Robert Scola.

Alliegro’s trial had been scheduled to start Monday — a day before the Republican primary election for Florida’s 26th congressional district. Rivera, one of five candidates on the ballot, is running for his old seat.

In a surprise move, Alliegro, who had pleaded not guilty to four charges in March, used a pre-trial court appearance Tuesday to switch her plea to guilty.

“She always said she would not invoke the Fifth Amendment, and that she would tell the truth,” said Alliegro’s defense attorney, Richard Klugh. “And she intends to do that if called (upon).”

There was no plea agreement struck with prosecutors, Klugh added, saying Alliegro chose to change her plea of her own volition. She pleaded guilty to four counts of making a false statement, conspiring and making illegal campaign contributions.

She faces a maximum five years in prison, though that penalty would likely be lower if she cooperated in the case against Rivera. Her sentencing has been scheduled for Sept. 10.

“The federal system rewards and recognizes the importance of responsibility and telling the truth,” Klugh said.

When asked if his client was used by Rivera in the campaign finance scheme, Klugh chucked nervously but didn’t answer the question.

Photo via WikiCommons

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Cain Uses Campaign Cash To Buy His Own Book

For weeks, Herman Cain has battled speculation that he is more interested in selling books than he is in becoming president of the United States. And that was before today’s Bloomberg News report that Cain has been purchasing copies of his own autobiography with campaign funds.

Federal Election Commission records show that Cain paid his own motivational speaking company — T.H.E. New Voice Inc. — $36,511 for copies of his book, “This is Herman Cain! My Journey to the White House.” In addition to the books, Cain’s campaign has paid his motivational speaking company more than $64,000 for airfare, lodging, and supplies.

Cain told Bloomberg that the books are being given to supporters to help familiarize them with Cain’s life story, and that the sales are in compliance with FEC rules. The FEC allows campaigns to buy candidates’ books as long as they do not profit from the sales.

Still, good government advocates like the Sunlight Foundation’s Editorial Director Bill Allison are concerned about Cain’s actions.

“All candidates publish books and they offer them as premiums to donors, but most candidates aren’t buying them from their own companies,” [Allison] said. “It raises the question of his campaign contributions ending up in his own pocket.”

Cain may not have technically broken any rules by using campaign funds to buy copies of his own book from his own company, but the incident still raises questions about the seriousness of Cain’s campaign. Cain was criticized for leaving the campaign trail in favor of his book tour after his victory in the Florida straw poll last month; his lack of a presence in the early primary states led Iowa talk show host Steve Deace to wonder “is that guy running for president or just lining up a book tour?”

In addition, the fact that Cain himself has bought almost 1,500 copies of his own book helps to explain its strong sales: “This Is Herman Cain!” currently sits in fourth place on the New York Times bestseller list.