Posted on 08/06/2005 10:08:22 AM PDT by smoothsailing
But he's so fat he didn't even feel it.
The funny part is that they probably spent the money and now can't pay it back.
Maybe they'll have to hold a fundraiser to raise beer money for the GOP!
You can bet the farm no 'rat signed the check.
You do not need to endorse a check to deposit it.
However, keeping the money after they know it is not theirs is legally a conversion of the property (the funds).
The Republican Party should complain to the bank and let the bank get the $$$ back from the dims.
The Swimmer WILL NOT let this happen!
just damn?
This offense is usually (may vary by jurisdiction) called ''conversion'', the unauthorised keeping of another party's property. Typically, this is tortious and subject to civil action. Criminally, this action might fall under any number of statutes; it might in certain jurisdictions not even be prosecutable if the convertor returns the property timely and in its former condition or state.
I think the dems already figured that out and thats a reason they aren't sure exactly what to do.
I think that the problem then would be that it happened over three months ago, and they still haven't returned the money. I used to work for the state Republican party, and I did the PDC and FEC reports. One time, we got a letter from a major donor with a check for us, and another for the democrats.
We immediately called the donor, and they sent somebody to pick up the democrat's check. It was embarrassing for both us and the donor, but we handled it quickly, and with no fuss. As far as I know, the dems never knew that it happened.
In this article, the dems not only deposited the check made out to the Republican party, but they appear to be reluctant to return the money. They seem to be looking at it as "you sent it to me, it's mine!" I doubt that the law will do anything to them, but what they are doing is not only wrong, it is illegal.
If the republicans wanted to really raise a stink, they could do it at the dems bank. All checks have to be endorsed, even if it is "for deposit only". We had a rubber stamp that said "for deposit only", with the account number, and the chairman's signature. If you accidentally endorse a check made out to you, that is one thing. If the bank accepts it, that is something else entirely.
Depending on how the endorsement was made, one might or might not have a case for a charge of forgery. Even if so, I'm not aware of any DAs who would touch this case. Political considerations aside, DA offices are pretty adamant that they are not ''collection agencies''. Our county DA, when I asked him about this matter over drinks, just threw up his hands and said (more or less verbatim): "What's the problem here? Republicans just formally demand repayment by a specified date. If they pay it back, it's over. If they don't, the Republicans bring a conversion action. Might even be a small claims case, depending on the laws in the state. We have enough to do w/o tracking down clerical errors.'' (I sort of raised an eyebrow at that one, but let it pass; he's a Democrat.)
I know- send someone to jail for illegally cashing a check~!
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