Posted on 03/10/2006 7:42:37 AM PST by Nevadan
Rhodes settles federal case
Las Vegas developer Jim Rhodes has admitted he illegally funneled contributions to two Democratic candidates through his employees and has paid nearly $150,000 in fines.
Rhodes and two of his executives admitted to violating the Federal Election Campaign Act as part of the settlement.
The Federal Election Commission on Thursday announced the result of its investigation into the 2002 contributions to congressional candidate and then-county Commissioner Dario Herrera and U.S. Sen. Harry Reid.
Rhodes gave $27,000 to Herrera and $10,000 to Reid through 14 employees of his companies and two of the employees' spouses. Herrera and Reid must give those amounts to the federal treasury.
The federal investigation was based on a complaint filed in 2002 by the National Republican Congressional Committee. Rhodes' donations to Herrera and Reid exceeded contribution limits; he tried to disguise the excess contributions by giving company money to his employees to give to the candidates.
Rhodes broke the law in three ways. He donated more than is allowed under federal law. In addition, corporations cannot give money to candidates, and individuals cannot give in the name of others. Under federal law at the time, individual contributions to a candidate were limited to $1,000 in the primary and $1,000 in the general election.
Herrera and Reid were cleared by the probe, the FEC said.
"The investigation concluded that the recipients of the contributions were not aware of the actual source of the funds," the federal commission's statement said.
Reid will give the money to the government as ordered, said a spokesman, Jim Manley.
"As the FEC has stated, at the time the contributions were received, the recipients had no reason to believe they were improper," Manley said.
However, when asked whether Reid knew the contributions came from a common source when he accepted them, Manley said, "I don't know the answer to that."
The donations to Reid apparently were not part of the scope of the original complaint, which was filed against Herrera's campaign. Reid was not up for re-election in 2002, but members of Congress constantly collect funds for their war chests.
Herrera, who has been indicted in federal court for allegedly taking bribes while a commissioner, said Thursday that he "absolutely" had not known the source of the contributions. He referred further questions to a Washington lawyer, who could not be reached Thursday.
The two Rhodes executives, Nadine Giudicessi and James A. Bevan, are each being fined $5,500. Giudicessi was the controller of Rhodes Design and Development Corp. at the time, and Bevan was the company's chief financial officer. They solicited contributions from some of the 14 employees on Rhodes' orders, according to the FEC.
Rhodes paid the $148,000 fine in September, said his attorney, Richard Wright. Giudicessi and Bevan no longer work for Rhodes, Wright said.
"This complaint has been pending for nearly four years," Wright said in a statement. "We have satisfied every provision of the settlement. This matter is now behind us, and we are glad to have the issue finally resolved."
A spokeswoman for Rhodes said he was not available to answer questions.
The Republicans became suspicious of Herrera's finances because four of the donors, who included a payroll clerk and a human resources manager, were not registered to vote and 10 had no voting record.
In 2002, Herrera ran unsuccessfully against Republican Rep. Jon Porter.
Craig Walton, president of the Nevada Center for Public Ethics, said people contribute to politicians to buy access and favorable treatment. If they contribute a lot, they want the candidate to know so that they can get something in return.
It's conceivable, but not likely, that a candidate wouldn't know the real source of a bunch of disguised contributions, Walton said.
"You'd think the candidates would actually be told the exact details," he said. "This is the commercialization of access, and it's making people sick all over the United States."
The "bundling" of contributions is a common practice, especially for candidates for state office, where it is legal, Walton added.
"It's not Republican or Democrat, it's everyone," he said.
It hurts the public, he said, because it gives the wealthy access to public officials that others don't have.
Herrera and fellow former Commissioner Mary Kincaid-Chauncey go on trial in Las Vegas next week on federal charges that they accepted bribes.
Last July, former Commissioner Lance Malone was convicted of wire fraud and extortion for giving money to San Diego officials on behalf of Las Vegas strip club owner Michael Galardi to get the officials to change a city ordinance.
Malone, Herrera and Kincaid-Chauncey face similar charges in Las Vegas, while Galardi and former Commissioner Erin Kenny pleaded guilty and cooperated with federal prosecutors.
where's Reuters, AP, CNN, Faux, etc...
Why am I getting this from a LVNV newspaper?
Why are you getting it from a Las Vegas newspaper?
Because Harry Reid, unfortunately, is a senator from Nevada. And you must remember, it is only a scandal if illegal donations go to Republicans. It is irrelevant when they go to Democrats.
Oh my!! It's the Counter-culture of Corruption!!
"Rhodes gave $27,000 to Herrera and $10,000 to Reid through 14 employees of his companies and two of the employees' spouses. Herrera and Reid must give those amounts to the federal treasury."
This is okay. I'm sure, because Rhodes is probably part of the Faux Indian Tribe like Ward Churchhill. Reid feels that it is part of his PC image to accept money from Indian Casinos via a bagman.
Harry Reid looks sleazy, smells sleazy, and I'm beginning to believe that he is sleazy.
L
Herrera and Reid were not aware of the contributions? Then, what would be the point of making the contributions? The money was intended to influence their decisions, so they would certainly need to be aware of it in order for it to be effective.
Nice take Gramps.....as usual.
"Faux Indian Tribe"...........sounds like the tribals have French origins. Must go back to the 1755 French-Indian War. LOL.
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