Free Republic

A San Francisco engineer testified Tuesday in Sacramento federal court that political fundraiser Julie Lee asked him to adopt fraudulent documents to satisfy auditors looking into Lee's use of state grant money. James Li described for a jury how Lee, in the summer of 2004, brought him "a bundle of documents in an envelope and asked me to review them and be prepared to answer questions from state controller auditors." Among the documents, Li told the jury, was a backdated invoice that purported to be from his firm seeking payment of $621,300 from Lee's nonprofit San Francisco Neighbors Resource Center...

The criminal case that brought former California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley's political career to an abrupt halt more than three years ago is scheduled for trial today, as federal prosecutors attempt to prove mail fraud and witness tampering charges against his onetime fundraiser Julie Lee. While the case dashed the lofty aspirations of Shelley - once considered a potential senator, mayor or governor - and took a long time to get to trial, the allegations against Lee are straightforward. Prosecutors have charged her with four counts of mail fraud and three counts of witness tampering for fraudulently obtaining state...

Secretary of State Bruce McPherson has dropped plans to sue predecessor Kevin Shelley in an attempt to recover nearly $3 million in federal funds that were misspent or mismanaged. McPherson, who lost to Democrat Debra Bowen in his bid for re-election, has decided not to hire private attorneys to file suit on behalf of his agency in the final six weeks of his term. "At this point, it's up to (Bowen) to recover the money,"

Secretary of State Bruce McPherson demanded Monday that the state sue his predecessor, Democrat Kevin Shelley, to recover nearly $3 million in federal funds that were misspent or mismanaged. McPherson, in a letter to Attorney General Bill Lockyer, said it is "imperative that you bring legal action at once." "It is wholly unfair and unacceptable that the taxpayers of California would be required to lose funds" due to the "documented misconduct and mismanagement of Kevin Shelley." McPherson said he was reacting to a ruling Monday by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission that requires California to repay $2.92 million in federal...

There's a final resolution to federal election assistance money given to California and, according to authorities, misspent by the office of former Secretary of State Kevin Shelley. This morning, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission closed the books on the investigation into how Shelley spent some $3.8 million in funds allocated through the federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA). The spending was part of the scandal allegations that drove Shelley from office in 2004. It included payments for activities not related to HAVA, including payments to consultants who appeared to be doing pro-Shelley political work on the federal government's dime. Secretary...

SACRAMENTO – Former California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley, who resigned under pressure in February, misspent or failed to document more than $3.8 million in federal election money, according to a federal audit released yesterday. ~snip~ Shelley, a Democrat, denied wrongdoing but resigned after he was accused of mishandling the money, bending state hiring rules to reward allies, and accepting questionable campaign contributions.

Sacramento -- More than $3.8 million in federal election money sent to California was either misspent by former Secretary of State Kevin Shelley or lacked proper documentation, according to a federal audit released Wednesday. Shelley, who resigned in February after a series of scandals buffeted his administration, was criticized last December in a state audit for slipshod management -- a finding echoed by federal officials who questioned nearly half of the spending they reviewed. The auditors said they found instances of legal costs that exceeded contracted amounts, employee salaries improperly paid with federal dollars, and the purchase of promotional items...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - More than $3.8 million in federal election money was spent improperly or without required documentation by former Secretary of State Kevin Shelley, federal auditors said in a report released Wednesday. The audit, commissioned by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, confirms an earlier state audit of Shelley's handling of money given to California under the Help America Vote Act. It examined spending through 2004. Auditors said about $3 million in spending lacked documentation, such as paying salaries for people who didn't submit time sheets, or was improperly awarded to consultants through no-bid contracts. The audit, conducted by the...

SACRAMENTO — “So you’re a reporter,” the salesman said as we sat in the little room. He was just trying to break the silence as we waited for his boss to come back and tell me that my offer for their overpriced car was too low. “What’s it like down there at the Capitol,” he asked. “Is it just all corruption?” That was several weeks ago. But I thought about the salesman when I read about Congressman Randy “Duke” Cunningham pleading guilty to taking at least $2.4 million in bribes. Probably no one is more representative of middle America than...

OAKLAND - An associate of indicted political fundraiser Julie Lee personally delivered a $25,000 campaign check he knew was laundered to Kevin Shelley at his San Francisco home in 2002, and told him to wait a few days before cashing it, according to grand jury transcripts released Tuesday. Bowman Leong told the grand jury investigating Lee last month that Shelley, then an assemblyman seeking the post of California secretary of state, was expecting him in his Glen Park home. The two men, Leong testified, "spent probably about 10 seconds exchanging pleasantries, and then (Shelley) asked if I had something for...

SAN FRANCISCO - Julie Lee, the San Francisco real estate agent charged with funneling state grant money to former Secretary of State Kevin Shelley's campaign, solicited false grant documents, arranged for laundered contributions and tried to enlist others in hiding the scheme, according to grand jury transcripts released Monday. Lee has pleaded not guilty to eight felony counts, including grand theft, embezzlement and forgery, returned by a state grand jury. San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris and Attorney General Bill Lockyer allege Lee converted a state grant for a community center and proceeds from two real estate transactions into cash...

SAN FRANCISCO - A state grand jury is investigating the activities of a fundraiser for former Secretary of State Kevin Shelley and is expected to hand down an indictment within a week, it was disclosed in court Thursday. During a procedural hearing on a criminal complaint filed in April against Julie Lee by the San Francisco District Attorney's and the state attorney general's offices, Steven Gruel, Lee's defense lawyer, said a grand jury had been convened. Assistant District Attorney Davina Pujari indirectly confirmed that, telling Superior Court Judge Perker Meeks Jr. that whatever action the grand jury takes could be...

The other shoe dropped for Julie Lee on Thursday when the erstwhile fundraiser for former Secretary of State Kevin Shelley was charged by a federal grand jury in Sacramento with mail fraud and attempted witness tampering. A seven-count indictment alleges that the 58-year-old Lee, a San Francisco businesswoman, one-time city commissioner and political power broker in the Asian community, siphoned $125,000 out of a state grant in 2001 and 2002, then used the money for campaign contributions through intermediaries to Shelley, who was a candidate for secretary of state. The indictment also alleges Lee created false and misleading paperwork and...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The U.S. attorney's office on Thursday indicted Julie Lee, a top political fundraiser for former Secretary of State Kevin Shelley, for diverting $125,000 from a taxpayer-funded grant to Shelley's campaign coffers. An FBI investigation led a federal grand jury to issue the seven-count indictment that charges Lee with four counts of mail fraud and three counts of attempted witness tampering, U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott said. Lee's attorney, Steven Gruel, could not immediately be reached for comment, but last month she pleaded not guilty to related criminal charges in San Francisco. The federal indictment alleges that Lee...

Sources say Shelley fund-raiser accused of diverting grant funds. State prosecutors charged a top volunteer fund-raiser for former Secretary of State Kevin Shelley with grand theft and other felonies on Thursday, accusing her of diverting $125,000 from a taxpayer-funded grant to Shelley's 2002 campaign fund, sources with knowledge of the case told The Chronicle. The complaint, filed under seal in San Francisco Superior Court, claims that Julie Lee, a San Francisco businesswoman, city commissioner and political power broker in the Asian community, forged documents to obtain state funds, used the money for illegal purposes and later falsified records to cover...

Through her aggressive fund raising for San Francisco politicians, Julie Lee transformed herself from grassroots activist to City Hall insider and political power broker. But that same largesse and the power it brought her have written the most bitter chapter of Lee's career, leading to the resignation from office of one of her biggest benefactors, Kevin Shelley, as California secretary of state -- and now felony charges said to have been filed against her by the state attorney general Thursday. Lee coveted insider access, say those who worked closely with her, and she quickly learned that campaign contributions opened the...

SACRAMENTO - Former state Sen. Bruce McPherson was sworn in Wednesday as California's 29th secretary of state, and quickly promised to restore public confidence in the beleaguered office just hours after the Assembly voted to confirm him. McPherson, 61, a Santa Cruz Republican nominated by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to replace former Secretary of State Kevin Shelley, vowed not to let down the state and the office's staff. "Now our work begins," McPherson said. "This office is going to lead the nation again in innovation, creativity and impartial elections administration." Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Connie Callahan of San...

Shelley's Last Day As Secretary Of State Uneventful Friday was the last day in office for California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley, who has already packed up his office and left town. "Kevin Shelley was here on Tuesday. (He) called an agency-wide staff meeting. (He was) very, very cordial, very pleasant. (He) thanked the staff for all of their hard work," said Secretary of State Office spokeswoman Caren Daniels-Meade. Shelley stepped down after being investigated for misuse of government money. He made the announcement last month and was set to resign March 1. But he extended the date until Friday...

Kevin Shelley’s State-Issued PDA Stolen From Home Someone broke into outgoing Secretary of State Kevin Shelly's San Francisco home last weekend. Whoever did it bypassed valuables and decided to take only Shelley's state-issued personal digital assistant. According to San Francisco police, Shelley called authorities Sunday morning after discovering someone had apparently entered his Everson Street home during the night though an open window. Shelley told police he had left the window open, but noticed the opening had been widened when he woke up in the morning. Shelley also told police that he may have wiped-off a smudge from the windowsill...

Sacramento -- Secretary of State Kevin Shelley has moved his resignation date from Tuesday to Friday, citing "administrative convenience,'' according to his resignation letter. Shelley, who was mired in ethics scandals and the subject of multiple investigations into his fund raising and his handling of federal voting act money, announced Feb. 3 that he would step down from the office effective Tuesday. Neither the secretary of state's office nor the governor's office could provide more information Friday about why the resignation date had changed.